C.—l

LANDS FOR SELECTION. During the year 271,549 acres were taken up on various tenures, the number of selections being 1,062 under all headings. These figures include some 555 sections, comprising altogether an area of 78,546 acres, taken up under miscellaneous leases and licenses, so that the selections on permanent tenures numbered 507 sections, covering a total area of 193,003 acres. The following table gives the selections of Crown lands for the last five years : — Selections under all Tenures. Area. Year ending Number. (Acres.) 31st March, 1935 .. .. .. .. .. 1,036 302,915 31st March, 1936 .. .. .. .. .. 1,037 210,026 31st March, 1937 .. .. .. .. .. 1,342 463,178 31st March, 1938 .. .. .. .. .. 1,072 232,225 31st March, 1939 .. .. .. .. .. 1,062 271,549 The total of 271,549 acres selected during the year includes lands taken up under both permanent and temporary tenures, and also town and suburban lands. The permanent selections of rural lands only were as follows : —

The lands dealt with above comprise both areas offered for the first time and areas which became available for reoffering through various reasons. The figures for entirely new rural areas selected during the year are as follows :—

RECEIPTS. The receipts for the year from all sources totalled £1,429,501, a decrease of £147,729 on last year's figures. The receipts for the last five years have been, as follows : Year ending 31st March, 1935, £1,259,790 ; 1936, £1,276,510 ; 1937, £1,402,596 ; 1938, £1,577,230 ; 1939, £1,429,501. POSTPONEMENTS, REMISSIONS, AND ARREARS OF RENT. Rents the payment of which remained postponed at the 31st March amounted to £34,668. Arrears of rent at the 31st March (including arrears in respect of the current half-yearly charge) totalled £424,550, while remissions for the year totalled £396,239. The total remissions include the sum of £378,689 representing rent and interest remitted under the provisions of the Mortgagors and Lessees Rehabilitation Act, 1936. REBATES. For prompt payment of rent 17,356 Crown tenants were granted the usual rebates in terms of section 123 of the Land Act, 1924, and section 59 of the Land for Settlements Act, 1925. These rebates amounted to a total of £47,059. NATIONAL ENDOWMENT. Of the area in the national endowment, 6,253,024 acres were held under lease or license at the 31st March by 4,213 tenants paying an annual rental of £129,448, while a very large area (partly, however, covered by existing leases) had been set aside as provisional State forests. For further particulars re the national endowment, see parliamentary paper C.-14. EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENTS. An area of approximately 797,824 acres of education endowments under the administration of the various Land Boards is leased to some 4,176 tenants, who pay a total annual rental of £118,844

5—C. 1.

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Class of Land. Sections selected! , Total Area selected. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land .. .. 156 113,295 Settlement land .. .. .., .. 28 8,895 Education reserves, &c. .. .. .. .. 17 25,006 Grand totals .. .. .. .. 201 147,196

pi . T j Number of New Rural I Total Area selected Sections selected. j for the First Time. Acres. Crown and national-endowment land .. .. 69 19,013 Settlement land .. .. .. .. .. 9 893 Educational reserves, &c. .. .. .. .. 3 213 Grand totals .. .. .. .. 81 20,119