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RECORDS. 35. The departmental record system aims at simplicity so far as is consistent with accuracy and safety. To facilitate the recording at Head Office and at the larger branches, where the volume of correspondence is heavy, there are special record branches, but at the smaller branches the duties are carried out by officers partly engaged on other work. A simple and complete system of filing and indexing is in use, and the effectiveness and accuracy of the recording have been favourably commented upon by numbers of outside persons who have come in contact with it. ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES. Statistics. 36. During the year a total of 3,508 new estates and funds came into the Office. These were of the following classification : — Number. Va^ ue - Wills estates .. .. .. 1,135 3,398,920 Trust estates . . . . . . 292 947,534 Intestate estates . . . . . . 592 460,521 Mental patients' estates .. . . 389 406,067 Miscellaneous .. .. .. 1,100 1,878,308 3,508 £7,091,350 The. estates closed during the year numbered 2,247. Of these, 535 were estates which came into the Office after the Ist April, 1928. On the 31st March, 1929, there were 17,176 estates and funds under administration. These are classified as follows : — Number. Va £ ue " Wills estates .. .. .. 3,997 12,276,482 Trust estates .. .. .. 2,243 7,438,875 Intestate estates .. .. .. 2,289 1,595,275 Mental patients' estates .. . . 1,549 1,729,302 Miscellaneous .. .. .. 7,098 25,294,856 17,176 £48,334,790 New Estates Business. 37. The amount of new business reported for the year constitutes a record for the Office. New estates and funds numbering 3,508, and totalling £7,091,350 in value were accepted for administration. An interesting comparison is afforded in the fact that the new business for this one year is more in total than the value of the whole of the estates and funds under administration by the Office only twenty years ago. This imposing total will render the rapid development of the Department more apparent to the public, and show the great amount of care and attention falling upon the institution in the control and proper management of what is acknowledged to be the largest trust and administration business in the Dominion. The existing business of the Office is laying the foundation for an even greater volume of business in the years to come. Its business, if efficiently conducted, carries with it a distinct goodwill, in that each estate and trust brings the Office into contact with a number of persons —beneficiaries, creditors, and others —who through the estate dealings gain first-hand experience of the security and advantages offered by the Public Trustee in his administration of estates, and who in turn appoint the Public Trustee to administer their own estates. 38. The most noteworthy feature in regard to the new business continues to be the number of estates placed under the administration of the Public Trustee by testators in accordance with directions contained in their wills. During the