MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



26 August. 1919.] 



MR M. O. BANNISTER, F.S.I. 



[Continued. 



6085. Have many of the farmers bought their own 

 farms? A fair number. 



6086. Would you suggest that that indicates a want 

 of confidence ; when a man is prepared to purchase 

 his holding, does not that suggest the opposite? Yes ; 

 but I have had some of them who have purchased who 

 are trying to get out, which rather bears against it 

 again. 



6087. They have repented already of buying their 

 farms? There was one man bought a farm last year 

 who had been the tenant of it for a very long time. 

 I, as a matter of fact found him the whole of the 

 money on mortgage, and only yesterday he came to me 

 to say if I could possibly get him out again he would 

 like to. 



6088. Still, there is a good number purchasing their 

 farms? Yes, there are. 



6089. And that would not suggest that they had any 

 want of confidence in the industry in the future? 

 There is not the keenness to buy now that there was 

 three months ago. 



6090. But surely the happening the other day sug- 

 gests just the opposite that the farmers did want to 

 buy their farms. They stopped the sale on the Beau- 

 champ Estate? That was nearly three months ago, 

 was it not? 



6091. No; 1 road it this week. 



Mr. Liinyford : There was another one last Satur- 

 day? I have not seen tliat case. 



6092. Mr. Smith: They stopped the sale and 

 thought they ought to be given the chance of pur- 

 chasing their farms? That is one I have not heard of. 



6093. The fact that farmers desire to buy their 

 land in that fashion rather suggests to my mind that 

 they have confidence in the future rather that a lack 

 of confidence? A certain number. VPS. 



6094. A man would not invest the whole of his 

 capital in his farm if he did not feel fairly confident 

 that the industry was going to be successful'* Yes: 

 but the proportion of men who are buying their 

 farms is very small ill proportion to those who are 

 farming. 



6095. Would you y it is a fair proportion of 

 those who have the opportunity, having regard to the 

 amount that is being told? I should say go; but I 

 should think that at perhaps 30 per cent, of the 

 sales the tenants have bought, taking it all round. 



6096. That is a fairly gcod percentage for an in- 

 dustry which is depressed and whose future ia rather 

 black, is it not? Yes 



6097. Mr. Walker: These statement* you have put 

 in are purely estimates, are not they? The coste ar*. 

 The work is actually what we have done. Where I 

 have put prices against artificials and so on, they aro 

 actual bills. 



6098. Would it be true to say that valueri in the 

 different areas agree from time to tinif on certain 

 scales ? Yes. 



6099. And that these figures presented to us arc 

 based on those scales for your particular area? No: 

 these are not based on these scales. In many cases 

 they work out very near it, but they are not based 

 upon it. I have based these figures upon what I have 

 found a man does per day on any particular culti- 

 vation on that particular farm, having regard to the 

 rate of wage paid on the farm. 



6100. Yes.; but, of course, under different headings 

 you would have regard to this scale to which I have 

 referred?--! am afraid I do not quite follow you. 



6101. Take No. 1, for example. " Twice tractor 

 ploughing, 30s." Is that fair? That is the man's 

 own tractor, and the Agricultural Executive Com- 

 mittee wore doing work in that district nt that time 

 and charging 30s. for it, so I based it upon that. 



6102. That would be fairly clean land, would it not? 

 Yes. 



6103. In your opinion was it necessary to twito 

 tractor plough? I think it was necessary to plough 



it three times. It is a question of whether you use 

 the tractor or the horses. 



6104. Going further down that table, you have 

 " 2 years' rent and rates." Why 2 years:' J. da not 

 quite follow that? It was a clear fallow: it is wheat 

 after a, clear fallow. 



610o. Have you any particulars of actual financial 

 results 2 1 have not of the wheat, because all my 

 annual valuations in the past have been made at 

 Michaelmas. Then when this last increase of farmers' 

 Income Tax came in, and they were charged on double 

 the rent, with the right to put in their accounts on 

 the 1st June, there were a certain number of fresh 

 farmers if you remember that announcement came 

 out in March, I think who said: " Very well; 

 I want you to make accounts for me as from the 

 1st June to 1st June." For that reason, I have 

 only got just the one year. There was the 1st of 

 this June and the 1st of last June; so I cannot 

 produce any accounts showing the relation of this 

 year's with the previous years not on a June valua- 

 tion. 



6106. Could you supply the Commission with any 

 particulars from the point of view of an actual balance 

 sheet or balance sheets? Subject to the farmei's con- 

 sent, which I think I can get, I could send you prob- 

 ably one man who deals with 5 or 6 different farms. 

 I think he would allow me to send you the audited 

 balance sheets of those farms for the year. I would 

 ask him to do so. 



6107. That would be very useful. Are there any 

 others? There are some others I could send you 

 where balance sheets have been made out in my own 

 office. They are not audited ; but my own clerks have 

 done them, and I think I could send those to you. 



6108. With their consent, you will send those up? 

 Yes. 



6109. Mr. Edwards: I should like to add one 

 supplementary question. I think I understood you to 

 say, referring to a particular man, that you advanced 

 all the purchase money of his farm? Yes. 



6110. Is that a typical case of men who are buying 

 land in your district? I was a fool to do it, but I 

 was sorry for the old man being turned out. It was 

 purely on that basis I did it. 



6111. But is that typical? What is the proportion 

 of farmers who are able to buy the land? 



6112. Chairman: I think the witness answered that. 

 It was a very small proportion, and they borrowed 

 only a proportion of their purchase money? Aa a 

 business transaction, you could not possibly borrow 

 more than two-thirds. 



6113. Mr. Edininlx: Yrs ; but I want to know 

 what proportion of the farmers are compelled to do 

 that in purchasing their farms? I should think 80 

 per cent, of the farmers have to get a mortgage. 



6114. Chairman: I understand in 80 per cent, of 

 the cases it does not exceed two-thirds? No. If 

 anyone came to me I could not advise them to advance 

 more than two-thirds. 



6115. Many farmers buy the land and take a mort- 

 gage upon it. but the mortgage does not exceed two- 

 thirds In the exceptional case you mention, the 

 farmer borrowed the lot? Yes. 



6116. Whether the lender was wise or unwise? J 



do not think there was any doubt about that. 



6117. Mr. Batchrlvr: With your permission, Mr 

 Chairman, might I ask if the witness has had any 

 experience of putting into the Inland Revenue 

 Department this year accounts showing profits less 

 than double rent? I have some accounts that are 

 going in. 



6118. They show less than double the rent? Yes. 



6119. Could we have those; are they the same 

 accounts? You shall have all the accounts that I 

 have got that I can get consent to put in, whether 

 they show a profit or loss. 



6120. Chairman: We are very much obliged to you. 



(The Witness withdrew.) 



nan 



3 



