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notably the subdivision of part of the Native reserves at Kaiapoi by Mr. Brodrick, and of the reserves at Baupaki and Port Levy by Mr. Welch. The subdivision of these reserves into so many small holdings, in accordance with the awards of the Native Land Court, took a considerable time, as a preliminary survey (for the information of that Court) had to be made to locate the houses, gardens, fences, and other improvements. 2,780 acres were subdivided into 118 allotments, ranging from 400 acres to a quarter of an acre, at a cost of 3s. 10d. per acre. A considerable number of reserves in various parts of the district, and part of the township lands in Dromore, Hinds, Orari, Arowhenua, Fairlie Creek, and Kurow, were subdivided into various-sized allotments for village-homestead special settlements situate in all parts of Canterbury, from the Hurunui in the north to the Waitaki in the south, making it necessary for the survey parties to shift ground a great deal, and thus perforce increasing the cost of the work. In addition to this, 500 sections, equal to 17,554 acres of ordinary sectional work, which includes 146 sections containing 4,562 acres of revision surveys, have been completed at a cost of Is. Bd. per acre. Twenty-seven sections originally laid out in terms of the applications, but found to contain a greater area than the owners have paid or are willing to pay for, have had the excess acreages cut off, at a cost of £75, which will in due course be recouped to the department by the purchasers, in accordance with the Land Act. Educational reserves containing 4,558 acres have been subdivided into suitable-sized farms for the Education Commissioners of Canterbury. Inspection of Surveys. —During the year the Inspector's time has been principally occupied in supervising the roadworks undertaken with public money by several of the County Councils and Eoad Boards to open out Crown lands. He has also visited the ground and reported upon ten claims under the Eorest-Trees-Planting Encouragement Acts, upon thirty-two reserves in various parts of the district, and on eleven pastoral deferred-payment sections. Besides this outside work he was for some time occupied in making valuations of Crown lands for the Property-tax Commissioner, or of runs for the guidance of the Land Board; and he has passed as authorised surveyors five surveyors formerly holding licenses under the old Act, and has inspected in the field the work of two of the staff surveyors. Land Transfer Surveys have been the same as during the previous years except in the number of transfers checked and plans on ordinary certificates of title, both of which show a fallingoff as compared with last year. The number of deposit plans received was thirty-one,'covering 412 divisions or parcels of land. Thirty plans of land taken for railway purposes were received from the Public Works Departments, and checked. Twenty-five plans of road deviations under the Public Works Act were checked and dealt with. One hundred and ninety-six applications to bring land under the Land Transfer Act, 329 ordinary transfers, 14 mortgages, 26 leases, and 5 other documents were referred to Mr. Monro for verification of description, area, &c. There have been 966 ordinary certificates in duplicate and 791 certificates in lieu of Crown grants, with duplicates and triplicates, prepared and passed on for issue. In all, some 3,514 plans have been put on the various title-forms under Mr. Monro's direction. Three subdivision-plans, on a scale of 5 chains to an inch, of the Lyttelton and west portion of Sydenham Boroughs and of the Town District of Sumner have been prepared by Mr. Cane during the year, and the current work of the office kept up to date. Office-work. —Ninety-seven plans of sectional surveys, subdivisions of reserves, or townships for village-homestead special settlements, have been received from staff surveyors, of which there remain but fifty-one to be checked, including the plans sent in at the end of June last; so that this part of the office work may be considered well in hand.- Three new Crown-grant record maps have been made, and the certificates of title issued during the year duly recorded. Twenty-four Crown grants and 789 certificates of title, embracing 1,222 sections containing 75,572 acres, have been prepared and issued to the Land Transfer Department. In another year the arrears of Crown grants and certificates of title caused by the heavy landsales of previous years should be nearly worked up, and the Crown titles to the Canterbury freeholds all issued, except perhaps a few of which resurveys will have to be made. Mr. McCardell reports that six new survey district maps have been compiled, and three are in hand, and that there have been prepared six mounted tracings of district plans for the public maproom, eighteen plans of village-homestead settlements or subdivision of other lands, for photolithography, eight survey district plans; and the duplicates for the public office have been marked up with all recent surveys. The map commenced last year, showing the latest topographical surveys for fifteen miles on each side of the proposed Midland Eailway, has been completed ; and a reduced plan of the topographical survey of Lake Ellesmere, on a scale of 40 chains to an inch, has been made from Mr. Hay's recent surveys; and, in addition, a great deal of miscellaneous work has been done. Plans of Survey Districts. —l have been unable to keep the draughtsmen at this work, owing to the demand for lithographs of the numerous village-homestead settlements. I find that there are yet to be done forty lithographs of such survey districts as have a considerable area of purchased land within them, and that twenty-five new survey districts wait compilation; but before these can be proceeded with there are thirty mounted tracings to be prepared for the public map-room, and twenty-three for the Timaru District Office. Under this head there is yet, therefore, a large amount of work to be done, and, with a view to its reduction, I propose placing all the staff of draughtsmen, now much smaller in number, under the charge of Mr. Shanks, so that as the work in his branch lessens he may be able to go on with these arrears, and thus permit the district plans to be published. Retrenchment. —l greatly regret that the decrease of work in this branch of the department and consequent reduction that the Government has made in the staff should have led to the retirement of Mr. Walter Kitson, for the last ten years and a half Inspector of Surveys, who not only loyally assisted me in inaugurating in this district the present New Zealand system of surveys, but helped, me to overcome the very large accumulations of work resulting from the heavy land-sales. In addi-

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