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The Cheviot Estate. It will be seen from Table 34 that fourteen lots were disposed of for cash, six on lease in perpetuity, eight on village homestead conditions, and two grazing farms during the year ending the 31st March last, covering an area of 3,952 acres. These comprised a few forfeited sections, some town and suburban sections, and one new grazing farm. Practically, with the exception of a few reserves and town lots, the whole of the estate has now been dealt with. Taking the balance of capital value of £274,107 carried forward from last year, and adding to it the expenditure during the year for roads, interest, cheese-factory, and expenses of landingservice, amounting altogether to £15,237, and deducting the rent received and accrued, price of land sold, and port charges, amounting to £17,618, we arrive at a balance for the present capital value of the estate of £271,726. This shows that the rentals and receipts more than cover the expenditure, which will be further reduced next year by the cessation of roadworks. The annual rent of the estate was, at 31st March, £14,367 ; and the arrears amounted to £130 7s. 3d., owing by six tenants out of the 216 who hold the estate. There was a profit on the landing-service of £127 12s. 6d. last year. Since the 31st March the roads and landing-service have been handed over to the Cheviot County Council, who will in future undertake the management of both, and expend a sum of £3,000 granted by the Government to complete the roads and drains. The reports speak well of the class of settlers who have taken up land on the estate, and of the large amount of work performed by them in improving the lands. Settlement Conditions, etc. All the Commissioners' reports refer to the large amount of improvements effected on lands which the Crown Lands Rangers inspected during the year. Taking the colony all through, the value of such improvements is considerably more than double that required by law. During the processes of settlement very large areas have been felled, burnt, and sown with grasses preparatory to carrying either sheep or cattle. In the matter of clearing, &c, there are very few of the Crown tenants behind-hand, though residence is not so fully carried out. There are reasons connected with the difficulty of access that induce settlers to put off till the last moment allowed by law the removal of their families to their sections. In bush country this limit of time is four years. Even at the end of that time it frequently happens, in interior blocks, that sections can only be approached by bridle-roads. This cause more than any other tends to make compliance with the residential conditions more onerous than others relating to improvement. The staff of Crown Lands Eangers consists of eighteen officers, who have to visit the various properties held on conditions of improvement at least once a year, for many years after the land is selected. They are often called on to perform other duties in addition, which necessitates drawing on the strength of the Survey officers to keep the work up to date. Although the work of inspection is more forward now than has been the case for some time, there are still arrears in some districts. The inspection of the estates acquired under the Land for Settlements Act will entail closer inspection than do ordinary Crown lands, for the properties are more valuable, and likely to deteriorate if the conditions are not strictly observed. At present the Crown Lands Eangers are performing this work in addition to their other duties, and, from the extracts given of their reports to be found in the Appendix, it will be seen that a large amount of improvement has taken place on these properties, which in many instances are now carrying a considerable population where but few individuals were to be seen before the estates became Crown property. The close and constant inspection of the forest districts of the north has disclosed the necessity for it, for many depredations have been detected, and the defaulters brought to account. This has resulted in a considerable augmentation of the territorial revenue. In Westland, most of the inspections are confined to timber licenses, of which particulars are given in the Commissioner's report. The properties inspected during the year numbered between 4,000 and 5,000, and the value of the improvements on these is considerably more than double what the law requires. An attempt has been made in Table 3 to show the area of bush felled on lands sold or leased by the Crown to the 31st March last, but great difficulties surround the question, therefore the figures there given must be taken as very rough approximations. Revaluations. As stated in last year's report, the operations under " The Selectors' Land Revaluation Act, 1892," had at that time practically ceased. Only one transaction took place during the past year, which had remained over from the previous year. The total transactions, therefore, under this Act may be summarised as follows : — Total loss in capital value ... ... ... ... ... £169,497 Total loss in rental values ... ... ... ... ... £2,383 State Poeests. At the date of last report the area that had been reserved for all classes of timber reserves amounted to 1,150,918 acres. During the current year 60 acres in Marlborough, and 4,980 acres in Southland, have been withdrawn from reservation for settlement purposes. On the other hand, 18,504 acres have been reserved for forest, for planting, for preservation of native fauna and flora, and for scenic purposes, so that the total now stands at 1,164,382 acres. The largest areas reserved, as already referred to, were on the shores of Lake Waikaremoana, and the Little Barrier Islands. A good deal of the timber scorched by fires in previous years has been disposed of during the year, especially in the Thames district, where disastrous fires occurred in past years in the kauri forests, destroying large quantities of valuable timber, and leaving much other timber in a state that necessitated sale to avoid a total loss. The principal sales have been in the Auckland district, where, on account of the greater dryness of the climate, and the inflammability of the kauri forests, the

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