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1944 NEW ZEALAND

DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY SETTLEMENT OF CROWN LANDS (ANNUAL REPORT ON)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, 3rd July, 1944. Sir, —- I have the honour to submit the annual report on the settlement of Crown lands for the year ended 31st March, 1944, together with particulars of operations under the Small Farms Act, 1932-33, the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1929, and the Servicemen's Settlement and Land Sales Act, 1943. I have &c., R. G. Macmorran, The Hon. the Minister of Lands. Under-Secretary.

REPORT

GENERAL REVIEW Reports from the districts indicate that, despite difficult climatic conditions at certain periods, Crown tenants generally have had a satisfactory year. As stated in last year's report, the shortage of pliosphatic fertilizers and the lack of man-power are adversely affecting farming operations, and in some cases necessary maintenance is being neglected to a certain extent. This position has arisen as a result of the war. It is hoped that the retrogression that is evident in certain localities will be overcome when normal conditions again prevail. As all suitable blocks of Crown land are to be utilized for the settlement of ex-servicemen, very few sections were offered for selection by the general public during the past year, and the Department's activities in so far as ordinary land-settlement is concerned were connected mainly with the administration of areas selected in previous years. Additional properties were acquired during the year for the settlement of discharged servicemen, and particulars of the areas concerned are given in that portion of the report dealing with land-development. In most districts there have been few applications for remission of rent, and the majority of the tenants have met their commitments to the Department. At the 31st March, 1944, the tenants on the books of the Department numbered 35,127, occupying a total area of approximately 17,576,089 acres. Extracts from reports of Commissioners of Crown Lands, dealing with settlement conditions in their respective districts, are included in an Appendix to this report.