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rities, are now under survey and will be completed at an early date; 6 requisitions, representing 40 subdivisions, of a total area of 52,071 acres, are now being dealt with, and -authorities will issue shortly. Maori Land Board Surveys. —Authority was issued to a private firm of surveyors for the subdivisional survey of one block, containing 6,316 acres, for leasing purposes, and was the "only survey dealt with under this branch during the year. A scheme plan has been submitted and approved by the Board, and the field-work is now well in hand. Roads. —In this class 8"68 miles were completed by the staff at a cost of £342 35., or £3942 per mile, most of it being done in very rough and precipitous country, as a specially urgent job in bad weather in winter. Inspections. —Only two inspections of surveys have been made during the year, one of a Land Transfer survey inspected by Mr. T. G. Sole, and one of a Native survey close to Taumarunui, inspected by District Surveyor Mr. N. C. Kensington. Had time and opportunity allowed, I fully intended to myself inspect the contract surveys in upper Waitara and several important Native and Land Transfer surveys. Other Work. —The expenditure under this head amounts to £143 95., and includes inspections, preliminary scheme and inspection of a block of 6,000 acres of Crown lands intended for the Wanganui River Trust, and small miscellaneous surveys done by the office surveyor and Mr. Kensington. Ghainage Closures. —The mean of all closures returned by the staff, mostly in rough bush country, gave an average of o'9 of a link per mile. Office-work. —The total number of plans checked under all heads in the ordinary Survey Branch was 159, with 424 traverse sheets. These covered 391 sections of a total area of 78,918 acres, and 22 miles of roads and railways taken and closed. Of these, settlement surveys of Crown lands were represented by 14 plans, containing 177 subdivisions of a total area of 26,889 acres; 33 plans defining 22 miles of roads and railways taken and closed; 75 Native Land Court plans of 39,303 acres in. 93 sections; 32 miscellaneous plans of 83 subdivisions, containing 5,206 acres; 4 office compilations of 7,516 acres in 15 sections; and 1 township plan of 4 acres in 22 sections. Four men sat for examination iis authorized assistants, and three passed. Land Transfer. —In this branch 132 plans, with 158 traverse sheets, were checked and approved, covering 383 sections and subdivisions of an area of 8,893 acres; in addition, 4 plans, comprising 30 subdivisions and containing 10,989 acres, previously checked by the other branch, were examined and approved for Land Transfer purposes. Land Transfer record maps are badly needed to replace our present system of bound tracings. Titles. —The plans placed on instruments of title of all kinds were 1,922, and 425 copies of leases and licenses were prepared. Compilations. —For photo-lithography 12 large drawings and tracings were prepared and 2 new 40-chain and 2 new 20-chain record maps were made, besides supplying the necessary tracings to the Head Office to compile a plan of the enlarged borough of New Plymouth. The old 2-mile map last printed from in 1906 was brought right up to the end of March, 1913, and sent on for publication, while the Head Office county maps of Waitomo and Ohura were examined and brought up to date. A special book of mounted lithos with index map of all the forest lands was prepared for the Forestry Commission, also special maps for the RailwayCommission and other Commissions dealing with the enlargement of boroughs, &c. Miscellaneous. —The usual demands made on the office staff were attended to, comprising the supplying of information to the general public, tracings for Rangers (including 87 cor-, rected tracings from approved plans of improved-farm sections) and selectors; 35 complete sets of field data were supplied to staff and contract surveyors; plans for road and scenery Proclamations numbered 94. For the Valuer-General 150 tracings were made, while the total of tracings for selectors, Rangers, road, scenery, &c., numbered 377. All recording on block sheets already made on road, Crown grant, 40-chain record maps, reserve, index, and land-tenure and wall maps was kept well up to date, and the usual map-mounting attended to. Native Land Court Work.— During the }'ear 82 Court orders (in duplicate) have been indorsed with plans and forwarded, covering an area of 48,891 acres. A considerable amount of correspondence has been dealt wi>h in this branch, chiefly with the Registrars of Native Land Courts, owners or lessees of Native blocks, or solicitors acting for clients interested. The sum of £2,341 lis. lid. has been collected from the owners or lessees of Native lands in payment of survey charges, &c, where costs were previously advanced by the Crown. When considered necessary, an officer of this Department has attended sittings of the Native Land Court for purposes of obtaining charging-orders against Native blocks, collecting survey fees, &c. Nine tracings were made for Native Land Court purposes. Vouchers for payment to surveyors for surveys completed have been prepared, and all detail work necessary has "been attended to. Proposed Operations for 1913-14. —A staff of four permanent surveyors, with one cadet, one temporary assistant surveyor, and one contract surveyor are at present engaged upon settlement surveys along the eastern, north-eastern, and north-western boundaries of this land district, and it is now proposed to add thereto at least two other contract surveyors upon similar work. The total area to be covered by these operations amounts to 86,843 acres, of which an area of 45,693 acres is completed in the field, and litho tracings of most of this for'the issue of sale maps have been prepared therefrom and sent to Wellington, thus leaving 41,150 acres of new country to be surveyed before the 31st March, 1914, situated in the Mapara, Aria, Tangitu, Waro, Mimi, Mahoe, and Omona Survey Districts. Transfers.—Mr. John Cook was promoted in June to be Land Transfer Draughtsman in Wellington, and Mr. F. J. Harrop was promoted from Napier to fill his place here. Mr. R. R. Richmond, of the temporary field staff, was transferred to the Canterbury District in October-