C.—l

4

The following estates were opened for general application during the year under the Land for Settlements Act: —

There was an exceptionally brisk demand for sections in the Westella Settlement near Feilding, there being altogether 169 applicants, of whom ninety-six were admitted to the ballot. Apart from the workers' home sites in the Owenga Settlement, the demand for sections in the other settlements offered was not so keen. In the case of the Aponga Settlement no suitable applicants were forthcoming, and arrangements have been made to temporarily lease the land at a satisfactory rental pending reoffering. The ballot for the Brinklands Settlement was also unsuccessful, and the land was withdrawn from selection. Certain drainage and fencing are being carried out by the Department, and the settlement will be reoffered for selection upon completion of this work. No specially noteworthy blocks of ordinary Crown lands were offered during the year ; but mention may be made of the offering of nine excellent dairy farms near Levin, being subdivisions of the Weraroa Experimental Farm, and being all flat land of good quality with pastures in excellent condition. The property, which contains about 780 acres, had been used for many years by the Department of Agriculture for experimental and demonstration purposes, but was no longer required by that Department. Special legislation was therefore provided in section 12 of the Reserves and other Lands Disposal Act, 1928, setting the area apart as an endowment for agricultural research, experiment, and instruction, and authorizing the subdivision and leasing of the land and the use of the revenue derived therefrom for the said purposes. It was also provided that portion of the land could be set aside as a public reserve for the purposes of the General Government, in pursuance of which object an area of some 134 acres has been retained for the use of the Education Department. The remainder of the property was subdivided into nine farms ranging from 64 acres to 71 acres, and these were offered for lease under special conditions with right of renewal. The term of lease is for thirty-three years, with a continuous right of renewal, and the rentals fixed ranged from £175 to £210 per annum. The leases were submitted to ballot, and some 1,018 applications were received from 168 individual applicants. It is anticipated that the successful applicants should do very well, as the land is well watered and of excellent quality, the situation is exceptionally good, and the climate of the district is particularly favourable to dairying and high-class farming generally. As stated above, a total area of 402,900 acres was selected under all tenures (permanent and temporary) during the year under review. A considerable number of the permanent selections comprised town and suburban areas taken up for cash or on deferred payments, and it may therefore be interesting to give the figures with respect to permanent selections of rural lands only. The results of the year's work on this basis were as follows : —

Land District. Name of Settlement. Number of Holdings offered for Selection. Area opened for Selection. North Auckland North Auckland Wellington .. Wellington .. Westland Canterbury .. Canterbury .. Canterbury .. Otago Otago Southland . . Sou till and Southland .. Tangowahine Aponga Owenga (Chatham Islands)* Westella Raupo Moanaroa Welburn Brinklands Rockford Murray-field Tamatea Fernhill .. Brydonc 17 6 21 12 4 3 6 3 4 2 7 5 2 Acres. 3,628 3,660 82 833 907 997 567 1,120 1,737 1,076 977 1,495 355 Totals 92 17,434 * Home-sites for vorkeis engaged in the fishing industry at the Chathams.

Class of Land. Number of Rural Sections selected. Total Area selected. Jrown and national-endowment land Settlement land Education reserves, &c. 570 152 43 765 Acres. 244,855 34,441 9,491 288,787 Grand totals