IX

a—2

of April, 1913. The position is still unsatisfactory. The claims received from the time the fund became unfinancial to the 30th April, 1913, amounted to £4,475 12s. 3d., and the receipts for the same period totalled only £2,413 16s. sd. This deficiency may be attributed partly to the legislation passed in 1911, which provided that the clause referring to allowances to widows should be retrospective ; and it may be partly attributed to the Waihi strike, though since the resumption of work in that district the total receipts .have been only sufficient to meet the current claims. For instance, the receipts for the period commencing with the Ist January, 1913, and ending at the 30th June, 1913, amounted to £2,504 2s. 2d., while the claims for that period totalled £2,406 19s. 4d. From this it will be seen that some time must elapse before the receipts will be sufficient to liquidate all the outstanding claims. The latter on the 30th June, 1913, amounted to £1,587 18s. 9d. Owing to the inadequacy of the relief fund to meet all demands made upon it, an amount of £1,000 was voted by Parliament as a contribution to the fund. Instead, however, of paying this into the fund it was decided to use the amount, or so much of it as might be required for that purpose, in relieving cases of miners suffering from pneumoconiosis and in paying to the widows of such miners as have died from this disease a sum not exceeding £50 and funeral expenses up to £20 in each case. The amount disbursed in this manner up to 31st March last was £263. The fund, although gradually recovering, is still not able to meet its liabilities exactly at their due dates, but as the mines have now resumed work, and as presumably all the old claims have now been sent in, it is hoped that the fund will soon be on a good financial footing again. GEOLOGICAL SUEVBY. Detailed geological surveys have been in progress in the Reefton and BullerMokihinui (Westport) subdivisions. A small area near Te Puke was also surveyed in detail. In addition to detail work, officers of the survey have paid a number of flying visits to various localities, but the staff is too small to enable many such inspections to be made, nor is it desirable that the detailed surveys should suffer on this account. The paleeontological branch of the survey has made good progress in its work, md some eminent foreign specialists have volunteered their services for special ivestigations.

ii—C. 2,