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TARANAKI. Minor Triangulation. —No work of this nature has been done during the past year. Standard Surveys. —Nothing of this kind has been done in this district for many years, but a revision and extension of the standard surveys of Hawera and Stratford are badly needed. Something should also be done for Eltham and the main roads through the valuable dairying country round Mount Egmont. Topographical Survey for Selection. —Under this heading an area of 25,220 acres, costing 4'34d. per acre, was got ready and offered for sale, and an area of 13,900 acres is now in hand. Mura1. —48,535 acres were completed, costing 2'965. per acre, most of which is situated in very rough forest country where the rainfall is heavy and continuous and location of roads difficult. An additional area of 34,000 acres has been completed in the field, and plans plotted sufficiently to allow sale plans to be prepared. Village and Suburban. —194'63 acres, in 18 lots, were surveyed at a cost of 12'485. per acre in wet bush country, the travelling-expenses being heavy. Town S'ection Survey. —An area of 4'28 acres, comprising 13 lots for workers' homes, was surveyed in the Town of Stratford at a cost of 31" 13s. per allotment. Native Land Court Surveys. —The total area surveyed was 47,241 acres, into 128 subdivisions, at a total cost of £2,832 13s. 5d., or 14'40d. per acre, the whole of the work being completed by private surveyors. During the year 73 plans were received for examination by Chief Computer, and 72 plans have been approved. Of these, 26 were received and duly approved for authorities issued prior to April, 1913, and 48 for authorities issued during the year. Twentyeight requisitions for surveys under the Native Land Act, 1909, covering 83 subdivisions of a total area of 44,880 acres, were received and authorities issued, the estimated total cost of survey being £2,648. Sixty-five subdivisions of a total area of 16,483 acres, representing 24 authorities issued during the year, have been completed and 48 plans of same received. Ten authorities issued prior to the Ist April, 1913, covering 36 subdivisions of a total area of 17,188 acres, have been completed, 26 plans received and approved. An area of 57,538 acres, representing 46 subdivisions covered by 11 authorities, are now under survey, and will be completed during the coming year. , Maori Land Board Surveys. —The total area surveyed amounted to 8,726 acres, comprising the Mohakatino-Parininihi lc West Block of 6,310 acres, for which authority was issued prior to the Ist April, 1913, for leasing purposes, at a cost of £331 15s. 7d., or 12'62d. per acre; and a block of 2,416 acres authorized, and completed by compilation at a cost of £15 15s. Roads. —ln this class 11"29 miles were completed by the staff and one contract surveyor at a cost of £246 ss. Bd., or £21"81 per mile. Inspections.- —Only 4 inspections were made during the year, 2 by Mr. District Surveyor Kensington of Native Land Court contract surveys, in both of which cases the boundaries were found to be very incorrect; and 2 by the Office Surveyor, Mr. Sole, both being inspections of Land Transfer surveys, where the question of occupation and search for old marks was considered unsatisfactory. More inspections would have been made had the Land Transfer Draughtsman and Office Surveyor not been laid aside by sickness. Other Work. —The expenditure under this heading amounts to £426 75., and includes inspections of surveys, inspections of survey contracts for payment, repairs and revision of old triangulation, also many miscellaneous isolated surveys of small area where travelling-expenses were proportionately heavy. Ghainage Closures. —The mean of all closures by the staff, mostly in rough bush country, gave an average of 0'94 links per mile. Office-work. —The total number of plans checked under all heads in the ordinary Survey Branch was 172, with 473 traverse sheets. These cover 420 sections, of a total area of 132,458 acres, and 31 miles of roads and railways taken and closed. Of these, settlement surveys of Crown lands were represented by 35 plans containing 170 sections of a total area of 55,205 acres; 34 plans defining 31 miles of roads and railways taken and closed; 76 Native Land Court and Maori Land Board plans of 59,690 acres in 126 sections; 18 miscellaneous plans of 22 subdivisions containing 3,707 acres; 6 office compilations of 8,759 acres in 5 sections; 2 township plans of 76 acres in 81 sections; and one provisional settlement survey of 5,020 acres containing 16 sections. Only one candidate sat for examination as authorized assistant and passed. Land Transfer. —In this branch 112 plans, with 163 traverse sheets, were checked and approved, covering 289 sections and subdivisions of a total area of 11,670 acres. Plans of the Mokau Block of 56,000 acres of private settlement lands, and a Maori Land Board block of 6,316 acres containing many miles of intricate roading, were also handed to this branch for examination. Practically for six months we were without the services of our Land Transfer Draughtsman, and had to utilize the services of the office surveyor for this work. Land Transfer record maps are badly needed, but owing to sickness and retirements, &c, the men left have had to strain every nerve to keep pace with the current work, and all record maps and compilations for publishing survey district and county maps, &c, have been hung up in consequence. Titles. —The plans placed on instruments of title of all kinds were 1,864, and 586 copies of leases and licenses were prepared, all by the office staff, and not, as for the past ten years, by contract. Compilations. —For photo-lithography 24 large drawings and tracings were prepared, and the work on the new survey district maps of Mapara, Tangitu, Rangi, and Piopiotea West was continued whenever opportunity occurred. These maps and county maps of Waitomo, Ohura, and Whangamomona are urgently required by the public and other Departments, and I trust an extra officer will soon be sent here to complete them and others of like nature,