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and map their work in order to keep Mr. Schmidt supplied with data. On the whole, this arrangement worked fairly well, the whole of the estate being mapped on a 20-chain scale in three sheets, and posted to Wellington within two months and a half from the date of Mr. Schmidt's arrival on the ground. I think it may be claimed for this plan that, in point of draughtsmanship, variety of detail, and general information, it is one of the best of its kind that has been turned out by the department, and its compilation and execution within such a short time reflect great credit upon Mr. Schmidt. The balance of the area surveyed comprises an educational endowment of 23,212 acres situate in the Geraldine County, being mountainous country between the Orari and Waihi Eivers, the field-work of which was completed by Mr. Brodrick last year, but not mapped. He also surveyed some plantation reserves in the Mackenzie country, amounting to 3,663 acres, and a few scattered surveys in the low country, comprising 563 acres. Town-section Survey. —The only survey executed under this heading by the staff was that of the Township of Morven, part of the Waikakahi Estate, 51f acres, subdivided into 111 allotments by Mr. McClure, at a cost of 7.535. per allotment. Messrs. Meason and Marchant, of Timaru, redefined seventeen quarter-acre allotments and five suburban ones in the Township of Opawa, Albury, for the School Commissioners. Native Land Court Survey. —Mr. McClure subdivided part of the Kaiapoi Native reserve (54J acres) into seven subdivisions, at a cost of 3-255. per acre. Roads, Standard Survey, and Water-races. —ln connection with the Waikakahi Estate, Mr. McCurdie made an engineering survey of the Waihuna Eoad, 3-2 miles, at a cost of £8-87 per mile. During the autumn Mr. McClure executed 13J miles of standard survey in the New Brighton and Christchurch Districts, putting in sixty-eight stones. It was a very necessary work, which had been in contemplation for some years, and will, I am sure, prove of considerable service to the profession and to the office. Except in a few cases, the standard lines determine the alignment of the street or road, as the case may be, and every care was taken to secure extreme accuracy both in bearing and distance; and, in addition to this, the position of every fence and peg was fixed by offsets, very carefully set off and measured. All this necessitated a large amount of labour and patience, and occupied some time. Other Work. —The sum of £487 ss. Id. under this heading is distributed as follows: Mr. Brodrick, £156 12s. 6d.; Mr. McClure, £254 6s. 6d.; Mr. Mathias, £69 6s. 4d.; and Mr. McCurdie, £6 19s. 9d. Land Transfer. —Mr. Monro reports that in comparison with previous years the last has been a busy one : 251 plans were examined and passed ; 917 deeds and other instruments were passed ; 1,168 plans were drawn in duplicate on certificates of title, and fifteen in triplicate. Pursuant to instructions received during the year, that the original plans of towns are now to be forwarded for the approval of His Excellency the Governor, two copies were made for this purpose. Proposed Operations for 1899-1900. —Unless some of the properties lately inspected and reported on by the Land Purchase Board are acquired the area of land to be surveyed will be limited to about 41,920 acres, classified as follows : Four rural sections in the Ashburton and Waimate Counties, 348 acres ; twenty-eight plantation and other reserves in the several counties, very scattered, 2,124 acres; agricultural and pastoral runs, Eockwood, Steventon, Burnt Hill, &c, 35,407 acres ; and subdivision of Section 101, Woolston, acquired for workmen's homes, and named " Tamai " Hamlet, 41 acres. An area of 5,566 acres has been completed in the field, but not yet mapped, viz.: Agricultural pastoral runs, Broomfield and Loburn, Grey district, 5,426 acres, surveyed by Mr. McClure ; acquired land, as an addition to Small Grazing-run No. 65, Nimrod Survey District, leased to Mr. Collier, 100 acres; Eiver Conservation Eeserve 2970, in the Geraldine district, 40 Seres, and four miles and a half of standard traverse at Timaru, all surveyed by Mr. Brodrick. There will also be the usual miscellaneous work, such as replacing trig, stations ; extension of the standard survey adjacent to Christchurch, Timaru, and Temuka; supervision of the Mount Cook and other roads and drainage-works ; also a few surveys in the Amuri district. Office-ivork. —Mr. Shanks, Chief Draughtsman, reports as follows : " There were twenty-three large and twenty-one small working-plans received from the surveyors, all of which have been examined and checked with the exception of the recently received plans of the Waikakahi Estate, ■ which are now under check. The plans delineating the whole of the estate, except Mr. Mathias's, have been received ; he anticipates finishing his plans during this month, and has, accordingly, taken credit for the area in his yearly return of work, adding the estimated expense of completing them to the cost of his survey. His time was a good deal occupied during March by the proposed further drainage of the Boimata Settlement. The office-work in connection with the Waikakahi Estate was very considerable, as there was a great number of working-tracings and locality-plans to prepare for the several surveyors, searching titles in the Transfer Office relative to the ownership of sections comprising the estate and properties abutting thereon, calculating values and rentals of the sections and writing out schedules of the same, preparing photo-lithographic sale-plan of the Township of Morven, also sale-plan of the estate, delineating the topographical features and sectional subdivisions. With a view to publication, a new map of this provincial district, on a scale of four miles to an inch, was compiled by Mr. Schmidt, showing all the latest information, and defining the position of post-offices, sheep-stations, and other prominent topographical features. Plans were drafted on the originals of forty-one certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants, conveying sixty-four sections of land, containing 2,262 acres 2 roods. 19 perches, at a cost of 4s. lOd. each, the duplicate and triplicate copies being prepared in the Transfer branch of this office; four Crown grants were indorsed with amended plans and descriptions, three of them to accord with revised surveys, and the fourth, of Eural Section 4, on account of part of the section having been omitted from the plan when the grant was originally prepared. The register copies of the foregoing were also made to correspond, and one transcript of a lost grant was prepared with the required indorsements thereon, and plans were placed on seven Native Land Court titles in duplicate.