C.—l
V
In last year's report attention was drawn to the fact that regulations had been issued, taking effect within the Hauraki Mining District, to allow miners and others to secure extended holdings, thereby enabling them to obtain sufficient returns from utilising the lands for farming and grazing, so as to counterbalance the fallmg-off in their incomes, which formerly depended upon mining and its associated employments. Similar regulations were issued in October and December of last year, and made applicable to the Marlborough and Westland goldfields, with results to be specified hereafter. Lands disposed of. The year's transactions are summarised below: —
Table B. —Number of New Selectors, and Area taken up, from 1st April, 1903, to 31st March, 1904, and Total Amount of Revenue received during the Year.
The total transactions show an increase of 566 compared with those of the year 1902-3, the area an excess of 35,279 acres, and the gross receipts, .£497,211, show an advance of £48,831. The average area of the selections is 577 acres, arrived at as in former years by dividing the total area by the number of selectors; but by omitting the cash, small grazing-runs, and pastoral-runs, the number of holdings is reduced to 2,181 and the aggregate area to 501,090 acres, which gives an average of about 229 acres per selection. An examination in more detail and comparison with the previous year's figures shows that the sales of land for cash lealised £25,789, or just about double those of 1902-3. As might be expected, the purchase of perpetual-lease freeholds fell off more than one-third, whilst the receipts from the purchase similarly of areas held under the occupation-with-right-of-purchase licenses increased fivefold. The shortage in the amounts collected as instalments and rentals respectively on the deferredpayment and perpetual-lease (enures follows as a matter of course upon the reduction of holdings. The occupation-with-right-of-purchase selections during the year, 402, is within one of the previous
Nature and Tenure of Lands selected. O ID ©.3 _o o a 9 s| 3-CD Area. Average Holding. Cash received on Past and Current Transactions. Town lands sold for cash Suburban lands sold for cash Rural lands sold for cash Perpetual leases made freehold Occupation with right of purchase made freehold Deferred-payment instalments Perpetual leases Occupation with right of purchase Lease in perpetuity Agricultural lease Village settlement, cash deferred payment perpetual lease made freehold „ occupation with right of purchase .. „ lease in perpetuity Village-homestead special settlement Special-settlement associations, deferred payment perpetual lease lease in perpetuity Improved-farm special settlements (lease in perpetuity) Occupation leases, Mining Districts Land Occupation Act Small grazing-runs .. ;. Pastoral runs Thermal springs, Rotorua Miscellaneous leases and licenses Miscellaneous Cheviot Estate— Lease in perpetuity Village-homestead special settlement Grazing-farms Pastoral runs Miscellaneous leases Miscellaneous Land for Settlements Acts— Cash Lease in perpatuity „ (village) Special-settlement associations (lease in perpetuity) .. Small grazing-runs Pastoral runs Miscellaneous leases 196 74 161 A. B. P. 202 2 13 219 3 22 22,053 2 37 A. E. P. 1 0 5-3 2 3 35-4 136 3 36-7 £ s. d. [ 25,797 15 4 402 489 2 10 1 21 23 146,952 3 37 102,370 3 27 13 1 0 8 0 6 0 10 513 2 5 272 1 25 365 2 8'7 209 1 15-5 6 2 20 0 3 86 0 10 24 1 32-6 11 ' 3 15 17,129 8 1 14,567 7 8 5,381 4 2 5,281 9 3 37,135 8 0 35,296 5 11 88 9 1 453 14 0 135 0 5 375 5 11 293 8 6 11 11 2 607 17 7 3,307 8 1 161 4 5 116 4 7 6,008 10 2 4,401 19 8 944 10 6 27,336 18 6 70,388 2 3 24 2 9 11,144 11 6 68,282 6 9 4 106 97 39 129 2 593 729 0 0 19,435 3 14 4,971 3 32 105,049 3 22 956,581 1 32 11 1 36 111,622 3 8 182 1 0 183 1 17-1 51 1 1-1 2,693 2 13-8 7,415 1 17-6 5 2 38 188 0 37-4 6,205 3 1 773 11 1 6,292 3 9 193 3 8 311 16 0 17 6 2 6 10 3 0 20 4 406 4 1 32 92,144 1 35 1 0 18 226 3 33 83 13 3 128,116 9 3 381 6 0 163 11 8 15,680 7 4 124 5 2 4,214 1 11 19 39,735 3 0 2,091 1 16-8 "33 22,045 1 28 668' 0 6-9 Totals 2,813 1,624,940 1 11 577 2 24-9 £497,211 3 11