ARE THEY IDENTICAL?

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17242, 29 October 1927, Page 2

ARE THEY IDENTICAL?

THE COUNTRY PARTY AND FARF/lEKS’ UNION EXECUTIVE. MR D. JONES’ CONTENTIONS. (Special Parliamentary Correspondent) PRESS GALLERY, Friday. A suggestion that the Farmers’ Union executive was the Country Party was advanced by Mr D. Jones (Ellesmere) in the House to-day. Mr Jones stated that the Auckland executive of the Farmers’ Union, of which the member i'or Ragian (Mr Lee Martin) was one of the pillars, refused to recognise the big dairy company in the Northern district as a merchant for I,he distribution of fertilisers. Because of the fact that the members of the Country Party were largely on the directorate of the Farmers’ Fertiliser Company an agreement to the dairy company concerned had been refused. The Country Party was represented by a side-wind in the House by a man classed as a member of the Labour Party. In the opinion of Mr Jones, the Farmers’ Union executive was the Country Party. Mr Lee Martin (Raglan) said because a man was a member of the Farmers’ Union executive it did not follow that he was associated with the Country Party, which,"he declared, did not have its constitution in the Farmers’ Union executive. That party was entirely independent from the Farmers’ Union executive, and so far as the Auckland executive was concerned it was free from any of the imputations made by Mr Jones.

WHOSH DOES HE REPRESENT?

MR McLEOD AND MR LEE MARTIN. ■ (Special Parliamentary Reporter.) PRESS GALLERY, Saturday. “Is the newly-elected member for Raglan (Mr Lee Martin) the representative in Parliament of the Farmers’ Union, the Labour Party, or the Country Party?’.’ A question to the above effect was asked in the House of Representatives to-day during a rambling debate that had developed on the fertiliser war. “Although Mr Lee Martin’s speech had a lot of noise in it, he did not show us -where tie stood in relation to helping farmers,” commented the .Minister of Lands (Hon. A. D. McLeod), who proceeded to predict that Mr Lee Martin would experience extreme difficulty in giving expression to views in the House that- would meet the requirements of the distinct sections in the Ragian constituency. “I am wondering,” added the' Minister, whether he is a,-representative in this House' of the Farmers’ Union, the Country Party, or the Labour Party. (Laughter.) A Government Member: The whole lot. i Renewed laughter). The Minister remarked that one would think Mr Martin was definitely bitching his political waggon to the main objective of the Labour Party—the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange; but if that were the case not 10 per cent, of the farmers of the Dominion would stand for it.” Frequent interjections by Mr Lee Martin led to a rebuke from Mr Speaker, who enjoined the member not to persist. The Minister of Lands said that if Mr Lee Martin thought he had been returned on the farmers’ vote of the Dominion he was going to have a rude awakening. (Laughter.)