TARANAKI FARMERS' CLUB.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 182, 23 July 1900, Page 2

TARANAKI FARMERS' CLUB.

i The annual meeting of the Farmers' i Olub was held at the Club room on ' Saturday, when' a fair number of 1 members were present. Mr. H. Okey j presided. i The balance-sheet was road, showing t receipts £SO 2s 2d, and expenses .£4B 1 2s 6d. Liabilities, £l9 Gs lid; asssts ; (including furniture, £l3), £l4 19s . 8d; deficiency, £4 7s 3d. 1 The following report was also read : 1 —"Your committee has now to meet ' you and make the usual annual report [ of work done by the club during the j past year. At the last annual meeting ; it was shown that the number of mem- ' bers had fallen off, and, unfortunately, J this year shows a still greater reduction: whereas last year 93 members paid their subscriptions, only 67 have j done so this year. We have also to t report that at the end of 1899 Mr. ) Kelsey resigned the secretaryship, ' much to our regret, he being one of ' the originators of the club, devoting ; much of his time and energy to the [ work, and we feel he deserves the ■ hearty thanks of the club for his ser--1 vices in the past. Mr. Fleetwood was [ appointed secretary in his place. A , general meeting of members was held i on May 26th for the purpose of disctssing the financial position of the dub. A letter was read from Mr. Hickman F. Russell, pointing out the | usefulness of the club, and the many | 'advantages farmers derived from such I associations, and suggesting that fifty l members should guarantee an extra 10s 1 each for the coming year, to be only ; called in if required. At the present ; time the guarantee list is only signed by thirty-five members. At the same meeting Mr. J. B. Connett was asked i to represent the club at the Agricultural Conference, held in Wellington ■ on June 26th. He consented to do so, ' and we have no doubt that when members have heard from Mr. Connett what transpired at the conference, they will agree that such associations as ours should be kept up, as they are a power in the land. The balance-sheet will be read, and you will hear that the financial position of the club is about the same as last year, but owing to certain members not paying their subscriptions ' the liabilities exceed the assets by '£4 7s 3d. It is a great pity the pre-1 1 sent debts cannot be paid off, so as to 1 start next year with a clean sheet. A few new members have joined during 1 the year, and nine more have been pro- < ■ posed for the coming year, . . . The oommittee cannot conclude their report without acknowledging the ser- I vices rendered them by the local Press, { the Department of Agriculture, and * jnore especially by Mr. Connett for J representing the club at the Agricul- 1 tural Conference, and express their ! regret that owing to the low state of ( tbo exchequer they cannot ofier him 1 any remuneration for bis time and i trouble, They also thank Mr. Ambury I for his kindness in auditing the balance- {J slioet." u The Chairman, in moving the adop- « tiou o£ the vejwrtj said that it was tlje *

same old tale as had been told at every meeting—members in arrear with subscriptions, and it was for those present to say what should be done as to the future of the club.

Mr. Westmacott enquired the amount of arrears. The Chairman said it was illß.

Mr. Connett said that he could only reiterate the opinion he expressed at the previous meeting—that it would be a pity if the Club was allowed to fall through. Surely, he said, if the farmers were any good they could and should pay up the 10s. for their subscription. There was no doubt whatever as to the usefulness of the Club, and every effort ought to be made to alter the present unsatisfactory condition of its finances. Possibly the members of the Committee might be able to get in some of the arrears. , In reply to a member, it was stated that the guarantee which some of them had would be inoperative unless the required number (50) signed.

Mr. Westmacott said that unless the' guarantee list was completed the Club would end its existence. He was, however, quite willing to put his hand in his pocket and do what others would do towards keeping it afloat. It was perfectly evident to everyone that Farmers' Clubs were now carrying great weight and influence with the Government, and were consulted on all measures affecting agriculture before being introduced into the House. The report and balance-sheet were then adopted.

A letter was read from tho President (Mr. Foreman), stating he would be glad to continue his membership if the Club continued, but he thought if a sufficient number of guarantors could not be obtained it should be wound up. Mr. R. Turnbull (Vice-President) also wrote wishing the Olub a new lease of life.

I Mr. H, King considered thero was not much life in the Olub if 50 members could not.be found willing to sign the guarantee. The Chairman said that only,those who had attended the meetings had been asked to sign. A canvass had not been made. He suggested that the report of the delegates to the Agricultural Uonference at Wellington should be taken at this stage and called on Mr. Tate to give his report. Mr. Tate (who was received with applause) said that the Conference which met on June 26th was a most repres9ntative one, the different Agricultural Associations being represented from Dunedin to the Wnikato. He ! considered that the secretary (Mr, ; Murphy) deserved great credit for the complete arrangements made for the , convenience of the delegates. The ; business was conducted in a very able way, and all the delegates were punctual in attendance and took a keen interest in all matters under discussion. Messrs. Ritchie, Qilruth, Kirk and other officers of the Agricultural Department were present, and gave valuable assistance in matters brought before the Conference, > He had sent in two items as subjects for discussion, but unfortunately too lato to be included in the schedule, and i that there was no time to take unscheduled business might be gleaned from the fact tbat there were some 61 matters scheduled. Confining his re- ; marks to those questions which would be of interest to this district, Mr. Tate said that the business he brought before the Conference was: The Noxious Weeds Bill; rotation of kctur.s by Government experts; remission of duties on show trophies; adjustment ol 1 dog tax; individualization of native lands infected with noxious weeds; • exemption of co-operative dairies from income tax; appointment of registrars of stock-brands in all centres--, for greater convenience of stock-owners, The Noxious Weeds Bill was one of the most important and thoroughly discussed matters brought before the Conference s and was submitted by the Canterbury and Taranaki representa tives, Tho passing of such a measure had been under discussion for many y.ears, but had always failed, doubtless by reason of the difficulty of framing it so as to suit the various districts in the colony, as what would suit the southern farmers would not meet the difficulties of those in the north. It was generally thought by the Conference that a Noxious Weeds Bill would have little chance of being passed. Mr. Ritchie seheduled a Bill for discussion, and on the motion of Mr. Allen, M.H.R., a committee of seven delegates, with Messrs. .Ritchie and Kirk, was appointed to consider the same. As one of the committee, Mr. Tate said he strongly advocated the administration of the measure should be placed in ti-o hands of local bodies, who would bo more in touch with the requirements of their respective districts, but when this clause -was discussed by tho Conference it was rejected by 20 to 19, Having taken a sample of ragwort (little known to the other delegates) Mr. Tate said that, with the assistance of the Hon. T. Y. Duncan, M.H.R., Minister of Lands, he succeeded in getting that pest scheduled. He was pleased to say that tho efforts of the delegates in that direction would, he hoped, bear fruit, as the Bill was now go ng through the House, and, although the Bill might not be as perfect as it should be, there would be a foundation upon which improvements could be made as experience might show desirable. One of the first matters that came up for discussion was the question of uniform weight of sacks. The Southern delegates wished for a heavier weight than was desired in the North, possibly on account of the heavier weight of their grain, but eventually the minimum weight was fixed at fouv bushels. The size of the sacks is not ; to be reduced, as this would spoil their usefulness for chaff, etc. A resolution ! was carried requesting the Government , to give free passes to judges whili executing their duties in connectioi i *ith shows. It was also resolved to »sk the Government to give gioit't facilities to farmers, to enable thtra to get trucks for conveyance of grao, stock, timber, chall, etc. Both tb> , Egmont and Taranaki Societies brough' up the subject of taxing the 00-opern- . .ive Dairy Companies. As Mi < Oonnett had taken a great part in tin 1 discussion, he (Mr. Tate) would !eav< * Mr. Connett to repirt on that matter. A resolution was proposed by tho il li" < ijates from Canterbury that bui c 1 ineans should boudop.edby hvXit> . >vith a view to reiueiug the number i f jL; ■Ulliviiaß of interior quality piling fotjo;

public patronage. Tho Bubj ect wasone of the greatest importance, as if stallions were taxed according to quality the class of horses would be raised, and that this .was needed »aa exemplified by the large number of horsea lately rejected for service in South Africa There was no doubt that unless some alteration was brought about there would be an increasing deterioration, , The question was very fully discussedj but no satisfactory conclusion arrived at. One pro/osal was that a veterinary examination should be compulsory, but it was pointed out that the services of a veterinary surgeon were not always available. Another proposal was that a tax of £lO should be imposed and the money handed over to the Agricultural Societies for prizes at the shows. This proposal was lost and another substituted fixing the tax at £5, but it met the tame fate. 1 Eventually it was decided that certificates of soundness should be issued at the commencement of each season. While this might be of some use in tb* right direction, Mr. Tate thought it was a pity that the proposed tax had not been adopted. A resolution had been carried in the direotion of. having a registered list of persons qualified to act as judges at Agricultural and Pastoral Associations' Shows, This was a very good plan, as the best judges would be on the register, and it would be easy to choose from the list what judges were required for any particular show, and thus get better judges than was often possible under present circumstances. In relation to a proposal that analysts be employed by the Government in tho principal centres for the purpose of analysing manures and soils, it was pointed out that the Agricultural Department issued forms for that purpose and was always willing to receive and analyse samples. With regard to the | proposal he (Mr. Tate) brought forward as to securing a rotation of expirt lecturers, the matter had been advocated and the prfnciple affirmed at last year's Conference. The discussion this year was on much the same, lines and touched upan the issue of Government leaflets, the value of which was testified to by several speakers. Praise was also given to the Department for the way in which lecturers had bean sent o Farmers' Club?, and it was considered that the Department was already doing all it could in the matter, as, when applied to, they were only too pleased to send one of their lecturers at first opportunity. In conclusion, Mr, Tate said that he had been most ably supported by Mr. Oonnett, and ii any gentleman present wished for any further information he would be happy to give it if he oould.

(To be continued.)