8.—15 a.

GENERAL MANAGER'S ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH, 1900. (No. 6/4.) Wellington, 18th June, 1900. Meeting held, 19th June, 1900. I have the honour to submit balance-sheet and profit and loss account for year ending 31st March, 1900, and to report that the conduct of the business by the Board has proved extremely satisfactory, not only from a revenue-earning but also from a realisation point of view. The working and management of station properties shows a surplus of £87,455 10s. lid., or equal to £5-92 per cent, on book cost and £8-88 per cent, on my valuation. A proportion of this (£11,855) was surplus over drafts against London consignments unrealised at the 31st March, 1899, and this deducted from the total surplus leaves as the* ; net actual profit of the year the sum of £75,600, which gives £5-14 per cent, on book cost and £.768 on my valuation. The statement below gives returns each year from the commencement of the Board's existence:— 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. £ & £ £ & Station properties ... 58,493 56,336 43,296 42,841 87,455 Sundry properties ... 6,295 6,897 6,659 7,031 6,822 showing approximately an average net earning for the period 1895 to 1900 as follows : —- For Year to 31st March, „ 0 1900, on latest Book Cost. my Valuation. Valuation plus Stock. Station properties ... 3 - 52 per cent. 5-16 per cent. 9-26 per cent. On Land-tax plus 10 per cent. Sundry properties ... 1-10 per cent. 1-65 per cent. 3• 30 per cent. (2.) Statutoey Payments by Bank of New Zealand Have been fully complied with in respect of amounts due to the 31st March, 1899, and at date of writing I am advised that cheque is about to reach us for the amount due to the 31st March last— £50,000. (3.) Debentures and Debentuke Interest. The amount redeemed to the 31st March, 1900, is £180,285, and we are now in a position to repay £75,000, with additional £50,000 as soon as we receive the bank's statutory amount. Debenture interest (£88,098 13s. 5d.) has been paid prompt to date, and has been provided for as under; — £ s. d. ■ From surplus from 1898-99 ... ... ... ... 4,686 17 7 From surplus from 1899-1900 operations ... ... ... 81,474 16 1 From statutory payment by bank ... ... ... ... 50,000 0 0 £136,161 13 8 Leaving a surplus of £48,063 to carry forward. (4.) Eealisations. The sales have been made in larger volume and to greater value than last year, and embrace 46,429 acres of country lands, realising £111,137, and town and suburban lands and sundries to the value of £43,300. The enhanced value of produce and stock has been responded to in land, and prices hitherto unobtainable have been secured. Nothing has been lost by the Board's policy of feeding the market in no greater quantity than could be absorbed at fair values, and we have succeeded in all cases in selling at or over reserve prices without difficulty. The keenest inquiry experienced has been in the South Island, where certain of our estates have been cut up and sold at considerable advance on the prices quoted for the estate as a whole, Glentui having far exceeded anticipations. It is certain that the concluding sale of Glentui freehold was well timed, and had the Board's operations not been somewhat precipitated by outside representations, and we had not sold any portion prior to the 21st December, 1899, we should have had a considerable addition to our surplus on this property. The sales for the year are as follows : — £ Land ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 154,437 Stock and implements on properties finally realised ... ... 13,909 £168,346 Land sales being £34,917 in excess of previous year. The proportion of sales to book cost (£2,731,706) is 21-4, and to land-tax valuation, plus 10 per cent, for sundry properties, and my valuation for station properties, which together total £1,895,179, it is 30-79.

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