C—la

14

VVESTLAND. Triangulation. —The total work completed under this head comprised in various connecting triangles is 10,000 acres, costing £27 16s. Bd., or 0-6 d. per acre. Topographical Survey for Selection.— An area of 16,640 acres was dealt with, costing altogether £174 19s. 4d., or 2-52 d. per acre, comprising chiefly pastoral land in mountain-tops. Rural. —The work completed under this heading comprised 13,306 acres, subdivided into 67 sections at a total cost of £2,067 18s. 5d., or an average of 3-10s. per acre —the work of the four staff surveyors. Of this area District Surveyor Wilson contributed 1,295 acres, chiefly small isolated sections widely scattered in heavy-bush country. District Surveyor Morison surveyed 6,850 acres in Taramakau Valley and in the Moana Block. This surveyor was also employed for two months in the Canterbury Land District in the survey of an area of 190,500 acres of pastoral runs. District Surveyor Harrop surveyed 371 acres in 5 selections at Paroa and Cobden. An area of 4,790 acres in Waiho andWataroa Districts was surveyed by Mr. Cunningham, most of his surveys being in dense bush and swamp country, and executed under unfavourable conditions of weather and floods. Village and Suburban. —Mr. Harrop surveyed 388 acres at Cobden into 62 sections, at a total cost of £256 19s. 4d., or 5-78s. per acre. Town Section Survey. —2,74s acres in all were surveyed, in 50 lots, in the towns of Hokitika and Cobden, at a cost of £68 14s. 4d., or an average of 27-48s. per lot. Roads, &c. —9 miles were surveyed in Taramakau Valley and Cobden, at a total cost of £147 18s., or an average of £16-43 per mile. Other Work. —Returns show a total cost of £397 4s. 6d. The chief items under this head were supervision of engineering-works and inspection of surveys. Inspections. —-The field inspections, except in the instance of one private surveyor, showed very satisfactory results. Chainage Closures.- —The mean of 34 closures returned by the staff and comprised in 93 miles of traverses give an average of 0-45 of a link per mile. Proposed Operations, 1911-12. —The areas allotted for survey to the four staff surveyors are chiefly as follows (besides 8,300 acres nearly finished) : (1) Completion of an area of about 3,200 acres of applications in the valleys of Grey, Ahaura, and Nelson Creek, including topography of Ahaura Valley ; (2) numerous isolated areas, totalling about 3,200 acres, in the localities of Waimea, Hohonu, and Kanieri ; (3) a few small areas, say about 100 acres, at Waiwhero ; (4) about 3,300 acres in the district between Mikonui and Waiho, with (5) some 800 acres of scattered applications in the far south. Some extension of standard work is desirable in the towns of Greymouth, Cobden, and Hokitika, in order to facilitate field and office check in Land Transfer plans. I hope to put this in hand during the coming year. Office-work. —During the year 116 plans were received, classified as follows : 28 Land Transfer, 16 statutory, 9 mining, and 63 relating to land-settlement: of these, 113 have been examined. 917 copies of plans were placed on title-deeds —namely, on Crown leases 791 copies, and on Land Transfer titles 126 copies. Fifty transfers were also examined. Sixteen tracings have been made for photolithography, chiefly for sale plans. Two 40-chain district maps were completed and three others well advanced. Two new application maps were made. The new safe has been thoroughly brought up to date, thereby greatly facilitating field and office work ; 100 lithograph maps have been mounted ; census maps were prepared for use of sub-enumerators ; numerous reference maps on special subjects were brought up ; considerable attention has been given to Land Transfer record maps (involving the making of 998 tracings), gazetting reserves, and furnishing field data for surveyors and the public generally. Office-work in Progress. —This comprises a photo-lithographic tracing of Jackson's Bay portion of Westland County, well advanced ; a revised lithograph of the Town of Cobden, deferred until completion of important current surveys ; continuation of Land Tranfser records of Greymouth, Hokitika, and Cobden. Further 40-chain maps of the busier portions of Grey County are also well in hand. The work of finally indexing the safe is progressing as opportunity offers, and current record maps are steadily being prepared for ready reference. Changes of Staff. —Field Cadet H. M. Thompson passed to grade of Assistant Surveyor, and was transferred to Southland at end of March, after ten months' efficient service in this office. The following officers of the draughting staff —viz., R. P. Dykes and Miss S. M. Montgomerie—were transferred to Auckland early in November, the former having four years and the latter a year and a, half of capable service in this office. Also, at the end of March, Draughtsman G. C. Warren, niter four years' useful service here, was transferred to the Head Office, Wellington. My thanks are due to the staff for their hearty and intelligent co-operation during the past year. G. H. M. McClure, Chief Surveyor.

CANTERBURY. Rural. —The total area surveyed under this heading for the year amounts to 10,126 acres, in 84 sections, being nearly all blocks under the Land for Settlements Act, and comprising the new settlements of Ruapuna No. 2, Clandeboye No. 2, Kohika No. 2, Meadows, Stoke, Allanholme, and Drayton. These blocks wew all in. open agricultural country. With the exception of the Stoke Settlement, cum prising an area of 980 acres, which was done by a contract surveyor, the surveys have been carried out by our own staff. Topographical Survey for Selection.— Under this heading 1,456,179 acres are returned. Nearly the whole area consists of subdivisional surveys of pastoral runs, the leases of which expire on the