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In conclusion, I have to commend both the field and office staffs as a whole for the manner in which they have attended to their work. The field staff had the disadvantage of very wet weather in the early part of the year, and in some cases a difficulty in getting suitable hands for the field parties. The office staff could well stand being increased by an extra draughtsman, and for some time by two. It has not been possible to undertake the compilation of any new block sheets, and the Chief Draughtsman, Mr. H. J. Lowe, has found it difficult at times to meet all the demands from Government Departments, surveyors, and the public for tracings and information. G. H. BULLARD, Chief Surveyor.

WELLINGTON. Triangulation. —The secondary triangulation upon which Mr. H. E. Girdlestone, under instructions from the Head Office, has been engaged for several seasons, and which embraces an area of some two million and a half acres, has been very nearly completed. Owing, however, to the exigency of settlement surveys this work had to be stopped at the end of August, when Mr. Girdlestone returned to the field staff of this office. Mr. R. P. Greville, Inspecting Surveyor, had occasion to visit the Hawke's Bay District, and he returns an area of 13,100 acres of minor triangulation consequent upon the inspection of a large block of land preparatory to its being thrown open for settlement. This area, coming as it does within the Land District of Hawke's Bay, appears in the return for that district. Standard Surveys. —Mr. Mountfort has completed the field-work of the Wanganui standard survey, and received instructions for a rural standard traverse near Feilding not yet put in hand. Topographical Survey for Selection. —No work coming under this head is returnable this year. Rural. —An area of 16,814 acres is returned under this heading, of which some 10,000 acres are now in occupation, and the remainder is expected to be taken up within a few months. At the present time six staff surveyors have an area of 56,279 acres of unfinished work on hand, the greater part of which it is expected will be completed next season. Town Surveys. —Only a few small sections under this heading have been done, and they were pegged off.by the Inspecting Surveyor. Native L,and Court Surveys. —The cutting-out of subdivisions of Native land in the manner ordered by the Courts has occupied a number of private surveyors under instructions from the Department, and forms the larger proportion of this year's return. The work is different in character from the surveys of Crown lands, which are cut up into farms with the single purpose of their occupation and use. The subdivision of Native lands, on the contrary, is intended to satisfy the legal necessities of apportionment among a number of owners, without regard to the suitability of the resulting portions for occupation and use. Roading, for instance, is not attended to, and this, the most expensive item of Crown-land surveys, is thus absent from the cost of most Native surveys. One staff surveyor, however, has still a Native block of 14,850 acres on hand, which, owing to the necessities of the district, requires roading independently of the Court subdivisions. The total area of 122,038 acres completed includes an area of 117,545 acres by contract surveyors in a number of blocks which did not require complete survey, but merely subdivision of existing surveys. An area of 77,370 acres of Native land is in hand, the authorities having been already issued to various private surveyors. It should be mentioned under this head that the Native work returned by Mr. A. M. Roberts is a cadastral survey of small sections near Wanganui, for revision and amendment of titles, and is quite a different class of work to the Native Land Court work. Roads. —There is nothing of importance under this heading, as, although all surveys of Crown lands necessitate great lengths of roads, these contribute to the total cost of settlement survey without appearing separately. Only 5| miles of road were laid out separately from settlement work. Other Work. —The main body o# settlement survey is surrounded by a fringe of small surveys, reports, inspections, &c, undertaken usually in the winter recess, and which cannot be classified under the main headings. It includes, for instance, all the inspections which form the Inspecting Surveyor's principal occupation, also the cost of his duties as the principal office computer and examiner of plans. Proposed Survey Operations. —One staff surveyor will, in two months' time, complete the roading of a Native block, and continue the subdivision of it for Native Land Court purposes; the remaining five surveyors will all be occupied with settlement surveys of the Crown lands they are engaged upon, totalling some 56,279 acres. Office-work. —The staff has been somewhat short-handed during the year owing to illnesses and changes by transfer; the work, however, has been kept up very well" The "stock" works under these circumstances suffer first, sorely needed as many of them are, there are consequentlyfewer new maps made to replace disappearing records, only 5 having been done, with 30 block sheets. The output of district maps, however, has continued, and 9of these 'have been sent for publication during the year. Of the 94 survey districts in this land district, however, only 27 have been drawn, and I look forward to the time when their completion will do away with much of the excessive hack tracing-work now necessary. Examination of Plans.— There has been a general increase in the number of plans received for examination this year, the total under all heads being 591. Of these, 263 were received