THE LANDS DEPARTMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2320, 18 August 1898, Page 15

THE LANDS DEPARTMENT.

THE ANNUAL REPORT. (Fiiou Oub Own Coeeespondent.)

WELLINGTON, August 11.

The ariHual report of this department is, as usual, a bulky volume, with maps and illustrations.

The estimated teriitorial revenue was £250,000, and " the actual receipts £263,296, which, with the amounts collected for rents, etc., on endowments, estates, and other items, brings the total up to £359,086. Through the decrease in suitable Crown lands now available for offer to the public, and the gradual extinction of payments under the deferred payment and perpetual lease, a considerable shrinkage in the revenue is anticipated. During last year there were 2058 new settlers, who took up 2,451,062 acres of land. The cash received on past and current transactions amounts to £330,370. In the lands thrown open for free selection under the optional system, the occupation with right of purchase preponderates this year over selections under the lease in perpetuity system, whereas previously the number of selectors have been nearly the same. Under deferred payments there were 296 selections, covering an area of 41,633 acres, completed and made freehold during the year, and 205^ cases of perpetual lease, of an area of 71,293 acres, were also made freehold. The payments in the latter case amounted to £51,731. Both of these terms will probably run out within a few years, owing largely to the facility of obtaining loans under a freehold system, towards which the Advances to Settlers Act has assisted somewhat. The number of deferred payment selectors still on the books of the department on 31st March was 1433, holding 202,761 acres ; perpetual ease, 2078 selectors, holding 543.534 acres. These , figures exclude village holdings under tne ! optional system. The following selections have been made : — No. Area. j Q asn 60 6,680 acres j Occupation (with right of purchase) 380 81,414 „ Perpetual lease .. ..299 76,953 „ This shows a preference for that system | which allows the acquisition of the freehold. | Notwithstanding that the rent in such cases 1 (until the tenth year, after which the free- | holds may be acquired) is 5 per cent., as again&t the 4 per cent, under the lease m j perpetuity system. The main reason pro- j bably is that money may be more freely raised on a tenure where there is a right of pur- j chase. __ ;

Selections under all headings for 1897 were 2173, as against 2058 for It9B. People are spreading out into the virgin lands year by year. This is particularly the case towards the central parts of the North Island, where the extension of settlements has been phenomenal within the last few years. The amount of land thrown open for selection for purchase is less than that for the previous year by about 500,000 acres, the decrease being principally in pastoral lands. Most of tlie land was surveyed prior to being opened. The following are the areas : — Acres. For optional selection .. .. ♦• 178,760 Lease in perpetuity only ~ .. 54,418 Village allotments 1.200 Cash lands (auction) 16,415 Other leases of Crown and reserves.. 49,45-j Small-grazing runs 135,06'? Pastoral runs .-. 887,770 Total 1,323,123 The area granted to the' Midland Railway Company at the date of last report was 191,155 acres, and no change has taken place since. Until the reservation connected with this railway is removed, no permanent settlement goes on within its limits. The forfeitures during the past season are greater than for the preceding one, the figures for 1897 being 493 and those for 1898 533. The total area forfeited was 234,986 acres, of which 146,606 acres were comprised in 13 pastoral runs. The largest number of forfeitures were in the special settlement, association, or ordinary Crown Lands, 138 sections (covering an area of 27,190 acres) having been so dealt with. Nearly all these are in Wellington and Taranaki. Under this head tho Surveyor-general reports: "In many of the forfeited and surrendered cases the land has been again offered for selection, with the result that the adjacent selectors have been able to add to their farms; whilst new settlers have come in and taken up the land in larger blocks. A large proportion of the country where these settlements exist is only suitable for holdings in larger areas than the special settlement regulations allowed of. The mistake originally made by the associations was their choico of blocks in districts where access •was difficult and Iho nature of the country too broken for farms averaging only 200 acres in size. In some measure this was due to the ,want of suitable lands." The total revenue credited to State forests, etc., last year was £10,995, and the expenditure £5978. The rents on the Cheviot estates are leturning a percentage on the balance (£262,429) due the Cheviot account amounting to 5£ per cent. The continued drought that lias been experienced affected both the crops and the pastures, and was much felt by some of the settlers.

Cheviot Estate.— The following figures show the state of the Cheviot account on the 31st March last, in continuation of last year's statement : — Balance from previous year, £265,429 ; road construction, surveys, etc., £3274 ; landing service, administration, and contingencies, £1267; one year's interest to the 18th April, 1898, £8866;— total, £278,836. From freeholds, etc., disposed of, £860; rents paid and accrued to the 30th June, 1893, £14,502; rents paid in advance and interest, £231 ; shipping and port charges, £806; balance to next year, £262,429 ; —t0ta1, £278,836. It will be seen from the above that the rents are returning a percentage on the balance {£262.429) amounting to 5g per cent. The settlers in arrear on the 31st March numbered 12, owing £235 16s 8d : whilst the forfeitures v/ere two, comprising 34 acres, at an annual rental of £13 4s.

Position of Village Homestead Settlements. — Tn March last the number of settlements was 165; number of settlers, 1567; number of souls on the land, 4894 ; area held, <acres), 35,454; capital value of the land, £97,646; amount advanced for cottages, etc., £25,932; amount repaid, £2462; present annual rent and interest, £4904; rent and interest paid during the year, £4877; total payments made for rent and interest, £31.873; arrears of rent and interest, £2045; value of improvements on the land, £115,834-. State Forests.— An area of 1,175,622 acres » reserved ia N«k Zealand for State forests,

scenic purposes, plantations, etc. During the past year £3000 lias been expended in grass seed for settlers to renew their burnt pastures in the bush districts. Land for Settlements Acts. — The total number of estates acquired under the above acts to the 31st March last was 49, of an aggregate area of 154,623 acres. Of these, two estates— Rangiatea (4104 acres) and Pawaho (51 acres 3 roods 15 poles), besides a small 20-acre block near Omihi — had not at that date yet been offered for selection. The largest areas remaining unselected are in Okauia, Otahu", and Beaumont. With reference to these, the commissioners anticipate that they will be selected during the coming spring and summer. In addition to the above selections, parts of the estates offered in previous years have been taken up, the total number of selectors being 347. The forfeitures this last year numbered 87, and the arrears amounted to £1363 3s, which is largely owing to the severe drought of the past season. The improvements effected on the estates amounted to £94,789, whilst there were 2252 people living on the estates and occupying 653 houses.