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C—la

Buscke has spent eight days on the standard survey of the Town of Gisborne in determining corners of blocks and permanently marking the points of reference with iron tubes set in concrete. Some trouble continues to be experienced owing to the removal and destruction of standard marks, both in towruand country, by irresponsible persons, generally, however, acting under the local bodies, and I found it necessary some time ago to get a number of notices printed and posted up in public places warning all persons to refrain from interfering with the survey marks, in terms of clauses 10 andll of "The Land Act, 1885." Field Inspection. —The ever-increasing duties connected with the Land Department have left me no time for formal field-inspection, although I have visited the field parties whenever opportunity offered, and seen to location of roads, ground-marking, &c. At Poverty Bay the officer in local charge has done as much inspection as time would permit; and he reports that, although the ■work of authorised surveyors is generally satisfactory as to technical accuracy, yet the ground-marking and delineation of topographical features leaves much to be desired. With regard to the latter, he remarks that features are put in so roughly and inaccurately as to be useless for supplementing the information on our block and other record maps. Other Work. —Of the miscellaneous services included under the heading of " Other Work " the principal items are : Restoration and erection of trig, stations by the District Surveyor, Gisborne; the survey of six mining leases in Woodville District by Mr. Tone ; a revision-survey by Mr. Neill of a number of sections at Norsewood, for the purpose of preparing certificates of title; revision-survey and road-exploration by Mr. Wilson ; verification-survey by Mr. Rich ; besides such recurring items as cost of field inspection, office work, and superintendence of road-formation works. In connection with this last item, I may point out that two road overseers, who were formerly employed on roads alone, have been dispensed with, and the duties performed by the ordinary staff, thus effecting a very considerable annual saving of expenditure. Surveys of Education Reserves. —Of work which came under the supervision of this office, although not paid for out of the survey vote, may be mentioned the subdivision of about 3,000 acres of education endowments administered by the School Commissioners. Land Transfer Surveys. —Mr. Dennan has examined and passed for approval seventy plans containing 588 lots and 17,352 acres, and Mr. Buscke has dealt in the same manner with nine plans of 18 lots and 275 acres, the cost being £118 13s. 4d. and £46 respectively. Public Works Surveys. —Eight railway-land plans of seven miles of railway and eight road plans were examined by Mr. Dennan. Miscellaneous. —A considerable item of office-work performed has been the placing of plans upon Crown grants, certificates, Court orders, leases, licenses, and other instruments of title, at a cost of £113 4s. 6d., the greater part of which has been undertaken by the ordinary staff without outside assistance. Lithographs. —Nine tracings were prepared for photolithographic purposes, and much of this class of work remains to be done; but the exigencies of settlement and other matters, which will not brook delay, have hitherto prevented much being undertaken. The usual services have been rendered to various departments and local bodies, and a good deal of varied information has been collected and supplied for different purposes. Future Operations (Grown Lands for Settlement). — The rainy season has set in with such unusual severity that all the field parties, except those which are near completion of work, have been called in, and, after bringing plans up to date, the surveyors' services will be available for assisting with office arrears. In the spring the proposals are, as to settlement-survey, to complete the resumed forest reserves already referred to, and to prepare for selection 100,000 acres of Crown land in the Motu Country, and about 30,000 acres at Nuhaka. lioad Surveys proposed at Poverty Bay. —About fifty-two miles of roads have to be taken under warrant within the next twelve months, or the right to take them will lapse. The Gisborne-Mahia-Wairoa Road should also be undertaken soon, as this will be one outlet for selectors of land at Nuhaka; and applications are constantly being received for road-surveys of more or less public interest and convenience. I should state that the demand for land, both in Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay, has been and continues to be very large ; but, as all the available Crown land in Hawke's Bay will very soon be disposed of, it may be advisable to transfer additional surveyors to Poverty Bay to push on with settlement-surveys there, unless more Native land is acquired in the Seventy-mile Bush, which should be done unless settlement in that part of the district is to come to a standstill. Mr. Weetman's well-merited promotion resulted in Mr. Goldsmith succeeding him as the officer in local charge of Surveys and Lands at Gisborne, and that gentleman's experience should be a sufficient guarantee that he will ably represent the departments. G. W. Williams, Chief Surveyor.

TAEANAKI. I should perhaps preface my remarks by stating that I assumed charge of this office on the Ist May, consequent upon the removal of Mr. Humphries to the Auckland District. During last year the field-work comes mainly under the two headings "Eural and Suburban " and " Native Land Court Survey." Rural and Suburban. —There has been subdivided for settlement 10,078 acres into sixty-five sections, at a mean cost of about Is. 2d. an acre, which may be considered very low, considering that the whole area is covered with forest, and that ridge-boundaries have in many cases been