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Land-tdxikks. There have been very few changes under the different tenures during the year, with the exception of the increase under the renewable-lease tenure arising from the new selections of hinds offered under the Land for Settlements Act. There have been two exchanges of tenure from lease in perpetuity to renewable lease, and the freeholds of their holdings have been acquired by two perpetual-lease holders, one holder of an occupation-with-right-of-purchase license, and one pastoral deferred-payment licensee, the total area thus alienated being 2,882 acres •'! roods. Land Revenue : Payment of Rent and Rebates. The total revenue received for the year was £156,248 !>s. 1 o<l., an increase of £17..'!.")!) 16s. 9d. over the previous j-ear. This increa.se is partly due to the half-year's rent, aggregating £7.246, paid in advance by the new selectors of pastoral-run licenses commencing on the Ist March, 1912. There will, of course, be a corresponding reduction of receipts for the ensuing year. The total amount of rent in arrear at the .'Si si March, 1911. excluding current payments, was £7,060 12s. 4d. Out of this total, however, a sum of !_:!,(iG4 7s. is represented by payments duo on holdings in the Kinloch Settlement, the collection of which in 1908 and 1909 was postponed for three years as a temporary measure of relief to tide over initial financial difficulties. If this sum be deducted, the actual arrears amount to £3,396 ."is. id., the amount outstanding representing slightly over 2 per cent, of the total annual rent-roll. The total sum allowed as rebates for prompt payment of rent was £8,516 I Is., the number of tenants who participated in this privilege being 1,996. Transfers. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of holdings under settlement tenures in respect of which transfers were effected during the year, as compared with the corresponding figures for the previous year. The following are the figures for the present year : — Tenure. Number. Area. Leases in perpetuity: Land for settlement and Crown a. h. p. lands ... " ... ... ... ... 132 15,699 2 39 Village-homestead leases ... ... ... ... 24 697 022 Small grazing-runs ... ... ... ... 12 27,637 033 Renewable and perpetual [eases' ... ... ... 4 7-'i'2 134 172 44,766 2 8 The corresponding figures for the previous year were 126 holdings, comprising a total area of 26,40!) acres :i roods Hi perches. The present year's total approximates that of three years ago. Excluding the small grazing-runs, whose area is necessarily large, it will be seen that the average area of the holdings transferred is about 107 acres, from which it may be inferred that at least a considerable proportion of the transfers are due to the fact that the holders, having made a successful start on limited areas, are now possessed of experience and capital sufficient to enable them to acquire larger areas, possibly to purchase freehold in the open market. The total number of applications for transfer submitted to the Land Board during the year was 220, out of which twenty-three were declined. All applications for transfer are very carefully considered by the Board, both as regards the general suitability of the proposed transferee and also as regards his financial position in relation to the amount of consideration money proposed to be paid. Forfeitures and Surrenders. The total number of holdings forfeited and surrendered during the year was fourteen, comprising 662 acres 3 roods 15 perches, principally under renewable-lease and temporary-occupa-tion-license tenures. The small number of holdings which have thus reverted to the Crown, and the fact that nine out of the fourteen holdings were merely temporary-occupation licenses, tend to show that the bulk of the land-selections in the district are made by persons not only genuinely desirous of occupying their selections in a ho/vi fide manner, but also financially and otherwise qualified to carry out successfully the obligations attaching to their selections. Rangers' Reports, ami Conation of Settlement. In the larger proportion of ordinary Crown leaseholds throughout the district the lands have been in possession of the tenants for a considerable number of years, and the periods of statutory requirements have therefore expired, so that only general supervision is now required. In the case of the numerous holdings round Lake Ellesmere, the dry season has enabled many of the holders to make better use of their sections than usual. Experiments in controlling the water-levels of the lake are still proceeding, and, if successful, further compliance with improvement conditions may be expected from tenants who have hitherto been excused on account of the frequent and erratic overflow of the accumulated lake-water on to their lands. In the Hororata, Kowai, and Oxford districts the tenants have had a fairly successful year: there is a continued improvement of the farms, and conditions ure well fulfilled. Two pastoral runs at Oxford suffered partially from fire, and about 1,000 acres will have to lie resown. In the Hanmer district a good ileal of trouble is being experienced with sweetbriar, which has in past years been allowed to spread. The leases of small areas in this neighbourhood suffer from the absence of residence and improvement conditions, and the condition of many of these sections can hardly be regarded as satisfactory.