FARMERS' PARLIAMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17407, 21 May 1928, Page 8

FARMERS' PARLIAMENT.

OPENS AT HAMILTON.

OVER 70 DELEGATES EXPECTED. MANY REMITS FOR DISCUSSION. The Auckland Provincial Conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union opens at Hamilton to-morrow. It is anticipated that over 70 delegates will attend. The conference will be presided over by Mr A. A. Ross, Provincial President.

His Worship the Mayor will officially welcome the delegates to-morrow morninpr. The. conference is expected to last until Friday. Sixty-two remits in all will he dealt with. They include, recommendations with regard to compensation for improvement of Crown lands, and classification nad valuation nf swamp and other lands. Other remits deal with existing and projected regulations concerning stock, slock food and export, matters. Banking. Economic and educational subjects and lhe Arbitration Court are down for consideration.

A Waikato proposal is that the provincial headquarters should be at Hamilton. 11 is suggested that this will give a greater stimulus to union activity, than .exists at present with the head office at Auckland. A remit from Tc Awamutu deals with the organisation of the Farmers' Union on a political basis with a view to political action at a future date. The. organisation would provide for definite boundaries for the various groups, special representation for all branches of the farming industry and a proper system of ballot-box elections for office.

A meeting of the executive opened this afternoon at which many matters, preparatory lo the conference, were discussed. Mr A. A. Ross presided.

ZONE SYSTEM OF TELEPHONES. The Union some time ago wrote to the Post.mastcr-l'.cncral asking for information regarding the possibility of introducing the Zone system of telephone charges in rural districts, and suggesting that such a system would increase the number of subscribers and alTord cheaper services to users, without in any way affecting the revenue of the Department, In a reply to the Union this afternoon the secretary to the Department (Mr (i. McNamara) slated that, the present charges were instituted only after every careful consideration and exhaustive'calculation. They compared favourably with lhe facilities in other countries, he said, and were considered to l)e the best devised to meet conditions in New Zealand. It was regretted that for th<; present, if was not expedient to consider the institution of a Zone system, as suggested. The meeting considered lhe reply unsatisfactory, Mr H. M. Rushworth remarking Unit the farmers would never get anything until they had a Country Party in the House.