α-i

Combining the figures and systems, it will be seen that 662,593 acres were opened on settlement conditions, exclusive of 1,193 acres offered at auction for cash, 11,769 acres similarly offered for lease, 37 acres of Native-township lands, and 1,071,724 acres put up on the pastoral-license system : 93,500 acres of estates acquired under the provisions of the Land for Settlements Acts are also excluded. It is important to observe the systems or tenures, and the districts and localities where the principal areas are situated. The 378,206 acres which were opened on the " optional system " under Part 111. of " The Land Act, 1892," were distributed as follows : Over a quarter of a million acres in the Auckland Land District, the larger areas being situated in the Hokianga, Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Waikato, and Kawhia districts ; Taranaki provided 64,359 acres, comprising blocks of land in the Upper Waitara, the valleys of the Ohura, Mangaroa, and at the head-waters of the Whenuakura and on the Patea River; the Wellington contribution of 26,406 acres was made up of the Tauakira Block in the Wanganui district, and part of the Waimarino Block north-west of Raetihi; the Hawke's Bay area of 10,646 acres included blocks at Puketitiri, Wakarara, Nuhaka North, and Motu, and scattered sections in other parts of the land district; the whole of the Middle Island only furnished 24,527 acres, inclusive of 14,163 acres in the Catlin's, Glenomaru, Woodlands, Tuapeka, and Maniototo districts in Otago; and 10,109 acres situated in the Takitimo, Waikawa, Slopedown, Longwood, Waiau, and New River districts in Southland. The 1,699 acres opened on the village - settlement conditions is represented by 1,516 acres in the Villages of Mataroa, near Taihape, Mowhanau, Kai-Iwi, and Horowhenua, in the Wellington Land District ; 32 acres in the Mangaehu Village, about twenty miles east of Eltham, in the Taranaki District; and 151 acres in the Villages of Riverton, Waimatuku, Makarewa, Mokotua, and Flint's Bush, in the Southland District. The 135,883 acres offered on the small-grazing-run system is made up of 31,145 acres in the West Taupo County, in the Auckland Land District; in the Wellington District it includes 11,775 acres opened in the Kaitieke Block; in Marlborough the 39,971 acres is situated in the Arapawa, Cloudy Bay, and Waipapa districts; the 11,501 acres in Nelson comprises runs in the Gordon and Tadmor districts; and in the Otago District 2.2,296 acres of the Highfield Run. The Middle Island quota is the outcome of attention to the conversion of pastoral-license areas to settlement conditions wherever lands at all adapted to the purpose could be found. The Land for Settlements small grazing-runs comprise a total area of 26,482 acres, of which 12,110 acres are in the Northbank and Waipapa Estates, in the Marlborough District; and 14,372 acres in the Chamberlain and Lyndon No. 2 Settlements, Canterbury District. An area of 146,805 acres was opened on.the lease-in-perpetuity system only, in terms of sections 121 and 138 of " The Land Act, 1892," because the areas in the North Island contain, or it is probable they contain, limestone, coal, or other minerals; and in the Middle Island for the reason that the lands are situated within goldfields districts, and it was necessary to conserve the public interests and provide for the future working and utilisation of valuable natural products. Under this head are 83,518 acres in the Auckland District, of which 75,420 acres were in blocks south and east of Kawhia in the King-country ; 3,187 acres were adjacent to Maketu ; 2,400 acres close to the Thames; and the balance was represented by scattered sections in various parts of the land district. In Taranaki were 20,427 acres in the Ohura, Mangaroa, and Patea Valleys, where outcrops of coal are reported ; and 41,819 acres are comprised in different blocks throughout the Westland goldfields. Particulars as to the acquired estates which were opened for selection will be found under the heading " Land for Settlements." The system which usually deals with the greatest proportion of Crown lands is that known as the pastoral license, under Part VI. of the Act. The licenses are for short terms, and therefore periodical classifications, grouping, and valuations of the runs have to be made. This was the case last year to a large extent in four of the Middle Island land districts. The 248,305 acres returned for Marlborough are situated in the Upper Wairau and Dillon districts; the 500,512 acres in Canterbury embrace runs throughout the whole district; the Otago figures, 143,809 acres, include areas situated in the Wakatipu, Vincent, Waitaki, Maniototo, and Tuapeka districts; Southland's 117,328 acres are situated in the Wakatipu district, and between Mossburn and the Waiau River ; and Westland contributed 61,770 acres of new country situated in ten runs at intervals on the coastal area,

V