There are many farmers here, both successful and unsuccessful, and at our meetings resolutions were carried setting out our principal points of difficulty. I take it that you will look into the disabilities of farming. We have agreed that a man who has first class land within 10 miles of a siding, especially if he had boys, is on a good proposition. There are men who are just as good farmers and hard workers, and working intelligently, who will, nevertheless, not make good, for the reason that they are on second and third class land, and probably 70 per cent of the land in this State is second and third class. It is these men who are working 10 dwt. shows are in need of assistance. The poison generally goes with the second and third class land, therefore a man is at a disability when he holds second class land, but under a still further disability when he has poison to boot. On such land it is impossible to make wheat growing pay without sheep, and sheep need water and fencing, as well as the eradication of the poison. I could make a second class land pay but not by growing wheat. I would suggest a scheme to allow farmers, no matter how poor they might be, to take up land, but they should be provided with money to obtain water, and then they would probably be able to cope with the poison themselves. But it seems unfair to put two men of equal capability on the land, one on good land and the other on inferior, and expect them to produce the same result, because that is impossible. There should be a subsidy for clearing poison off. I have to clear poison from my own land, and if we are going to bring the poison country into sheep-growing country, it would be a good thing for the State, but the State should carry the burden, and there ought to be special legislation for second and third class land. There are men who are trying to grow wheat on second and third class land which will grow oats profitably, and yet they are not trying to grow oats. Would you not think that Mr Sutton should say to them, "You are doing the wrong thing.'

7871. To the Chairman: Farmers keep on growing wheat year after year and producing less than three bags. Half a mile away others are getting seven or eight bags with less treatment. I consider that the inferior land should be made to do what it is suited for. My association maintains that eight miles is the limit for carting wheat. Personally I am carting mine 14 miles, which is much too far. I can only do three trips a week. Still, I think that eight miles is rather low. We also passed a resolution strongly urging the construction of better roads. The feeling was expressed that they should be treated with metal. With all the subsidies and rates that we get, we can practically do nothing on the roads. I am on a road over which 60,000 bags of wheat have been carted. However, the authorities tell us that there is no money and there are no men to do the work. There should be good macadamised roads subsidised by the Government. This should be done independently of the roads boards, and they should be nationalised. This is what they are doing in Victoria , and they are being constructed in districts where they would not think of asking for a railway. There should also be a more adequate supply of labour. Fairly good land could be made to pay but labour is not obtainable. I had a man to whom I paid £2 5s per week. He was a returned soldier and was getting another 15s a week from the Crown. He was quite inexperienced, yet his was best labour that I could get. Farmers were never happier than when they had the immigration scheme in full swing. Labour is now altogether unprocurable, and undoubtedly the Government should enter upon a bigger immigration policy. The housing problem is also a matter of foremost importance. Some of my members are getting first class homes built, but they are the men who are on good land. The inferior land proposition requires more fostering, especially as it applies to such a large bulk of the State. Personally, I am on some of the best land in Western Australia. I have 50-acre paddock that will give me an average of 30 bushels, and I am harvesting 2½ bags on poor land, but I am perfectly satisfied since I have been here. Still, I am dissatisfied on account of a lot of my poorer brethren. The men with first class land have no problems but the men with third class land have troubles. In my opinion a man cannot farm profitably under 1,000 acres. Personally I am doing it on 700 acres. One of the prominent officials of the National Bank told me that my original holding of 500 acres was too small and that the 35 years experience of the bank was that the man with a large area was more likely to be successful. So it was that I immediately bought more land.

(The Witness Retired.)

———————————

John Bernard O'Dea, Farmer, Dangin, sworn and examined:

7872. By the Chairman: How long have you been here?—I have been in this district for 12 years. I was brought up on a farm, with the exception of 10 years, during which I followed the trade of blacksmithing, at Riverton in South Australia. I took up 768½ acres of C.P. land and also hold 2,120 acres with a right of purchase, thus totalling nearly 3,000 acres. For the right of purchase I have to pay £3 5s and have 10 years to pay it in. Mine is an exceptional agreement. The 768 acres is between three and four miles from a railway and the other land about 10 miles. All the property is sheep-proof fenced and subdivided. Fifteen hundred acres are cleared. The water supply consists of three dams of 200, 800 and 1,000 square yards capacity respectively. The dams were there when I took up the land. Last year I deepened one of them. They were constructed too shallow and too wide. I have also a soak and a Government dam alongside one of the paddocks. I could get down to a depth of 12 feet. At the present time I am using the water from the Government dam, for which we do not have to pay. I an a married man, with three children, who are too young to attend school. My house has three rooms, that is on one property, and I have a four-roomed jarrah house on the other, together with stabling, sheds, and full working plant, 12 working horses, five head of cattle, 400 sheep, and 10 pigs. I only had £30 capital when I came here. I think I can sell one of the properties to a man—