Victoria Debating Society.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XIII, Issue 2387, 3 July 1895, Page 2

Victoria Debating Society.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the above was held on Thursday last. Mr Inglis occupied the chair. The debate arranged for the evening was “ Is pig farming more profitable than dairy farming ?” Mr Gower taking the affirmative, Mr Franklin the negative. Mr Gower commenced by stating that for the purposes of the debate they had decided to take a 50 acre farm as their basis. He then proceeded to give an outline of what could be got out of it by pig rearing. He “ piled up ” figures, and quoted prices for pigs and bacon, in such a manner that some of his hearers began to be under the impression he had mistaken his avocation ; he should have been Colonial Treasurer making a financial statement, the figures in the end amounting to a return something like £IOOO a year from his supposed 50-acre farm. Mr Franklin followed, complimenting his opponent on his ability with figures. He then proceeded to demolish the arguments in true, opposition fashion, but unlike the opposition formulating a “ policy ” of his own, in the shape of what could be got out of a 50-acre farm by dairying, but the amount did not reach the. figures of his opponent. He was followed by Messrs Heslop, Hutchins, E. Elliott, and Hyde, and after replies by the movers, the meeting decided by a good majority that Mr Franklin had had the best of the argument. Mr Hyde then read Mr D. J. Nathan’s scheme for improving the frozen meat trade. Mr Heslop followed, pointing out that the cause of low prices was not as pointed out in,the scheme, but in the currency, and wont on to show how it was caused by the scarcity of the medium of exchange, siuce the

demonitisiug of silver reduced the purchasing power of the people. He contended that the only real relief would be for the united countries to return to a system of bimetallism in which silver could be coined in any quantity, then pricse would rise and good times follow. He further wont on to show that as trade and population ■would still further increase, exceeding the output of both gold and silver, then a system of paper money would have to be resorted to. A short desultory discussion followed on the money question, and it was decided to adjourn the debate on Mr Nathan’s scheme till the next meeting, leaving the currency question for another time.