THORNBURY.

Southland Times, Issue 19471, 26 November 1904, Page 4 (Supplement)

THORNBURY.

- TEs® FINANCIAL This braneli met in, Foster's Hall on Friday night last week. Tbere was a fair attendance. : Mr W l .. Templeton (presldeat) v^took the chair. Mr Paterson, organiser, and veterinarian, who ' was present'/ was; called on to address the nieeting. . Mr I'atbegian^y touching pn the financial condition of ithev Union.; Be said that the Executive had decided to call up the guarantees, and that this had given rise to a good deal of misunderstanding, and hostile comment in the Thornbury district as in one -or tw.o other places. He asked those wb,o complained if a union of farmers was necessary. If it was, and they evidently believed it/\vas,f or they wiould not have becomes members; then they ought to finance it as it ought to be financed. He pointed to the fact that trades unionists :were' not found- grumbling, because *ithey^ had' to pay tjhis or that for the pi'oper and successful workingj of their unions, and he wondered why .farmers should 1 grumble at haying to may a paltry 10a ' He asked 5 what :the .various^secretaries of tHav branches} -got '-put of 'sss union -oa,t the ordinary member?! 'djidi. l not gsjro.-. Nothing. They" did '^i^e^s^ijrltrgralxiitously and ungrudgingly, 'and frcjquently tlieir rewarid was 'impudence when they asked a member lor his subscription. He- asked; what the members of the Executive got cut of the union, that v ordinary members did not get. Nothing;. iJutr; still those gentlemen were out of pocket annually from £5 to £20 cnchV in trying to 1 make the union a success for all. Was.it not a little :jaean, to say the least' of it 1 , he said, for men

who could thoroughly well nfford to pay very much larger sums without feeling it, to grumble and complain because they were being asked to pay the trifling sum of 10s which they undertook to pay when called upon to do so. If there were any such men in the. union his own opinion was that the union would be over so much better without them. lr. was not a union that they wanted at nil; it was a bargain, and a good one at that. Mr Patterson then addressed the meeting on a veterinary subject which proved highly interesting. At the close, he answered a number of questions, and received a hearty vote of thanka for his interesting address. A similar compliment to the chairman closed the meeting.