0.-4.'

Payment of " Thirds " to Local Bodies. The total amount of " thirds " and " fourths " paid over to the counties and Road Boards towards the maintenance of roads in settled districts amounted to £27,065, whilst the amount spent direct by the Chief Engineer for Roads in districts where no local body exists amounted to £1,349 9s. " Flax and Timber Royalties Act, 1905." Under the above Act a sum of £6,361 has accumulated for payment to the various local bodies entitled thereto- The amounts are payable after approval by the several Land Boards, but no payments were made prior to the 31st March. Land-for-settlements Estates. The reports of the several Commissioners of Crown Lands are, upon the whole, very pleasant reading. With very few exceptions they show that the lessees are earnest in their endeavours to carry out the spirit of the Act and to thoroughly work their sections ; that the amount of capital invested in improvements is a substantial guarantee to the State that its efforts to provide improved lands for its people are appreciated, and that it is the making of many a man, by giving him the opportunity of selecting land from which he may at once obtain a competent livelihood. The great impetus given to dairyfarming by the establishment of co-operative and other creameries or milk-factories, coupled with a moist summer and plenty of grass, together with good prices for all sorts of produce and the great rise in wool, has put every settler into good heart and given him cause for thankfulness. For the year ending 31st March last, eight additional estates had been opened, with a total area of 260,043 acres, and of this area the Selwyn Estate, Auckland, of 159,302 acres, had 51,000 acres opened in December last, with fair results; another 37,444 acres were opened for selection on the 23rd April, and some 60,000 acres of valuable rimu forest of milling timber have been reserved, and were dealt with by the Auckland Land Board on timber royalty prior to the land being opened for selection. In Hawke's Bay the Lindsay Estate of 13,574 acres has been wholly selected; in Wellington the Tawaha Estate has been only partially selected ; in Marlborough the much-discussed Flaxbourne Estate, of 46,598 acres, has been selected, all but 807 acres of partly town and suburban area, and is returning an annual rental of £10,340 ; in Canterbury the three estates of Morice, Kinloch and Mills, containing together an area of 16,170 acres, have nearly all been allotted to selectors, and the balance unselected is fast being applied for; 'and, lastly, in Otago the Greenfield Settlement, of 22,071 acres, has been wholly selected. In addition to the above, the Steward Settlement, in Otago, of 21,344 acres, and the Mahupuku, Hikawera, and Dyer Estates, in the Wairarapa District, Wellington, containing altogether 17,288 acres, have been acquired and are being opened for settlement. There is still a very great demand for land of this class throughout the colony, and but little Crown land available to satisfy that demand.

TABLE C.—Estates offered for Selection during the Year ending the 31st March, 1906, under "The Land for Settlements Consolidation Act, 1900."

8

Land District, and Name of Estate. .. „ . Number of Area ot Estate. Se i eo tors. J \rea unselected, 31st March, 1906. Annual Rental j payable on Lands leased. Date of Opening. Auckland — Selwyn Hawke's Bay— Lindsay Wellington— Tawaha Marlborough— Plaxbourne Canterbury— Morice Kinlooh Mills Otago— Greenfield A. B. P. 159,302 0 0 A. R. P. 76,377 3 20 ■ £ s. d. 813 8 4 18th Dec, 1905. 25 13,574 0 0 66 5,404 7 0 11th April, 1905. 2,328 2 31 9 1,384 1 7 598 9 0 26th Maroh, 1906. 46,598 0 0 123 807 3 11 10,339 16 0 22nd June, 1905. 2,253 2 26 13,033 1 5 882 2 30 28 20 13 180 2 6 5,044 0 0 240 3 6 2,139 19 10 4,247 18 0 f>29 18 4 7th Sept., 1905. 21st Mar., 1906. 31st March, 1906. 22,071 1 30 40 4,243 11 8 11th April, 1905. Totals 260 ,.043 3 2 324 84,035 1 10 28,417 8. 2