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ANNUAL REPORT.

The Under-Secretary for Lands to the Bight Hon. the Minister op Lands. Sir, — . Department of Lands, Wellington, 24th June, 1911. I have the honour to submit herewith the thirty-fourth annual report of the Department of Lands, together with a resume of the operations in connection with the subsidiary branches, the full reports on which will be laid before Parliament in.due course. I have, &c, Wμ. C. Kensington, Undcr-Sccrctary for Lands. The Right Hon. Sir Joseph George Ward. Bart., K.C.M.G., Minister of Lands.

REPOET OF DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, 1910-11. In submitting the report on the operations of this Department for the twelve months ended 31st March, 1911, it may be of interest to contrast the works now undertaken by it with those intrusted to it a decade ago —say, during 1901. Surli a contrast emphasizes and reflects the continuous development of this Dominion in a marked degree, and the share taken in it by the Department of Lands. A perusal of the. report for the year 190(1 1 shows that it deals with the settlement of Crown lands ; estates acquired under the Land for Settlements Act; miscellaneous hind matters, comprising landless Natives' grants, Urewera lands, kauri-gum digging, Crown and State forests and afforestation ; surveys of Crown and Native land : roadworks ; and the commencement of the magnetic survey of New Zealand. Practically, the bulk of the operations dealt with the settlement of Crown and privately acquired lands, surveys of same and Native lands, and, to a limited extent, the roading of Crown hinds, and the commencement of tree-planting works. The other matters were of minor importance, and did not necessitate the expenditure of much money, or the employment of many officers. The operations now under the control of the Department are much more extensive, and may briefly be summarized under the following heads, and as such I will deal with them more or less in detail:— Under direct control of Minister of Lands :— (A.) Crown lands : Settlement and administration. (Pages iv to ix.) (B.) Land for settlements : Subdivision and opening; administration. (Pages ix to xii.) (C.) Educational endowments : Leasing and administration. (Page xii.) (D.) Land-drainage works : — (1.) Hauraki Plains. (Page xiii.) (2.) Rangitaiki drainage-area. (Page xiii.) (3.) Kaitaia, or Tangonge Lake. (Page xiv.) (4.) Waikato River dredging and diversion. (Page xiv.) (E.) Land, miscellaneous : Administration of public reserves ; supervision of domains and cemeteries; sand-dunes ; Tongariro National Park ; Kapiti Island; Kauri-gum industry administration. (Pages xiv to xvi.) (F.) Miscellaneous : Old soldiers' claims; Settlers' Handbook, and other publications; Wanganui River protective works ; grass-seed supplied to settlers ; medical assistance in sparsely settled districts. (Pages xvi and xvii.) (G.) Surveys, Crown and Native land, and of roads. (Page xvii.) (H.) Surveys, miscellaneous : Triangulation ; standard surveys ; magnetic survey ; tidal survey ; revision of coastal survey ; Board of Examiners. (Pages xvii and xviii.) Under control of Commissioner of State Forests :— (I.) State forests, nurseries, and plantations : Sale of timber, and administration of forests , afforestation operations. (Page xviii.)

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