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6

APPENDICES.

APPENI )IX I.—SUR V E VS.

AUCKLAND. Si i:\kys.—The gross area of all classes of surveys completed this year by Staff and private surveyors was 261,332 acres, together with 260 miles of roads and railways. Miliar Trig. An area of 52,551 acres was completed ill Opotiki and Raglan Counties, at the rate of 2-68 d. per acre. The work was necessary for settlement surveys and road-deviations. Rural and Suburban. —The surveys of 67,542 acres into 215 sections by staff and contract surveyors at a cost of l'99s. per acre, and 6,244 acres into til sections by private surveyors, the cost of which is not available : the surveys being for subdivisions of Crown leases, the cost being borne by them. The closures of the work done by the staff were very good, the total number of closures being 161 for 356 miles : mean error per mile on meridian. 0-557 links ; perpendicular, 0-64 I links. Native Land Surveys. —The total area surveyed during the year was 188,823 acres, divided into 173 subdivisions, and made up as follow: —Native Land Court: 1,993 acres, with 18 subdivisions. weie completed by staff surveyors ; 60,310 acres, with 125 subdivisions, by licensed surveyors : while -19,765 acres were completed by private surveyors, the costs of which are not available. Maori Land Board: 58,093 acres, with 157 subdivisions, were completed by staff surveyors; while 15,662 acres, with 29 subdivisions, were completed by licensed surveyors. Other Work. —This comprises a great variety of work —viz., survey of sites for schools, &c, repairs to trig, stations, redefining old boundaries, exploration reports on Crown land, attending Maori Land Board, and supervising surveys for improved-farm settlements. Inspections. —Fifty-two inspections were made by Messrs. Wheeler, llaszard. and T. K. Thompson. Most of the surveys were found to be fully up to the required standard, but I regret that in four cases the inspections showed the work to be very unsatisfactory. At present Mr. Wheeler is the only Inspector in this district, Mr. llaszard having been transferred to Christchurch. Owing to the large area of the district and the volume of survey-work being done, it is absolutely accessary that another Inspector should be appointed. Road-surveys. —ll6-6 miles were surveyed at a cost of £25-06 per mile. Minim/ Surveys. Thirty-five claims were surveyed, representing a total area of 2,603 acres. The balance of 21 claims were old surveys reapplied for, which had to be examined, but for which no vouchers were received. Proposed Operations. —Twenty-one surveyors. The staff have the survey of 244,377 acres in hand : of this total, 142,774 acres are Crown lands, 81,931 acres are Native Land Court surveys, and 19,372 acres are for Maori Land Boards. The roads have been located and the sections schemed out for 11,512 acres for the Tokerau Maori Land Board ; the sectional survey will be done by contract surveyors. In addition to the above total, the survey of 6,192 acres of Crown lands near Waihi Borough will be put in hand at once. The localities of the larger areas of Crown lands are as follows : Hokianga County. 4,150 acres: Whangaroa County, 2,000 acres; Whangaiei County, 5,100 acres; Hobson County. 5.100 acres; Opotiki County, 20,000 acres; llotorua County, 10,103 acres; East Taupo County, 8,536 acres ; Waitomo County, 5,945 acres. In addition to the above, instructions will be issued for the survey of about 21.800 acres, West Taupo County; and in spring the survey of about 4,000 acres in Awakino County will be taken in hand. I also propose to locate roads and scheme out sections for 6,925 acres in Waitomo County for the Maniapoto-Tuwharetoa Maori Land Board; the sectional survey to be done by contract surveyors. <'milrail Surveys. -8.122 acres of Crown land, being portion of Te Akau B Block, in Raglan County, is under sectional survey. Office-work. -Plans examined : 126 plans, of 240 Crown sections, totalling 76,582 acres ; 82 Native Land Court plans, of 170 subdivisions, totalling 32,314 acres ; 178 mining plans, totalling 11,236 acres : 39 residence-sites (for Warden). (19 sections. 27 acres ; 275 Land Transfer plans, area 29,27-1 acres, average area of sections 106J aen-s : 192 plans of roads taken and closed, total mileage being 254 miles I I chains ; 7 plans of land taken for railway-mileage. 6 miles 44 chains ; 21 plans for Proclamation, area 1,887 acres. The total number of plans checked of all classes was 920, being the work of 84 surveyors. 1,-130 tracings were made for poster, surveyors, selectors, and others. Six Native Land Courts were attended, and £123 7s. lid., on 10 blocks, was collected at the Courts : total amount for liens collected during the year was £1,446 17s. sd. Twenty-four charging orders were obtained, for £697 19s. sd. One hundred and thirty-three applications for authority to survey were forwarded to Head Office, and 130 authorities were issued here. Four candidates were examined in the astronomical part of the Licensed Surveyors' Examination. One hundred and ninety-nine chains were tested. There were applications to Head Office for Government loans of a total amount of £15,032, over 50,345 acres. 3,567 plans were indorsed on certificate of titles, leases, and Native Land Court orders, &c. 1,831 plans were indorsed by Mr. A. B. Harding, of the Land Transfer Office. Fees collected, £176 17s. 4d. The work in this office is still increasing, and extra assistance is urgently required to overtake the arrears of work.