WAIKOIKOI.

Otago Witness, Issue 2727, 20 June 1906, Page 34

WAIKOIKOI.

i Juno IS. — The a.nnu^l meeting of the local I branch of the Farmers' Union was held on j Monday, 11th mat.. Mr George Cunningham,, president, in tho chair. The minutes of tho ' Last meeting weie read and confirmed, and the balance sheet was adopted as read. The secretary, Mr Ronald M'Don»!d, read the fol- ' lowing report: — "In p'.acing before members ths balance sheet for the year ending Marchl 31 I have, to report that during the year five ; general and two adjourned meeting have been ! held, with an average attendance of 12 — the ■ lowest att-cn<l-inca being 10 and She highesb * 14. Those who have a«*naed the have taken a real interest in, matters pertaining to the welfare of the branch. *nd although many have not attended any of the meetings,yet they have /willingly paid their subscriptions. The roll number at -he, end of laati ' year was 34 Of these ',wo have -left and three hava not paid their subscription. Two new members have joined the branch, so tlisrt' the total roll number now is 31. The three members who have not yet paid their subscriptions I waa unable io see; but I believe thifr when I do see them they will state their willingness to continue to subscribe to the branch. The ba.iit.noe sheet shows our funds from all sources to be £10 14b 9d, amd expenditure £10 Ss, leaving a balance on hand of 5a 2d. In the balance sheet appears ;ho item 'rent for hall, 63.' As thia ia for tha wbol9 year's me3ti»gs. 1 think the hall trustees have dealt r<iry ]iberailly with us, for this amount bar-»!y covers cost of light. Fire insurance: Meniber3 ba.vo not given, this matter the support wo oxneeted, and as the Otago br*;u>h has T'.sA » very successful year — there net beiu^ 3- tire t'ro whole yeiwy — more of our members n-'ifht ?se ihdr way to inr.ure Mrith the Fr.ruysrV Mut-uai fch.s year. T"ho?s members who have already insured with the Miuluftl P.ro, as far as I can learn, well satisfied." The report was very favourably commented on, and the work done by; ths secreta.ry l:ij»hly eulogised. The election of officers resulted in the following being elorted: — Pres:den.t, Mr G-:orje Cunningham; vico-president, Mr f'har'.cs Chit'cck; s^-retary and treasurer, Mr RonaM M'Dc-'ald; auditor, Mr Jchn Beattio (s!l rt-e'-«;tc<l) ; txscutivo committee — Messrs F. Ferguson, J. Hirvey, John Black, H. Black, James Palmer, W. Frctwell, and John Mackay; delesst© to provincial conference, Mr Watson Shennsui (reelected). Votes of thanks were accorded the secretary and auditor for their services to io branch, and Mr W. Sliennan, who sent aa tupolbgy for hia absence from the meeting, curve in for some eulogistic remarks from members for hie services rendered as de!«gate» to the branch. It was Mr Shennan's intention to give a resume of the business done at the last meeting of the provincial conference, but, unfortunately, pressing business called him to> Dunedin. At the- close of the annual meeting an ordinary meeting was held. Tha mil-jutes of the last ordinary meeting were read and confirmed, and .'he correspondencs received w?3 dealt with. Mt R. Simmers biought up the matter of a graduated scale of fees. He said he spoke of tb© matter so> that members would not lose sight of it, and come prepared to diecngs the subject in all its bearings, at a future meeting. Mr Simmers; also spoke of the apathy shown at the ks3 meeting of the provincial conference, and said ho thought it was owing jo Jie meeting: t»mg held on Wednesday, 6th, instead of Thursday, 7th, many being of opinion tha.s the meeting was to be held on the Thursday. The matter of fixing tlie annual subscription to the branch was he'd over till next meeting, which will be held in July, when a full attendance of members is requested. The Fpnn. — Tb«r& are sever*! threshing mills in the district, and tho work of threshing the grain is going on apace. Given good weather, another week should ccc all he threshing done. Those who /have finished! arc busy carting the oats to Pomahaka adding. I have not heard any farmer grumble about) the yield of oats. I understand that it is not. quite so good as in former years ; but at the same time it is satisfactory. Since writing this note I have heard that one crop yielded 70 bushels to the acre, and another 86 bushels. The Roads. — The heavy carting lately ha» played havoc with several parts of the maim road. The bridges, too. have suffered. Thi3 morning Mr Voight's traction engine broke down one end of the bridge across the> 'Koi' Stream near Mr J. Black's farm. Had it not! bsen that the tender of the engine caught on! the road against tike north side of the bridge, the engine and those on board would have been precipitated into Ihe stream below. Aa it was, the escape wa3 _* narrow one. As thai bridge has been out of ""repair for a very long* time, and has by many been considered" unsafe, it is a wonder the County Council has not had it thoroughly repaired 1 long ere this. Now the general public will be greatly inconvenienced for some days, as all trai&o across the bridge is stopped. There ia a ford at one side of the bridge which may be negotiated when the stream is low, but aft m^iant the stream 13 hi^h, and crossing it i«

out of the question. Besides, there ia a, hole on one side -which will have to be filled up before the ford can be safely crossed, even when the stream Is low. Other bridges across the eaire stream are little, if any, safer to cross with » heavy load than the one that broke down this mornjng. It would pay the Conntyi Council wall to send up the engineer to inspect and report on these bridge*. If lefl unrepaired much -longer a serious accident will happen some of these days. Amusement. — The winter quadrille has made a start, but owing io sevesal threshing mills being in the district the Attendance has been small. However, it is hoped that next quadrille night (Friday, 29fch inst.) will see a, big turnout. Mr James Cooper supplies the music, and this fact iteelf should make the young folk turn out to spend a jolly evening once a fortnight ia "tripping the light fantastic toe." On the *th Judy the School Committee held their annual concert, and as « good programme will be provided, and the object is to provide funds for the school, a bumper house is anticipated.

Tfc» Premier's Death.— The news of Mr Seddon's death was received here -with feelings of deep regret. Although this is looked upon ss an Opposition stronghold, do people can feel hia loss more keenly than do the people of orar little community, every one of whom recognises that by his death New Zealand has lost an able statesman and a- man whose faithfulness to duty and noble service in the cause of humanity gained for him the respect and admiration of all.