FARMERS' UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 316, 30 May 1913, Page 8

FARMERS' UNION.

THE NORTH.'CANTERBURY DISTRICT.

By Telegraph—Press Association. ; Christchurch, Last Night. j ; ; The annual provincial conference of ; the North Canterbury district of the New Zealand Farmers' Union has opened. j i Air. Geo. Sheat, the retiring president, 'in his address, said that they required ■ jto pause and think if the Balkan War j was wholly responsible for the financial ', stringency! When one considered that ( the Advent, of, the rn.ot.or.-ear and. motor- j 'cycle was responsible for the sucking of anything from three to live millions of money in luxury, any reasonable thinker could see that here was the principal treason for the tightness of money. After ! referring to the satisfactory prices for the principal products, he said that the ' grain yields had been disappointing, and I added that when one considered that to igrow a bushel of wheat at the present I price of land and money entails an outlay I of 3s 2d, there was not a very heavy I profit when 3s <sd is the market value of the product, and it was very doubtful whether, if the present price of lambs, ' wool and mutton continues, and labor unrest prevails, the Dominion might not in. the near future find herself importing instead of exporting the necessaries for the staff of life. Added to the cosj; of ■ land were the demands of the workers, who were about to seek the aid of the. Court to decree that all threshing shall be done by the hour system, and not by , Contract., .With the experience of South Canterbury, those threshing under that system had run up to 6d and 7d per bushel, against North Canterbury at 3d, it was quite within the bounds of prob- '. ability that they might have their children crying for bread and have none to give. Referring to labor matters, Ire said that the scarcity of labor still con-' tinned. The Conciliation and Arbitration, Act had proved n. delusion an'd a snare. It became operative when applied to the employer, but was a dead letter whenapplied to the striker. While he gave' Judge Sim credit for being absolutely impartial, the Act was powerless to arrest or deter strikes, and a wages, board seemed to present the only solution of the labor problem. Amongst the remits agreed to were' the urging that, the Immigration Depart-, ment be galvanised into life for the purpose of securing suitable farm and other: laborers and domestics; that where the. Crown deals with Crown lands in any county council area, such county council should be represented in the locating of roads, arranging the subdivision of the lands and the fixing of rentals of the same.