C. —1

The lands dealt with above comprise both areas offered for the first time and areas which became available for reofiering 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 £1,259,790, an increase of £239,592 on last year's figures. The receipts for the last five years have been as follows : Year ending 31st March, 1931, £1,005,700 ; 1932, £776,489 ; 1933, £742,820 ; 1934, £1,020,198 ; and 1935, £1,259,790. Postponements, Remissions, and Aerears of Rent. Rents, the payment of which remained postponed at the 31st March, amounted to £215,729. Arrears of rent at the 31st March (including arrears in respect of the current half-yearly charge) totalled £974,805, while remissions for the year totalled £209,392. Rebates. For prompt payment of rent 16,983 Crown tenants were granted the usual rebates 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 £36,054. National Endowment. Of the area in the national endowment, 6,477,398 acres were held under lease or license at the 31st March by 4,450 tenants, paying an annual rental of £142,456, 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 818,227 acres of education endowments under the administration of the various Land Boards is leased to some 4,135 tenants, who pay a total annual rental of £129,303. 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 eighty-seven, covering an area of approximately 1,479 acres. A summary of work carried out under the heading is given below Number of Area _ Purpose of Reserve. Reservations made. a. k. p. Aerodrome • • • • • • • • " ? 5 H Camping « 23 0 14-3 Cemetery .. • • • • ■ • • ■ • • 3 «77 Gravel J 12 23 0 14 Motor-car parking 1 0 1 28-7 Municipal f cm o Plantation . . • • • • ■ • " \ 99 ! Public-hall site ± » Public-school site .. • • • • • • ° V f 1 Public-school site, addition to .. 1 J, „ Quarry 2 26 3 18 Recreation' ™ 290 2 24-88 Resting-place for travelling stock .. .. ..3 19 2 it) River-protection .. . . • • • • • • 8 451 031 Roadman's cottage-site .. • • • • "7 i ion Rubbish-dump .... • • • • " 1 ! Site for public buildings of the General Government . . 2 0 ion Water-conservation .. • • • • . 1 376 120 87 1,479 0 7-91 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 In addition to the above, areas totalling some 48,980 acres m the Otago and Southland Land Districts were set apart as additions to the Sounds National Park.

6

Number of New Rural | Total Area selected Class of Land. Sections selected. | for the First Time. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land .. .. 82 15,395 Settlement land .. .. ■ ■ • • • • 9 ® Education reserves, &c .. . • • • • • 2 Grand totals .. •• •• 93 21,979