C.—l.

special count is kept. This is much in excess of previous years; and as the correspondence is a fair index of the extent of the business of the department, the following summary for ten years may be interesting, as showing how the work has developed : Y , Inward Outward Total earB ' Correspondence. Correspondence. Correspondence. 1890-91 ... ... ... 9,788 5,640 15,428 1891-92 ... ... ... 10,000 8,400 18,400 1892-93 ... ... ... 12,000 10,200 22,200 1893-94 ... ... ... 16,000 12,600 28,600 1894-95 ... ... ... 16,500 ■ 14,500 31,000 1895-96 ... ... ... 15,214 13,300 28,514 1896-97 . ... ... 16,800 13,500 30,300 1897-98 .. ... ... 17,200 14,300 31,500 1898-99 ... ... ... 19,112 16,416 35,528 1899-1900 ... ... ... 21,241 19,200 40,441 Totals ... ... 153,855 128,056 281,911 Besides ordinary clerical work a good deal of legal or semi-legal business is done, such as Proclamations, Warrants, Orders in Council, and similar documents, which are prepared for the signature of His Excellency the Governor and Ministers. Those relating to the administration of Crown lands, reserves, cemeteries, domains, &c., were mainly prepared under Mr. F. T. O'Neill's direction, and amounted to 357. Those relating to roads and bridges under the Public Works and other Acts were for the most part prepared by Captain Barclay, and amounted to 222. Mr. Samuel, Clerk of Titles, dealt with 3,724 Crown grants, warrants, certificates of titles, leases, &c. In addition to ordinary routine of entering and recording correspondence, and of the special duties above mentioned, regulations were compiled and issued in respect lo timber on Crown lands and in State forests, that caused much work. Contracts for the supply of grass-seed were prepared, and tenders invited. Several large returns were compiled for Parliament. A complete set of new forms for tables for annual report was compiled and printed. Circulars were sent to all the principal sawmillers in the colony on the subject of aid to persons injured in the timber industry, and their replies compiled. There were also many other duties performed that it is not necessary to mention specially. Promissory notes for grass-seed supplied to settlers through this department on the occasion of the disastrous fires of 1898 are first deposited in the Treasury, but when they are dishonoured they are returned to this office for collection. Five hundred and thirty-two were taken, for £4,453 16s. lOd.; 232 fell due last year, for £1,675 Bs. Id., of which 130 were dishonoured, for £1,013 12s. sd. The correspondence in connection with naval and military &c. claims is still considerable, involving in many cases searches of documents many years old. I inspected the office of the Auditor of Land Revenue, and inquired into the methods of work of that office, in April, 1899. During the year I also inspected the clerical work of the Auckland, Gisborne, Napier, and Blenheim offices of the department; and I held statutory inquiries under " The Public Works Act, 1894," under commissions from His Excellency the Governor, in respect to the control and maintenance of the Taraheru and Turanganui Bridges at Gisborne, the Mudflat bridges at Havelock, and the Ashley Traffic-bridge near Bangiora. I also held an inquiry under the Governor's commission at Pleasant Point, as to the site for a proposed bridge over the Opihi River. The reports and notes of evidence in most of these cases were voluminous. The following is a summary of the returns of co-operative labourers received weekly from the various districts. It shows the average per month for each district and the average for the yea? ended the 31st March last:—

xix

£8> District. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. SI CD ® Auckland 378 436 523 577 579 638 703 664 606 531 597 519 562 Hawke's Bay 198 221 216 241 251 271 254 244 221 229 221 189 230 Taranaki 166 265 332 345 375 . 369 330 292 246 217 138 142 268 Wellington Marlborough 465 496 546 601 556 559 555 520 537 480 424 441 515 23 81 166 201 232 213 196 175 146 95 110 90 144 Nelson 10 3 20 14 27 31 24 29 47 34 42 40 27 Westland 41 46 30 26 22 16 13 13 21 29 43 48 29 Canterbury 23 24 24 17 44 43 25 26 33 20 10 10 25 Otago 78 75 81 93 109 124 115 104 109 126 123 95 103 Southland 72 55 55 63 82 63 52 45 65 94 97 111 71 1,454 1,702 1,993 2,178 2,277 2,327 2,267 2,112 2,031 1,855 1,805 1,685 1,974