ALLEGED BREACH OF FAITH.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18635, 2 August 1930, Page 8

ALLEGED BREACH OF FAITH.

GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENTS. LEASE AT LINCOLN COLLEGE. Some time ago the Agricultural Department required approximately 100, acres of land in Canterbury for the purpose of conducting experiments with wheat, seed certification and grass seed plots. Consequently the Lincoln Agricultural College Board approached the Government with an offer to lease to the Department two paddocks containing approximately the area required, desiring if possible to have the proposed experiments carried out in the vicinity of the College so that the students might benefit. The Government agreed to take the land, and asked the College authorities to get some of it ready for cultivation. Some five acres were ploughed and the officers of the Agricultural Department laid down two acres in grass seed. Within fourteen daj’s, however, the Assistant Director of Agriculture informed the College authorities that the Government could not go on with the scheme owing to the financial situation. He stated that they had not the £3OOO required to erect necessary buildings on the land, and that was the reason for not going on with the scheme. This left the College in the position of having lost the use of the ground for this year. The foregoing statement was placed before the Timaru-St. Andrews branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union yesterday, in a letter from the Registrar of Lincoln College, and also by Mr N. M. Orbell, who attended the meeting. It was asked that the Union assist the College to the extent of urging upon the Government the value in connection with agricultural experiments of having them conducted where students could profit by them. Mr Orbell said he understood that the Department was now carrying oui. these experiments at Ashburton, but they had no buildings there to the value of £3OOO, and how they were going to spend this amount of money on buildings he did not know. However, it was a breach of faith with the College on the part of the Government. The Board thought that the Union might by resolution ask the Government to reconsider its decision. Mr A. Ward: “It is a distinct breach of agreement.” Mr Orbell: “I don’t know if there was any agreement. The offer was made, and they asked us to do what we did, and now they don’t want to go on with it.” A member: “If you can’t trust the Government whom can you trust?” Mr F. R. Talbot: “Do you think we ought to pass a resolution, and send it on to the Government?” Mr J. Black: “I don’t know that wo should go that length. If the College authorities did not have a proper agreement with the Government, then that is their fault; I don’t consider the Government has done the fair thing, but I question whether we would be doing very much good going Into this matter.” Mr Ward: “I don’t agree. Research work near Lincoln College is a matter of great importance to students at the College and to farmers generally. We should work with one another. In view of this I think it is very much to our interests to back up the Lincoln College Board and I move:— "That we point out to the Agricultural Department the importance of this research work in the vicinity of the College, and urge the Government to reconsider its decision not to go on with the project.” Mr Ward said the College authorities may have been a little lax in not getting a lease signed. Mr Black seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.