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Land Transfer surveys. He reports them to be fairly well done, the chief weakness being indifferent ground-marking and topography. He has also had the supervision of the road works, which has occupied a considerable portion of his time. The following is a summary of the field-work completed, and also of that now in progress : —■ Completed during the Year. In hands o£ Surveyors. Minor triangulation ... ... 17,400 acres ... 12,000 acres Topographical surveys for selection ... 47,400 „ ... 129,000 „ Eural and suburban" ... ... 23,024 „ ... 11,222 Native Land Court (by staff) ... 2,952 „ ... 4,570 Native Land Court (by authorised surveyors) ... ... ... 25,346 „ ... 48,889 Eoads ... ... ... ... LIU miles ... 98 miles Office-ivorh. —Forty-one Land Transfer deposited maps, with a total area of 19,599 acres, have been examined at Napier, and the Gisborne office has examined thirteen plans, with an area of 5,514 acres. The plans of 27 miles of roads, " taken " and " closed "by local bodies, have been examined and passed. There have been 682 marginal plans placed on certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants, and other certificates, and 369 on leases, licenses, &c. In addition there has been the usual work of checking surveyors' maps, compiling block.sheets and record-maps, and the drawing for lithographing several of the survey districts and sale maps. The area work is very heavy, but I hope to be in a position to devote the time of certain officers specially to it. Beside the large number of block-sheets and record-maps to make, the lack of lithographs of the southern part of the district is severely felt. This it is also the intention to remedy, so far as circumstances will permit. Work for the ensuing Season. —There is no prospect of any reduction in the number of field surveyors, on account of the great demand for land for settlement. It has already been shown that 140,222 acres are now in progress of survey. This is principally in the Waikaremoana, Nuhaka North, and Motu distiicts. Applications have also been made to this Land Board to have land thrown open at Pohui, Maharahara, and Umutaoroa, the survey of which must of necessity be taken in hand this season. The survey of roads, of which 98 miles are now in the hands of the surveyors, will be a heavy demand upon us, as further requirements in this direction will be sure to arise to secure roads through Native blocks before the lapse of the right to take them. Thomas Humphriks, Chief Surveyor.

WELLINGTON. As I have only had charge of this district for a short time, and as that only included one month of the year's work under review, I cannot pretend to submit for your consideration anything but a bare summary of the result of the year's work as disclosed by the returns prepared for this purpose. Minor Triamj illation. —Only 11,000 acres have been returned (by Mr. Simpson) of major triangulation, broken down into subsidiary triangles in connection with road surveys in Wairarapa North. Topographical Survey of Land opened for Selection. —This includes the grading and laying-out of the principal road lines, and the cutting of some of the back lines of sections run along the main spurs so as to allow of practical fencing lines being obtained : 46,800 acres of this work has been mapped and got ready for sale, the average cost being slightly under 6d. per acre. Sectional Surveys, Rural and Suburban, principally of bush land selected for settlement. This includes the pegging and marking on the ground the boundaries of the various selections. Two hundred and thirty-two sections, containing 61,571 acres, have been done by staff officers at an averagecost of Is. sd. per acre, and 84 sections, including 52,993 acres, was done by contract by various authorised surveyors in different parts of the district, at a cost of Is. ljd. per acre, will note, however, the average size of the sections surveyed by staff surveyors was only about 266 acres each, and the sections surveyed by contract averaged 630 acres each, and was therefore done at a relatively lesser cost per acre. I would also point out that, as a rule, contract work is more straightforward and less scattered than that done by the staff. Native Land, Court Surveys. —The area surveyed at the expense of the Crown under this heading is much less than in previous years, and was chiefly in connection with lands being purchased by the Government from the Natives. 36,918 acres have been completed in 20 blocks, at a cost of l'sd. per acre ; this work was done principally by Mr. O'Donahoo by contract in the Maungakaretu and Tiriraukawa Survey Districts. I addition to this, however, 253,138 acres in 216 subdivisions have been surveyed, at the expense of the Native owners, throughout the entire provincial district, which, of course, requires the same supervision and inspection as the other surveys, the plans being examined, reduced, and recorded by the office staff, and all Native Land Court requirements as to title attended to. Road and other Surveys. —About 88-J- miles of roads have been laid out by the staff surveyors, at a cost of £11 11s. 2d. per mile; this work was done in a great many different districts, which materially increases the cost of the work; this is independent of the roads surveyed under the topographical or sectional surveys. The bulk of this class of work were surveys undertaken under the Governor's warrant in order that the power given in the Native Lands and Crown Grants Acts might be exercised before the right expired, or of roads long in public use but of which the department has no proper record. Inspection. —Twenty-five inspections have been made by Mr. LI. Smith, District Surveyor, acting as Inspector for the Chief Surveyor; of these, twelve were inspections of surveys done by staff surveyors, and disclosed as a whole very excellent work ; oight were inspections of Govern-