G.—l.

APPENDIX No. 2. EXTEACTS FEOM THE EEPOETS OF CHIEF SUEVEYOES IN CHAEGE OF SETTLE- " MENT OPERATIONS IN DISTRICTS.

AUCKLAND. Mean Degree of Precision attained in Survey for the Period.— ln pursuance of the system initiated two years ago, the surveyors were required to attach to their annual returns a fair selection of their trigonometrical and chain closures for the past twelve mouths, the result of which is appended hereto, together with those previously obtained, from which it will appear that the character of the work is very uniform, taken as a whole, and that in no single instance is the limit of closure allowed by regulation, either in triangulation or traverse, approached. To the use of the steel band in lieu of the ancient form of Gunter's chain is undoubtedly duo the near approach of the chain closures to those of the triangulation, and, when the general nature of the country over which, as a rule, the chainages have to be made is taken into consideration, it must be acknowledged that great credit is due to the surveyors who produce these results.

Auckland Trigonometrical and Chain Closures, 1883-84.

* Standard Survey. Major Triangulation. —ln past annual reports frequent reference has been made to the long' delayed triangulation of the King country, and the hope expressed that it would shortly be commenced, ■ Happily the natives' objections, which have hitherto proved a barrier to this work, have been hi a great measure-removed, and as a consequence a very large area of country has been brought under the ruling proces's of major triangulation, the result of which, however, will not appear in the return*'iln til next report. In December last, in the presence of the Hon. the Native Minister, a large meeting took place at Kihikihi, when the preliminary arrangements were made, and early in January Mr. District-Surveyor Cussen, with two assistants, was able to make a start into 4—C. 1.

25

Tri igonometrii sal. Chi tin. Surveyor. Number of Closures. Mean Difference of Bearing of Closures. Mean Difference of Closure per Mile in I jinks. Number Nu™bor „, c Traverse Closures. Lines> Total Length of Mean Enrol of Traverse Lines in Miles. Closure per Mile in Links. _J 3. W. Williams* 3. Weetman E. C. Goldsmith :.. L. Cussen ... F. Simpson ... I. Baber P. H. Edgecumbe R. Neumann P. E. Cheal... W. J. Parris 3-. A. Martin E. H. Hardy H. M. Smith ..'. r. I. Philips J. Stevens ... F. Hannah ... D. W. Gillies 1 W. Macfarland ... E. D. Haszard E.G. Price... E. A. Martin ' "fi 4 "27 1 8" 70" T'-B 4" 0-39 096 0-45 11 23 7 28 20 10 11 5 (5 6 4 (i 25 8 6 5 11 8 2 25 449 98 534 400 190 162 57 159 114 118 72 633 469 123 135 2£8 196 63 184 112 2-9 43-2 14-34 50-2 26-0 32-8 43-5 3-5 14-2 12-1 11-8 14-7 37-9 53-3 28-1 13-4 12-2 15-2 12-5 7-8 10-4 0-4 2-02 1-75 2-22 2-1 1-2 1-1 3-3 0-51 0-76 1-50 0-57 1-9 2-26 0-4 2-5 2-0 4-1 2-6 4-4 0.75 9 8" 2:6 5 1-14 Means and totals, 1883-84 Means and totals, 1881-82 Means and totals, 1882-83 53 97"-5 6-63 183 4,541 460-1 38-35 51 54 15 19"-5 10"-7 6"-6 1-10 1-03 0-02 183 98 146 4,541 1,705 3,022 460-1 265-9 890-0 1-91 1-92 1-67 Means and totals, 1881-84 120 15"-6 0-90 427 9,268 1116-0 1-83