STORMY MEETING OF DAIRY FARMERS AT WELLINGTON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17832, 28 April 1926, Page 5

STORMY MEETING OF DAIRY FARMERS AT WELLINGTON.

Per Press Association WELLINGTON, April 28. , The Town Hall concert chamber w-as crowded with dairy farmers for a meeting called to decide the method of electing. members to the Dairy Control Board. The meeting was convened by the Government, and the board having been asked to conduct it, selected Mr W. Grounds as chairman. The lion O. J. Hawkcn (Minister of Agriculture), was present. The first move was a motion that the meeting' select its' own chairman, and the atmosphere immediately became stormy with continual expressions of dissent and aooroval. Mr Grounds said that he w’ould prefer to be on the floor, but regarded the responsibility placed upon him as a duty. He declared the motion entirely irregular and said that he had for the moment lost consciousness of the fact that he was chairman pf the Dairy Control Board. He had been appointed and an}' motion that he should retain or leave the chair would be out of order. The ruling having been accepted, Mr Ilawken addressed the meeting. He said that it was called to assist the Government in working out a system of election. The Act had been brought into force by dairymen and the Government was not likely to interfere unduly with the business of the dairymen. He hoped that the meeting would keep the interests of the dairy industry at heart. Mr Grounds continued in the chair. Mr Yeitch, M.P., moved that the members of the board be elected on the single ward system, with six wards for the North Island and six for the South Island, each producer having one vote. The roll call was then, made, and when Mr William Goodfellow’s name was called with 157 votes, there was a chorus of astonishment, for most of the names represented from one to four votes. Practically all the names called were answered. A voice: Arc those 157 votes present? The chairman : They are. Mr Field's motion was put after .considerable discussion, the reference to one producer one vote being omitted. The voices were about equal. The chairman said that there would have to be a roll call. The question of how the votes should be counted was raised. The chairman then declared the motion carried. Mr Sinclair, who had seconded Mr Yeitcli’s motion, challenged the ruling and called upon those who agreed with him to retire, and a large part of the meeting withdrew. Mr Grounds said that wha had just happened showed clearly that the business would never have got past the basis of voting. A division on the motion was then demanded, and the votes were taken bv- roll, after which the meeting adjourned for lunch prior to the announcement of the result. I (Proceeding.)