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NELSON. Minor Triangulation. —The area of 8,800 acres returned for this class of work, at a cost of 2-6 d. per acre, consists of extensions of subsidiary triangulation to control sectional surveys. Topographical. —An area of 38,052 acres was returned under this heading ; all this area, with the exception of 500 acres, is provisional survey, executed to enable a scheme of subdivision to be prepared for selection before final survey : this work cost 4-07 d. per acre. Rural and Suburban. —The area returned under this heading is 39,374 acres, in 134 sections, costing 2-555. per acre ; 14,564 acres of this area is situated in the Maruia North Block in fairly large sections ; the remainder being principally in scattered applications. The work was situated in rough, hilly, heavy forest, and in some cases was only accessible by rough bush walking-tracks. Gold-mining Surveys. —Only 3 surveys were executed by a staff officer, 184 acres, at a cost of 3-ls. per acre ; 8 surveys of this class were executed by private surveyors, containing 2,551 acres. Roads, &c, 13 Miles. —These consist of short lengths of roads in various localities, to give- access to Crown lands opened for selection. Other Duties. —The work in this class comprises various duties which do not come under any of the headings in the general return, and consist of general office-work at Reefton and Westport, field inspections, minor surveys, valuations, reports, and work executed for other Departments. Field Inspections. —Owing to the urgency of settlement survey, it has been very difficult to spare an officer to attend to this work. Only 4 inspections have been made during the year, 2of gold-mining surveys executed by private surveyors, 1 of D'Urville Island survey, and 1 of the Big Bush contract : the reports were satisfactory, and details with diagrams have been supplied. Field inspections should be made more frequently, not only to test the accuracy of the work, but to ascertain if the field-work is being carried on with diligence. It has been impossible for me to leave my office duties to attend to this work to a sufficient extent, and, owing to the large amount of settlement survey on hand, it has been extremely difficult to spare the services of a staff surveyor ; also, more inspections should be made of the field-work of contract and Land Transfer surveys. Proposed Operations for 1909-10.—Owing to the early retirement of Messrs. Montgomerie and Snodgrass, District Surveyors in charge of the Reefton and Westport offices respectively, the services of an extra surveyor will be required, as recommended in the estimates for this year. The arrears in the W'estport District amount to approximately 12,000 acres, chiefly in the Kongahu and Oparara Districts ; but the arrears in Reefton are small, and can be undertaken as opportunity offers. Mr. Carkeek, District Surveyor, proposes to complete the trig, and coastal survey of D'Urville Island by July, and it will then be necessary to define the subdivisions. I made a field inspection of this survey, and reported fully on the too-elaborate method adopted of defining the coast by a continuous coastal traverse. Mr. Thomson, District Surveyor, is engaged on scattered applications, containing 4,540 acres, in the Motueka, Kaiteriteri, and Mount Arthur Districts. Mr. Maitland, District Surveyor, after completing survey of 2,320 acres in hand in Waitapu District, will undertake the survey of selections in the Mount Arthur Survey District. He has 5,820 acres on his instructions. Mr. Cumine is now engaged on the survey of 6,616 acres of selections in the southern portion of the Mid-Maruia Block. Mr. Irvine is engaged on the survey of 2,150 acres in the Tadmor District, and after the completion of this block will be employed on the survey of 7,565 acres in the Dart Block, also situated in the Tadmor Survey District. Mr. Fairhall has the trig, and sectional survey of Braeburn Settlement, containing 18,000 acres, in hand ; the triangulation is in progress, and about 5,000 acres of sectional survey completed in field. Mr. Springall is employed on the trig, and sectional survey of the Owen and Owen East Blocks, and has an area of 11,380 acres on his instructions. 4,650 acres of the sectional survey is completed in the field, and also 14,000 acres of trig, survey, to control the above survey. Mr. James Stevenson, who began work in this district in December last, has instructions to execute the triangulation of approximately 100,000 acres in the Maruia, Rappahannock, Warwick, and Glenroy Valleys, to control the surveys of large areas selected in those localities. The work is absolutely necessary, as as basis for the sectional surveys. In order to have the triangulation being executed in the Maruia Valley, the Owen Blocks, and Braeburn Settlement in terms of the Imperial Standard, the main series of triangles has been recomputed by polygons from a remeasurement of the Waimea base to the base near the Lyell. Allowing for the difference in length between the old Nelson Standard and the new Imperial, the closure was 1 link per mile on to the Lyell base. As time permits, the whole of the triangulation in the Colling wood and Nelson circuits is being recomputed through polygons in terms of the Imperial Standard. Closures have been worked out between bases measured at West Wanganui and Collingwood, and Collingwood and Waimea. The difference in closure from the West Wanganui on to Collingwood base is 0-65 of a link per mile, and between Collingwood and Waimea 0-5 of a link per mile. Mr. J. H. Buttress, an " authorised assistant," is employed on the survey of selections in the northern portion of the Mid-Maruia Block, containing 10,238 acres, of which 3,060 acres is completed in field. Mr. F. I. Ledger has just completed the field-work of the contract survey of Big Bush Block, 13,954 acres, and expects to return the plans by end of April. Mr. C. Lewis signed an agreement on. the 16th March last to execute the survey of 5,250 acres in the Takaka Survey District, and has begun the work. The surveyors now employed have instructions to survey 91 applications, containing 39,427 acres. Of this area, approximately 12,820 acres, in 28 applications, is nearly completed in field. In addition to this there are 19 applications in the Big Bush Block, containing 13,954 acres, let by contract to Mr. Ledger, the field-work of which is just completed ; also 4 applications, containing 5,250 acres, let to Mr. C. Lewis by contract on the 16th March ultimo. The survey of Braeburn Settlement, containing a total area of 18,063 acres, of which 9,934 acres has been taken up by 12 selectors, is also in hand, and 5,000 acres completed in field. The total number of applications allotted to surveyors, staff and contract, is 126, with an area of 68,565 acres. Of this area the survey of 31,774 acres, in 53 applications, is nearly completed in the field. The number of unallotted applications, including