o.—l

£ s. d. Territorial revenue ... ... ... ... ... 270,203 5 9 Land for settlements ... ... ... 72,781 8 2 Cheviot Estate ... ... ... ... ... ... 14,166 7 4 State forests ... ... ... ... ... ... 14,915 5 3 North Island Main Trunk Bail way ... ... ... 9,449 7 8 Thermal springs ... ... ... ... ... 1,650 6 11 Hanmer Sanatorium ... ... ... ... ... 1,139 19 10 Lakes Ellesmere and Forsyth ... ... ... ... 1,787 13 9 Mount Cook Hermitage ... ... ... ... ... 358 16 6 Crown-grant fees ... ... ... ... ... 915 17 10 Survey vote ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,149 2 8 Native townships ... ... ... ... ... 505 11 9 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... ..: 2,433 7 10 Government loans to local bodies ... ... ... ... 21,157 5 2 Endowments ... ... ... ... ... ... 17,724 16 10 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... £431,338 13 3 Aeeeaes. The rent in arrear at the 31st March, 1901, in each land district was :— Number. Amount. Auckland ... ... ... ... ... 628 £3,660 17 7 Hawke's Bay ... ... ... ... 3 5 13 0 Taranaki ... .. ... ... ... 126 832 1 0 Wellington . . ... ... ... ... 224 2,431 0 1 Nelson ... ... ... ... ... 42 !i: 2,268 19 2 Marlborough... ... ... ... ... 32 1,068 15 0 Westland ... ... ... ... ... 107 575 19 6 Canterbury ... ... ... ... ... 171 3,146 14 11 Otago ... ... ... ... ... 259 5,130" 0 2 Southland ... . . ... ... ... 72 510 710 Total ... ... ... ... 1,664 £19,630 8 3 This is £2,743 more than was owing at the same time last year, and the number of defaulters is forty-five fewer than they were at that time. Forests . The area of bush felled in preparing the land for grass or cultivation during the past year was 12,981 acres. Since 1895 the forest lands of the colony have been cleared to the extent of 1,064,718 acres. In the North Island the clearings amount to 930,923 acres, and in the Middle Island to 133,795 acres. The nurseries at Whakarewarewa, Eweburn, and Tapanui have grown 5,531,665 young forest-trees, shrubs, and ornamental' trees. The reserves at Whakarewarewa, Naseby, Waiotapu, and Dusky Hill have been planted with 434,416 forest-trees, and 30,759 ornamental trees and shrubs have been supplied to domains and local bodies. At Waiotapu a beginning has been made in the plantation of 1,280 acres by prison-labour, and it is satisfactory to state that so far the men sent to this work have done good service. The planting done on the whole is less than was expected, greatly due to the scarcity of efficient men to dig the holes the previous season. The Government was fortunate —through the Land Purchase Board—in acquiring at Baincliff, in Canterbury, a very fine plantation of 192 acres, containing about 50,000 trees of larch, spruce, pines, and birch, at a very reasonable price—little more than its value before it was planted. The trees require some attention, but they will in a few years be a valuable property. Next year it is hoped still better progress will be made, as the nurseries are now capable of supplying about a million and a half of trees, and within three years two million plants per annum. The cost of planting forests in New Zealand is, of course, much greater than it is in Europe. In Scotland pits are made for Is. per hundred ; in New Zealand they cost from 14s. 9d. to £1 10s. per thousand. Maori labour at the Whakarewarewa Nursery and Plantation being fairly plentiful —men, women, and boys doing each their part —the cost is not more than two-thirds of what it is in Otago. The forests of New Zealand are being rapidly converted, but there is still a large area both North and South which will be sufficient for home consumption and export for a good many years yet. The most accessible and the best timber will, no doubt, be used up in, say, twenty years ; but other kinds now less esteemed will come into use when these are done. The waste in conversion is quite 20 per cent. ; but when the timber becomes less easily got there will be less loss of that kind. Doubtless, also, means will be found to put to better use than burning many fine timber-trees that are now considered of little or no value. The distillation into their chemical products —such as acetic acid, potash, charcoal, tar, tar-oils, &c.—cannot, at the present price of labour, be done in competition with other countries. The kauri timber growing in the north is estimated at 1,250,000,000 superficial feet, and as the conversion is about 70,000,000 ft. per annum the supply will be exhausted in about eighteen

* Includes £2,221 4s. 6d., Greymouth-Point Elizabeth Coal Company's rents in abeyance.

ii—C. 1.

XV