C.—l

In the foregoing table, all the deferred payment and perpetual lease selections are made now by selectors already holding lands under those particular tenures, and who are by law allowed to increase their holdings on the same terms in cases where the selected lands adjoin their own properties. The transactions are necessarily few, and must decrease. The considerable amounts shown as received under these headings are: in the case of deferred payment lands, the instalments towards final acquisition of the freehold, and, in that of perpetual lease holdings, it represents— besides rentals—the payments in exercise of the right of purchase contained in the leases. Both of these systems will gradually become extinct under process of law, either by purchase, or exchange to other tenures in which the rent is less, and therefore a diminution of the cash revenue is to be expected on their extinction. The foregoing table may also be summarised in a form showing the selectors under a few headings, for purposes of easier comparison, as follows; they include the Cheviot Estate, and selectors under the Land for Settlements Act, but exclude miscellaneous leases :—

Part 111. of " The Land Act, 1892," is that under which lands are thrown open for selection, with the optional tenures of cash, occupation with right of purchase, and lease in perpetuity, and therefore the operations under this part of the Act may be taken as some measure of the most popular form of tenure. The figures are : Occupation with right of purchase, 431 selections, 84,967 acres; lease in perpetuity, 415 selectors, 89,144 acres; showing, as do the selections for the previous year, a slight preponderence in favour of the lease which allows of ultimate purchase, notwithstanding that the rents are 1 per cent, greater in the latter case. In the table given above, the selectors under the 999-year leases are largely in excess of the others; but it is necessary to point out that a large proportion of the lands now thrown open, such as the association blocks, improved farms, village settlements, and under the Land for Settlements Act, can only be selected on that tenure, no choice being given, as in the case of optional selection. From Table 5 it will be seen that the total number of selections under all headings last year was 2,865, being 318 in excess of the previous period. Of ohese, if we deduct the purchasers of town sections, lessees of pastoral runs, and miscellaneous leases, there remains 2,269* selectors as about the number who selected lands for the purposes of occupation, and most of whom are bound

* The figures given in the Financial Statement are 2,425, in which pastoral selections are included.

II

Nature and Tenure of Lands selected. No. of Purchasers or Selectors. Area. Cash received on Past and Current Transactions. A. E. P. 163 0 31 182 0 8 26,098 2 9 455 2 8 1,427 1 9 84,967 3 9 89,144 0 18 36 0 0 9 1 18 & s. d. Pown lands suburban lands iural lands Deferred payment Perpetual lease )ccupation with right of purchase lease in perpetuity Agricultural lease .. Allage settlement, cash „ deferred payment „ perpetual lease „ occupation with right of purchase .. „ lease in perpetuity /illage-homestead special settlement (lease in perpetuity) Special settlement associations improved-farm special settlements )ccupation leases, Mining Act Small grazing-runs .. 'astoral runs Miscellaneous leases and licenses Cheviot Estate— Cash lands Lease in perpetuity Village-homestead special settlements (lease in perpetuity) Grazing farms .. .. •. Pastoral run Miscellaneous land for Settlements Acts — Lease in perpetuity Lease in perpetuity, village Special settlement associations (lease in perpetuity) .. Small grazing-runs 235 58 169 6 7 431 415 3 16 3 183 11 224 315 69 30 156 189 2 13 3,279 3 24 633 2 32 41,434 1 13 28,348 0 1 2,931 1 19 43,557 2 4 2,109,971 0 2 190,469 3 10 1 20,343 13 2 44,659 15 7 69,343 17 5 7,144 18 0 11,157 19 7 548 2 3 106 4 6 937 11 1 1,190 9 8 6 15 2 896 5 7 2,310 13 3 12,911 10 2 125 9 5 412 7 6 19,738 17 7 80,066 8 8 12,189 9 2 14 6 8 130 2 23 1,125 3 0 159 2 29 893 9 8 5,672 6 10 742 6 0 2 'ie 2,536 0 0 741' 1 32 5,440 8 3 235 18 1 404 15 11 275 10 14 32,080 1 20 - 83 2 14 2,803 0 9 313 1 3 4,975 17 9 171 0 5 101 10 10 15 13 4

1894. 1895. 1896. Tenure. No. Area. No. Area. No. Area. lash )eferred payment 'erpetual lease )ccupation with right of purchase jease in perpetuity .. 'astoral runs (ccupation and agricultural leases, Mining Acts 500 96 17 471 1.228 227 Acres. 34,999 12,668 3,854 108,499 255,348 899,945 415 49 3 428 1,032 123 Acres. 38,719 5,497 1,263 75,500 166,037 568,293 492 6 7 434 1,461 188 72 Acres. 26,584 455 1,427 84,970 199,093 2,156,378 2,967