H.—22,

the South Westland forest has now reached the state described, the great menace of erosion is already revealing its potentialities for widespread waste and destruction. It is imperative that vigorous action be pursued in the policy of deer-destruction and there is good reason for believing that a satisfactory degree of regeneration can be restored and erosion checked. Naturalization. Sixty-two certificates of naturalization were granted, which included, in two cases, the issue of certificates to persons who had been naturalized under the former statutes of this Dominion. An essential requirement of the Act is that every applicant must declare his intention to reside permanently within His Majesty's dominions, and while this is in all cases complied with it has been observed that a number of persons have been domiciled in their country of origin within a short time of their being admitted to British nationality. It is obviously difficult to prove wilful intention to make a false declaration in respect of future residence, but, nevertheless, the problem is being closely watched. Passports. The possession of a valid passport is still essential for travel overseas, with the exception of Brit ish subjects travelling between New Zealand and Australia. Almost every new passport is issued to a resident of New Zealand, and the decrease in the number of such people travelling abroad is evidenced by the issue of 4,909 passports for the year ended 31st March, 1930, as compared with 2,882 for the year under review. The renewals effected for the foregoing periods were 817 and 663 respectively. Visas granted to aliens for travel to different parts of the British Empire numbered 68. Land-agents. Seven hundred and thirty licenses were issued and 11 transfers granted, as compared with 811 licenses and 9 transfers last year. Auctioneers. Four hundred and thirty-four licenses were issued, 10 transfers granted, and 329 changes of endorse ment of seller made, as compared with 478 licenses, 16 transfers, and 289 changes of endorsement last year. Seven eases of defaulting auctioneers were dealt with, and the bond was enforced in six of such cases. Chartered Clubs. No charters have been granted since the year 1908, and the number still stands at forty-six; The charter of the Ashburton Club is again in force, consequent upon a change of electoral boundaries whereby the Borough of Ashburton became part of a "license" district. The reports furnished by the various inspectors denote that all the chilis are conducted in a proper manner, and t hat t hey continue to fulfil the conditions under which the charters were granted. Maori Antiquities Act, 1908. Seven warrants were issued authorizing the exportation of Maori artifacts of various description. but in each case they were articles of which there are numerous other specimens in New Zealand. In ten cases the articles submitted for examination were found to be of modern manufacture, and therefore did not come within the scope of the Act. Distinguished Visitors. Oversea parliamentarians who visited New Zealand included the Right Hon. S. M. Bruce, the lion. Sir 11. S. (iullett, and the Hon. Sir Massy Greene (Australia), Mr. C. M. Barclay-Harvey, M.P., and the Right Hon. Sir Hugh O'Neill (Great Britain). Foreign visitors included Comte de Baillet-Latour, President of the Olympia Games, and the Japanese Cruisers " Asama " and " Iwatc " under the command of Vice-Admiral Nobujiro Imamura. War Graves. The Department received notification of the deaths of 412 returned soldiers. Of these, eighty-sev en were accepted as war graves — i.e., the cause of death was attributable to disabilities sustained on or aggravated by war service—thus bringing the total number of war graves in New Zealand at the close of the year to 2,759. Temporary crosses to mark all the war graves reported, and also the non-war graves in the Soldiers' Blocks where such have been provided in various cemeteries throughout the Dominion, were placed on 162 graves, and headstones to the number of 105 were ordered. Additional constructional work was carried out in the Soldiers' Block at the Rotorua Cemetery and in the South African War Veterans' Block in the Karori Cemetery. The Maori War Veterans' Cemetery at Pokeno was thoroughly renovated and fenced and has now been handed over to the Franklin County Council, which has accepted responsibility for its future maintenance. Printed Cemetery Registers containing the names and regimental and family particulars of all those buried in New Zealand who died from war disabilities up to and including the ,'Ust August, 1931, the official date of termination of the war, were received from the Imperial War Graves Commission.

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