G—9

Welfare Staff The welfare staff comprises the Controller and thirty-four male or female welfare officers. MAORI TRUSTEE The powers and duties of the Maori Trustee are similar to those of the Public Trustee except that they affect the Maori people and Maori land. The Maori Trustee is frequently appointed executor and administrator of the estates of deceased members of the Maori race, is the trustee of minors and others under disability, is often appointed by the Maori Land Court to enter into dealings in respect of Maori lands the owners of which cannot be traced, and is trustee of the North Island Tenths Benefit Fund and the South Island Tenths Benefit Fund. Large areas of both urban and rural Maori lands are also vested in the Maori Trustee for administration on behalf of the beneficial owners. The number of private Maori estates under administration by the Maori Trustee increased to 2,068 as at 31st March. The present policy of decentralized administration is working well as it permits closer supervision of estates, personal contact between the administration and the beneficiaries, and results in expeditious handling in connection with estate matters. Thus a feeling of greater confidence is engendered in the minds of the Maori beneficiaries regarding their trust affairs. The following table sets out the position of the estates at present being administered:—

Mortgage Investments A total of £296,920 from the Maori Trustee's Common Fund is invested in mortgage securities. There were 294 mortgages as at 31st March, 1949, and the area of land in these transactions amounted to 92,074 acres. Maori Reserves Lands vested in the Maori Trustee under the Maori Reserves Act and under the West Coast Settlement Reserve Act comprised : . r Acres. West Coast Settlement Reserves (Taranaki) .. .. 72,000 Grey mouth (Town) .. .. .. .. .. 500 North Island Tenths (Wellington City) .. .. .. 38 Palmerston North (City) .. .. .. .. .71 South Island Tenths (Nelson City and Motueka) .. .. 4,200 Other North Island Reserves .. .. .. .. 4,000 Other South Island Reserves .. .. .. .. 13,500 94,309

15

District. Minors. Deceased Persons. Convicts. Mental Patients. Miscellaneous. Totals. Tokerau and Waikato186 77 21 124 299 707 Maniapoto Waiariki 107 52 2 26 1 188 Tairawhiti 49 26 7 63 6 151 Aotea 309 49 27 10 38 433 Ikaroa and South Island 336 68 12 38 135 589 Totals 987 '272 69 261 479 2,068