c.—i.

EEPOET.

Review of Past Year. During the past year most districts were favoured with climatic conditions suitable for those engaged in farming pursuits. Following a comparatively mild winter, early spring conditions were good, and there was every promise of a substantial increase in production. However, in certain localities the early part of the summer was unusually dry, and this had the effect of checking the output to a certain extent. There was a good lambing, and dairy returns were well maintained. The yield from agricultural properties was, however, not so good, and a considerable amount of damaged grain was in evidence. The most striking feature during the year was the sharp rise in the price of wool. The returns from fat lambs, and other classes of sheep, also showed a marked increase, the result being that the outlook for the sheep-farmer was considerably brightened. The enhanced value of sheep products was reflected in a substantial improvement in the rental and other payments during the period under review. Unfortunately, those engaged in dairying have continued to feel the stress of economic conditions, and the prices received for cheese and butter have been most disappointing. It has, therefore, been found necessary to continue to grant concessions to numbers of settlers to enable them to carry on, and sympathetic treatment has been accorded to all tenants who, through no fault of their own, have been unable to meet their obligations. At the same time, the interests of the general taxpayer have not been overlooked, and steps have been taken to ensure that the settlers give due consideration to their commitments to the Crown. The aim of the Department has been to keep deserving tenants on their holdings, and, at the same time, steady progress has been made with the development of suitable land with a view to making new areas available for selection. Selections of Crown and settlement lands on all tenures during the year totalled 285,166 acres. This subject is dealt with more fully at a later stage of this report. At the 31st March the tenants on the books of the Department numbered 37,758, occupying a total area of over 19,000,000 acres. Pastoral runs account for nearly 9,000,000 acres, while 1,876,658 acres of purchased estates are held under lease under the provisions of the Land for Settlements Act. Legislation. The Reserves and other Lands Disposal Act, 1933, contains twenty-five clauses dealing with Crown lands, reserves, &c. Included in this Act are sections further extending temporarily the benefits of certain provisions of the Land Act and the Land for Settlements Act dealing with the granting of remissions and postponements of rent, and temporarily suspending for a further period the operation of the Land Act provisions with respect to the revaluation of rural Crown and settlement land. Sections are also included which extend the provisions of sections 3 and 4of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1931, so that extensions may be granted for any period not exceeding five years of small grazing-run leases due to expire not later than Ist March, 1936, and for any period not exceeding seven years of occupation-with-right-of-purchase licenses due to expire not later than Ist January, 1936. The Finance Act, 1933 (No. 2), provides for the repeal of the Kauri-gum Control Act, 1925, and stipulates that the property of the Kauri-gum, Control Board, together with all rights, liabilities, and engagements of the Board, shall be vested in His Majesty the King, and for the purpose of enforcing such right, or discharging any such liabilities and engagements, provides that the Minister of Lands may exercise any of the powers, duties, and obligations of the Board. The Act further provides for the issue and renewal of kauri-gum buyers' and kauri-gum brokers' licenses by the Commissioner of Crown Lands instead of by the Kauri-gum Control Board. Land-development. The Lands Development Board has not authorized developmental work on any new blocks of land during the year, operations being confined to areas on which work had already been commenced. The figures given below will illustrate the extent of work done on the various blocks, and the areas that have been disposed of. It had been hoped to dispose of twenty dairy-farms on the Galatea

2