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SOUTH JOHNSTONE MHJb
GROWERS ELECT CONSULTA-
TIVE COMMITTEE.
IMPORTANT MEETING.
' HOW THE 44.HOUR WERK '
. WILL AFFECT THE . . ? i
INDUSTRY.
("From Our Own Correspondent.)
... ? Innisfail. Anril 27.
At a big meeting . of supplier» of cane
lo the. South Johnstone (Government)
mill, it was decided that the offer made
hy the.; General Nfanager of thc Bureau
of Sugar Mills, for the constitution of
a consultative committee from among
thu growers in the South Johnstone
area, such .committee to comprise three
> men, : bc, .accepted. .Messrs. Gilmour,
?Moule, and Cooper were elected to this
. ¿ymmitteé,
A\fr.. ,A.i Moule occupied thc chair
nnjl 4|'içriï .was a very , good attendance
of/ .'farmers ? j from all parts of this bi«
sngár aroa . which' comprises a- very
¿lárge portion of the whole Johnstone
i sugar, district. .
J, l"he Chairman'said that as a result
rot negotiations carried on hy Messrs.
Cooper, Hudson, and. himself with the
. General Manager of Sugar Mills (Mr.
W. J. J. Short) at thc instance of thc
growers, ' Mr. , Short, had seen .fit, tj
grant thc application. made by thc de-
legation for thc appointment of a" con-
sultative .committee which would act
in conjunction with the local manager
of the South ' Johnstone mill (Mr. A.
' L. McColl). particularly with thc issu-
ing and granting of permits to grow
cane in that big area. "The position thc
area has got into regarding planting
cane," continued , Mr., Moule, "is not
.what it should be, and ,we recognised
; that thc only. way lp avoid, a continu-
ance ot the' unfair condition! govern-
ing ' the granting of permits ./to grow
" cane .was to give thc farmers some say
.¡hs to \vliai permits were going tri bc
: granted, and what permits 'were to bc
' ijWith-hcld. also lb whom,"thc. permits
'were to be given. At. last the" farmers
t^re to have Ute'opportunity'per . med^
,1dm of a committee of their'^ownpeb
, ;plc, of seeing wliat 'permits' are being
{granted, and they'will at Wast know
. what tho position is going'to be. (Hear
'hear.) Therefore thc 'growers in the
. future will be equally responsible with
ethe milt muuageiricnt should any bun-
gle occur. The farmers know perfect-
ly well what the position is-and nono
better than they-and 1 am therefore
louking forward to the time when the
conduct of affairs in this sugar area
'will be improved. Thc chief reason for
calling this meeting to-day was to give
the growers an opportunity of elect-
ing thal 'consultative committee. In
dealing with Mr. VV. J. J. Short (Gen-
eral Manager of Sugar Mills), he told
me that he had"'agreed' to have this
consultative board appointed, and . ht
suggested thal the three men who. had
approached .. him on behalt bf thc
'growers .slintitd;'bc, appointed to' thc
board. T tdUj-. lin» ;' as . representing- tjií
.igcowcrs,' I' «huid' npr aittye fo aj(ytÍiín¡'
; '.of. 'thc ,kùjd,,.nnn^'thal ^
; a tfgfr t, . t u .«» ppom f ' their' b w h ; ' nient ' ' 11
/liiighf- lie . tllut'-ttijc ' grower's wodld-\vaut
; titrée*.' other ¿'.Mien '.'.is .i,their, ' rc'ilf estima
" ttvus'./thäti' 'jliosc 'JXr.\ -Slinrt; .had '.' 4ug
? -Rested: T .'(¿el àt/lhe. present'- time- that
. ITiid" vve accented Mri «Shorts * proposal
. in - its 'entirety^, wp . possibly would" have
' undone -'all-. thc. 'good work that '.had
'ibsen ' accomplished' in -connection 1 with
having, this--consultative'^board* created
We;, want not 7'cmly 'growers' 'appointed
to- this .board;.'- but ;the"'ri¡-lit' :óí- the
growers to -canctfl thc appointments if
tiley, lind1 it necessary to-do-so in 'thc
-future. T' thiiik ivt-ry' little more, than
that may be. said : at . the. present junc-
ture. The, position has been plainly "put
before the " meeting.-:. Thc consultative
board will, act with thc', tittil manage-
ment in 'determining thc . permits to
grow cane in this .mill area, and'gov-
erning the planting of cane "ip tin's
district- ..generally. . That will, be the
function of the Board.' Wc have,made
a distinct advance .when we "have th'«
General Manager of/Sugar Mills . (Mr.
Short) recognising ' thc ' ' growers'
claims on ' u*ch,.vital'tm^ljtu'purtarit
-matters. ',.',' J.','. ¡V ?' .' '..."?.,,< ' '?' . ' "..'
Mr. H. A. ÎCiSbne:-Since tilers is ..?0
word as to what remuneration is toi bi
paid, would it not be bstter- to have
a committee ol' eight or nine?; You
would always br. sure of securing an
a:ir:K!:uec.:'
Afr. G. F. Hudson: There would'not
h-j enough chairs in thc place, t l,au«{h
tor. )
M. D. V. Woods. moved that Mess«
Cooper. Hudson and Moule constitute
the committee. Personally he thought
.ÜKUI jlu¡rt¡"tbquld. Iv^-iiotc jim.^ltc..ct)iu,i
mlttee. ~ ' v-? -
,,,, The , Chairman,:, .Wc , thought ,thal if
;'the ¡grawcrs "hnu (he right 6i electing
three,- men lu, thc..committee in an
honorary capacity it was an advance,
oh what wc had before, and was à
step in the right direction.
Afr. Noonee I. will move, that the
number " nominated be six;
? The Chafrmau: I cannot accept thc
amendment, and will rule it out of
order. You have heen told by thc Gen-
eral Manager of Sugar'Mills that thc
hoard is to be .composed of .three per-
sons. Therefore what : you have- moved
is not ap. amendment. . v,.
Mr. Noone: I contend that what f
have moved is an amendment. ,
The Chairman: I have ruled, you out
of order. , V . .. ; t f, ".... .. '. .
Mr, Noone : ..! -am'; sorry you have
done so. .Tip's , committee .,will" not .be
representative of, the ciitirc' district,Vi,
A. grower present suggested that the
members, of . the , consultative com
mittee Jw ballottcd for. '
Mr. G. JP. Hudson: In tito matter of
electing three representatives; to thc
consultative committee, it appears to
nie that that committee will'be charg-
ed with a lot of responsibility. They
will have to'make decisions, and Mr.
Moule says that. you growers ' should
lin ve thc righi to cancel, their appoint-
ment. I don't know just how Car you
might go with this, li yon are going
to elect |ieop(c to-day to look after
your interests you might ? come . here
agaiu next week and cancel'their nj>
poiutitieuts ? . I have seen a lot of funny
things dunc at, these meetings, I tuve
seen you . scheming,, und I . have seen
you going around cliquciug and put-
ting up circumstances to get certain
conditions for yourselves at thc ex-
pense of your neighbors.' f warned you
at Silkwood last year that thc per-
mitted growers then would be the uii
prrmittcd growers,of this season. You
did not' take'".any notice of if. A ma-
jority, pf ;. you people :. were looking to
get your'; own' cane cut only, and-'it
did not worry you what injustice had
to be inflicted to secure this end.: 1
never'stood forthat. and am not going
to stand, for. it.-. 'You won't.'have to
cancel my appointment. I won't go on
?thc Board "at 'all.'.if your instructions
do not appear tome lo bo catering
for the- best interests bf growers on the
whole, also if they do not appear to
bc feasible - and capable of being put
into operation.
A Grower: Do' yo« claim to have
more brains -that tile rest of the grow-
ers rn« together?
Mr. Hudson : I don't, but I am not
going to .carry - out instructions eman-
ating from a motion that is carried
when half the people don't know what
they are voting tor. I say I am more
able to deal with this position than
you arc
. A Voice : Perhaps. .v
Mr. Hudson : I have had more ex
pcr'.nee, -and knpw the. area better
than you. Further, I know the posi-
tion better than .voit. do.'.
A Voice: T think wc all know -tha
position. . v - ; .
.Mr. Hudson: , I -alu. quite - honest jn
meeting you. T don't wapt .tó.- be bouty.I.
hand anil foot. Tin's js the> principle
on which I go on 'the. 'Hoard. ' Fronj
now. ion "'all . rerplilnt.-.catie1 becomes
.permitted." (Applame.) '-' . ' .
Mr. Nobile :. Hear,- herir. . ;'
' .Mr. Hudson :' ;VV'c cannot keep put-
ting "off. thc evil ! dat-, ny holding over
r.e'-planr ..cane'''till'" next season, and
funking it "permitted" ' spine people arc
suffering when they' should not suffer.
That is5 thc first plank 1 advocate.
'A Voice : I think your two ''cob-
bers", .would bo with you.. ( Laughter.)
Mr.. Hudson': 1 am nut putting their
case. They -can placçf'th'ciir views before
you just as i' anr doing now. The
next point is with rogard to the Soldi-
ers Settlement iii Ki Arish, that W«
fillo'w that ,rane area' to cut their plartt
cane','and , that an equal'portion of
ratoon cane, to stand, over, tn its placo.
Thc'areiis arc ¿o «|iffvrvut. Tlic condi-
tions' are sb different',,that, you must
have a slightly different system fbr
each to giyi'.evcryliqdy'.ii fair jjlnïi ¡ti.
'this big'area.' (Applause.)- Their third-
ly.' the whole of 'titi; 'latid, that is.class
.ed: now'k's' replant .\yifhput pcrmissiop
gets a"pcrniif for nèxt. year and'prov'-'
.sion lie made"hy thc'Tully'milt.'to'
crush it: It might appear that because.
A haVc thirty, acres of cane1.that I atti
'blowing my own trumpet; I am not. I
am pr.-part'd to withdraw my' applica-
tion to the Central Hoard which i,
have lodged to see whether the cane
would J>c crushed. 1 am prepared to
withdraw the application und let the
whola bf thc cane tltere-r^SOO acres of
my crop-stand over, till next year if
you accept the scheme I have set out.
because I think it is going to cater for
everyone of you. Perhaps some of you'
with no replant cane may have a few
tons .more of standovcr cane lo bear.
J t is in thc future that you are going
to gain, and you will get something to
work upen. I f we are going to group
and grasp for some immediate relief
and when you g-.-t that, find that we,
have a big crop, of cane, v.c are going
to be in thc same bad way. We' want
lo get something sound, soineth'ng
that is going to be , of "benefit to us,
something tluu is. going to'prcv-jnt flic
mill'*manager 'or a liybody else, iron!
making your fan'u valueless by with-
holding fair treatment from you if he
does not;'like-you. i-.'will- not say .any
' .thing about tnc'pcriiiit''system in the
past. No good'can bc doiw by talking
of it. Thcv way I have indicated will.
1 say. cater for everybody. If wc for-
get our little selfish outlooks wc shall
do a lot better for ourselves because
in thc long run wc shall gain.
Thc Chairman : Does the meeting
¡tccppt the offer of the Geiwral Man-
ager of Sugar Mills or not? '
Mr, i McCawlcy: 1 move that thc
? General Manager's suggestions, of a
cousuItutivf hoard to consist of three
men I:.: accepted.
A Grower: What would be thc term
of appointment? . "?
Thc Chnirman: t would suggest that
thc'tenn be at the pleasure of the
growers. '. .
Mr. N'oone:J'm going to, move that
thc board consist bi six mell. I'think
it-only right thut wc should bc divid-
ed into arcas instead of thu disadvant-
ages we are laboring under at the pre-
sent time. ' . . . " ' ;
Th? Chairman: If you are offered
something by the. General Manager bf
Government Sugar Mills (Mr. Short)
¡iud arc then going to haggle about tho
matter you arc going . tu get nothing
in the'future, lt has-buen «aid that the
bust committee, in thc world'is one of
two members with one absent. (Laugh-
ter.) lt gets all thu work done.
? Mr. Noone: You* should.have repre-
sentation.
, Mr. Sims: I think we would be very
wi«,- hi accepting Mr. Short'«: ? scheute.
Mr.- R. J. Wright:, I think it very un-
wise lo ~ turn- down the suggestion ct
thc General Manager. í t IK re io re am
going to give it my.hearty support.
After further discussion a motion
was carried: that thc offer of the Gen-
eral Manager of Sugar Mills (Mr.
Short) for thc formation of a consul-
tative board be accepted, such board
to consist of.thrte'tnx«^..! i,,.. <?
? ' A. ha,Up^jV^or.,|jth.eli,pt^tioniielvRf': thc,
board ^yas ,tl|én;.vt3ikc¿.urcsultípg bi
Messrs.. Gllmburrr andi:Moul«,.being
[*cieutcdvwilh.M-i5Brs.,.C9operj and Hud»!
son I a..for, thin, place.,¿Mr. .MwUmn..
^nerqusly ¡ retired M favor"of Mr.
,.Caopuv---so iw'aioii. unsure.. thc .ioldiar
.-«ittlehient having representation un
thu hoard.' and received hearty np
pl.v.ute for his- turó- spirit. . .
CANE; INSURANCE.
» Mr. Hudson said they had received
a letter from an insurance - company
stating that tho. cover on stand-over
cane ip regard to thc risk from fire
lind-been reduced to IS/- ii/ton. Thu
premium would be reduced in .propor-
tion., i.e.; from -Sil- to did. -..;
) The Chairman: I would like to.make
"n statement in regard to tho. insurance
business. When I was last in Brisbane,
I went into the matter with,thc uuder
I writers, and T put a scheme, for insur
ance- on thc forthcoming crop wheu
we knew- tho conditions that wore'go-
ing to govern thc sale of our cane this
.year. It appears that the price for 12
Ces., cane would be something like
?29/-. à ton. If the mill gets more l'iens
ity tliaii last year, the price will., be
something like 31/6 per ton; ,J,,put, it
to- the.insurance company ' tjiéy co.iild
insure for 24/- a ton at. ^èd^Thc, un-
derwriters agreed to try and- «ci'..that
policy taken up by an insurance com-
pany. At the same time the'Hqsitipn.ni
'regard to stand-dver cane'viu'th'é.area
was brought under my notice.'.',' W.c
wont through a copy of the policy.mid
thc manager agreed with mu that the
compauy was involved to thc extent oi
.10/- on stand-Over cane, but they had
the right to restrict. I told him that
'thu weather conditions in ibis district
wore against burning and would bc
against, until the whole oí that wa.
harvested. However, the company havi
shifted from their ground, and I don't
.think ihut we can carry op ticgotia*
tious with thom. There ts this danger.
Then- was a fire recently in some
stand-over cane. There may ' bc mon
lites. If you terminate with the com-
pany at thc present time you'may ter-
minate thc possibility of anybody whr:
has his cane burnt of getting .1 a/-, J
tWnk.wc could intimate to the under-
writers, that'jwc" are'not quite prepar;
cd-tb take, up a policy with' thc sam*
company agaiu. If they can.find .-mo-
ther cotnniirty wc might he" préparée
to do business with them. I regret thal
wo; arc meeting; with, this difficulty «P
.thc ,: circumstances. '., The. insurauci
company tpiist. take, thc law of aver-
ages and ¡jay there'arc going .to bi
good sansons us'well as bad ones"foi
them as .well as us. This, insurance
scheme waf stuned in One of oui
worst years. Thia promises to he bm
of huge tani; supplies, but I expect
thnt after next year our surplus wit
have faded away and wo shall thcr
have normal crushing conditions.
Mr. Cooper: ls the premium on 15/
a ton still 8d? '
The Chairman: No.
( Mr. Hudson : There hus been no ad-
vice as to the amount of premium yon
will take.
Mr. Cooper: The drop should IK
half. :
Mr. l-Iudfon: No. il .»hotild not. li
all depends ho tv long you have had thc
?cover. ,
Mr. J. T. MeNatnec: I think this ii
a1 matier' iii ; wliir.h it .will bu difficult
to get - -4 .change. All insurance com
, r.aniqs' are' i\ï an associiitipn. Ii yo«
lall /Jut' with one ; of irèm ydií can bei
ivou'p líottoiíi d'ollàr^tliat.the word will
/bc. nass'qd, <dji,to1.tue othcr-s. This.is.a
matter, tri which you will have to move
eaufio'it'sly..- '" lt the .State, lnsurancii
wont 'take the mimer bli then t'th'nt
I her- >. is- very little, chance'of any. re-
medy. It is hotter'to .take 15/- . than
. run .thc. ? risk .of, having; ; ho insurance
nt nil. This is a nutter which might
he left to.n sub-committee. . .
:-.Thc Chairman: There is a süb-coni
, tiu'ttee. definitely, appointed to deal
with'insurance. . ., \ . ?
' Mr. McNauk-e: I. don't think it is
much use leaving thc matter to the
meeting to decide. 1 don't suppose
members herc, have '. any. more recent
facts tliaii,!' haye. .What is thc tts*:
of passing a ' motion ; saying that'wc
will havi;. bnc thing and then-go on
to another? . , , .j
?After, further, discussion ¡it was do
cided^hal thc ^natter.qt* a drop in thc
matte'**, «if-. standróver cape , insurance,
' anil other ^affairs connected with in
.-Uiratjce bc left to, a sub-comn-ittce con-
sisting., nf..-Messrs. /Hudson,, .Gilmoui
. lind :MQ}jle; , ..>*:.,.
'?'?. Stil)-í.vi|iiéntV.lo; the, picoting Mr. Hud-
son iliformctl .the ""J^o'st"- representa-
tive that, a telegram''baa beeil received
from the General Manager of the Su-
gar Bureau, stating that the cover o.n
thc unpermitted stand-over cane had
. also been reduced from ll/- io 8/
, aper,ton.-In the first instance the 'wholt
'of the crop permitted and iinpvrinittcd
: was covered for 30/- a ton at a prent
. tum of 8d. In November thc cover on
unpermitted cane was reduced to ll/
! per ton, and a premium of Sid. ant
f now during April the cover has fur-
ther been reduced on permitted, stand
over cane from thc original 30/- tu
15/-, and on thc unpermiitcd stand
! over as mentioned,abo ve.
COMMITTEE FOR PERMITS.
The Chairman' said' there WP'*"ri:
: hope-of entertaining any rucsticii '.?!
; unpermitted -cai» othet ' than- thal
, which had- been replanted. They hail
; .been forcing the argument for replant
cane -both in Brisbane and in thc
i Squib -.'-Johnstone district as far af
I' tivy could force it, "We maintain',"
'? continued the speaker, "that thc grow:
. ors had tltci-i-ight to replant thnt cane
; '(Applause.) ,Su far as-we-eairgather
the null is going io adopt qur view.'
VV<- do not know-that definitely. 'As
lo oilier unpermitted cane; there is no
hope of that being harvested this year,
ut least that is what wc believe. This
: proposed permit committee will have
lo »ce thc whole of the permits ap-
plied for by the growers-and ascertain
the persons that permits are issued to.
They, will have to make inquiries from
individual growers and asvcrtuiit whe-
ther permits have been rightly or
wrongly withheld or grUntod.
. A Grower: 1 think.a scheme was
adopted at a previous meeting that 75
per. cent should bi* harvested and th»!
imlancc remain fallow. .. '
Thu Chairman: That scheme will'not
he applicable so fur as this mill is con-
cerned until next year. Thc General
Manager said he would introducá fbkt
scheme in 1926, and will allÍH*át'e'¿plú
tracts in accordance witli'.'thc^ch'pml**
drawn up: l havc a copy of the'elfotuj*-,
ment which the General Ma'ú-tgcr^tj^-v
assented to. This,is the report \'¿bichi
has secured his approval:-"Cau&jpàïi-?
tracts: Thc standard contract u-îJpjHt:
40 acres; 30 acres will bc harvested
each year: 10 acres will, be fallow. AH
(anus under 40 acres will be built tin
lo -RI acres as thc permits become
available AU.permits at present over
40 acres as th-: permits become avail-
able. .AU permits at present over 40
acres will get a contract fpr their
present estimated arva subject to them
leaving 25 per cent of their area fal-
low.-The contracts'will be" given to
Iho'si! who have permitted cane in ac-
cordance' willi their permission. No
contracts will bc granted to n*:\v grow-'
cr»' until the, present growers cannotf
supply thc mills nerds. i'mlvr thai
scheme a grower will not be limited'
to atiy particular, blocks on his hoM-f
ings. He will be allouod to plant í lesli
land, hut hu is not to exceed his con-
tract and he'is not lo plant in any in
'accessible place 'or places requiring
ciUessive amounis of tramline. (This
lappltes to planting laud not yet uudcr
pertrtlssion.) fio additional permit will
. iiiV gran;ed to any grower who has 40
ncrc-t or overuntil-'Mhe whole of UK
present farms have attained to a stand
dard or-40"'at:rc'9^sjiould the grower*
desirer to do so. Uijdcr, this schenv? Jl
will riot: he>;tibçc88ar>^to a|iply. for per-
mits to plant,or replant. 1'ermits Will
only lw>n^csttáfy.'U>^lhlcrca-M-' the pre-
sent arcas. I expect.that the permit-
ted Jnrm jwiH Undetermined in this
mariner.'' First," tlfe^rhill will find , out
wlint amount of land each grower has
under cane when thc mill first issued
permits. They will add.to that the per
mils grantod,,to each , farm since that
date,-This applies to., laiid thal II.TÍ
been ,conlinpou->ly cropped, .i.e.. laud
.that:..has- not*--been , om i-f sulii'vi-ito'i
for mort-'" than one i-ieasbit. ' I reco-n
mended' --rowers to-.i-'Cept the. abovs
scheme.", ... ,
.. Coutiuumg; . Mr.- Moule said lie
thought ithe. permit coitimillee sliou'l I
function* at lithe : pleftstire of the
growers, .and tlint th« growers should
,not confiiK' the copiiriitte-.' to any deli
I'fie period, If '.life}".growers foutid
$at th'e'Wb'trimittee''was not shapin«
(jp 'to ti .form--'they should-have thc
p.ower»<toJl'»ncel;,it.i portfolio at wry
t|pii»t)r)Hi;,jyns .prepared to . come bc
fo.ro Itlié críninuteé mid justify any ac
.lion Hf hitf.'nnd vvheu thc time arrived
thnt .'lief-icottld. uni (lo thnt he would
expect - tb, he> put but. .They should
let the .committee function at the
growers' pleasure rather than confine
it to ?.t^dçlîtiitc period.
A Grower:' 'Whenthe committee is
constituted,, il should enrry on. and
have the .support of all thc growers.
(Heari^ica'r.);,'- . , ,
Mtv McNnmeee, *^V,Hen , a membe;'
censes1, t"o¿bc,*1i grôwçï. he ceases to lie
a .member of tilt'<'¿onimittee? '
The Chairman: Certainly.
A Grower:-.The term of office
should ho ,lof¿';.Íh il\if^, hands of the
grower*-.,. We-williHave confidence in
Hie commituc." ahdvitii uill tuké. some
time for thom tn get" illí^rniatióp about
¡permits, etc. '. :,- ; .VSfc**V, {¡jp. «V.
..'..Mr. Hudson*-'Sonic of your'^-views
.change every, fortnight, If yo'u'.gvvc
.thc committee a minimum Hie of One
year, and then pitch it out so much
. the better. Ír.nitghter.)" But if. after
,thcy have been in commission for SIN
months?'.{'bu pack1 ii iiiéetirîg^hnd pas*
them-mut, it only cause; dissatisfac-
tion. <. Don't disturb it tor one year,
and give it a chance to i!o sonn* work,
Mr.' McCawlcy: You must take
them'for twelve .months to . set^'what
they'can do. lt wa.4-M heit decided that
the committ-ie bc ejected for u mini-
mum period :-bf.'!t\v«?lvc mouths, with
thc -right of rv ea U after that period
has passed. '. '.-"...? I
Tl IK 44-HOUR WEEK.
Mr, lludsou drew attention to thc
fact that thc -14-hour week would ter-
minate nt noon on Saturdays-. Jf they
desired the mill tó-:.work till 8 p.m.. it
was a question of "what amount oi
hours they would pay double time for.
They, had no definite^ information on
thc "subject .iust'.thcu. 'but he thought
tiley should request the mill to work
as lon-,' ns possible,'- iiiid approach thc
union and ncc' whatMCiwIri bc done in
the mattiM-.pf ¡arxapKiiig. shifts. Until
thc fnil> iri.inaicniciit;.nitcrvi(-wed ..thc
union thc^growers djd*iib^i^n«\vww'her:<,*
?licy .were , ih^iregard, tb', the:; ?.rushing
hours ,lf-tlföM|iiiOii'waVrbulj'^gbbifi
to work ii 44-hç>ttr week,'that would bc
all thc'tirnc, (hat -could.'he devoted to
..ruBliing. ."Wc-, Imvi^coinc liefe hr 'the
past,!'- proceeded. Mr., Mud-.ap. "ami
criticised the, management nf the mill.
I have done inv share of it. (Laugh-
ter.) I lin vc criticised, thc manage-
ment.about -different 'things, and il ls
oulv URttinil thatthey* should look to
protect : themselves .tilts season, and
aiiy rcepi'îât 'regarding overtime should
couic-'trbm the grower.-. Mr. Gilmore
and mvself have been dealing with the
management on this-ipiesiiou. so give
us instructions, and- request that thc
mill work'overtime.-and'get as many
hour? as possible devoted to crushing
cane.. The rcipieit should come from
'the grower.-.' This <44-hour week is
going to he expensive ' mid cat into
our profits. Until thc mill manaire
iiicnt: anpronciics thc union, we'can-
not give you anything definite on thc
miitttr;,'! -4Vhat. -.wc > should bc cou
cerned about Ss .d-'voling a» many
hours ns poísible lo crushing thc cane.
Wc want thc-croii lukvii off, and dealt
' with ns speedily as possible.
Thc Chairman; lt is absolutely nc
..essarv that everv posiiblc ton of cane
shouid bc got through the rollers at
this mill this, year. I Was one of the
" I fX'.G.A. »representatives nt thc recent
'Minister's Cotfference. A resolution
was carried that the whole of the crop
ns 'fnr as possible bel harvested, and
thc' necessary arrangements' bc left
with the Sugar Board. Subsequent,to
that motion, it .wats attempted to get a ,
resolution through, aiming, at taking
cognisance-of thc amount of cane left
vtiindiug over. There arc two procla-
mations being issued, one. acquiring:
^Mignr at Í27 and another, at* ¿9/10/
l>er ton. Sixty per cent, of the. crop'* to
lie manufactured has ben acquired; at
127, mid'40 per cent, ai Í9/10/-. Thc
resolution that 1 .was speaking,of
.».ought, to have nil the stand-over.';çane. ?
..ecni-tiiscd as part of thc crop for'the
mill, r'twv it forms portion of '|he
-.rap': in the estimates of the Sugaî\
Hoard in arriving at 500,000 tons of;
Migar to he manufactured in Australia
this year. Wc argued that if any body
' of growers arranged with thc niill
owiKTs lo hnrvest ftO per cent, of the
crop, they should be paid thc.full Aus
tralinu priée on the 60 per cent., and
should he at liberty to stand over, the
cane for making foreign, sugar. The
conference .lecitlcd not to accept .'that
motion. If you hnrvest 50 per cciit. of
your crop, you will get thc Australian'
pj-ice for 60 per cent, of what von
harvest, and you will lose something
like ¿.15 a ton on thc other 40 per cent,
crop you hnrvest. We should ask the
milt to work ns. many hours as thoycan
in the ivtA. 1 am unite sure the mill
cannot nuance interest and redemp-
tion, and if you eliminate interest and
redemption, I doubt very strongly.
'..tyhctber thc-mill eanvniiance thc, cost
of manufacture on'thc'price it j.« going!
to get. for sugar (lits, year. In passing
a resolution,<asking that thc mill,work
thc máxirriUm number ' of . hours' 'hi
crushing, you are saddling yourselves
with n virtual loss, in thc shape nf
money to he made by the mill in some
j., ot her .year,,. Possibly the Treasurer
recognises" (hat the growers are hp
agaiiwt?', something that they have
never'encountered-before in their his-
tory. Yon 'arc up^ against something,
almost as had as thc 1918 cyclone. It
.. seems rnthcr strange '? to say that the
. mot e sugar we have got thc worse off:
we arc, but that is thc position. This,
r.f course, will pass nw-jv in a year or
so. Over-production will cease. Good
. easons cannot last in the south. When
they come down to very bad years
ngain, wc will have no surplus, anil
there will I lien be a decent price at
which to carry on our business. For
this coming season, we shall not have
much, When we have finished it. To
tet the cane rot in the fields is not mv
way of doini! business. Ask the mill
to crush thc maximum amount possible
each week. 1 think you should know
ihese facts. 1 gaye them to you. so
1 hat you could ?. form -tome idea, and
decide to ask that the mill'work over
"??'?iimc. I hope''yon, will l-e',ablc io see
^yc'tb Vveiwith rite pu this «tatteri and
.'.-pass ai rctohitioit, asking the mill to
: crush'the' maximum'' number, of Hours
'possible in-the coining season.
\ A'resolution.on the foregoing lines
was .then carried.
TH lï LA HO.'' QUESTION.
Mc-isi--. ,Dray:>hcr. Moule and Hud-
son wee apr.oii'téd a committee to
meet the A.W.U.1 and discuss thc
Mm*«! iou of thc percentage of British
and otb.'.' cans cutters lo be employed
in th-*' SOMIII Johnstone mill area this
season.
? ? . ' , OTHES MATTERS.
Mr. J. T. McXarnec iiddrc-sed the
urnwer's on thc question of voting for
inor-i hotel li rendes at thc forthcoming
poll, pointing out thc disabilities which
'existed from'an accommodation point
of view in the dry mea they were in
that day. whilst Mr. H. Turner. alsr>
gave an address on the advantages ot
the I'rinvtry Producers' Hank.
$