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those previously in the hands of Messrs. Montgomerie and Snodgrass, is 144, containing 65,335 acres. The blocks to be opened during the coming year comprise the Lee River Block Extension, 10,185 acres ; the Wairoa Forks Block Extension, 8,320 acres ; the Howard Block, 30,000 acres ; the Anatoki Block, 4,400 acres ; Extension Maruia North Block, 1,800 acres ; and the Waimea Block, 5,000 acres : total, 59,705 acres. Land Transfer Office.—Mx. Curtis, the Land Transfer Draughtsman, reports that 59 survey plans have been examined and passed, 46 examined and returned, 150 deeds passed and 398 diagrams placed on 198 certificates of title in duplicate, 100 plans drafted, and 298 plans examined and issued. Arrears, 27 certificates of title in duplicate. Office-work. Seventy-four certificates of title in lieu of Crown Grants (in triplicate) were examined and issued, 315 tracings examined, 56 reports furnished, 7 survey plans and compiled plans examined, and 51 leases &c, for warrants examined. There are 13 certificates of title in lieu of Crown grants (in triplicate) to issue. The drafting-work for the year includes examination of 61 plans, with an area of 46,500 acres, in 200 sections ; mining surveys, 11 plans, 2,551 acres, in 30 sections ; 17 road plans ; 8 railway and 2 subsidiary triangulations : total number of plans, 99. Traverse sheets checked, 337. Diagrams were placed on 121 Crown titles (by contract) in quadruplicate, 55 in triplicate, 46 in duplicate, and 4 singly ; and on certificates of title in lieu of Crown grant, in triplicate, 74 : total number of diagrams, 967. There are in arrear 21 Crown titles in quadruplicate and 7in triplicate. There were 5 plans drawn for photo-lithography of large blocks of land opened for settlement, as well as those reopened for disposal after surrenders, &c. The office-work also included tracings and data for surveyors, rough tracings for settlers, for Valuation and other Departments. A rough tracing of the Borough of W T estport, to be redrawn for photo-lithography, has been prepared ; also photo-litho tracings of several districts brought up to date for reproduction and for county maps ; tracings for photo-lithography of the Collingwood and Takaka Counties are well in hand, and on the completion of these there only remains the Waimea County to be drawn. Several new selectionmaps and a new map of Nelson City are required, but, owing to the urgency and volume of current work, have not yet been made. The safe register is not yet completed, the officer in charge of that work having to prepare all Crown grants for rebinding, also all the old traverse-reductions for the same purpose, and a great deal of time is taken up in looking up and attending to plans for the use of officers. Now that the Crown grants and traverse-reductions are all rebound, this work should soon be completed. Robt. T. Sadd, Chief Surveyor.

MARLBOROUGH. No triangulation or topographical surveys have been completed during the period, but a little reobservation has been done by me on the lower Wairau plans—used for fixing standard points upon which to base Land Transfer work —also a few triangles to check settlement work as it proceeds ; but none of it covers new ground. A small topographical survey has also been made, but not large enough to tabulate ; another work of this kind is now being undertaken in the Wakamarina Valley. Rural and Suburban Surveys.— l9,s79 acres have been completed at an average cost of l-765. per acre. As nearly all of this work is in broken bush country, with many old surveys to re-establish, the result has been much better than I anticipated. In the case of the survey of 270 acres costing 12-3s. per acre: this consists of 13 small scenic reserves laid off on the Mangamaunu Native Reserve, near Kaikoura, and was rendered costly because the lines had to be gone over again with a view of inflicting as little damage as possible on the adjoining landholders. Road and Railway Surveys, &c— Out of the 46-76 miles of roads completed this year, 11-38 miles are standard traverse of roads and streets in and about Blenheim ; and of the balance, 30 miles have been done by Mr. A. P. Seymour in the Pelorus Sound. This work is rendered very costly by the quantity of small and intricate boundaries to be picked up, and the generally tortuous nature of the lines. Other Work,.— Under this heading is included the sum of £247 lis., being the wages paid to survey parties while they were engaged in grass-seed sowing on the burnt Crown-forest lands last year. This will be included in the value of the land when offered for sale. Also £124, being the cost of standard marks in the Town of Picton. Out of the £203 9s. 6d., work done by self and staff, the sum of £159 ss. has been recovered for survey of sawmilling areas. The work not completed in the hands of the field staff at the end of March is valued at £831 ss. 2d., and is carried forward to next year's charges. The proposed operations for the coming year are : Mr. A. P. Seymour to continue the survey of applications in the Pelorus Sound District, and make surveys of roads to legalise them ; owing to the delay in completing these, many titles cannot be issued. Mr. Wicks and Mr. Hodgkinson will proceed with the subdivision of about 20,000 acres of bush land at the head of the Wakamarina Valley, and several applications in the vicinity. F. Stephenson Smith, Chief Surveyor.

WESTLAND. Topographical Survey amounts to 32,600 acres. This class of work was undertaken to enable the rural sections to be best defined. Much information is necessary to locate the different interests incidental to the timber and mining industries, requiring a more detailed survey than would ordinarily be required. • j. ■ ■-■■ it- mrf