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is £25,600, and the settlers have paid in rent and interest £17,601 11s. Id. There were 275 selectors in arrear, owing £2,000 14s. 2d., and the total value of improvements was £87,178 7s. 6d. The tables in the Appendix give full details regarding these settlements. "The Land foe Settlements Act, 1894." Particulars as to purchases made since the date of the last report of the Lands and Survey Department will be found in the report of the Land Purchase Inspector (C.-5, 1896). Mr. J. McKerrow took over that branch of the department on the coming into force of the amendment Act of 1895. In brief, the estates purchased to the 31st March last numbered twenty-eight, containing 86,919 acres; the cost for purchase amounting to £377,553 65., to which has to be added £11,761 11s. 7d., the cost of roading, surveys, administration, &c. Up to the 31st March, nineteen estates had been subdivided into various-sized farms to suit local requirements, and offered to the public, with the result that the greater part of them had been selected, and numerous settlers are now resident. At the date of the return there had been erected 133 houses, occupied by 643 souls, who had made improvements valued at £13,022 6s. The rentals are bringing in 476 per cent, on the sum sunk in the estates —namely, £209,559, which leaves a surplus after paying interest on the money raised for their purchase. The Commissioners report very favourably of the amount of improvements made, and the general compliance with the conditions of the leases, particulars of which will be found in the reports attached. Out of the 397 selectors who have taken up land since the initiation of the scheme, twelve have forfeited their rights through breach of the conditions, and two of these farms have since been reselected, whilst the others will probably be occupied as soon as thrown open again. Out of the total area purchased, 11,895 acres have not yet been selected, the reasons for which are given in the report (C.-5, 1896) already quoted, but there is no reason to believe that much of this will remain on hand long; indeed it is known that most of it will be selected so soon as the various causes which at present prevent selection are removed. These estates offer to the sons of farmers in their vicinity an excellent opportunity to acquire lands near their parents, from whom they can obtain help, whilst, at the same time, this class of settler is the best that can be secured in the interests of the estates themselves. The experience of the past season has shown the necessity for some amendment in the law with regard to the ballotting for the lands, so as to give greater facilities to the class that has been referred to, without their having recourse to what may be termed " family dummyism," a practice which, there is little doubt, has been in operation to a considerable extent during the past year. Any scheme which will secure the right class of tenant will be a great step in advance, for, in dealing with these high-priced lands, want of experience or means on the part of the tenant will very soon depreciate the value of the estates, and prevent their letting again at the same rents.* "The Pastoral Tenants' Be-lief Act, 1895." The exceedingly severe winter of 1895 rendered necessary some measure of relief to the pastoralists in the South Island, which was secured under the above Act. The parts of the country which suffered most were Canterbury and Otago, the other districts to a much less extent. The Land Boards made exhaustive inquiries into the losses of the settlers, as the members travelled about through the districts affected. The results, up to the 31st March, may be stated briefly as follows, though there are a few cases as yet undecided: — The number of tenants dealt with was 405, holding ... 7,312,796 acres. The stock depastured in 1895 was ... ... ... 2,344,850 head. The stock lost in excess of average was ... ... 699,559 „ The estimated value of such stock was ... ... £211,560 The number of cases where relief has been granted was .. 344 The nature of the relief granted is as follows : — Eemission of rent due ... ... ... ... £11,059 Eeduction of future rentals ... .. ... £16,383 Eemission of sheep-tax ... ... ... ... £772 The extension of leases varied from two years up to twenty-one years. Pastoeal Euns. A much larger number of pastoral runs has apparently been taken up during the past year, but those relet in Otago under the Pastoral Tenants' Belief Act are included. The total number is 156, covering 2,109,971 acres. In Westland, eighty-two runs have been taken up under section 219 of the Act; this section provides for lands being held for a short term. The areas are small compared to the usual size of pastoral runs, as the eighty-two runs only cover an area of 22,524 acres. Owing to the provisions of the Midland Eailway contract, this is the only way in which these lands can be occupied at present. There were only thirty small grazing-runs selected, covering an area of 43,870 acres, mostly in Otago. During the present year a large number of the runs in Marlborough and Nelson will fall in, v/hich have been under lease for the last twenty-eight years, and these will be dealt with again so soon as the boundaries can be adjusted to suit the lay of the country, for which purpose topographical surveys have been in progress for some time past. In order to make the commencement of the leases fit in with shearing and other matters, arrangements have been made with the lessees to hold the runs until the end of February next; this will make them accord with all the other pastoral runs in the colony.

* The table attached to the report on the Land for Settlements Act, page 11, states the arrears of rents on all the settlements to be £480 2s. Bd. This sum has been reduced since 31st March last to £330 3s. 9d.