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surveyors, of which 32,000 acres were situated in blocks opened by sale poster in fairly large seel ions, and balance consists of scattered areas. Of the above total. 14,735 acres was executed in the Big Bush Block by contract at l-345. per acre. The work is all situated in hilly heavy forest country, and a greal deal of it very rough and inaccessible. The blocks opened during the year contained 35,000 acres, of which I I.(MX) acres were selected. Topographical, for Selection. —29,253 acres is returned under this heading at a cost of 3-58 d. per acre. Of this area 27,860 acres is provisional survey for preparation of sale map, while the balance is a proposed scheme of subdivision of applications. Field Inspections. —lt has been impossible to spare a surveyor from the staff to execute this class of work, and my own time has been too fully occupied to make any inspections personally. Only one inspection has been made of which details have been returned. Another inspection of a township survey has been made, but no details yet forwarded. It has now been arranged for an Inspecting Surveyor from the Head Office to make all necessary inspections at an early date. Other Work. —Various duties are placed in this class which cannot come under any of the headings in the general return, and consist chiefly of reports, inspections, checking plans, minor surveys, and work done for other Departments. Roads, &c. —l 7-44 miles of roads were laid off, at a cost of £17 - 20 per mile. These were short pieces of road to give access to Crown lands. In some cases the lines had to be located and graded in difficult country. (I'old-mining Surveys. —No surveys of this class were executed by staff Six mining surveys, containing 495 acres, in 11 sections, were returned by contract surveyors. Land Transfer Office. —The Land Transfer Draughtsman reports that 67 survey plans have been passed, 17 examined and returned, 142 deeds passed, 384 diagrams placed on 192 certificates of title, 160 plans draughted, and 224 plans examined and issued. Arrears, 12 certificates of title in duplicate. Proposed Operations, 1910-11. —The work in the hands of the surveyors consists of 470 square miles of minor trig., of which the field-work is nearly completed. One hundred and forty-seven square miles of this is in connection with the survey of D'Urville Island, and this work, together with the defining of the subdivisional boundaries, requires completing at an early date, as the lessees are anxious to fell the bush and fence the boundaries. The balance of the trig, work, which is chiefly in the Maruia Valley, to control the sectional surveys, is completed in the field. An area of 69,210 acres is in the hands of the surveyors, of which approximately 25,000 acres are completed in the field. The unallotted applications number 131, and contain an area of 57.500 acres. These arrears, though approximate, are located as follows: 11,000 acres in the Warwick and Rappahannock Blocks. 20.000 acres in the Buffer and [nangahua Counties, and the balance in smaller areas scattered throughout the district. A surveyor has recently been stationed in the Buller County, and arrangements are being made to let contracts in this and also the Inangahua County in order to reduce the arrears which have accumulated during Ihe past year. It is also proposed to let a contract for theWangamoa Block of 5.000 to 6,000 acres. The surveyors at present employed will be kept steadily at settlement surveys, and, with the help of the contracl surveyors as well as the services of another-young energetic surveyor, should soon i ause t lie arrears in this work to be materially reduced. blocks it is proposed to offer for selection this coining year are the Howard Block, 20,735 acres ; the Extension Maruia North Block, 1,248 acres ; the Matiri Extension Block, 8,000 acres ; and the Waimea Block, 5,000 acres. Office-work. —Fifty-three certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants (in triplicate) were examined and issued, 169 tracings examined, 55 reports furnished, 9 survey plans and compiled plans examined, and 59 leases. &c, for warrants examined. There are 5 certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants (in triplicate) to issue. Forty-eight plans, containing an area of 40,552 acres, in 147 sections, were examined. Mining surveys —6 plans, 495 acres, in 11 sections. Thirty-five road plans, 4 railway plans, and fi subsidiary triangulation. Traverse sheets checked, 352. Diagrams were placed on 117 Crown titles (by contract) in quadruplicate, 58 in triplicate, 77 in duplicate, and 4 singly ; and on certificates of title in ben of Crown grant, in triplicate, 53: total number of diagrams, 959. There are in arrear Crown titles in cpiadruplicate, 16, in triplicate, 16, and in duplicate 9: total, 41. Photo-lithographic tracings were prepared of three large blocks of land opened for settlement, and also lor those areas that were reopened for selection after surrender or cancellation. Counter-maps were prepared for the Westport and Reefton offices, tracings and data for surveyors, working-tracings for settlers, for Valuation and other Departments. Tracings for a county map of Takaka are not yet completed, and one is also required of the Waimea County. The lithographs of the Buller, Inangahua, Murchison, and Collingwood Counties are a great convenience. Tracings for a new map of the Nelson City are well forward. Several new selection maps are urgently required, but owing to the stress of current work cannot be yet taken in hand. The rough register of the plans in the safe is now complete, and requires copying into the index-books. The indexing of the rebound Crown grants is now in progress. Robt. T. Sad i>, Chief Surveyor.

MARLBOROUGH. Triangula/ion ; Topographical. — Neither triangulation nor topographical surveys have been performed in this district last year ; but a little, topographical survey for selection before survey has been completed in the Wakamarina Survey District, but not sufficiently elaborate to appear as a separate item.