c.—l.

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

Receipts. The receipts for the year from all sources (excluding, of course, Discharged Soldiers Settlement Account receipts) totalled £742,820, a decrease of £33,669 on last year's figures. The sum of £189,294 was derived from ordinary Crown lands, £359,818 from land held under the Land for Settlements Act (including Hutt Valley Settlement and Cheviot Estate), £81,732 from the national endowment, and £89,136 from the education endowment. The receipts for the last five years have been as follow : Year ending 31st March, 1929, £1,290,856 ; 1930, £1,275,106 ; 1931, £1,005,700 ; 1932, £776,489 ; and 1933, £742,820. Postponements, Remissions, and Arrears op Rent. Rents, the payment of which remained postponed at the 31st March, amounted to £223,253. Arrears of rent at the 31st March (including arrears in respect of the current half-yearly charge) totalled £1,010,979. Rebates. For prompt payment of rent 14,018 Crown tenants were granted the usual rebate in terms of section 123 of the Land Act, 1924, and section 59 of the Land for Settlements Act, 1925. These rebates amounted to a total of £26,285. National Endowment. Of the area in the national endowment, 6,516,785 acres were held under lease or license at the 31st March by 4,466 tenants, paying an annual rental of £142,811, while a very large area (partly, however, covered by existing leases) had been set aside as provisional State forests. For further particulars re the national endowment, see parliamentary paper C.-14. Educational Endowment. An area of approximately 815,096 acres of education endowments under the administration of the various Land Boards is leased to some 4,129 tenants, who pay a total annual rental of £131,513. Land reserved for Various Purposes. Under the provisions of section 360 of the Land Act, 1924, and section 71 of the Land for Settlements Act, 1925, various areas of Crown and settlement land were permanently reserved during the year. The reservations made totalled fifty-three, covering an area of 1,456 acres. A summary of work carried out under this heading is given below : — Purpose of Reserve. Number of Reser- Area. vations made. a. r. p. Additions to public-school sites .. .. 2 5 19 Agricultural and pastoral society's showground .. 1 20 3 14 Camping .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 36 0 0 Cemetery .. . . . . . . .. 1 1 124 Gravel and quarry . . . . .. . . 5 90 019 Post-office site .. .. .. .. 1 0 116 Public-school sites .. .. .. .. 7 20 116 Purposes of General Government .. .. . . 1 0 029 • 7 Railway .. .. .. .. .. 1 1 1 21 Recreation .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 278 122• 11 Resting-place for travelling stock .. .. . . 2 35 136 • 4 River-protection . . .. .. .. 5 957 0 22 Roadman's cottage site .. .. . . 1 8 2 21 Site for public buildings of the General Government 1 0 2 0 53 1,456 0 10-21 The above does not include areas that have been vested in the Crown as public reserves in town subdivisions pursuant to the provisions of section 16 of the Land Act, 1924.

6

Class of Land. Number of New Rural Total Area selected for Sections selected. the First Time. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land . . . . 223 42,894 Settlement land . . . . . . . . .. 4 314 Education reserves, &c. .. .. .. .. 9 3,493 Grand totals . . . . .. . . 236 46,701