250 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
attention during the past two years than ever before. 
It is now fully recognised by most countries, and the 
discussions on Reconstruction after the War show that 
Governments are anxious for a solution. This is borne 
out in England by the Whitley Report.already men- 
tioned in this work. There is no doubt that even in 
the rural industries of New Zealand the same economic 
problem is becoming evident. The long and important 
case on Unionism in Agriculture before the Arbitration 
Court in 1908 brought out many statements indicative 
of this. Recent discussions on rural problems show the 
same tendency. There is still a strong agitation for an 
agricultural labourers’ union. The special circumstances 
of employment in many rural industries make Unionism 
difficult, and the farmers in many cases view it as 
dangerous. But it appears that in some form it is 
inevitable. The outstanding feature of recent economic 
evolution is the strengthening of combinations of capital 
and labour. In his lectures on ‘‘The Economie Organ- 
isation of England,’ Prof. Sir William Ashley speaks 
of ‘‘the growth of the feeling of solidarity among 
employers, and the steady strengthening of their organ- 
isations for collective bargaining.’’** This principle 
of collective bargaining has now received general legal 
recognition, and there are signs that this has not led 
to increased industrial strife. ‘‘In spite of recent storms, 
the situation is really far more hopeful than it was when 
the combination of the work-people was actually far 
weaker ; and the remedy would seem to be, in part at any 
rate, in the direction of an even completer combination 
of the parties concerned.’’t+ 
(b) General Nature of the Union. — The relation of 
our subject to this general discussion may not seem clear 
at first. But the real plan of the Farmers’ Union in the 
*Ashley, ‘‘Economic Organisation of England.’’ Page 189. 
tIbid. Page 172. 
