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Surveys for the Preparation of Selection-maps under " The Land Act, 1887." — The 87,275 acres which appear in the schedule comprise the Maungakaretu, Ohoko, Waihoki, Makoura, Makuri, Puketoi, Pohangina, Waitotara River, and Omahine-Kaemanuka Blocks. The demand for land was so urgent that theie was no time to complete the road-surveys on three blocks ; it must therefore be clearly understood that the plans in these cases were compiled from prior surveys. As you are aware, this system affords the opportunity for throwing open for selection much more extensive areas thaTi was possible under the Act of 1885, and this has been done without increasing the staff, except to peg off " applications." As an instance, more than 80,000 acres was prepared for notification as " open on the 15th August next," comprising nine blocks, situated in the Forty-mile Bush and West Coast Districts, whereas formerly only small areas were placed upon the market after the completion of the surveys. The public have a choice of selection ranging over several districts, embracing lauds varying in character and quality of soil, climate, &c. These circumstances offer sufficient attraction and inducement to persons at a distance to incur the expense of a visit of inspection, besides the pressure and keenness of competition is distributed over a larger basis, to the great advantage of the selectors. The large number and the great extent of the applications for land necessitated the employment of several authorised surveyors to assist in defining selections, to expedite the issue of titles, and to enable settlers to enter into occupation of their holdings and proceed with their improvements. Other Works. —I may enumerate under this head the pegging of back-lines for settlers, guiding intending selectors over lands open for application, the legalising of roads through Native and freehold lands, the preparation of contracts for and the supervision of road-works. The Chief Draughtsman, Mr. James McKenzie, reports as follows upon the office duties: " Perhaps the most prominent work—certainly the most important —has been the preparation of sale maps and lithographs of the large areas of Crown lands thrown open for selection ; this, including the various schedules, descriptions, locality-plans, &c, involved a very large amount of labour, which cannot be gauged by the publication of the notifications and plans. . . . The system of selling land before the completion 6f the surveys shifts much of the labour from the field officer to the office staff. . . . During the earlier portion of the year the work of the office was enormously increased by the demands of the Property-tax Department for maps showing every subdivision, and tenure of the same. . . . The miscellaneous duties have been more arduous and numerous than in former years owing to the requirements of the public, local bodies, other departments, the staff, and private surveyors. . . . The number of trig, and settlement survey plans received, 46 ; Public Works, 45 ; Land Transfer, 145 ; Native Land Court plans received or compiled, 61; sale plans prepared, 25 ; titles and copies prepared, 3,520." Mr. George Wright, Chief Clerk of the combined office reports that the number of recorded reports, returns, and letters received and despatched amounted to 9,657, in addition to notices, vouchers, &c, which sum to over 8,000 ; the number of leases and licenses prepared and issued amount to 464 ; the number of warrants, 42, comprising 387 titles. There was a considerable amount of business and book-keeping connected with the expenditure of £9,769 17s. Id. on surveys and £7,317 Is. 6d. on road-works. As a matter of fact, the general business has nearly doubled recently ; and if Mr. Wright and his assistants had not worked zealously, incessantly, and in overtime we could not have attended satisfactorily to the public requirements. I have the honour to submit for your approval that the work requiring attention next season should be : The extension of triangulation and topographical surveys in the Upper Rangitikei, Moawhango, and Pohangina Districts, and over the Huangarua and Kaiwhata Districts in the Wairarapa; settlement-surveys, including the pegging of applications in Omahini-Kaimanuka, Waitotara River, Maungakaretu, Otairi, Otamakapua, Oroua-Pohangina, Puketoi, Kaiwhata, and the Crown lands lying along the eastern slopes of the Tararua Range: and a special effort should be made to throw open some of the Atuahae, Rangataua, and Waimarino Blocks. The duty of legalising roads under warrants should be taken up methodically and energetically ; and standard surveys for aiding and controlling the Land Transfer surveys should be pushed forward in the settled districts, where the old surveys are not reliable. As regards the office, it has become alsolutely necessary that new maps, on the mile scale, should be prepared and published, as was done in the Auckland District. Land Transfer and Crown-grant record-maps, which hitherto have only been commenced, should be completed, so as to represent all titles and new surveys. I have the pleasure of stating that the staff officers in this district continue to perform their duties with zeal and ability. It is with much regret that public exigencies compel me to keep the field officers out so late this winter. J. W. A. Makchant, Chief Surveyor.

NELSON. Minor Triangulation. —There has been 110,493 acres completed, at a cost of l-4d. per acre. Of this, 31,000 acres covers the bays and valleys on the west side of Blind Bay, and was executed by Mr. W. D. Murray, who has connected the old isolated surveys and laid down stations on the headlands and in the bays for connecting future surveys. Thirty-three miles of coast-line have been traversed for topographical purposes. Messrs. Smith and Thompson have finished 79,493 acres in the Terako and Waiau Districts to control the resurvey of old leasehold boundaries necessary to locate new applications. The field-work of 173,785 acres of triangulation and topography, the outcome of two season's work, is completed, but not yet plotted, as owing to press of work last winter the parties had to keep the field, so that plotting has fallen into arrear.' Messrs. Bullard and Greenfield during the past season have also completed the field-work of about 300,000 acres in the Owen, Tadrnor, and Wangapeka Districts, the plotting of which is in hand. The work became necessary to control mining and mineral applications. Owing to pressure of work in the Buller District the connection of triangulation between the Buller and Karaniea circuits, begun two seasons since, has not been finished.