FARMERS’ UNION BRANCH REMIT

Southland Times, Issue 23377, 8 December 1937, Page 12

FARMERS’ UNION BRANCH REMIT

To The Editor

Sir, —In your issue of December 5 there appeared a letter over the name of L. M. Turvey criticizing the remit sent to the Southland executive by .the Waiau branch of the Farmers’ Union. As his criticism is very unfair I hope you will grant me a little space to reply to him. The actual wording of the remit sent into the executive of the Farmers Union was as follows: “That in the opinion of this branch the 4B Scheme as now constituted should be done away with and the following be substituted to take its place: ‘That no moneys from the Unemployment Fund should be granted as a free gift, but that all moneys from such a fund should be granted as a loan free of interest.’ ” It ought to be plain to anyone of average intelligence that the moneys referred to in the remit are not the whole of the unemployment funds, as stated by Mr Turvey, but merely that part of the unemployment funds which the board may decide to allocate to the 4B Scheme. Mr Turvey says one would think that the members of the Waiau branch would appreciate that the farmer who had a struggle during the depression is now getting the same opportunity to drain or clear his farm or section as the well-to-do farmer had in that period. Now this seems to me to be an astounding statement to make. Surely Mr Turvey knows that the man who is hard up can get no assistance through the 4B Scheme. If a farmer gets a grant of £5O through the 4B Scheme he has to find £5O of his own in cash. I would point out that we have hundreds of farmers throughout New Zealand on undeveloped land who during the depression lost all their money, and the greater part of their equity in their farms, and cannot possibly put up any money to get grants through the 4B Scheme.

Many of them, if not given some assistance, will eventually lose their farms and go to swell the unemployed. The whole purpose of our remit was to try and get assistance for the farmer who most needed it and we have no apologies to make for doing so.— Yours, etc., D. H.* O’BRIEN, Chairman, Waiau Branch of the Farmers Union. December 6, 1937.