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for selection, road-exploration, redefining old boundaries, scheme-plans for workers' dwellings subdivisions, reports for Warden, Land Board, and miscellaneous duties which are constantly arising. Inspection. —During the year the Inspecting Surveyor has made 28 inspections of staff, contract, and Land Transfer surveyors' work, connected with which schedules and diagrams were forwarded_ to the Head Office. Mr. Langmuir reports that both staff and private surveyors, on the whole, are doing very good work —some of it has been excellent. At the same time, there are cases of unsatisfactory surveys, in which, however, more recent inspections show signs of improvement. Altogether, greater care and interest is being taken in keeping up to a higher standard of excellence. In addition to inspection duties, the Inspector laid down standards of lengths in different centres, tested wires, supervised surveyors' practical examinations, made schemes for workers' dwellings, and attended to a number of other necessary matters requiring special reports and technical consideration. District Surveyors Wheeler, Haszard, Galbraith, and Assistant Surveyor A] loin have also made inspections in addition to their ordinary duties ; and their reports, four in number, with schedules and diagrams, were duly forwarded to headquarters. The tabulation of closures taken from the work of nine staff surveyors indicates that the field-work on the whole has been kept well within the limits of error allowed by regulations, the mean error being I'll links on meridian and l'O3 links on perpendicular. Field-work in Progress.— Table 2 shows that nine staff and eleven temporary surveyors will have 70,000 acres topo. in Piako Swamp, 179,000 acres settlement surveys, and 213 miles of road surveys, besides township and Native work, in hand for the ensuing year. The main areas are situated in Mangonui, Hokianga, Thames, Piako, Opotild, and Kotorua Counties, which also include the subdivision of the Mangapouri and Mangawhero Estates purchased for close settlement. In addition to this it is anticipated that there will be a large amount of Native work in connection with Native areas opened for settlement. Land Transfer Surveys.—A total of 381 plans was examined and approved by this brarch, and 398 recorded. Mr. J. W. Davis, Land Transfer Draughtsman, reports that the work is now fully up to date, there being no arrears on the 31st March ; also that the gensral'character of the surveys is greatly improved, owing largely to the closer inspections that have taken place and stricter compliance with the survey regulations. In addition to the current work, this branch will this year undertake the compilation of new record maps. I would point out that the standard work in and about Auckland requires expansion and attention, as, notwithstanding all precautions taken for their preservation, many standards are displaced through the carrying-out of the ever-varying and necessary works which must occur in a large and growing city and suburbs. The trig, stations adjacent to the city are also becoming gradually useless consequent on building expansion and growth of trees, &c, and should be replaced by standard lines along the streets and roads. Office-work,— 2os settlement and 54 Native Land Court plans, 275 road plans and tracings covering a mileage of 1535 in roads taken and 101 miles roads closed have been examined, involving 1,342 trig, and traverse sheets. 158 tracings of roads were prepared and the boundaries of 13 school districts were described for the Board of Education, whilst the work incidental to 21 staff and 34 contract surveyors, 55 in all, who were at work during the year, alone involved heavy office-work in the examination of plans and preparation of dati. 2,139 plans were placed on Crown grants, certificates of title, &c, covering 181 quadruplicates, 440 triplicates, 46 duplicates, and 3 single copies ; 51 Native Land Court orders were also indorsed in duplicate. 4,050 lithographs were printed, and £109 Bs. 4d. collected in fees for searches, lithographs, &c, while 1,208 tracings were prepared for new selectors, local bodies, Rangers, &c, being a monthly average of 100 tracings. Numerous tracings were prepared for ordinary posters and lands for settlement and transmitted to Head Office for printing and publication. With the great pressure of every class of settlement, Native, mining, scenic, road, and other surveys, and plan work in connection with our forest, kauri-gum, coal-mining, and other industries, all of which are ever passing through the office, the current correspondence, &c, thus occasioned shows no sign of diminution, but rather increases yearly as new settlement goes on, taxing to the full the energies of the staff, and resulting in much extra labour for those responsible for the different channels through which the work of a large office naturally passes. Measuring-bands of a total length of 194 chains have been compared with the new Imperial standard at the Supreme Court for 23 surveyors, and certificates issued. Transfers, (fee—Mr. J. A. Craig, field cadet, was transferred to Nelson District on the 10th January, 1906, and Mr.' R. Sinel, clerical cadet, to Napier on the 12th September, 1905, while Miss Cooper, also of the clerical staff, was transferred to Nelson on the 20th October, 1905. I regret to report that Mr. W. Bertrand, who was custodian of the strong-room, died on the 18th January, 1906, after a painful illness. He was a hardworking and reliable officer, zealous in the execution of his duties, and his loss is much regretted. Mr. J. O. McCabe, temporary Assistant Surveyor, left the service on the 31st January, 1906, upon the completion of the field-work he was engaged on in the Whareorino District. Mr. District Surveyor Barron, after long field service in this district, is under instructions to proceed In° conclusion, at the close of another busy j r ear I have again to acknowledge my thanks for the ready assistance given by the inside and outside staff alike in the endeavour to cope with the year's operations. James Mackenzie, Chief Surveyor.

HAWKE'S BAY. Topographical Surveys. —No topographical surveys have been made during the past season. Minor Triangtdation.—The only work executed was 78,000 acres of minor triangillation, at a cost of id. per acre, by District Surveyor F. S. Smith, to enable him to check' surveys in the Ngatapa and Koran ga Survey Districts.

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