5

C.—lα

The statutory provisions referred to are proving very useful in providing legal access~to Native and other lands hitherto without road facilities. Under the Land for Settlements Act, 1908 (section 80), the old road-lines traversing recently acquired estates and not required in connection with the subdivision thereof were duly closed and incorporated in the area available for disposal. '' ■> _[ ;| " j Under the Land Transfer Act a large number of warrants for the titles were duly certified to in terms of section 13 of the Act, and in addition several applications to bring land under the Act were examined and approved in terms of section 19. Other questions in connection with overlaps and boundary'adjustments were dealt with; and in this connection I should, specially like to refer to the case Kumara-Kapitea Road, in the Westland County, where the 3-chain road and railway reserve made in 1868 was encroached upon and portion thereof included in the leases of the adjoining lands. After carefully investigating the whole of the facts in connection with this complicated case, and conferring thereon with the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Hokitika, I am pleased to be able to report that the matter is now practically settled, involving little cost to the Government. Special legislation will probably be required to give effect to the proposed adjustments, but this can be met by inserting a clause in the Reserves, &c, Disposal Bill. Extract from Report by R. P. Greville, Chief Surveyor, North Auckland. —The staff surveyors, permanent and temporary, employed at the beginning of the year numbered five. In. June Mr. N. J. Till was appointed to this district, and during the. same month Mr. D. M. Wilson left to take up his duties as Chief Draughtsman at New Plymouth. Survey operations generally have been somewhat hampered by the unduly wet season that has been experienced. Although economy has been effected by the employment of a lesser number of surveyors than during the preceding year, the amount of work completed by staff surveyors compares very favourably with the amount executed during former years, in some instances the totals for the above year being in excess of those for other years. At the beginning of the year the technical staff numbered thirty-three, whereas the total is now thirty-two. Although these figures disclose no appreciable difference, considerable economy has boon effected by the substitution of cadets for the senior officers who have been retrenched. Further economy has also been made in the production of plans for standard publications. Extract from Report by H. M. Sheet, Chief Surveyor, Auckland. —The Urewera lands will require the services of six surveyors so as to leave an area ready for selection, cut out the necessary reserves, and survey the roads incidental to the clearing-up of the long-discussed Urewera problem. These Urewera surveys will be extra arduous owing to the very broken nature of the country and difficulties of keeping up communications along the river-beds, which are the only means of access. Mr. A. S. Meredith, of Samoa, who was sent here to study our methods of office-work and fieldwork, returned to Samoa at the beginning of the year, after receiving a good training both in the field and in the office. Another young Samoan, Mr. Mayo Hunter, resigned towards the end of last year. Extract from Report by Thomas Brook, Chief Surveyor, Invercargill. —Traverse closures : In 14-05 miles of boundary surveyed by the staff the error per mile, in country varying from level to undulating and mountainous, was 0-57 and 0-44 M. and P. respectively, the number of stations being sixty-two. The closing-error in 2-5 miles of railway with sixty-two stations was 0-68 and 0-16 per mile on M. and P., the work being executed by the staff. In 9-7 miles of road surveyed by the staff the closing-error per mile, ninety-six stations, was 0-52 and 0-62 on M.. and P. respectively. There is nothing to report under this head regarding private surveys. Extract frotn Report by R. S. Galbraith, Chief Surveyor, Hokitika. —The surveys generally during the past year have been isolated sections of small area, scattered all over the district, entailing a lot of travelling, and thus making the cost much higher than if the blocks were larger and not so scattered. Two staff surveyors have been engaged in the field for the full year and have wiped out most of the arrears. Lately applications for land have fallen off considerably, and there is not a great area of surveys in hand or in sight, so that after this season probably one surveyor would be able to keep the field-work sufficiently up to date. Full details of the personnel of the staff, both field and office, are given in the report by the Under-Secretary for Lands. In conclusion, I am pleased to place on record the appreciation by the various Chief Surveyors of the manner in which their officers, both permanent and temporary, have carried out their duties during the year, and I desire to convey my thanks to the whole of the Survey staff for their good work.

Table 1. —Return of Field-work executed by Head Office Staff from 1st April, 1921, to 31st March, 1922.

Standard Sur -eye. Rural Standard Surveys. Land District. Completed. I] Milee - perMUe. Miles -1 £ 49 n Progress. Total Cost. Completed. In Progress. Milss Oost Miles Total Miles. p erMi i e . Miles. 0<JBt Primary Triangulation in Progress. Other Work. Wellington Auckland .. Hawke's Bay 14 45-65 j .. j 40 £ s. d. 2,479 11 8 £ 70 £ 492 Acres. Cost. 130,000 £429 19 9 [ Urewera £547 14 7 £ 46 2,588 8 II