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Lands sold on immediate payments — A. b. p. Purchases. Scrip. Cash received. Town ... ... 58 229 116] £ s. d. £ s. d. Village small farm , ... 294 317 78 Xl/) c n Kr7 o ™ -, Q •Suburban ... ... 532 3 6 85 f SM b ° bl' Alb 1 6 Eural ... ... 64,383 3 32 569) Lands sold on deferred payments— Acres. Selectors. Eural ... ... 58,451 581") Instalments from these and Four special settlements ... 16,820 1581 from former selections still Village settlements ... 527 69j current ... ... 79,523 12 8 Agricultural leases on goldfields — 4,491 acres, leased to 28 selectors—rents from these and former selections current from former years ... ... ... ... 2,369 12 4 Perpetual leases— 28,166 acres, leased to 138 selectors—rents received from these and from selections of former years ... ... ... ... 3,120 4 5 Homestead— 5,830 acres, selected by 35 persons ... ... ... ... Nil. Pastoral rents — From 11,092,714 acres, held in 1,246 leases ... ... ... 167,080 8 2 Miscellaneous— Coal and mineral leases, royalties, timber-licenses, &c, about ... 14,652 611 Total... ... ... ... ...£324,022 5 9 Reserves. For the twelve months ended the 31st March, 1886, 482 reserves, covering an aggregate area of 26,800 acres, were gazetted for the following public purposes : — A. E. P. 96 reserves for endowment of primary education ... ... 10,802 1 29 172 reserves for endowment of boroughs and town districts ... 702 0 2 64 reserves for recreation ... ... ... ... 1,140 331 24 reserves for forest ... ... ... ... 12,163 0 0 11 reserves for plantation ... ... ... ... 956 1 30 115 reserves for miscellaneous ... ... ... ... 1,035 1 4 Total ... ... ... ... 26,800 0 16 The education reserves were nearly all in the North Island, and made as required by sections 19 and 20 of " The Education Reserves Act, 1877." The borough and town district endowment reserves were made in terms of section 17 of " The Land Act, 1885." Under forest reserves there is, including what were gazetted in the three previous years, an aggregate area of 606,214 acres. As explained in former reports, much the greater part of this extensive area is on the mountains and hills and at the head-waters of streams, and was reserved for climatic purposes and the conservation of steep hill-sides. In the course of the current year very considerable areas of timber forest will be reserved, on the advice of the Chief Conservator of Forests, for the purpose of so regulating the cutting of trees that the natural and artificial restoration of the permanent State forests may not be hindered but promoted. The eleven plantation reserves are all on the open plains of Canterbury, making, with former reserves, a total area of 26,280 acres available for the planting of forest-trees in that provincial district. The 115 miscellaneous reserves comprise sites and areas for the various public purposes enumerated in section 227 of "The Land Act, 1885." Settlement Conditions. The disposal of the Crown lands on the systems of deferred-payment, perpetual-lease, special- and village-settlements is now developed to such an extent as to have become the principal work of the Land Department. During the year 1,009 selectors took up 115,257 acres, who, with the selectors of former years whose engagements are still current, make a total of about five thousand settlers in account with the department, and holding an area of over half a million acres on conditions of residence and the improvement of the soil. Under the West Coast Settlement Act (North Island), which is administered by the Public Trustee, seventy-three settlers took up, on thirty-year leases, 8,873 acres, at an average rental of 3s. Bd. per acre; so that, for the year, there is the grand total of 1,082 settlers and 124,130 acres. Up to the 31st March last there were on the West Coast Settlement Reserves