Farmers' Union

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12290, 24 June 1903, Page 3

Farmers' Union

WATCHFUJUNESS TRjE FARMERS' UNION MOTTO. The following, paper was read by • 3tfr E. C. Meredith at a meeting of ,tho Oafcjura branch of the Farmers' ■> Union: — 1 have ihougjht long and seriously .as to what shouid be the present worjk qf the Farmers' Union, and have <?ome io the conclusion that it mjU9t be diligent watqhfuiuess ; a . watchfulness that makes- itself felt and known with a clear indication that behind the watchfulness is a power, which in the end, can and ' wiil insist on the reforms it now only suggests . To make my intoning dear and to * begin at the top of tihe tree; we must watch the proceedings ' in the Hb;use "with the greatest care, and each. j\. ineassre brought forward which, in . A— any way touches our interests, nrtust £^receive our xnost ihorounjh. attention. egiXJiir views with- regard to it should <rbe made known to the member who represents us. If it is a measure affecting the whole farming population, as in all probability it wouM be, the attention of theProSniieial Executive should be drawn to it and o jf .steps taken to it before e»very ia "branch of the Union. There is every probability that ihe question of the „1 ( freehold v-ill ha,ve to be faced ere long. Deputations from the Progresr- £,, sive Liberal Association, Women's Institute, Socialist Party, and Trades. ; C 1 Union interviewed the Premier in March last at OhristdUvrrcli ' re pjur^tfhase of .- land in Canterbury, and ' here is an extract from the Aiicjkland Weekly News of March 19bh.~ Mr H."Atkingon said that he wished tq.pro- * test strongly against tihe -GoVerMoeoit parting with any of its freehold. Doing it meant robbing iuifare generations of their birthright/-' "Mr W. Enson supported iihis . and urged the necessity for a revaluation clause in connection with Grown leases. Mr E^Jofoms, President of ihe Trades and Labcjur (Council, Mr A.. Smith, ami Mrs -8-.* Pa^re tJpoke in the same direction. Mr T. E. 'Taylor, 3I.Hi.E-. said he objected to the alienation of another acre of Crown lanjcl. He believed that there was a growing desire for revaluation. In tie North Island lancl was let at a merely nominal rental on which there would be cities within 50 years 1 /' ■ . . Now, Gent (emeu, the freehold is !a Britons birthright. Shall ',w*e '' ]ai,i sjiuietljr down ami allow the'^lwelfer^ Sn towns to rob .oSurselves and oiur children of what mosi of us, value as •xleajrly as our lives'? Is there a man r axn'ongst us who will not labojur bheerfully from dawn I till darlc to make or keep his farm his own, and are we "to be deprived of our roost Valued possession at the 'bidding of the Trades- Union ? More than that, they "revaluation "regardless of the fact that though land may halve increaseel in value so also have wages, increased, arid the proid-ujcts of their industry required by tihe farmer Jiave increased in price likewise, thougjh wheat, etc., produced from the land lias not proportionately increased in value. Hear what the. TaVanaki Herald says on the sofojept. (The clislptoto referred i/o is the furniture- tratle dea)dlock): "The question for our consideration Ss how the dispute is going io affect the farming community, upon which in the long run high wages and higib 3 prices in the towpis mtast react.'' For-ft^-roer increases of wages in ihe furni— | and other trades halve been grant"*ed by employers, who have simply passed them on to their cujptomer®, that is, tfee fanning com/m(ttnity, anW fi the latter hsJye had to p"ay mpre an[d ' more for iheir requirements- by rea— !» son of the higher wages paid, in nearoily, all branches of iwdMstry, /This par- , increase cannot, however, be $p passed on, because* the farmer can « get what he wants from, Syilney or elsewfcere through, the importing hotuses withblut paying the increased price that would have to be demanded were the higher rates of pay con- * «eded. If the parties to the present ! gtruggle are allowed to fight- the qnesout between themselves, iilj msay r r^.vth'at a cojapromisc will be reached, that the customers will n<rt. be V^yffected. But -a suggestion cornea (/ i&om Wfellihgton that the duty upon "''ffaj>orted fnmiture sSnovM be raised, to enable the irfcreascid rale o£ wages to be paid. This brings xi» to a question of immense import— * ance to the farming community. J,i it becomes a recognised policy that duties shall be raised wherever and whenever necessary to permit of higher ' wages being- paid to industrial work--itiW' w^ GrG is i* to stop ? The urban ' would not be pirejudicially because all trades wpuid be , treated % alike, arid wages would go'^p ' I^ll round. The boot operative would be able to pay ntore for his •furniture because his own wages would be rai»*'d, and the furniture operative wiould, for the same .reason, be able to pay ctore for his boots, -anid &o on through. ..I the inxlus'tries. But the farmer's position would be different. Those living in the vicinity of large towtns migibt be able to maflce a little mjore jcxut of their milk and eggs, and -minor ■ 3teod<ucts of me farm, with which they fjeiojuld supply the town. 1 *- <3enerally 'peaking, hoyvever, the raising ol c *ages and prices in the cities would have little or no cfiect upon, the prices' receiver! 1»y the farmers for their produce. Thn whea'tgrower finds- hi» price regulated as a rule by ihe miarikete of the world ; so with the pasH»orali»t and the dairyman. London, practically- lixe» the prices they receive 4ov the main fstafrhh of pro r d!uee. "W^xilc thi« is the cahc it in io their distinct disadvantage that all their requirements in ihe way of m'ariufaetured goods-t^hiall be artififeially made dearer io them- in order to pewnat of higher wages being paid in "t(he towns." Now, ili my burrtbJe oi?Jinjon, not a mingle 51.H-.lt. Ihrougihout the colony should be left in dpubt as to our views on the •sjubject. It in a question !tha^ pre-eminentty affeck the owners,

and would J bo owners of laad, in other words, the fanner. A^e we not taxetl directly or indirectly for every product of the country, and every article consumed in it ? Euffciher direct taxa. tion on" our land. as. implied by revaluation needs our strongest protest and should have it, for see what the Breniier says in the interview before alluded to; "There is no doubt that the lands of the colony are greatly tijndef valued, probably 30 to 50 -per cent, but the Com,ttnis!sdoner of Taxes is no\v m&king fresh valuations. To come to matters which affect ourselves as a branch, I think the &<*• tion of all local bodies should be kept well n view. Just now the Bjarboau' Boaxsl seems to cFaiin o,ur Special attention. It is I believe generally conceded ' that ' the time has come wh^n, the harbour must bo improved atvd, extended.- The growing trade and advancement of the distinct demand this?. Now the, question to - be settled is, Hbw is this to be done ? The repbi't. and Suggestion of the coirimjttee appointed to answer ijhis question as/ piublisibed iv tfhe Taranajki News of May 19, seemte fair enough on the face of it, but can we tpust the Harbojur Board to carry out the impr-oyenients without further taxation, as it woMld seem they propose doing ? Retmsr^ber our intoney has been squandered in the ,past by costly but useless experiments by increase of salary to already wellpaid officials, etc. Here comes in tEe need of. watchfulness*?. Let each mem Iber of the Board bo swre his every action is being- closely' scaniied and comnncirted on by those whom he re-, presents and depenicj, on it he will have a powerful, incentive to straight forward dealing and s&riet economy.More than that, at the ffrst deviationfrom the promised path, let & strong deputation waii on the Board and protest against it. J Similarly the action of the County 'Council witjn -regard to the expenditure of . our rates needs a watchful eye. Good roads aye essential to the farmer, and it iafhis business t~o see that this "woiik is being proceeded witji in an economical ana elective manner. At the last meeting you will rotnenir ber I iirew your attention to the cosjt Of stone brea/kitig by crusher or by hand. Each district returns its urember as its m'ohitih-pieco, knclif that rrunnber is not doing his' work in a satisfactory manner, well, at the next election seek and return a better, mfcn. So with Road, Boards, Laifd Boards-; Hospital Board, Education Board, all and everything in fact which, affectsthe pjufolic weal. Let' \is all and eacit take a live interest in what is going on and by our protest when things go wrong, help to make them better. But there is one thing we'iraust insisj on if we are really to bo a power in the land, and that is perfect unity. . \l^hataver the matter brought forward; let it be well -threshed out in debate, put to the vote, and the de-^ cision of the majority mjust be Unal. No body of men aver existed with the aam©- vie\\*s on cfvery subject (it would saj* little for their intellect if such did exfsdL), but when once the majority decides as to which is best, individual opinion must be dnqp^erf. Ou.r busi-.-ness then is to pix»ve how consolidated is our unions For example the Provincial Hxecutive miu&t be able to say: 'Such a branch consists of 50 members, here are 50 votes from ther«. Have iio .backslider^.. A brolcen strand in a rope has lost many a valuable Hfe. The man Who, is not with , us is against us. Turn him out: Better be one less in iiumiber than harbour a traitor in the cam(p. I, as you all know, am a Conservative to the:'baokbone, bjut I am a farmer and a member of the Union, and I pledge, 37011 my word I will vote as that Union decides*. Measures, not party, mtuatbe Qtir first" consideration. It is nonsense to say the Faitnera' Union is not political: It could not exist if it ignored politics, bait party politics m/ust find no plaice in it. Ss far as the H!o)ise is concerned, this mlatter is of course shelved for the present, bait if the Union is, as I said before, to be the pio.wer- it ujidoiibtefclly can be, there miust be no uncertainty as. to the un&y of action of Qvery moiniljer on every question, and.it cannot be too' i»oon -to inlpress this on ijhe minds of all. Now one worcl as to who should watch. Eabh and every one. Bont leaye the .work to your chairman and Elxecsutive. You are the Union as well as tney. If I miay suggest, extracts -fi-ooi. papers oould be cut out by any and all, memorandum's made of anything that comes uinder our personal observation which either needs "reform or ealla for commendation. These ciould be brought' forward for discussion at the various meetings. The i Executive will tpke oare that a.repiort of these meetings roach the local <p*iiperst, anil thus it will be seen by all. [those whom it may concern t*hat .we are very much alive. I cannot help thinking that this watchfulness, coupled, with the fact that we hp>d the power to compel reform, will quietly yet effectively prodHice the reformation we desire, witihout any violent resolutiono,ur present menVber is credited with calling the farmers dogs. Well, Mr Smith, we will .be dogs "an so it please you," waibchdogs of the gooA oM British bulldog type. But don't flatter yoursfclf we are asleep in the kemncls to" which you wished to. drive us ; we are extremely wide awalce, prepared to , defend wfth tooth atJW nail the freedom procured for us with the best blood of the ancestors. I- must apologise for ta.lung.-iip so nfu,ch ,of your %'aluable time, but m^. great annbiti on is to see tho Fatmera union 'a union imdeecl, and our branch the brandh par excellence. ,T trust some other pen than mine will at tho noxt meeting taike up the diseuasion, anilshow u« any means by wjhlch avo can arrive aib so desirable a eonouni-, m'a'tiQn.

"£200,000" FOB A HEALTHY STOMACH." And a physician, a man thoroughly versed in tne science of medicine, possessed of all the arts of drugdom and of an accurate knowledge of anatomy, cewinot find a remedy which will restore the power of digestion. THE I>RIZE TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS. INBI.OEST.IO.N. The robber of health, the bane of existeince, ike aaflper 6f vitaJiiy, the foundation of the ills that flesh is heir "to. PEARSON'S PEPTO-OHLOE "Has reiie-ved thousands of Sufferers. Wjhy not yo,u ? Pep'to-.Chlor acts at dnce on the digestive ordains, an,cl reUelves indigestion in three days. To ensure safety against sjubstitutes or imitatiojis, Orlawdo Pearaoti's sigtnattiro olppears on ihc seal of every bottle. "Healthy digestion depen;da* upon the flow of these , secrotio,iis in> the stomach. By an abundance of "good living" the secretive glanlds are over- 1 taxed, become sluggish, . dormant, onti finally Hiiop the s.upply of secretiotis. T,hen ihe lood, iustead of ttAdng the course inteifded by Nature^ rots in iihe sftomaoh,, g r e«erate& a gas and prodiuces all the. horrors of indigestion. P-E^VKSON'S PJSPTO-OHLOR will aboua'o ydu. want to give proof of t(hi» claim. We ,oan gijve tno names and adidrefsses i of h'UJfdre/ls of prominent men ami women cured fey lIEA'RSON'S PSSPTOC'HLOR.