Crown Lands Department.

Southland Times, Issue 9541, 10 June 1887, Page 2

Crown Lands Department.

(By Telegraph.) (fkom our own correspondent.) Wellington, June 9. The annual report of the Crown Landa Department was laid on the table of the House thie afternoon, Mr McKerrow reports tbat the main effort of the Land Department in this as in the last few years has been directed not to raising revenue by cash sales of Crown lands but to the promotion of the occupation of the country by a population holding the land on residential and improvement canditions. This year is remarkable for the greater development of this feature in respect of tha encourHgeinent offered to settlers and for the fact that the number of selectors is much greater than that of any former year aad more than double the uwual average. Thus the number of selectors for the 12 months is 2424, absorbing 245,000 acres, as against aa average of 878 selectors and 121,257 acreß for each of the previous eight years beginning with 1879. The increase is mainly due to the special settlement and village homestead system, the latter, more especially, having originated in the endeavour to draft the unemployed from the large towns to the country. A statement of tho year's operations ahows the following result .—From land sold on immediate payments, L3G G53 was realised ; from land sold oq deferred payments, L 67299 ; from agricultural leases on goldfields, L 1934 ; from perpetual leasee, LGO92 ; from small grazing runs, L 3805 ; from pastoral rents, L 170.595 ; and from miscellaneous, L19.8U0 — makiug a total of L30G,177. With regard to the homestead system Mr McKerrow states that blocks have been opened for selection in the Auckland, Westland, Otago and Southland districts, and that during the year 27 selections, covering 4117 acres, were made in Auckland, and 22 in Otago, covering 2860 acres. The rents from Crown lands held on pastoral leaae or license havo come in very well upon the whole for the yoar, but there is a sum of nearly L 30,000 outstanding in Otago which the lessees in default have not been able to pay as yet on account of the great expense of the rabbit pest and the diminished carrying capacity of the country from the same cause. Part of tbis money will most likely never be recovered. Several of the backlying runs have been abandoned, and it is ou these mountainous runs that the rabbit difficulty is most felt, for the cost of clearing b'gb lying country of small carrying capacity is often found to he more than tho thing is worth. By giving long leases at nominal rents and io other ways the Land Department gives every encouragement io the lessees to cope witb this great evil, which, although held in check over the older infested districts, 13 unfortunately reported to be extending its ravages by tho back country from Otago into Canterbury.