D.—s

11

Any advances outstanding at the end of five years from the commencement of the settlement, shall thereafter bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum. If any balance of principal moneys advanced, or of interest thereon, shall remain due at the end of ten years from the commencement of the settlement, the same shall be deducted from the Land Fund of the province; and if such fund shall not be sufficient for that purpose, then the deficiency shall be charged against the province, as provided by the seventh section of the said Act. The commencement of the settlement shall, for the purposes of this clause, be such date as shall be determined by the Governor.

Enclosure 2 in No. 20. The Chief Suevetoe to His Honor the Supeeintendent, Westland. Sic, — Chief Surveyor's Office, Hokitika, llth December, 1874. In conformity with your Honor's request to report upon the block of land set apart in the Province of Westland under " The Immigration and Public Works Act, 1871," I have the honor to furnish the following information : — The land reserved for special settlement is situated between Jackson's Bay and the Haast River, comprising 60,000 acres with a sea frontage of about twenty-four miles, and an average depth of about four miles. The southern boundary of the land lies east of and within one mile of the landing at Jackson's Bay; and from it to the Arawata, a river of twenty-five miles in length, and rising at Mount Aspiring, one of the highest peaks of the Southern Alps, is a distance of two miles. The land comprised in this portion of the special settlement block—bounded by the sea coast on the west, the Arawata on the north, and the foot of the Jackson's Bay terraces on the south and east —is level throughout, and of the very best description of agricultural land. 1 have had full opportunity of examining it, and am justified in saying that in regard to quality and depth of soil it is all that could be desired. The soil is of a yellowish and brownish colour, a rich loamy clay with an admixture of sand sufficient to keep it loose and easily workable. Its depth ranges from 2to 5 feet. The ground is covered with bush, three or four belts of pine bush running parallel to sea coast from foot of Jackson's Bay terraces to Arawata, and the rest light timber and tree ferns, with little or no undergrowth. The luxuriant growth of the fern tree is probably the most certain indication of the good quality of the soil in the West Coast bush land, and this, certainly, is the prominent feature in the block of land under consideration. Besides the facility of clearing that description of bush as compared with other kinds, there is a peculiarity in connection with the creeks running through this land, which will prove of the utmost advantage to the settlers. Several " burns "or creeks of from twenty to thirty yards in width, with a great number of smaller branches running into these, are traversing the land, and emptying themselves into the Arawata River at various distances from the sea. The banks of all these watercourses are steep, and range from 10 to 20 feet in height, thus at once providing natural main drains for the whole of this block of land, and the settlers' work of drainage will extend to the cutting of small ditches only. Drainage is generally a very considerable item in" the expense of cultivating bush land, but in this case it is reduced to a minimum. From the Arawata to the Waiatoto River is a distance of six miles, and the portion of special settlement block between these two rivers comprises about 15,000 acres. A thickly-wooded conical hill, about 500 feet high and covering 200 acres of land, rises two miles south of the mouth of the Waiatoto River ; the rest of the land is level, and generally suitable for agricultural purposes. A very prominent feature in this block is the distribution of heavy and light timber. Streaks or rows of heavy pine tree forests of a width of from ten to twenty chains, extending from the Arawata to the Waiatoto, in a course generally parallel with tho sea coast, are found at distances of from half a mile to threequarters of a mile apart. Between these the bush is low, and of a lighter description, but not altogether destitute of big trees. I have not had as good an opportunity of examining the whole of the land between Arawata and Waiatoto as I had in the case of all the other portions of the 60,000 acres set apart for special settlement; but what I have seen is sufficient to justify my stating that the bulk of this land will prove very suitable for farming, while the rest (the heavily-timbered land) will be a - source of revenue for many years to come to both Government and private persons with enterprise enough to establish saw-mills on the settlement. From the Waiatoto to the Okura River is a distance of seven and a half miles, and from the Okura to the Haast River is a distance of eight miles. The country between these three rivers I have had ample opportunity to examine in 1869, at the time of the first rush to the Haast gold diggings. To facilitate as much as possible the prospecting for gold in the interior, a number of cross lines (tracks) commencing at the sea coast and terminating at foot of range, of an average length of about six miles, were cut at distances of from one to two miles apart. Besides this, traverse lines were cut along the banks of the Haast and the north and middle branches of the Okura River from the sea coast to the gorges, a distance of seven to eight miles inland. Very excellent land is to be found along the banks of all these rivers, more especially about the several branches of the Okura River, but a large proportion of the land between the rivers named, though good in quality and of great depth of soil, is very swampy at present. In cutting the tracks above referred to, a great number of swamps, varying in width from two to twenty chains, had to be traversed ; only a few of these were so bad that a man carrying a swag could not get along. The existence of these swamps may at first sight be considered an objectionable feature in the special settlement block, but I submit that on close examination it may prove to be the very reverse. It is the experience of all those who engage in agricultural pursuits on this coast, and indeed throughout New Zealand, that swamp land is the best land by far, provided it can be drained. There is certainly one description of swamp land on the West Coast, which, however well drained, will prove of little use