o.—l.

A few items in the above table require notice. The town, suburban, and rural lands disposed of, as shown in the first three lines, are sold for cash at auction, or, in the case of rural lands, are sometimes selected under the optional clauses of " The Land Act, 1892." These latter transactions, however, are few in number, as will be seen below. There were no selections under the deferred-payment system, for it is obsolete, except in the few cases which come under section 114 of the Act, which authorises those who already hold under that tenure to select additional land under the same terms where it adjoins their holdings. The same section has been taken advantage of to select nineteen sections under the obsolete system of perpetual lease. Both classes of selection must shortly cease through the fact of all adjacent lands being taken up. Included in the cash received under the head of perpetual leases is the large sum of £53,807 3s. lid., which represents the extent to which the right of purchase has been exercised in such cases, as authorised by the Act of 1887. It seems probable that this last system will, like the deferred-payment, become extinct within a short time, as it is obvious from the returns of the last few years that the right of purchase is very largely taken advantage of. The reason is not far to seek. Until the passing of " The Government Advances to Settlers Act, 1895," perpetual leases were not considered very eligible securities for borrowing on, and since the passing of that Act it is found that money is now borrowed from the Advances to Settlers Office in order to obtain the freehold, which, of course, enables larger sums to be raised. Under the optional clauses of the Land Act the following selections were made : — Number. Acres. Cash ... ... .. ... ... ... 90 9,835 Occupation with right of purchase ... ... ... 277 59,647 Lease in perpetuity ... ... ... ... ... 278 62,229 Lands selected under section 114 ... ... ... 7 508 115 ... ... ... 31 6,310 117 4 41 To bring the figures contained in the first table into a comprehensive view, the items are summarised below under a few headings, in which are included all the selections under the various Acts administered by the department, with the exception of endowments and miscellaneous leases:—■

II

Nature and Tenure of Lands selected. Number of Purchasers or Selectors. Area. Cash received on Past and Current Transactions. 'own lands sold for cash Suburban lands sold for cash iural lands sold for cash deferred payment .. 'erpetual lease (includes perpetual leases made freehold, £53,807 3s. lid.) Occupation with right of purchase jease in perpetuity.. Agricultural lease /illage settlement, cash „ deferred payment.. „ perpetual lease .. .. .. „ occupation with right of purchase .. „ lease in perpetuity /illage-homestead special settlement (lease in perpetuity) special-settlement associations (lease in perpetuity) :mproved-farm special settlements (lease in perpetuity and occupation with right of purchase) Occupation leases, Mining Act small grazing-runs .. .. . Pastoral runs Miscellaneous leases and licenses jheviot Estate— Cash lands Lease in perpetuity Village-homestead special settlements (lease in perpetuity) Grazing-farms Pastoral runs .. .. Miscellaneous Ijand for Settlements Acts— Lease in perpetuity Lease in perpetuity, village settlement Special-settlement associations (lease in perpetuity) .. Small grazing-runs Miscellaneous 147 63 165 A. B. P. 122 0 38 254 1 8 28,087 1 26 I & s. a. 20,095 17 7 19 9,105' 2 28 38,022 6 0 79,589 15 7 277 278 2 4 59,647 3 20 62,229 3 15 13 1 0 3 2 13 3 2 7 1,280 1 27 319 0 20 28,084 1 17 4,881 3 24 8,732 17 6 13,641 18 6 241 7 0 26 11 3 564 1 9 1,126 8 3 7 7 9 1,070 12 1 2,341 7 3 10,072 16 10 247 19 2 4 91 15 142 45 48 25 129 271 2,817 0 7 63,752 3 28 1,187,771 3 17 99,396 3 14 81 17 9 20,570 4 11 73,124 16 2 19,756 3 9 13 5 3 20 2 37 320 1 31 40 2 0 336 2 0 5,973 14 4 869 4 7 16 227' 0 30 6,311 13 1 262 3 8 1,607 3 5 376 11 42,377 1 10 37 0 6 18,043 16 1 342 0 4 135 19 3 158 10 6 999 0 7 "2 22 5,180 3 5 4,718 3 36 Totals.. 2,173 1,600,695 0 24 324,353 16 11