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of Crown land thus rendered available or more accessible is sent herewith. In connection with his duties as Crown Lands Ranger for the Northern part of Canterbury, he has visited nine deferred-payment settlements and reported on the holdings of 120 licensees, visited and reported on fifty-two applications for grants under the Forest Trees Planting Encouragement Acts, inspecting a very large number of plantations situate in all parts of the district, and has, besides, visited and reported on various reserves and applications within river beds for the information of the Waste Lands Board. Mr. Fussell, the officer in charge of the Timaru office, has also—in the performance of his duties as Crown Lands Ranger for the country South of the Rangitata—reported on nineteen applications under the Forest Trees Planting Encouragement Acts, which included a large number of plantations; has visited fourteen settlements in various parts of the district, and reported in the cases of 374 licensees under the Deferred-payment system whether the conditions were being complied with. Land Transfer Surveys. —Mr. Munro, the officerin-charge of this branch cf the Survey Department, reports that the amount of work has been nearly the same as last year, though the deposited plans show a considerable increase in the number of allotments to be dealt with. The number of deposit plans received was thirty, and the allotments shown thereon 1,054; seven plans of land taken for railway purposes; twenty-four plans of road deviations under the Public Works Act have been checked. Out of the plans received in the Land Transfer Office, 199 applications to bring land under the Land Transfer Act, 454 ordinary transfers, seven mortgages, twelve leases, and nine proclamations, were sent to him to be checked or verified ; 1,314 ordinary certificates of title in duplicate, and 1,409 certificates in lieu of grants with the duplicates and triplicates of same, which have been checked with the schedules and draft certificates. In all 5,495 plans have been placed on certificate of title forms under Mr. Munro's direction. Office Work. —The plans sent in by the staff surveyors include ninety-one of sectional work, six showing sub-divisions of reserves, &c, two of mining leases, and seventy-two of miscellaneous work. Mr. Shanks reports that the areas shown on 141 plans have been checked and the plans passed, the work of 169 of the surveyor's plans has been duplicated by putting it on the District block-sheets, and 175 plans have been recorded on the Crown grant record maps, of which four new ones have been constructed, the plans recorded being placed on these, or added to those returned in former years. Seventy-nine Crown grants and 1,359 certificates of title, embracing in all 2,079 sections or sub-divisions of land containing 161,960 acres, have been prepared and delivered to the Land Transfer Department. 495 area certificates showing the acreage surveyed in the sections sold under the free selection system have been made out and sent to the Crown Lands Department, so that in cases of excess or deficiency of area the necessary adjustments may be made of the purchase money. Mr. McCardell reports that for the first, three months of the year ail the officers under him were engaged in preparing plans for the Property Tax Department, and thus causing the current work of the office to get so much in arrear that very little progress . was made in preparing district plans, but eight plans showing sub-divisions of reserves cut up for sale have been prepared and sent to the Head Office for photo-lithographing. A tracing for photo-lithographing was also prepared for the Defence Department, which took one officer two months to prepare. A county plan of the northern portion of the Selwyn County and two district maps, which were worn out, have been retraced for the public map-room ; three new districts, showing the latest additions from topographical surveys are also in course of preparation. Four county and fifteen district maps and the counterparts for the public room have been marked up with the latest information, and a plan on a scale of one mile to an inch showing this season's topographical surveys is in a forward state. Proposed Operations, 1886-87.—The surveys on Banks' Peninsula are so nearly completed that Mr. Hay can be removed permanently to other work, and during, say, the six summer months, Mr. Welch's services will also be available for any special work required in other parts of the district, and for the remaining half of the year he could finish the survey of a few isolated sections still to be done on the Peninsula, and re-survey such as may be really necessary to make the old and the new surveys accord, or to rectify the Crown grants of such sections in which the recent surveys have disclosed serious discrepancies The arrears of sectional work are now reduced to 211 sections, containing 9,343 acres, but in addition to these there are a number of sections, the proprietors of which have either declined or failed to pay the excess areas found on survey, these, therefore, will require such le-survey as may be necessary to cut off the excess areas at the cost of the owners. There are also still to survey about 164 reserves, containing 11,741 acres, which have been made for gravel, river-conservation, and other purposes. Moreover, I purpose during this year to get the triangulation and topographical plans completed of all the country north of the Rakaia which has been withdrawn from sale, under the contract for the construction of the Midland Ptailway, and also to push oh—so far as the strength of the staff at my disposal will permit—the necessary topographical survey of the runs, the licenses of which terminate in May, 1890. John H. Baker, Chief Surveyor.

OTAGO. When I assumed charge of the Otago office on the 17th September, 1885, there were five staff surveyors and three cadets in the field. The office assistants numbered eleven with five cadets. Mr. George McKenzie left this department (owing to reductions) on the 7th October, same year. Mr. D. M. Calder took charge of a party to survey the Kurow Blocks on the 4th of January, 188G, and has constantly been in the field since. At present there are five staff-surveyors and three cadets in the field, and ten office assistants and two cadets. There are two draughtsmen in the country offices. Exploration Survey. —The large extent of forest country extending along the south coast, between the Waikawa and Catlins Rivers, and forming part of the Tautuku Bush, is no longer a terra incognita, as Mr. Strauchon has thoroughly explored it while cutting the track which connects Waikawa with Catlins River. In the survey report, published last year, is a plan and report from him on the eighteen miles of track connecting Waikawa River with Tautuku Bush, and I forward, herewith, a plan and report of the