Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

OSWESTRY FARMERS AT I DINNER, ¡ MEAT CONTROL I ABSURDITIES. j j The annual dinner of Oswestry Farmers' Union -H,8 held in the Victoria Rooms, Oswes- try, on Thursday night, and between 200 and 1.00 members eat down to an excellent repast, followed by a most enjoyable evening of speech- making and songs, the latter being cpntnbuted by Messrs. Frank Coombe, T Meirion Jones and W. L. Naylor. All arrangements for the company's enjoyment were made by the com- mittee. of which Mr. T. W. Marshall was the hardworking secretary. Mr. J. Scott Bicker- ton, president of the union, occupied the chair, and he was supported by Mr. W. C. Bridgeman, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, the Mayor of Oswestry, Mr. W. Perks, the Dnputy-Mayor, Mr. R. S. Parry, Sergeant Harold 'Whitfield, V.C., Maior E. A. Belcher, Messrs. D. L. Bebb, chairman of the executive committee, C. G. C. Whitfield. Thomas Ed- wards. Stephen Leake. John Richards, Llyn- clys. T. Ward Green, T. W. Bromley, W. Roberts Jones. W. E. Stamer, and T. W. Marshall, secretary. The loyal toasts having been duly honoured, Mr. C. G. G. Whitfield rose to propose the health of Our Forces." and remarked that the men of the British Army and Navy had proved themselves second to none: in the neighbour- hood ox Oswestry there happened to be two V.O.'fr—General Campbell and Sergeant Whit- field. (Applause). They were proud to have Sergeant Whitfield with them that evening, and he coupled his name with the toast. (Ap- plause).—The toast having been accorded musical honours, Sergeant Whitfield, who was received with great enthuSJiaism on rising to speak. said he wished to take that opportunity of thanking the company for the handsome j present they subscribed for him during his absence in France. and he could assure them that their kindness would, never fade from his memory. If the Shropshire Yeomanry was reo vived, he hoped the sons of members of that union would come forward and uphold the jrlorioue traditions of the old regiment as in 1914 and during the war. (Applause). Mr. T. Edwards gave the toast of the House,? of Parliament." and in jioing eo said thev had friends in both Houses: When that union was in a tight corner and wanted help, it w; <3 a member of the Upper House who readily gave them a generous sum and relieved t', c m of a, financial anxiety, iand, they had had good luck since that day. (Applause). They were proud and pleased to see ia member of j the House of Commons— Our Member"- there that night. (Loud applause). Certa,inly. they did not see 60 much of him as they .would j like. but they knew that it waa his duty to his country which kept him away from them and they gave him a right hearty welcome that nhrht. He asked them to drink Mr. Bridge- man's health. (Applause). The toast was drunk with enthusiasm and accorded musical honouis. and Mr. Bridgeman, in reply, said he was very grateful for the kind words which Mr. Edwards had used. and for the very kind and heaitv wav in which the company had clxunk his health and that of the Houses of Parliament. He owed a R-dgo to the Houses of Parliament because it, was owing to them he eaw so little of his Os- _1 "I W=H,Y inenaa, out waa jolly glad to see so many of his acquaintances and friends round that table, and he wished he could see them oftener. Alt. tough he got to Oswestiv very JittIÐ. and to his own home hardly at all, he did not forget those there who had been kind to him, and he did not think they would forget Mm. (Loud applause). [ Proceeding Mr. Bridgeman said that whether the Government had done no.ht or wrong, nobody could say that Minister? the (?rown had not worked their hardest. The only wonder was that any of them were alive. (Applause). A great many people talked about control a.9 if it had not been necessary if there had been no controls, the poorest people would never have got anything at all, Every- one was anxious to bring controls to an end as speedily as possible. and a.9 soon as the supply met the demand dhev would be swept away, and he hoped the çountty wouId be able to return to that aimplicity a?d freedom which 1 X?? ? ? ? ? thewar (Applause). He was n optimist, and  in thiB old country I ?d ? ? ?believed m this old country Tht ???? -? ?"?nre a?d ih fat-?r? The '?? Minister anJ the Government bad ¡ USJSS* ■ tha? the o?a?It?e shall be regarded as an indugtrv of national I impol'tnce. whic-n it was the duty of the Gov- nZZt) to l°fnerf **? encourage. (Loud ap- pIa use) The Ion, er he lived, the more' VJP wr.vmced of this: That the people »ho tookel to the GOHnnmeq to do everything were iookmg in the wpbn? erection. In the past, this country had been built up by the enter- pribe of its individual citizens. left with, as much freedom as possible, and it was to that, indi- vidual enterprÎse llnd national spirit we had to looOt in the future for the reconstruction and revival or our country. The secret of the future was goodwill among ourselves, the same as during the war. He represented not only farmers, but JahoureÙ and owners of land and he would say to all that it was only by all con- sidering each other and each other's require- W ments that we could go ahead. We had got to k<\ep our heads C00' and our tempera unruffled He thought they wo lId all s?ree how glad he s o help- all h, e could, and if ?Yone had a grievance he wished to have looked .into he would  into \nd whaler he was in t,?e Go0vUel rJnm™re;n,t f or not ho never forgot his friend in the Oawestry Division, and so long aa he WM member for the great agricultural con- fluency of Oswestrv and so long tl3 he had their confidence. he would do hits level b.4 ferTe %ir mtereete. (Loud applause). Mr. Sotephen Leake proposed the health of The Mayor and Corporation of Oswestry" and expressed the hope that the time would very soon be here when there would be a better' supplv of trucks for the cattle markets. (Ap- plause).—Mr. R. S. Parry replied, in the place of the Mayor, who had left early to attend another function, and said, as chairman of the Markets Committee, that the Corporation was prepared to do, anything within reason to make the markets more successful and conveni- ent, and the council had alread' y planned to spend L5DO on improvement* in the markets. (Applause). The President referred to the uws and downs their union had expeneneed. and went on to aueak of the control of meat. He Baid he felt as if he was in gaol, but when the control was removed he would feel that (he, was in the blessed sunshine again. (Laughter). Consum- ers had complained, and rightly so, of the costj of meat. But it -wa,.g not the farmers who were profiteers. He sent hits cattle to Shrewsbury abbatoira, and after allowing for offals he re- ceived about Is. Id. a lb. Yet he was forced to register with a but-cher to obtain meat for his own use, and he was charged for it 2s. a lb. It was a far cry from Is. ld. to 2s., and they as farmers wanted to know ivhere tilat eleven- pence went. If the control was taken off the consumer would benefit. and the farmer .would not law anything. (Applause). Jrh. JohU Richards, Llynclya,. gave t&« "Oswestry Farmers' Unic.i'' and remarked that it would be foolishness ior men who at- tended Oswestry market to have to go else- where to join their farmers' union, the next nearest centres being Shrewsbury, Newtown and Wrexham.—In reply, Mr. D. L. Bebb men- tioned that Oswestry Farmers' Union now had 18 branches and a membership of about 840. He said the Welsh Advisory Committee had dis- cussed the relationship of Oswestry to the N.F. U.. and had reported that having the N. F U v as a centre fox four counties and adaptability aa a centre fox four counties and on account of its large number of members, Oswestry must be regarded as a county branch %f the N.F. U., and be given representation accordingly. (Applause), Our Visitors was proposed by Mr. Ward Green and responded to by Mr. Bromley and Maior Belcher. Mr. Bridgeman proposed The Chairman," and Mr. J. Richards. Nut Tree Farm, re- sponded on behalf of the President, who had left the table. The proceedings terminated with the singing of the National Anthem.