CROWN LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1514, 9 August 1912, Page 8

CROWN LANDS.

« — OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR, Operations in Crown lands during the past financial year are described in tho annual report by the Under-Secretary for Lands (Mr. John Strauchon). The aica opened for selection during the" year aggregated, under all tenures, !)G5,!)!)3 acres, of which 14:1,045 acres were available for selection under the optional system, bring 20,200 acres greater than in the i.ievious year, and under the renewable lease system the area advertised was 382,7!)!) acres, an increase of 108,869 acres. The following tablo shows the areas opened in each land district, the areas under the principal headings, and the total for each district being shown:— <> 1 a 1» 1L ■ ' .2.2 %I- P g ~ Auckland . 96,752 G3.750 — 104,968 H'ke's Bay 2,073 2,576 - 4,757 Taranaki 7,402 7,213 — 15,3)8 Wellington 24,440 1,037 - • 29,853 Nelson 139 9,566 —' 9,719 Marlbor'gh 2,885 14,497 29G 32.822 Westlaiul — 5,132 327,652 522,911 Canterb'y — 66,152 125,822 192,042 Otago 4,472 10,509 94,140 109,190 Southland 4,882 2,286 67,611 75,013 Tho number of select ions during the year was 215!), and tho area taken up 2,635,329 acres, (he lands taken up on settlement conditions being 472,090 acres by 1503 selectors. The Crown tenants now number 28,466 in possession of an area of 19,391,231 acres. In addition, educational and other endowments are leased >to 4237 selectors, occupying an area of 1,181,751 acres. Tho total area of Crown laud available for selection is 5,515,208 acres, of which only about 250,000 acres can be considered as first-class. Tho total area within the national endowment is 5,313,700 acres, so that 656,300 acres have still to bo provided before the statutory limit of 9,000,000 acres is reached. The i atiou.il endowment lands leased amount to 6,287,533 acres, from which an annual rental of ,£288,451 is derived. The total revenue from Crown lands was ,£693,058, an increase of .£108,215 over tho previous year's receipts. Six estates, containing "6,451 acres, were subdivided and placed in tho market during tho year—fivo in Canterbury and one in Otago. Several blocks of Native laud in (ho King Country standing over from old purchases were partitioned, the area dealt with being 1702 acres. The purchases comprised 31,305 acres in the Waikato and 10,066 acres in the Urewera.