LANDS AND SURVEY.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 195, 17 August 1912, Page 8

LANDS AND SURVEY.

MAULBOROUGH REPORTS

The Lands Report for 1911-12, which was recently presented to Parliament, contains the following observations by .Mr W. H. Skinner, Commissioner for Crown Lands for Marlbbrough:— ..-.-, ■•, ~ The total area acquired and offered under th& Land for"Settlements Act inrHliis district is H6.334, acres, and the. area leased 109,912 acres. The total population residing on the holding* >is 1048—a slight decrease from last year. The number of sheep shows a. falling-off from 121,121 to , 117,814, but the number of cattle has increased 'from 1186 to 1217 head; the number of horses remains practically the same as last year. The total area In white crops was 1825 acres, and_ in green crops 6385 acres. The implements effected are valued at £192,394 6s sd, as against th© amount required by the Act, £89,509 7s 7d. The lessees, especially on Starborough, Richmond Brook, and Blind River, are ii-11 doing remarkably well; the original selectors who are. still holding their leaseholds are nearly all independent. The increased value of the leaseholds is shown by the prices paid! for the goodwill. Several sections have changed hands at sums, exclusive of improvements, considerably more than tlie original price of the land.

Seddon township, now no longer the terminus of the railway, is at a standstill as far as population goes, but has greatly improved during the past year. A post office has been built, a telephone exchange opened with forty subscribers, also a Coronation Library and another church erected. Although 'Seddon will probably never have a much larger population thau at present,, it will always be the centre for the traffic for the "Opper Awatere, which as the larger properties are subdivided, ivill support a much :gi"eater population than at "present. ' 1 The climatic conditions have been very variable and broken; the spring atid early summer being wet and cold seriously .interfered with the harvest

operations and caused a large mor-

tality among sheep. ~, For the last three months very little rain has fall-

en north of the Ure, and now that frost has set in there seems a likelihood of the sheep-farmer having a shortage of winter feed. The oaterr pillar pest has not caused the same damage to crops this year as it has done in past years. The, settlers, with vWry few exceptions, are making headway, and are assured of future success. ; ~.J;, In his capacity as Gjief .purveyor for; Marlborough Mr.'SlKnnei* reports: -trlangulation.-^-The only work of this nature carried out during the year has been, a little breaking down to'enable the sectional York in progress to be brought under check. Rural.—A total of 6039 acres under "this head has been, completed in twenty-five sections, all of which is situated in rough bush country. The excessive rainfall 'of last season in the northern half of this district caused

great loss of time1 to the survey parties engaged., and accounts in a great measure for the comparatively Mnrh cost per acre shown in schedule

against rural and suburban lands. In Native Land Court work, surveys of •eighteen subdivisions in various localities, comiM-ising 1719 acres, have been completed, partly by the staff, and partly by private surveyors/ &t schedule rates. !

Town Section Survey.—This comprises the survey of education reserves £. ' Crown sections in the town of Picton. Roads.—ln, this class 18 miles were completed, principally in the Sounds County, in rouffh bush, country, at a cost of £531 9s 6d, or £29.53 »er mile. An intricate railway and road survey, Jricton-Blenheim, is now nearing completion, having cco'imied Mr Hodgkinson, of the- field staff, for the greater part of the yea'tv .' -V !,..;"' Other / \vorjc—The .; expenditure *51r er this hea<3; amounts to £190 16s "P b .V- the cost of surveys'^ rejfd.iustment of boundaries between f?o Crown arid:; Native lands. Gore survey District.- scenery reserve suryey. compass traverse'of summit of Mount J>upna Mange (land district •boundary), etc. . . standard* Survey.,—The standard ■sarvey.of the town of Blenheim was expended 'for a distance of about two miles into the suburban areas Inspecting Surveyor Clmue carried out *ul inspection covering the whole of the- town of Picton standard work, completed at various times and by different surveyors. The result of mi- Climie's inspection was, on the whole, satisfactory, and certain reootnmendations made by him with regard to the standard marks are now ■beinc: attended ho. Proposed Operations, 1912-13.— The settlement work of the oomino- year Will, ho /mainly, if not wholly, in the Heringa and Wakamariria, Survey fnstncts, where an area of 7000 acres is nearing completion by Mr Hunt, and 4(Xr acres by Mr Hodgkinson in ttne Valley. Tliere will also be the usual miscellaneous work required such, as the pegging of isolated spot^ fnfi.SU^ eyS ' t fcc -' and t}ie completion or the Pioton-Bleaheim road and railway survey. This latter, owing, to the, original faulty work—magnetic - IjUßh. traverse—and the almost utter I Jack of reliable surrey data, has given great trouble to the surveyor engaged and, the ground covered has of necessttar beipn extended greatly beyond the hmits iirst contemplated Omca-work-Th4. number of new plans received during the year was 52 consisting of 11 departmental planssettlement survey-with an. area, of €039 acros; 8 Nature Laud Court con- ' Sans 718 fS aCreS;' 16 La^} TriX £mJ> ■? a°T; U Plsms defining eighteen miles ot roads; and 6 office compilations; 289 tracings were p£ pared. 766 diagrams were pltee^ot certificates of title, Crown leaW |^; ahd 8 ph o to-lithog i r p hic eS ifflgs were prepared. Changes of Staff.-The retirement •n superannuation of Mr- Frank S ?WJ nU^ mmiswloner of Ol>own liands ft °J?? f »Surv *eyor ' affcer many years from New Plymonth to fill his posi^ t*on Mr W. P. Marsh, CHef Braughteman, was-transferred in Mky local Bfcaft. In Pedembor Mr W ■LaacLsay, drainglifsman, r-m>ned the 7*°s**! bom- fillod hv Mr E. Pfankuoft,- Srpm the New Plymouth staff. m •pnclusion, T beg to record my appre« a ti on of th,o manner in which t«f irhple staff hns worked, and for tweir^^ive assistance, and co-opera-tr* &?> »n<l of the valuable aA*j«tanbe I have received from Mr ■Burns.' ■ ••'..■.-, ■ ■