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three visits to the " unemployed "at the road-works, Catlin's Eiver. I also made both field and office inspections in the Lawrence and Queenstown Districts. Besides the above, I was for fourteen days in December inspecting and classifying runs with Messrs. Maitland and Clark, and I also visited the road-parties at work in the Arthur Eiver and Clinton Valleys, and traversed the whole of the track frem the head of Milford Sound to Te Anau Lake. District Offices. —Lawrence office is still in charge of Mr. M. McLean; Queenstown office is noAV in charge of Mr. G. Mackenzie as Crown Lands Ranger and Assistant Draughtsman, the late Ranger, Mr. H. M. Adair, having been found drowned in Lake Wakatipu on the 9th December, 1889. The Naseby office is in charge of Mr. David Barron, District Surveyor, as there is no resident draughtsman. Dunedin Office. —Mr. George Edward Darton joined on the 21st October, 1889, as a cadet. During the year Mr. Skey—who had six months' leave of absence on account of ill-health— prepared and recorded, with the assistance of Messrs. Wadie, Marsh, and Morrison, 252 Crown grants and certificates of title, 80 run and small grazing-runs licenses in duplicate, 117 perpetual leases in triplicate, 33 deferred-payment licenses in. duplicate, 32 occupation licenses in duplicate, 3 coal leases and 2 agricultural leases, both in duplicate; and examined and recorded 286 special-claim grants and licensed-holding certificates, besides other incidental work. Mr. Nicolson, Avho has charge of all the records and lithographs, furnishes field surveyors with tracings and data for new surveys, makes copies of all new surveys for the Land Office, and attends to the public that come to the office for information. Mr. Wadie keeps the records of railwaly land-plans, records road-improvements to open up Crown lands before sale; collected information and prepared plan for New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, showing factories and industries generally in Otago; records Land Transfer surveys on county maps, and constructed topographical map of coast and country around Dunedin, besides doing various other duties. Mr. Fynmore records all surveys of new and closed roads on working plans, and road district and county maps, reports on road matters, supplies descriptions of school districts for the Education Department, compiles returns of sold lands monthly, and attends to the public in connection with road matters : has made and compiled a new map of Clutha County and Glenomaru district. Mr. Thompson checked the following plans : From staff, 179; Land Transfer, 67 ; road and railway in duplicate, 19; mining leases, 256 ; and surveyed and fixed disputed boundary-line between the properties of Mr. John McCartney and Mr. John Kerr in Block IV., Portobello Bay district. Mr. Marsh, besides the work done on Mr. Skey's list, examined and recorded all gold-mining surveys on compiled and record maps, compiled information for eighty-chain maps, and plotted all work in connection with the West Coast explorations. Mr. Morrison, when not engaged on lithographic work, assisted Mr. Skey in the preparation of grant leases, &c. Mr. Euncie, besides assisting with the correspondence, recorded a precis of and indexed 3,612 letters received and sent out, receives and numbers all plans, compiles the monthly survey and road report, keeps the departmental accounts and stores, pays all salaries and Avages, despatches all correspondence, plans, and parcels, and attends to affairs in connection with the clerical work of the office. Land Transfer Work. —Mr. Thompson's work under this heading has been already detailed under the Dunedin office-work. Mr. Treseder, whose time is wholly taken, up with this kind of work, examined and checked 39 applications, 946 transfers, 583 mortgages, 279 leases, 170 transmissions, 305 draft certificates, and put plans (in duplicate) on 615 certificates. Lithographic. —Mr. Morrison reduced and drew two plans for photo-lithography, and eighteen plans on transfer paper. Mr. Bain put down eighteen, lithographs, from which he pulled 5,050 copies, and also printed 200 circulars and mounted 267 maps. The " Unemployed." —I had about forty of these men under my charge till near the end of January in this year, during which time they were employed in clearing and forming the road at Catlin's Eiver. By your instructions they were paid off in January, and I handed over the road they had been engaged on to Mr. F. Wither, Assistant Engineer, who has had charge of the road since. Proposed Operations for 1890-91. —As the demand for land in the Catlin's and Woodland districts still continues, I propose that Mr. Strauchon, as soon as he has finished subdividing part of Eun 177a for the Southland Survey Office, shall triangulate Woodland district, and carry standard bearing into Tautuku and Eimu districts. I think four surveyors should be kept steadily at Avork on the settlement surveys in Glenomaru, Catlin's, and Woodland districts. Messrs. Barron and Wilmott will probably be kept fully employed in their own districts. A standard survey of Dunedin city is urgently required, and the want of it is keenly felt in regard to Land Transfer surveys. There are some bush reserves in Warepa and Clarendon districts to be subdivided, also several Native reserves along the coast; and, as the present staff cannot undertake these, it will be necessary to engage two extra surveyors if the work is to be done during the coming season. There are also applications awaiting survey in the Taukupu Valley, amounting to 1,550 acres, and a third surveyor could be fully employed in cutting up this and the adjacent land during the next tAvelve months. C. W. Adams, Chief Surveyor.

SOUTHLAND. Field Work. —During the'*year there were fifty-three sections, comprising 7,920 acres, surveyed under the head of " Rural and Suburban Surveys." Under the head of " Native Land Court Surveys" there Avere four sections, comprising 255 acres, executed; whilst under the head of " Goldmining, &c, Surveys," there were executed 102 sections, embracing 4,563 acres.