C.—l.

The following group settlements under Part II of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1928, were allotted during the year : —

The total of 368,809 acres selected during the year includes lands taken up under both permanent and temporary tenures, and also town and suburban lands. The permanent selections of rural lands only were as follow : —

■ ; . ; . . l The lands dealt with above comprise both areas offered for the first time and areas which became available for reoffering through various reasons. The figures for entirely new rural areas selected during the year are as follows : —

The demand for certain classes of land has been seriously affected by the fall in the prices of primary products ; but the system of advances for development purposes is becoming more widely known, and is proving a powerful factor in maintaining a steady demand on the part of prospective settlers for moderately-priced unimproved or partly improved land, the selection of which affords a reasonable opportunity of building up a valuable asset by the personal efforts of successful applicants. Receipts. The receipts for the year from all sources (excluding, of course, Discharged Soldiers Settlement Account receipts) total £1,005,700, a decrease of £269,406 on last year's figures. The sum of £265,625 was derived from ordinary Crown lands, £456,174 from lands held under the Land for Settlements Act (including Hutt Valley Settlement and Cheviot Estate), £112,608 from the national endowment and £109,775 from the education endowment. Cash received on the conversion of leaseholds to freehold tenures has shown a decrease of approximately £48,000.

5

Land District. Name of Settlement. iNumber of Holdings. Area. _____ _ . Acres. North Auckland .. .. Otarao .. .. .. 3 596 North Auckland .. .. Whakata.. .. .. 6 508 Auckland .. .. .. Bushmere .. .. 2 424 Auckland .. .. .. Nolan .. .. .. 5 443 Auckland .. .. .. Tahuna .. .. .. 3 440 Auckland .. .. .. Nelson .. .. .. 3 159 Auckland .. .. .. Morgan .. .. .. 4 415 Hawke's Bay .. .. Woodlands .. .. 9 138 Hawke's Bay .. .. Pukahu .. .. .. 2 30 Gisborne .. .. .. Ruangarehu .. .. 2 142 Otago .. .. .. The Downs .. .. 8 4,792 Totals .. .. .. j 47 8,087

Class of Land. Sections selected Total Area selected. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land .. .. 450 107,531 Settlement land .. .. .. .. 146 43,932 Education reserves, &c. .. .. .. .. 32 5,858 Grand totals .. .. .. 628 157,321

,,, f r j Number of New Rural Total Area selected for 8 01 ■ L,ana ' Sections selected, the First Time. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land .. .. 227 42,064 Settlement land .. .. .. .. 125 39,265 Education reserves, &c. .. .. .. .. 9 2,038 Grand totals .. .. .. 361 83,367