Union Amongst Farmers.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12290, 24 June 1903, Page 7

Union Amongst Farmers.

' ITS ADVANTAGES. AN ADDRESS BY Ull J.G, WILSON At the close of':the .Farmers' Union Conference on Friday, Mr J. G. Wilson, President of the Colonial Council of tho Union, delivered an, address on the advantages of- tf,ai'mers uniting to further their own, and the general good. „.<;.,. ■ . , .<on rising to speak the President was received with hearty, applause. Mr Wilson, said if gave hini ( groat pleasure to receive •an invitation to address the < : Conferehce, but those present must, not, be disappointed at any want of- rhetorical power in his speaking. The good fairies attendant on i his birth had not blessed him with a fluent tongue; nor. had he kissed the blarney '.stone.' , After referring to the pleasure ', which a' visit to' New Ply- ! mb'uth, always helcl^ for him, with its 'many old-world associations and the dnique history; of the town* Mr Wilson spoke of Mourit' Egmoht, which stood , in their, midst, lofty and splendid, to inculcate high ideals. The Swiss were in the habit of taking off their hats to Mont Blanc when it was l unco verod, 'and the people of Taranaki should do the same to Egmont, for the mountain was a great factor in tho prosperity of the district. It was, in fact, a national asset. Mr Bryce once w aid, the ypeaker remembered. &t a dinner commemorating an incident in the history of the district some years ago. that every great mountain had "under its shadow a prophet. '; That was in reference to , the well-known Maori

Chief, To Whiti. Well, now in thi^ instance they had also a "profit;'' — from' the co\^. /He was pleased indeed to -note the prosperity which was so evident in, the district, all owing to ,the cow, and to the mountain which exercised such, a beneficial effect on ,the dairying industry by reason of the plentiful supply of rain whi^h its presence secured. There was only one thing wanting* Every farmer should join the- Union, and that would complete his measure of success. Farming 'was one of the oldest occupations of %ian, and the most hOn : ourable. The farmer had in eli'ect to feed and clothe the world. If he produced 'more than he required for his' own use he must find a market for the surplus among- his fellow men. In the present case this market wag ''in; London. The farmer . in New Zealand was dependent on- the outside market' en|ire;ly,; a:- position: Y&y ".different from; that of most, of the tradespeople, vfhpse^ -marked vsas dxi l-t^pl community. ■T.h, ©,- : action! 01. jthe / ■ /trades unjions;hjadttinereaaed'.the»;bost/ pi. living.' employe^ oj-jjabour , could; ."jKit taUittte ■ movb. Qn-t the^ ppicfe xof his 'gQOldsila'n.d\sp, make J4P; for the ,addi-' •tjdnail «osti.'of:l-prQd'i|ction» i;lßut with' -the if arm er.. th'e, case r was-. '"not? .tho same. He had practically\to take t tyh;at was'! gijeoc/hinj f iiiqthe * London; madset.;TJiis showed the need for- com.bin v atipn* i -that' < ; principle"/ oj jiso-operation,\which|' } .na,d, ( aJbt3eadydprok'.ed -s,uch a- success jin 1 ' Taranaki, shoidd- be /rnor^, wijd^ly <p>> tftntjefi. Jd^iESt&nct'dj &..c#sje...whiqh 9c-' CurraTin Nelson. There on^ .signs of a r ' h£l\ h_Ppt crop i -^broad ; S^ftfonibinatipn pi ;A,,fe\y-:aincb'viGjuals % had" brought upaJjCtjava^labiOn^tock^ , r^pja u wfeen for-; eign crops absolutely failed .ithe coin-*-bine.niade &. large thaul.au'd the. grow-> not ge(i.n any. r^dyantjage— all 'through want of combination, amongj -.-;*<• „ I<■ '• ii „ Farmers were', how^yev, I;.'1 ;.' diffio^lt peopkiijjp d.e.ali'jvibh>i usuallyi wiclely separated from the jrr, fellows/ ,and ;^re^ was. „alw&y43 al ;.tro'uble • in. i getting,. i themj^tpget^iißi' even ( t^;,-4iscussf matters vitally affecting theaa?,.jown in-'^ .toresji^.,;.. ,Jn ; Jn^ay-., qa'^./badf'.rpad'sC wei;e..j to ;>tye. t , .-faced,, for, (wjiich ij* .was necessary that '"^ie state of $&? moon I should. ', .ber-.cqnsit^«?rc>i • in, ;ftxing {'■ their. meeymg^ io il l he^ki i iactl.nigh,"i?aiid r jthere Avere,,\a, . hundred ,imd, ohe s Qthjar things to be thought of, in addition, -'iar tpo ;9&e}V; r tp.ijho %r^ners,'' ow»l?»differ,ence.; But in towins aU'thi§i>yas altered/ The' man of business learned to be punc-p-tuj%l, i'oajid Lhtecwas,- promj[it ito a.itejid .%ny meciaogvto cQnsidetfi patters ,i, i afjjfeftting-. his. I. butiJiess., - Thus . public~.op.inionT^whip^'resiUylo^'asi only.ua jrfeflexof the opinions expmSse/J at .s,these . fornied.) , But the .*farmors .had. :;np."t.i the oi-.the <tp>vn;. -auxen*uto;: .and tfexohange thoughts on the things which so.£§ar. ly affected ihem. Never before, he' supposed', had the concrete views ( of the farmers of Taranaki been so clearly placed before the public as they were now, through the medium of the. Conference just' cr6sed,""~aSsistesJ"T3y" & übiquitous Pressi Even an M.H.R. who spoke up in the interests of the farmers had hitherto received litjtle or no .encouragement. Now, however, farmers had been shown the need for combination. , On every • hand they saw the different trades combining to protect theit in-. terests., 1-'1 -' ■ „;,. - , :',. Coming to the question of fir 6 insuiiailce Mil Wilspn one jthwig seamed certain, tha'f 'the insurance; companies had ' combined ' against- . the farmers. That was alright from : . their point of view, no doubt ; but the ' farmers must show them they could, meet the combination. The Farmers' Union had tried to obtain redress, but had failed so far. ~ There were 23 companies doing business in New Zealand, ■ and five were registered in the colony.^ These five - had a paid-up capital of £462>000, and a- reserve fund of £819, 000. They paid from ten to 22 per cent, interest to shareholders. Where, Mr Wilson asked, would a farmer be found similarly favoured ? It 'was obvious that tho case was one in which farmers - deserved some redress. If the companies would not meet them then they should form a company of their own, by extending the principle of co-operation to cover such a departure. The t best fire risks were the farmers' buildings. One seldom heard of their being burned, and they could be insured at much lesis than the .prevailing rates. —The law provided that a New Zealand registered .company must have a, capital' of at least £25, 000. This was a considerable sum, but not beyond their reach. Mr Sedv don had promised to bring in i& State, •Fire Insurance Bill, but he (Mr Wilson) hoped this would not clash with Mr Kirkbride'-s- Insurance Bill. '■ There was an unusual "diversity of occupation; in New ' Zealand V but it was found on investigation that there were ' a certain number of individuals who were primarily producers — the farV iners. Among them' tho movement' for combination had made good progress during the two years of its or- j ganisatiori' ; not as much perhaps as could have" been desired, but as much as could be idone. . 1

The Farmers' Union had had to exclude the disturbing element of party politics. But there was »a great difference between party politics' and'poJitics in general. The former resolved itself eyentually into a question of the "Ins" and the' "Outs," and it really did not matter much to the farmer who was in power. On the other hand it was a matter of great moment to the farmers whether certain legislati6iv should be passed or not. This being the case the Farmers' Union had to decide on a platform, and this was 'mainly to encourage co-oper-ation among farmers'. He instanced cases where this was being acted upon. At Akaroa the farmers had combined to clean and soil their' own grass seed output. At Kaipara they were now going to co-oporate for some other reason. This co-operative influence was one of tho greatest hopes of the farmers. Mr Wilson referred to the fact that in 1889, when the gold, output' dropped ho seriously, a number of Italians found themselves hard prensed. ' One of their number initiated a' co-oporativd concern to deal with' manures. Now. they and the farnwrs, were all better off as a result of this* movement. " "V- . Dealing with .tho question of freehold, the lecturer saM it was signific-, ant that the people in Ireland, where' ithe leasehold system had been tried] for hundreds of years, word now lighting for the freehold just as the people were in Now Zealand. They had a»ked the English y to" give them £12,000, 000 to put them on the land as» freeholders. "Yet' here i in NewW Zealand

people were being denied .the. right to acqtuire the freehold. There was something attractive about the name of freehold, which came down to us fromour forefathers; It was not difficult to imagine the' delight felt by -slaves when they at last obtained their freedom. It was almost pathetic to < see so many farm labourers, after long years of toil, at last in a position to acquire' the little bit of coveted freehold. The farm labourer who was looking forward to owning a piece, 'of land himself was the man most to be desired and enwuraged. But he would not touch leasehold, and here in New Zealand he was denied right to any l freehold. The' farmers were experts in* their 7 business^. They had tasted the fitters of experience, and- they did not wish' to be serfs !of the State for all time. Some of those present were descended from or related to the early settlors of Taranalii ; men and women who had gone forth from their old homes and travelled 16,000 miles on the hope of obtaining and building up homes of their, own. Otherwise it was not likely they would haye 1 . s faced the dangers' of the deep and the ' Vicissitudes of early settlement. They could have obtained plenty of leasehold at Home ; but they "did not" .waiSt it. 'The 1 - tJnion had : been the means of directing ' attention to this matter of- the freehold, and now Ministers, were' giving it -their serious attention. He (the speaker) hop-" ed next session- to see legislationbrought 4 in to give leaseholders theright to acquire the freehold, and he thought Mr Seddon recognised the importance of this fact. The Premier Svas interviewed at Christchurch pn the subie ( ot of revaluations^ and he replied that he waS ,at one with the deputation, but , it was,' .too ' early yet for the Government ,to do anything. There might be a difficulty in hanging on to the three systems of land tenures at present in vogue, and' he believed the Government would have to let the freehold become lii' fact Mr Seddon had' said in effect that "if the people Avanted the freehold they must :have it." (Applause). Mr "Wilson, 'speaking, of the Customs, said the general run of former 1 , was a free trader ; but the Customs revenue could not be dispensed .with."- In relation to the mluch discussed preferential tariff' Mr 1 Chamberlain had given a lead which the colonies should fol- t low. This, was alright if . done in a certain w.ay r ,,,/ Canada, had decided to give a rebate of jten per cent, of duties on British manufactured goods. [But Mr Seddon, said, "Let us be' patriotic, and put more d^ty on, goods j from foreign countries and keep our' j own ,the same." This r was exactly opposite to what should be. (Loud ap- ; plause). It .was an adroit, move of i the J?rerniei;'s, and must . be watched. The farmers Svould ' do well, too, tonote how their members voted when*, the matter came before them in the House. A most important element of the present day was education. Mr Wilson queKjtjbned whether the average farmer realised , what education and. j science' had- done' for him. • Many held the idea that the scientific men. had simply worked t to fill their own pockets, but he instanced several men who had done naueh ior their fellows, and

gained nothing for themselves. If' farmers wished to keep in the procession they must adopt the latest scientific methods. He asked' 1 them to look back 20 years, and .compare the state lof affairs then, "bqftore . the separator : had, been developed.^ with .'that of today. Of course the perfection of the [refrigerator' had, keen -a great thing for New Zealand, in rendering themeat exports possible. - Their meat export was' now 'something like £4, 000$00" P annually., and dairy produceexports £1,500,000/, Imaging what the colony" '" would be without" these ! But 1 England maintained th^ open do&r • policy, and the people of New Zealand had to • compete, against the whole world. They must educate their producers as much as" possible. The Department of Agriculture had done (much, and experts were always willing to show all they knew to those anxious to learn. ,But the fanner, it was found, would not^goto be educated; education must , b? brought to him, They should -recognise the, value of education, especially of the kind which dealt with dairy produce, and should see that when an expert came amongst them full advantage was taken of his presence. In order to battle with the ( world they should endeavour to - have as much scientific "education as possible, Jn conclusion, Mr "Wilson urged that j .when ' delegates went back to their - homes they should place all the „ matters recently " discussed before their branches^ and see that full interest was nipi^tained jia all matters affecting them. '• , ' ' . 'The lecturer then resumed his seat, amid applause. . . ( t . •-- , On the"* motion 'of Mr Boddie a hearty vote o thanks was accorded to Mr WJlson by acclamation. <• The audience, among whom were sa number of townspeople then dispersed.

I Across Niagara, Otto Peiersen, ofBrooklyn, intends to iyo lianging 1 fc\\ his teeth from a leather strap, says a New York telegram, dated 23rd* published in a Canadian news!pap©Y, cofonectdl with a f-inch wire, while i gusfpended from 1 his bocly by a leather harness ho carries a man of' his owji weight — 1301 b. Petersen's qualifieajtions for the feat are boi-ng boomeil by the Danisih Athletic- Club of South (Brooklyn, of which he is a physical [director. The CWb has placed a I wager of 200 dollars that he will do the feat,. Harry anil Nelrj- Nlurch txr.d Poter .Garbtui-g are his baqkers. Reticently Petersen held, a I^-inch bar of wrought ii'on in his teeth, wlhile cix mjon, three ,on either side of him, bent it in the form of a crescent. At t'hb club he has also entertained bis friends by breaking No.- 8 Jack steel chains wihioh .wore bolted.? .to 1 the floor, by pulling- on them., with bis teeth. 1 Up has lilted 700 potunds with his teeth, anld haa, l}.uiy>; Nusjpejnided by his .teeth for lialf an hour,, , The, main fallp atNiagara are. about 1000 feet wide. With a slanting 'wire Petersen hopes to cross them in six minutes. People wonder how the Melbourne Olothifig-" ConlpAny. manages to k?c!1 t at ;the famous low prises.. It. Is a very simple matter. "Wo,, buy , f°r .casb.-^-cash- on tho nail. That a strung pull on/ the discounts md concessions and -those paiss }-<a to # our ouslomerri. We ydl for 6po'fc c«tah', mo books, no bad ' debts, no Ai small profit /pay** us.- There -yout have Ib© whole secret.* ' ' ' Printing of every description neatly executed at the Herald Office.