O.—U.

&c, for scenic purposes, also for Valuation, Road, and Police Departments, &c.—in all, 798 tracings Plans were indorsed on certificates of title, leases in perpetuity, agricultural, occupation, pastoral, smal , grazing-runs, and various other leases —in all, 938. There were 250 copies of Block 111, Waitahuna West District, printed ; also 330 Land Transfer notes, 250 Block XIII, Waitahuna West, and 150 protractors ; 1,397 maps were mounted for Land and Survey, 31 for Rangers, 13 for Road Department, 131 for census, 12 for Stock Department, and 120 for Valuation Department —in all, 1,704 maps. Proposals for ensuing Year. —The work for the year 1906-7 will probably be more than our limited staff can undertake. This consists of the survey of the Lee Stream Run of 25,880 acres and the Blackstone Hill Run of 16,370 acres into small grazing-runs. Under the Land for Settlements Act there will be three estates to be subdivided—Totara, Corriedale, and Hedley. District Surveyor Wilmot has the usual number of miscellaneous applications within his district to attend to, while Mr. Calder is also in the same position. District Surveyor Neill has also a number of small-settlement applications to overtake, but as all these are scattered over a wide area they entail a great deal of travelling and time. D. Barron, Chief Surveyor.

SOUTHLAND. Rural and Suburban. —Under this heading 19,708 acres, consisting principally of bush land, were subdivided into 133 sections, at an average cost of 2'2s. per acre, a rate creditable to the surveyors, considering the wet season, and seeing that nearly the whole area was covered with dense bush, of which some 500 acres embraced worked-out sawmill areas, which, generally speaking, are much more expensive to survey than maiden bush. Town Surveys and Native Land Court Surveys. —No work under these headings was undertaken during the year. Gold-mining Surveys. —There were 464 acres surveyed by private surveyors into 14 sections or claims at an average cost of s'2s. per acre, being a slight increase on last year's cost. The mining industry has not yet apparently recovered from the bad effects of the late boom, which, generally speaking, dredged money from the shareholders, which evidently has not been found conducive to the mining industry nor satisfactory to the investing public. Land Transfer Surveys. —Mr. J. L. Dickie, Land Transfer Draughtsman, reports that the number of plans received for deposit is about the same as last year —viz., 102, comprising 537 lots, representing 30,053 acres, which have bejn all examined and approved of before deposited. There were diagrams in duplicate placed on 408 ordinary certificates of title, diagrams in single placed on 7 provisional certificates, and diagrams in triplicate placed on 33 certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants. In addition to this there were diagrams in duplicate placed on 88 ordinary certificates of title and diagrams in single placed on 1 provisional certificate by the draughtsmen of the Survey branch. Field Inspections. —During the year I have visited the staff surveyors' camps on several occasions, and have much pleasure in saying that the work in every respect has been faithfully carried out in a most professional manner. I ha\ r e also sent in during the year from time to tima sevsral diagrams showiig checks applied to private surveys made under the Land Transfer Act, which were also found very satisfactory. Proposed Operations for 1906-7. —As soon as Mr. Otway finishes the survey of Greenhills Township he will proceed to Orepuki, Longwood, and take up and complete the unfinished work left there by the late L. 0. Mathias in Block 11, then push on with settlement surveys in Blocks I, V, VII, X, and XI, same district, embracing an approximate area of some 6,000 acres recently withdrawn from State forest reservation. This probably will be more than he will be able to overtake, as the surveys in Blocks I and II are exceedingly intricate. 1 purpose putting a surveyor on the cutting-up of some 3,000-odd acres in Blocks XVII and XVIII, Jacob's River Hundred, also recently withdrawn from State forest reservation. These surveys, I anticipate, will keep my two staff surveyors fully employed during the ensuing year. Besides the work already enumerated there is a landless Native block of about 28.000 acres to be cut up known as the Hokonui Block, besides two other landless Native blocks in Stewart Island, one of 6,900 acres between Paterson Inlet and Port Adventure, known as the Port Adventure Block, and the other containing an approximate area of 6,500 acres known as the Toetoe Block, adjoining and west of the already surveyed Lord's River Block. The Native surveys must remain in abeyance for a time unless my staff is increased, for which I have made provision in my salary estimates already forwarded. I would again draw your attention to the necessity existing for the street alignment and standard surveys for the better control of Land Transfer surveys, referred to in my proposed operations for year 1903-4, but such surveys can only be entrusted to surveyors of long and well-known"experience. Offioe-work, etc. The Chief Draughtsman reports that the number of plans checked and passed during the year was 60, comprising 136 sections, of a total area of 19,444 acres, 6 miles 53 chains of roads taken and closed, and 2J acres taken for railway. New photo-lithographic drawings were made of Oteramika, Lindhurst, Lothian, and Mataura Hundreds, as the old lithographs, besides being out of date, had run out of print. Forty-one lithographic tracings for sale plans were prepared, and new application maps made of Chatton, Otama, and Waikaka Districts. There were 114 Land Transfer plans traced for the Valuer-General, in addition to 473 othar tracings of a miscellaneous character. A considerable amount of work was done for the Agricultural Department in mounting and colouring lithographs showing the position of all unoccupied Crown lands, and for the Education Department in preparing a set of mounted lithographs showing the position of all the schools in the district. Some time was also occupied in the preparation

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