C.—l.

Table No. 2.—Comparative Statement of Gross Revenue, 1898-99 and 1899-1900.

The balance at credit of the various Eeceivers of Land Revenues' Deposit Account was £21,657 18s. 6d. The large amount of deposits at credit in the Deposit Account is accounted for by the fact that close to the end of the financial year several estates were opened for selection—viz., in Auckland, Fencourt; Otago, Elderslie ; and in Canterbury, Pareora No. 2—scarcely giving the Eeceivers sufficient time to return unsuccessful applicants their deposits, especially in Canterbury, where the deposits lodged amounted to £16,500 for forty sections. The balance at credit in the various Eeceivers' books due to local bodies for "thirds" and "fourths" was £39,737 3s. 6d., being a total increase upon last year of £6,313 4s. 7d. With the exception of Auckland and Canterbury, every land district shows an increase. During the past year I inspected the Eeceivers' work in the following district offices—viz., Napier, Gisborne, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Hokitika, Westport, Christchurph, New Plymouth, Dunedin, and Invercargill—and went through the Eeceivers' work in each for generally about twelve months, prepared balance-sheets of their transactions, copies of which I furnished with my report at time of audit. In the course of the audit work in the Eeceivers' offices I reported to you generally upon the state of the selectors' ledgers, and submitted for your inspection about twenty cases taken at random from each office, so as to verify the correctness of each transaction, it being quite impossible to audit every sale or lease. I beg to state that the work of the office is steadily increasing, and that everything is checked as much as possible. There were 1,318 queries sent out, which had all to be received again and dealt with; 516 memoranda written, 332 memoranda received; 1,236 Commissioners' returns and 2,396 fresh audit-cards received and checked; and 45 refund vouchers passed. According to your instructions, I am having prepared a personal and sectional index of all the cards in this office, taking in all sections that were alive on the Ist January, 1898. The personal one is finished, and the sectional one is getting towards completion.

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Nature of Receipt. 1898-99. 1899-1900. Increase. Decrease. Territorial revenue Lands for settlement Cheviot Estate ... State forests North Island Main Trunk Railway Thermal springs Lakes Ellesmere and Forsyth Crown-grant fees Native townships j Miscellaneous ... [ Mount Cook Hermitage J Hanmer springs Hanmer Sanatorium Government Loans to Local Bodies Endowments Survey vote Decrease for 1899-1900 £ 8. a. 273,799 7 4 38,804 10 2 17,043 8 1 5,844 6 6 11,282 19 8 1,351 13 6 1,740 8 11 1,228 12 0 2,649 12 2 376 6 2 796 5 5 13,255 17 2 15,117 18 4 1,853 15 4 £ s. a. 262,228 13 8 46,354 14 4 14,822 15 5 8,845 18 10 8,572 13 3 1,075 12 11 1,693 18 5 1,046 5 7 238 1 9 2,818 17 0 534 6 4 875 18 5 15,157 15 10 16,333 3 6 2,344 13 6 £ s. a. 7,550 4 2 3,001 12 4 941 12 11 79 13 0 1,901 18 8 1,215 5 2 490 18 2 £ s. d. 11,570.13 8 2,22012 8 2,710 6 5 276 0 7 46 10 6 182 6 5 376 6 2 385,145 0 9 382,943 8 9 382,943 8 9 15,181 4 5 17,382 16 5 15,181 4 5 2,201 12 0 2,201 12 0