ROYAL INQUIRY INTO WANGANUI SHEEP INDUSTRY

Wanganui Chronicle, 26 November 1948, Page 6

ROYAL INQUIRY INTO WANGANUI SHEEP INDUSTRY

Long And Short-Term Problems Referred To In Evidence Put Before Dominion Commission

Further evidence regarding the long and short-term problems of farmers of the Wanganui district was presented to the Royal Commission on the Sheep Industry when if. continued its Wanganui sitting yesterday in the City Council Chambers. Most problems were discussed from the viewpoint of the farmer on second and third-class lands.

The chairman of the Commis sioi\ is Mr. R. H. White, and associated with him are the Hon. R Eddy. M.L.C.. and Messrs. L. C. Gardiner, W. F. Metcalfe. W. A. Scaife, H. W. Youren and L. W. Woods (economist secretary).

When the Commission resumed yesterday morninc evidence was given by Mr- J. L. Mason, of' Raorikia. After he had been subjected to cross-examination the Commission resumed cross-examination of the members of the committee of Federated Farmers who prepared evidence on behalf of the Wanganui Provincial Executive. The cross-examination of these witnesses occupied a considerable portion of the afternoon of the first day of the hearing, the evidence being given during the morning of the first day. The cross-examination concluded at midday when Mr. F. J. Bilton (Waverley) submitted evidence on behalf of settlers of Makakaho Valley for the completion of this road to Raetihi via Pipiriki. The first witness yesterday was Mr. J. L. Mason, farmer, of Raorikia, who outlined the history and operation of his farm. In suggesting remedies, Mr. Mason said that the back-country rates must have some relief. Amalgamation of ridings would help but some of the funds from the mam highways should be diverted to the outback ridings. Adequate fencing was necessary to enable more cattle to be carried safely. Posts at £4O, wire at £7B 15s, and battens at more than £3 10s a 100 became prohibitive when freight and packing had to be added. NEED FOR MANURING. Dealing with housing. Mr. Mason said there should be suitable accommodation for married men either on individual farms or in a rural district. “This is a young man’s country but it is hard to get that type of settler or employee if he cannot secure decent living conditions for his family, especially when young. Here it may be mentioned that the excessive cost of even the plainest cottage, tends to capitalise the whole farm and further acids to the rateable value without appreciably augmenting the immediate receipts. “I suggest sft. or 6ft. galvanised iron should be made available to enable the erection of permanent whares at suitable points on a farm where men require to work. Tents at present are expensive and of poor quality and require frequent replacement. At present iron cannot be allocated for such a purpose, but I cannot suggest a substitute where packing out is a factor. ‘ Where scrub is too thick to leave unburnt, it should be adequately sown. Subterranean clover is valuable if given a chance to get established. No scrub should be burnt standing. Top-dressing a second burn is no doubt a success, but here again fencing is the factor Under most existing conditions a paddock that has been cleaned up ot scattered scrub is too big to shut uo all at once, with the result that the newly sown grasses never get a chance and I am sure much seed and time and money are thrown away in this manner.”

Dealing with scrub cutting, Mr. Mason said that if some form of assistance could be evolved to finance scrub cutting, he thought it better to subsidise the job rather than ,' and reimburse the farmer on the completion of the work regardless of what I labour he used to have it carried out. ’ His experience of the 4B scheme in the past was that they were most un-j saTisfactory. The class of labour was I poor in the extreme and the cutting) was disgraceful. SOCIAL AND SCHOOL AMENITIES. Outlining the disabilities of farming) in his area, Mr. Mason said lack; of social amenities and school facilities’ were serious where a young married; man was engaged and this type of! labour offered one of the best solutions to back-country labour problems. The lack of electric power was particularly serious in the household where the women had, of necessity, not only to feed their ow n families. I but also any help w’hich was kept. Other disabilities were the high cost of top-dressing and freights, high rates combined with poor roading, lack of fencing materials on the country, the high cost of packing all material, an ina/iequate rural telephone system, a lack of scrub cutters, and a lack of domestic labour. In concluding his evidence, Mr. Mason said the country was quite productive but the cost of maintenance had reached so high a level that unless some relief could be afforded it was bound to deteriorate further. “In most cases where the income off ! the farm appears reasonably good it will be found that, had that money been applied or if it could have been I applied to maintenance, a much finer picture of this class of farming' would be revealed.” In cross-examination, Mr. Mason said there was difficulty in securing I the right men for scrub-cutting! Young men did not want to work in the country when they could get high wages in the towns. AFTERNOON EVIDENCE. During the afternoon evidence was j given by Mrs. D. C. Waldie on the i conditions experienced by women in areas with poor access and by Mrs. B. J. Annabell on the women's view point. Mr. B. J. Annabell was called to give evidence regarding a property of his which had no access except through a neighbour’s property. Mr. D. C. Waldie gave evidence regarding his farm at the top of the Makakaho Valley. He said the whole block would work much more ef fidently if there was access to Raetlhi instead of through Waverley. Hi said the abandoned land in his area was “not in bad condition.” The land on his farm was ploughable and he had run 17 cows until the price of butterfat had gone down to about fourpence a pound. He thought that if there was a good road the abandoned farms could be brought back into production. With the provision of the new road to Raetihi. the district would be only about 45 minutes from a town, a doctor, and a railway station. The farms had been abandoned because of poor access. After private evidence had been submitted by farmers the Commission adjourned until 9 a.m. today.