C.—l.

No. Area. Selected for cash ... ... ... ... 95 16,510 acres. Occupation with right of purchase ... ... 395 117,771 „ Lease in perpetuity ... ... ... ... 348 111,108 „ The figures shown in Tables A and B include town, suburban, and rural lands, but scarcely give a fair idea of what may more strictly be termed " settlement"—that is, the occupation of the country in farms of various sizes, whether of ordinary Crown lands or of the estates acquired under the Land for Settlements Acts. To arrive at this, town, suburban, pastoral, miscellaneous, and forfeited or surrendered lands should be deducted from the sum total of new settlers, and this leaves a balance of 979 selectors who are bound by the conditions under which the lands were taken up to reside on and improve their properties. This number is about seventy less than that for the previous period, The average size of the farm selected last year (excluding town, suburban, pastoral runs, grazing-runs, small lots, and miscellaneous leases) was 223 acres, the figures for 1899 being 196 acres, and those for 1898 190 acres. Taking the lands selected under the optional clauses of the Act, where the selector is not limited to one section, but may select up to the limits defined in the Act, the average-sized selection was 292 acres, the sizes for the two previous years being 243 acres and 222 acres respectively. Transactions under the Land Acts prior to that of 1892 continue to occur, but it is merely a question of time when these classes of holdings will cease to appear on the books of the department. The following figures show the principal items : No. Area. Deferred payments, freehold completed ... ... 186 26,370 acres. Perpetual lease made freehold ... ... ... 210 72,293 „ A considerable revenue is at present derived annually from the above two sources which will gradually disappear. Last year the sum paid as balances on deferred-payment lands and on conversion of the perpetual leases into freeholds was £87,683. On the 31st March last there still remained 926 deferred-payment selectors, holding an area of 134,014 acres, the annual instalments amounting to £7,415. At the same date there were 1,429 perpetual-lease selections, covering an area of 336,183 acres, paying an annual rental of £12,550. The sums mentioned above are the gross amounts, out of which certain portions are paid to the local bodies, which payments will, of course, cease as the lands become freehold. In the case of the perpetual leases made freehold, the greater facilities for borrowing money for improvements on freehold properties are no doubt the principal factors in the conversion, and it is believed that in this way a small percentage of the moneys paid out through the Advances to Settlers Office find their way back to the Treasury in the territorial revenue. Table C, below, shows selections under a few special clauses of the Act:—

Table C. Lands selected during the Year ended 31st March, 1900, under Sections 114, 115, and 117 of "The Land Act, 1892," and Section 13 of "The Land Act Amendment Act, 1895."

Below will be found the approximate total figures showing the transactions of the department for the past ten years, which are useful for comparison. The figures shown are the gross transactions, without deductions for forfeitures or surrenders, which will be found in Table B (for the last three years).

Table D. Showing in a Compact Form the Lands of all Descriptions taken up in the Last Few Years, and the Revenue collected.

iii

Tenure. Under Section 114. Under Section 116. Under Section 117. Under Section 13, 1895 Act. Number. Area. Number. Area. Number. Area. Number. Area. Cash .. Occupation with right of purchase Lease in perpetuity Village homestead 1 5 15 9 3 27 566 3 0 658 2 24 8 U 64 0 29 1,227 *3 20 17 167 3 15 131 *3 21 Totals 21 1,235 1 11 22 1,292 0 9 17 167 3 15 U 131 3 21

Year. Number of Selectors or Purchasers. Area taken up during the Year. Territorial Revenue. Total Revenue collected. Number of Tenants on the Boobs. Acres. £ £ 1889-90 ... 2,653 4,155,472 304,842 322,885 12,164 1890-91 ... 2,420 2,154,138 352,417 364,938 11,995 1891-92 ... 2,519 1,453,082 320,483 324,470 12,735 1892-93 3,071 1,663,339 274,399 310,523 14,261 1893-94 2,876 1,393,918 282,067 347,343 15,081 1894-95 2,547 1,015,577 338,166 375,879 15,326 1895-96 ... 2,865 2,662,344 291,673 345,331 15,683 1896-97 2,173 1,600,695 272,954 360,993 15,527 1897-98 2,058 2,451,062 263,296 359,086 16,365 1898-99 2,542 1,357,466 273,799 385,145 16,572 1899-1900 ... 2,310 1,573,823 262,228 382,943 17,191