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The following statement shows the mileage and other particulars of the traverse survey executed during the year:—

• Mostly employed at standard surveys and inspections. t This surveyor has been engaged upon major triangulation. Town Section Surveys. —The Eaetihi and Taihape Townships comprise the principal areas returned under this heading. Native Land Court Surveys. —The 75,725 acres and 20 perches of this class of work was executed at the low cost of 4d. - 4 per acre. This good result was achieved by combining Native Land Court and settlement surveys, by which means Messrs. McKay and Morice effected the surveys of the Eangiwahia and Awarua 4c No. 2 Block for the low price given in the schedule. The 12,578 acres returned as surveyed by Messrs. Eichardson, Eeardon, and Co., and paid for by the Crown, include the Tawhitinui, Taupapanui, Waipapa, and Mairekura Blocks. The staff have in hand at the present time the definition of large areas in the Tauakira and Awarua Blocks, which are not sufficiently advanced to be brought into this year's return. In view of the very great cost which the Natives have been put to in connection with the boundary subdivision surveys of some of their lands, it is proposed, with your concurrence, to only charge the actual cost of the subdivision surveys now in hand, instead of the full schedule rates allowed under the regulations. The foregoing does not by any means represent the work devolving upon this department in connection with the Native Land Court surveys. There were received, examined, and duly recorded and passed forty-six plans, comprising 218 subdivisions, and an area of 33,359 acres, the work of private surveyors. I regret to say that many of these plans were found, on examination, to be very defective, incomplete, and not in accord with Survey Eegulations; many of them had to be returned several times to the authorised surveyors before they could be accepted and approved. The Inspector's reports disclose that the field-work also was far from being up to standard, and that it would not be safe to forego a rigid examination upon the ground of this class of survey. ■ It is a pleasure to record that the work of some of the authorised surveyors is fully equal to the best performed by the staff officers. Boads. —The principal items making up the 75-4 miles under this heading are—Messrs. F. A. Thompson's surveys of eleven miles of roads in use in the Eangitikei; Mr. P. A. Dalziell's survey of twenty-six miles of the Waimarino-Te Maranui North Island Trunk Eoad; 7-6 miles of the Aohanga Valley Eoad, surveyed by Mr. J. Q. Littlejohn; ten miles of engineering survey in the Taihape district, by Mr. H. Maitland; and fifteen miles of roads through Native lands round about Eotoaira and the Upper Moawhango district, surveyed by Mr. H. I. Biggs. There is no more useful class of survey than this, which secures the definition and legalisation of roads in use, or proposed lines of communication affecting the European and Native lands. Other Work. —lnspections: On Mr. L. Smith's promotion to Poverty Bay, Mr. J. D. Climie's services had to be utilised in the capacity of Inspecting Surveyor. His report shows the results of seven inspections of staff officers' work and twenty-two of authorised surveyors, the latter embracing sectional, road, Land Transfer, Native Land Court, &c. Standard Surveys. — Another important item which comes under the designation "Other work " is standard surveys. Two officers—Messrs. Climie and Lowe—were engaged part of the season on this work. Mr. Climie returned 2,500 acres in and around Palmerston North; he laid down ninety-four concrete blocks, with minute centre marks, protected by convenient iron caps or by plates to prevent destruction. The angle measurements were observed with refined exactness, and he measured 2,700 chains of standard lines by means of carefully adjusted steel bands, making due allowance for tension, temperature, and reduction to base. Messrs. Climie and Lowe made a similar survey of the principal portion of Petone Township, comprising an area of 210 acres. Eighty-four concrete blocks were placed in position, duly capped and protected. The standard lines measured comprised 556 chains. A great expansion of this work is desirable. Fpur

Name of Surveyor. eh 9 i •TH o JH CD a a en 9 u 0 in o 5 *TA o u 9 aO B 0 to a o A cS HHJ 01 »m O to CD A ti a Total (Li: Error, iks.) Total per ' (Lii Error Mile. iks.) Nature of Country. <o 9 aS •■a a'Z A%s A.S Hftr} fl'C O o a 8 d A si OAi3 J. D. Climie* F. A. Thompson ... H. J. Lowet P. A. Dalziell James McKay J. G. Littlejohn H. Maitland 3 B. Strachan C. A. Mountfort ... H. J. Lewis P. E. Earle J. M. Morice H. I. Biggs 25 : 18 9-75 32-52 7-7 120 7-5 9-5 14-3 22-5 16-0 7-8 15 10 4 3 2 3 12 4 6 8 3 "283 365 318 117 198 96 154 489 397 552 122 38 : 7 19-4 22-8 7-4 1-8 22-1 3-9 25-3 26-7 42-0 11-4 32-7 12-0 23-5 5-8 2-4 5-7 3-7 32-6 10-3 35-7 8-6 1-5 2-0 0-7 1-0 0-15 3-0 0-4 1-8 1-2 2-6 1-5 i-3 1-7 0-7 0-8 0-2 0-8 0-4 2-3 0-4 2-2 11 Undulating country. Hilly rough country. Broken forest country. Undulating. Bush country, rough. Undulating (township work) Bough country. a Open grass country. Totals and means 164-75 70 3,091 221-5 173-0 1-3 1-0