FARMING INTERESTS

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXVII, Issue 7960, 4 February 1930, Page 2

FARMING INTERESTS

NEED FOR BETTER ORGANISATION HANDICAPS AND TAXATION ADDRESS TO WAIHI UNION The monthly meeting of the Waihi branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union was held on Saturday evening in the reading room of the Miners’ Hall, Mr L. G. Roberts presiding. The usual business was suspended to hear an address by Mr A. E. Robinson, provincial secretary of the union, and the chairman, in opening the proceedings, said the visitor would hardly need introduction as the members had had the pleasure of meeting him on previous occasions, and would be very pleased to hear his views again.

Mr Pobinson, after saying that he was pleased to have a further oppor-' tunity of tahdng to the Waihi members, explained the scheme for the better organisation of the union and for giving local, members an opportunity of getting into touch with other branches in the Hauraki Plains and Coromandel territory. The establishment of sub-provinces would auto-, matically permit of a representative sitting on the Auckland executive, and this would give the district the right to elect its own representative. This full acceptance of the democratic principle should be followed Up by farmers giving the union still more of their confidence. Unless farmers agreed to speak with one voice it 1 was hopeless to expect to get the rest of the community to listen to them and there were great problems facing the farming community. Questions such as rating, the Customs tariff and the allocation of the benzine tax weye enormously important to farmers. Dealing more particularly with tariff, said the speaker, it was generally assumed that the consumer paid. This, however, was not so, although it was true enough that the consumer paid in the cost of the articles he bought, but merchants, dealers and traders generally added duties to the landed cost of goods, and imposed the profit on the total cost, charging these up to cusI tomers.

THE FARMER’S BURDEN The labouring class under the Arbitration Act was entitled to increases in wages corresponding with the increased cost of living. Lawyers and other professional men increased their fees. It would be found that almost the only class unable to pass on the burden of protective taxation, with perhaps the exception of men receiving wages and having families of more than two children, was the farming class. With regard to the benzine taxation, Mr Robinson stated that the allocation of this was outstandingly unfair. There were about 40,000 miles of roads contributing towards the benzine taxation useable by motor cars and the dwellers thereon owning motor cars, but only some 10,000 miles of roads, mostly between centres of population, received any benefit from the benzine taxation. The position was that there were approximately 68,000,000 miles of roads formed and unformed in the whole of *he Dominion and about 40,000 miles useable by motorists, while about 30,000 miles contributed to the benzine tax, yet, as already pointed out, only about 10,000 miles received any benefit from the tax. Thus about’a quarter of the total mileage was maintained at the expense largely of the backblocks roads. After one or two questions on the subject of tariff had been answered by Mr Robinson, the chairman moved a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker for his interesting address. This was seconded by Mr Howes and carried by acclamation. A vote of thanks by Mr Robinson to the chairman was also carried by acclamation.