NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14778, 22 May 1918, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND FARMERS' UNION.

NELSON PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE. The annual provincial conference oi the Nelson branches of the New Zealand Farmers' Union was held at the I Institute yesterday. There were preI sent Messrs Walter Thorn (president); Frank Whitwell (vice-president), W. D. liarknoss (secretary) and the following delegates:—Aiessrs Geo: Winter (T.akaka.), H. T. Cook (Appiebyj, G, P. Hugonin (Kohatu.), R- C. Withers and E. •■ W. Frost (Wakapuaka), K. Br yn I Goddall (Matafiki), H. J. Wells (Stanley Brook), B. M. Field (Dovedale) W J. Taylor (Brightwater), F. W. Gibbs (Tapawera), G. L. Mead (Kohatu) A. Al. Wilkinson (Stanley .Brook) ana \V Barker ("Stanley Brook). FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP. The secretary reported -that the accounts showed better than ior the previous year, and the membership had increased, though not to the extent that could reasonably have been expected. The Waimea brancri showed 47 members compared with 30 last year; Waliapuaksi, L'y m^mbei's; Takaka, 32, compared with .15 ; Korere-Siotupiko 49 compared ivith' 27; Stanley Brook ie/ compareci with 15: ]\ln.tn.viki. \q compared with 26; Wakapuaka, -29,' compared with 26; Murchison, 31, compared witii 35; I)o\-edale, 23, compared with 10. Bainnam Jiad not .sent in any returns. By tiie returns there were 326 members, of whom 246 had paid up It was remarked that in a number of case-; soldiers were kept on the books without membership fees being colfec- , 'Xiie statement of accounts siibVed that the year ended with a small credit balance, somewhat larger than tnat of the previous year, and this, year £45 had been forwarded to the Dominion Conference as levy, compared with i' 34 the^ previous year. , ~di The statement of accounts and ttie secretary s-report were formally ad on! S Wlthf °tiOU °f RESOLUTION OF CONDOLENCE. The President referred to tTie fact that a number of members had suffered bereavement through the war; some had lost .sons, and others had had sons wounded. Without mentionmo- T , aine " he -would move that the heartfelt sympauiiy ot the meeting be extended to those members who had so suffered ' The motion was carried in silence,'the members standing meanwhile. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. • t Reviewing the work of the past year, the President alluded J.a. tlio manner iv

which the war was -affecting all interests m die community, Twining as well.' as -others. It was necessary to do all ; that was possible to win- the war, and", sacrifice must be ma-Jo in the ri-hb Sr■f o 7+ ffait; th»l>«»-denhadnpt been jie.itiy left; but it .-would come. The ■ tanners, '•had had a fairly good yea... ihey had not really iV>H +,)ip pinch of tne war but they were beginning to feel n. I hose with stock had had a good time, the price of stock through th^-in- ■ fluenec of outside buyer* bein- high. Whether that would evoutuallv" be for the benefit cf the fanners it "was not for him to say. Agricultural farmers ad had a Dad time. Whentgrowers, had made a bad bargain with the Government, the price bei t low, and! sfes? 0 gt;r wheat wj to- d° s« »*» '??' r Avas very luliair to the with 7h\7 aS 7°W [II Z w»oat, compared ' with those who v.ere making n. EOO d profit out of other things. rie did not down £ ■:. keafc Srow«- *Jio»ld be tied down mor r «v an any other man. It ™f ; rl^S that. wheat diouifl .be ti-ict S;Vi seasoll hx this (lisn, o' +1 T was not n wheatgiwing . one, the farmers got Jittlo more tHn putung it m. H e tl t n , ]e wheat possible should be -n-own as beworldT/n, VeY had &&** "flote SSfc tb? rbo lninßry- He to? „ - ove™vent woxild make betopen market;, \wmch wr>s o?ilv n ■ WnwS: s\nd ot^^ TT^ hS»^<^ chnff w Hli Predl<*ed tuat oat.s and w-is voit r t said *hat he nt'io t-in 1 ?r° (1 *•" so° t!l? »»weasedmitie.«t in the union, which Arus evi?thev^vw' aV h°y must '^nite ilw? p' V? f" y ~Ood foi--them-. koiu-.s. He alluded to the-fact th-vB i ihTXT"? if 01,' 50011 ,J'V f *5p Farmers' Union, and, tiHHioh other than members of mnono^ld become motors, the wliot •>eis of the Farmers' Union. It was jflgood thing for the. fanning commun". j S'.,-"? - iG /' af ■ gkd to *^ +- tho . iepoi l received at a moctin- of afrectors hold that.morniiijv;W even more satihlaetory than anticipated. Din-in-the year ie had visited a numlter of the -jranchos. and was sorry that he could -not visit nil. • On th- motion of Mv Withei-sj. the ■ I President was thanked for his address.. j MR HUDSON, ■ M.P.. ! At a later stage, Mr 11. P. Hudson, ; M.i.. tor Motueka, was present, and ■the President, in according him. ai lY ?af ti y w, elcomG, s«id that he was sorry i that he had overlooked sondinir special. ! invitations to Messrs F'eld and Hud- ; son, both of whom had Tjeea heipfiul in. I an .V way that had offered, i^^ir Hudson said that as representative ot a farming constituency he felr. itiiat it was helpful to hTmself and of I value to his constituents that lie should .attend such meetings and learn the ted desu>es of those he represent I REMITS FROM BRANCHES. ! The Co'nfcrenco then proceeded to dis- : cuss the remits nuvdo by the various- • branches, ! Mr Mead moved, and Mr Wells. ■ seconded, that the following remit from the Korere-Slotupiko branch be adop- . :«T", That aU staJHons." .travelßuV should have a iGovernnMint certificate at, «to^wunaness and type.'l .ihe President read.from the DomT- ! riurn to the ef- ; would be given effect to as soon as jtiieie were veterinary surgeons avaiiable tor the necessary inspection voi > same 11 brai»eh presented another ' fllu1 gif™* ••-;"&** the members or the Pi urtgrowcrs' Association should be-eligible for membership of the Farmers^ Union by paying the provmciaJ ■ The, President thought that it was * . matter ior the. individual branches. ThS ' nYm i:;'f- a br&l^?h at th.c present time was ia l ltfel"S «ach fruitgrowers to member- ,■ ship on payment of the amount-of the ' ickmumon ani provincial levies, 5s in \ After a discussion,'the., motion was ; withdrawn, the mover and ..seconder be!jng satisfied with the position havin- ! been made, clear that branches actino- in itiio way indicated we not, breaking j any rules of the Union. j Mr Gibbs moved and 3fr Withers seconded the adoption of the following rennt fronf Matarikir-'Thafc the Prot vmciai -Exeeut-ve consider the advisabil-.ii-v oi piocurinc; W ool packs and binder ! twme, in bulk.-for distribution i-mon^at it io Tanons branches in the district. order?" ' d°cid° t0 PO°l illeir I -hr^^V^T- rSi SaM. tllG Wak"Puaka ihi.Mchhdd nlready done something in ■•the way .indicated by pooling their members' orders for wool packs, which i 4 proved to thoir Pecu/uarv advanl It was pointed out by the \rfco-Pre- : sident that the application of this met-iod of purchasing n^d not be conlined to wool packs and binder twme Manures had been procured in the same way. ■■.... i , Spine members considered- tint : branches could work better individually * Jthan througli. the Provincial F-x-eutiv^ ~Th o motion, was lost on a show of hands,.the voting beinc; prett veven liio m-xt remit also came frohi Alakriki, as follows—"That, tnkin- into consideration: the mcrea-ed nnumnt a¥ stock sold by in rhe NoUon dis" trict, tho auotloneerins £ n ,is lie askeo to; con.SKiern.biy reduce their d.minissions for sell'n.^ " Mr Gibbs moved that the romit ha adopted, and Mr Taylor s.cer.ndcd In the disonssion which followed th<v »iggc3tions were made that a reduction Micfct.bo made in January. February and March, or that the reduction should apply to tho .alos at the lar^e rentrcs-; also .that 3 per cent. rshouM be the commission suggested to the aucv tioneerv. TJif: vomit v.-os adont«!-. and Messrs Orooiiji.!!, j'-wld, Gibbs. Barker anri Taylor were appointed to'interview tlie auctioneers on tin* matter. The two following remits wrc combined:— "That iho Provincial Executive be askod to ciraw the attentions ~f the Railway Department to the numeroun nres caused by passing trains, and to ask tnem to endeavonr to remedy the grievance.'; (from Matari'ki branch.) . '1 hat tiie Minisfcer of Railways be appjoa.(.-hed.to »ea ii' .soinothing V-ould not be done to safeguard or compensate .•armors ior lus-.s sustained b y fires lighted hy sparks froni railway engines " (Frnm Waimoa. branch!) Mr Gibbs moved tiio adoption, and Mv x'aylor seconded. • It was suggested that spark-catchers should be affixed to the engines. The seconder said that it was the small engine on tho Alison line that did rhe damage. When overloaded itsen b out sparks in a, very dan^erou* manner. Mr.Hugonin said that he saw a spark from an engine alight .in the cemetery h-u ivotiatu, ;.m! he had great difficulty m putting- out the fire which resulted. Unchecked it would have .swept over tho cemetery and al«-o a gn*;d portion of his property. Jlc nAnicd other instances of d-im:ige. Personally he felt stj-on^l-.- on the matter, :tnd hop^d that the member for the dift«%ict" Avould ren•dor any assistance possible. • The President gave ,i couple of Instances where damage wa& dono and, I

disastrous results only averted by tho action of neighbours. Mi- Cook paid that it had come to this that in dry weather settlers along the railway line dare not leave home .for fear of fires caused by passing trains. mo- remits "were adopted. Mi Taylor, on behalf of the Waimca branch, moved, and Mr Goodall" seconded, the adoption of the following remit: —"That an application be made to the Railway Department for a weighbridge at the' Nelson station." The remit was adopted. The Dovectale branch forwarded tho following remit:—"That the Government be aslcod to provide farmers in. closely settled districts with bulls, to try and improve the breed of cattle, as small farmers with a limited number of cows cannot ailord to lay out the necessary capital in procuring a good class of bull."

Mr Field moved that the remit be adopted. In America, he said, there wore "bull associations" in districts •where holdings were small. 'A number of farmers combined to got a better animal than would be possible if tlie owners acted individually. Me suggested that the Government could help with bulls from tho Government farms. Mr Wells seconded the nioti')». Several members thought that it was sr matter for individual effort.

already, but the etaoinq ehioinraoninn

The secretary said that the Government had done something of The kind Jilrcady, but the difficulty whs to get the fanners to agree upon th<> hreecl. Other members said that ihe Government had put out skill ions and they should put «.m+ good bulls .V" a reasonable price to farmers' nssoc*-tfons.

In reply, the mover .snid-t!^t the remit was made solely- in the- interests of the small fanner, who for his few "cows could not afford high pedigree bulls, however much they were needed to hnprove his stock.

The remit was adopted

Another Dovodnle remit vis :ir follows: —"That the Dominion Conference be asked to bring before the Government the ininstico thf\ con si triers >>f wheat are stiff ering through tbo retailers charging so much above the price paid to the. producer." The President explained that, as secretary of the Waimea branch, ho had under instructions foflov/ecl up this matter, and was finally advised that the selling price- was fixed not to exceed 15 per cent, additional to purchase price plus 'transport charges. The remit was withdrawn, in view of the President's remarks.

Mi Taylor moved, and Mr Cook seconded, the adoption of the following remit from the Waimea branch: - "That the Minister of Railways be asked to divert the railway line at the Annesbrook crossing1 to overhead, so as to prevent the danger to life and public property."

The motion was, after full discussion, adopted, as was the following remit from the same branch:—"'That "this conference appoint a delegate to confer with other representatives from the various local bodies concerned, with a view to bringing before the authorities the danger at Annesbrook railway crossing."

It was further resolved that the incoming president be the delegate to represent the conference, the secretary to write to the other ,'oeal bodies interested, asking them to take the matter up and appoint delegates to givf; effect to the previous resolution; also that Messrs Field and Hudson. M.IVs, be requested to assist. The local bodies named were the Nelson City Council, Waimea County Council, Richmond and Motueka, Borough Councils, Stoke Road Board, Takaka County' Council, and Nelson Chamber of Commerce. ELECTION OF OFFICERS/ ' The election of officers resulted as follows:— President: Mr F. Whitwell. •■ Vice-President: Mr G. L. Mead (3 nominations). Executive: Messrs C. P. Hu<j;onin, F. W. Gibbs, Walter Thorn, Taylor, Good-i nil George Dodson, j. G. Page, George Winter, E. W. Frost, H. J."Weils, A. N. Wilkinson, B. M. Field, H. T. Cook. , Treasurer: air W. D. Harkness. Auditor: Mr K. B. Goodall. Delegates to Dominion Conference; The President and Mr B. M. Field. (Mr Walter Thdrn was-appointed-to take the place of either delegate not able to go.) Thy office of secretary is. an appointment that rests with the Executive. THANKS. On the moi.'bn of Messrs "Withers and Frost, a very hearty vote of Elian ks was accovded the retiring president, wfio had held the office for -several years and given a great deal of time to the work. It was the opinion that to Mr Thorn's efforts "was due a good deal of the credit for the progress the Farmers' Union had made in the district. Mr Thorn acknowledged the vote, Raying that lie had not done all he, would have liked to do, but' ho had done what he was able, and "having so many other matters in hand he was glad to hand over the reins to his successor. . , A vote of thanks to the press concluded the conference, which occupied the greater part of the day.