FARMERS’ RELIEF LEGISLATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1935, Page 15

FARMERS’ RELIEF LEGISLATION.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—When Mr. Polson was speaking at Urenui he evidently went into the above subject very thoroughly and gave a few instances of what liberal treatment the farmers had received from the Relief Commission. He quoted one farmer on 220 acres milking 60 cows who received £368 a year maintenance and wages for himself and wife, one man and a boy. This surely must be an extreme case, as the amount received by that farmer amounted to over £6 per cow. With the low prices for butterfat that have been ruling for the past few years there would not be much left for the farm maintenance.

Mr. Polson must be aware that there have been many bad cases of severe hardship imposed on farmers. There is one, for instance, who was milking the same number of cows, but was allowed only £l2O per annum, while at the same time the stock firm was charging him 10 per cent, interest. It cost him £3O to go before the Relief Court, and he was left to pay the expense of a few hours before the court out of his hard- earned allowance.

It is very hard to follow the findings of the court, and some fanners seem to get very liberal treatment and others are treated shamefully. The Relief Court seems to have strange ideas as to what a reasonable allowance for a farmer is, but it certainly makes no mistake when it comes to solicitor’s fees, as the above figures will show. The weak spot in the present legislation is that a farmer cannot appeal against any decisions of the court.—l am, etc., SPOTLIGHT. Stratford, Nov. 25.