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1902. NEW ZEALAND.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

The Sbckbtaet for Crown Lands and Suevbyoe-General to the Hon. the Minister of Lands. Sic, — Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, 23rd June, 1902. I have the honour to submit herewith the annual report on the operations of the Department of Lands and Survey for the twelve months which ended on the 31st March, 1902. I have, &c, J. W. A. Mabchant, Secretary for Crown Lands and Surveyor-General. The Hon. T. Y. Duncan, Minister of Lands.

Extension of the Colony. The Cook, Hervey, and various other islands lying generally between 8° and 23° south latitude, and 156° and 170° west longitude, were under British protection, when it was ordered by His Majesty the King, in an Order in Council dated the 13th day of May, 1901, under " The Colonial Boundaries Act, 1895," that the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand were to be extended so as to include them ; and by Proclamation, dated the 10th June, 1901 (appearing in the New Zealand Gazette No. 59. of the 13th June, 1901), this was given effect to as from the 11th day of June, 1901. The Cook Group of islands are some nine in number, the four larger being : Barotonga, with a population of 2,000; Mangaia, also of 2,000 ; Aciu, with 800 ; and Aitutaki, with 900 ; and the five smaller islands of Mauke, population 400; Miciaro, population 275; and Takutea, Manuae, and Auoutu (Herveys), with no population. The aggregate area is 150 square miles, and the population some 6,500 souls. The outside islands comprise Palmerston (Avarua), Niue (Savage), Pukapuka (Danger), Bakaanga, Manahiki, Tongareva (Penrhyn) and Suwarrow. Of these, the chief one is Niue, with an area of 100 square miles and population of 4,500, the remaining islands being simply atolls, with a population ranging from 100 to 560 souls. The above figures are not based upon survey or census, and are therefore only approximations. Alteration op District Boundaries. The contemplated adjustment of the boundaries of the Nelson and Westland Land Districts has been given effect to: the northern portion of Grey County, comprising 744,000 acres, has been cut off from Nelson and included in the Westland Land District, as from the Ist day of January, 1902 (vide New Zealand Gazette No. 106, of the 19th December, 1901). Land opened for Selection during the Year. As the operations under this heading necessarily constitute the basis for the foundation and expansion of settlement of all classes, it is interesting to analyse the figures for each land district as set forth in the following table, which shows that a total area of 641,994 acres of ordinary Crown land was placed on the market, in addition to 80,415 acres acquired under the Land for Settlements Acts. Of the former, 192,438 acres were opened for the first time, and 449,556 acres were reopened for selection.

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DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY (ANNUAL REPORT ON).