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settlers have cattle and horses, and all have gardens, and some small crops. I understand'that the Education Department intend building a school at this settlement at once, where there are numerous children ready to attend it. Te Karu-o-te-whenua (Paemako) Improved-farm Settlement. —Originally land was allotted to twelve persons, of which number three have surrendered their sections, and one has joined the settlement, thus leaving, at the present time, two sections unoccupied, the allotment of one of which is now under consideration. The average area of the holdings is 117 acres. Five of the settlers have their families with them on their land; one has his family at Te Kuiti, one at Awakino, that of another is still in Oamaru, another's in Australia, and one settler is a widower with a daughter at school at Oamaru. The men only went on to their land in November and December last. They have all built huts or whares of a more or less temporary nature, worth from £3 to £15 each; some have garden patches; most have horses, and one or two cows. As there is very little more bush on this land than should be left for shelter, fencing, and firewood, none has been felled with the object of clearing the land. Fern and scrub have been burnt and roughly cleared on about 100 acres, on which grass and clover is now being sown. Fencing will be erected immediately, so that stock can be kept on the grass when ready, and prevent the growth of fern next spring. The land is good, about 30 per cent, quite level enough for cropping in the usual way. The men are employed on roadwork in the settlement, of which a length of two miles and a quarter (being part of the Te Kuiti-Awakino Boad) has now been made, excepting culverts, which are only temporary until stone can be got to the sites. C. W. Hursthouse, Boad Surveyor.

HAWKE'S BAY. Improved-farm Settlements. —We have two of these settlements, one at Waikopiro and one at Akiteo. With regard to the latter, there are only two small sections, totalling 145-J acres, this being only a portion of a large settlement situated on the Wellington side of the provincial boundary ; but as these two sections are in our district they have for this year been looked after by this office. It would, I think, be advisable if they were thrown in with the remainder of the settlement, and administered by the Wellington office. Waikopiro is a good settlement, and is making very satisfactory progress. It contains 1,765 acres, which are held by fifteen settlers, who have effected over four thousand pounds' worth of improvements, including the amount paid by Government. The Banger's report on the settlement is very satisfactory. Eeic C. Gold-Smith, Commissioner of Crown Lands.

TARANAKI. Ngaire (170 acres 1 rood 30 perches; thirteen settlers). —123 acres felled and grassed to 31st March, 1896 ; 26 acres felled in 1896, and now ready for grassing. Eleven settlers have built houses, to a total value of £375, and are resident upon their sections, with their wives and families, there being thirty-eight children. About 160 chains of fencing has been erected, valued at £72. Fifty-eight head of cattle and eight horses are now on the land. Poti (108 acres ; seven settlers). —68 acres felled and grassed to 31st March, 1896; 24 acres felled, and now ready to be grassed. Five settlers have built houses, to the value of £148, and are resident, with their wives and thirty children. About 75 chains of fencing has been erected, valued at £34. Nine head of cattle and five horses on the land. Maata (30 acres; two settlers). —23 acres felled and grassed to 31st March, 1896. The two settlers have erected houses, to the value of £40, and are both resident, with their wives and one child. 15 chains of fencing, valued at £6 155., has been erected. Three head of cattle and one horse on the land. These three settlements being close together, in Ngaire Block, are practically one settlement. They are situate near Eltham, on or adjoining Eawhitiroa (Anderson) Eoad. They comprise twenty-six sections of from 10 to 18 acres each, and, being close to an old and settled district, form admirable homes for working-men and their families. The whole of the bush on the farms is now felled excepting 34 acres. Eighteen houses have been erected, and the owners are resident with their families; and these eighteen selectors have made improvements, including value of stock, at their own cost, and beyond Government assistance, to the average value of £53 10s. 6d. each, and are still making further improvements. The remaining selectors have not held their lands so long as those above mentioned, and are not, therefore, so far advanced. The above settlement goes to prove that where improved-farm settlements are laid off close to old settled districts, on good land, and the numbers in the settlement are not too great, a fairly certain successful result may be anticipated. Huiroa (668 acres 1 rood 21 perches; eight settlers). —153 acres felled and grassed to 31st March, 1896 ; 201 acres felled this season, and now ready to be grassed. Five settlers have erected houses, to the total value of £140, and are resident, with their families, which include twenty-one children. About 50 chains of fencing has been erected, and most of the settlers on the land have stock. This settlement is situate at the junction of Makuri and Douglas roads, about fourteen miles from Stratford. The land is accessible by Makuri Eoad, and the clearings are fairly well stocked. Mangaere. —(4B2 acres 2 roods 13 perches ; twelve settlers). —232 acres felled and grassed to 31st March, 1896; 142 acres felled, and ready to be grassed. Ten selectors have built houses, at a total value of £240, and are resident, with their wives and families, numbering thirty-seven children. About 170 chains of fencing has been erected, valued at £125, and the settlers have a

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