N.Z. FARMERS' UNION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 8

N.Z. FARMERS' UNION.

OTAGO.

A mooting 1 of the Palmerston branch w?.s held on the 26th ult., Mr..James Row (president) in the chaii. Mr W. Jacques, Government Canning Expert, advised that he would visit the district on or about September 25, and he hoped to meet, all interested In the commercial canning' and preserving of fruit, etc He would be willing to address a meeting on any branch of the above industry if required to- do 50. — The Provincial Secretary advised that pamphlets containing a /record of the work done at the Colonial Conference held last month would shortly bo^gent to every farmer in Otago and Southland. The matter of fire insurance had to some extent been neglected by branche-s. Xliey worked diligently until ; tha. • association commenced business, but- now efforts had been relaxed. — Mr J. T. Pram, provincial organi&er and secretary of the Otago executive, addressed the meeting r.n union jnatters generally, and explained the working of the mutual fire insurance schema. A hearty vote of thrnks v/as accorded Mr Pram. "

The Balfour branch met on the 2£th ult. Mr G. Stuart, who occupied the ■■chair, referred feelingly to th© .-leath of a leading , member in ihe, person of Mi J. S. Thomson. He moved the following motion, "which was carried' unanimously— "That- thisbranch desires to place on record the valuable! assista-moe rendered to the union by ,the late Mr J. 8. Thomson, and respectfully '"tenders to Mrs'' Thomson and* family, the assurance of its sincere- sympathy with them in their irreparable loss." — Correspondence ■was received as follows: Reply to the re- ! quest from the branch re Waimea Plains railway time (able from the Minister's office 'Istating that th& matter was being' , looked .into. Circular from the provincial seevetary urging the necessity of collecting all the subscriptions and enrolling new members ; also enclosing remits from the Rivorsdale and Waiau branches. The Riversdale remit asked that ragwort be, removed from the schedule of noxious weeks. Mi Dickie moved, seconded by Mr Cunningham— "That this, branch is opposed tc removing ragwort from th& schedule of noxious weed?."— Carried. The "W&iau branch remit was that artificial manures should be carried at the lowest seal© of charges on the railway; also that valuators shall leave a copy, of their valuations with owners or occupiers of lauds. No action was taken in either of these oases.— Mr Henricksen, a member of the Provincial Executive, gave a brief outline of the appointment of the organiser and his duties. The ordinary monthly meeting! of the Balclutha branch was held in the Harvey Hall on th© 26th ult., Mr J. B. MTSTeiI in the chair. Correspondence was read from Mr James Allen, M.H.R., statin? that he would heartily support the proposal to give Crown tenants the opt : on of purchase at -the original valuation ; from J. T. Pram, provincial secretary, to the effect that th© matter- of a reduction in th© sheep tax had already teen discus^d by the executive at different times, and remitted to the Colonial "Conference, and representations made to the Government, but the remit from the Balolutha branch would be laid before the Provincial Executive at next meeting. Mr Pram also wrote suggesting; inter alia, that a special effort be made to have all the doings of the branch published In some of the newspapers in view of the general olec--tion. So far very few branches had sent a reply to his last circular embodying the recommendation of the executive re the appointment of a provincial organiser, and it was earnestly requested that branches erive an expression of opinion on the point. The fact must b& faced, and the sooner the better, that every farmer must eventually belonsf to the union; a few here and tber© would naturally stand out to tho last, but ways and means must be devised to bring them in. "They simply must come." Th© matter of fire insurance had to some extent been neglected by branches. They worked diligently until business was opened, but now efforts had been relaxed. Thia should be remedied, and unionists should work harder than ever to push the scheme, which was a good one, and must prove of very great benefit to farmers in a very short time. —The Chairman introduced the question of a resident vet., whichhad been discussed ab last meeting, and said he had seen Mr Gilniour, stock inspector, on the subject, and he said the best thing was to offer a salary of £100 per annum, provided they could get a suitable- man. Mv Gilmour said that was the way the Southland brandies did with Mr Paterson, and be sot the fees in addition, which were 5s a visit to members and 10s to non-members. After a. desultory discussion, Mr Watt moved--"That a special meeting be called for Friday, October 6, the date of th© horse parade, and in the meantime all information possible be obtained." Mr It. Moffat seconded, and th.fi motion was carried.— Mr Houliston moved— "That th© late chairman (Mr John Christie) be voted £3 3s for his expenses in attending Pr.QYin.ekl Executive

. meetings iii Dunedin." -Seconded by Mr Gordon, and carried.—lt was decided to , defer consideration of the question of special technical education in rural districts pending receipt of further information. CANTERBURY. At a meeting of the committee of the Ashburton branch on the 26th ult., it was 1 resolved to support the North Canterbury ■ Executive's motion asking that the Government should_extend the same railway coni . cessions to children attending private and , i technical schools as to rhose attending publice schools. Reference was made to the 1 list of questions formulated by the Colonial Council for submission to parliamentary 1 candidates, and it was suggested that the Ashburton branch might add som© questions bearing on local conditions. I ■ ' I , j