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purchase selections to acquire freeholds. The result shows in the revenue, which Eor the year amounted to £118,079 155., disclosing an inorease over last year's revenue of £12,820 LBe. During the year Hi,207 acres in nineteen pastoral runs were offered at auction, and 111,239 acres divided into sixteen small grazing-runs were disposed of by ballot. Advantage was taken of the provisions of the enabling Act passed last session to dispose of, by ballot, five runs comprising 25,063 acres. The keen competition at auction and the large number of applicants at every ballot show that the demand for land suitable in any way Eor settlement remains as strong as ever. Land Tenures and Transactions. During the past year one pastoral and two ordinary deferred-payment holdings were made freehold, leaving now only eight deferred-payment selectors with 1,G57 acres among them. Ten holders of perpetual leases over in aggregate area of 1,556 acres, and fourteen licensees under oocupation-with-right-of-purchase tenure holding 2,04.'! acres, acquired the freehold. A preference for the ooeupation-with-right-of-purchaee tenure was shown by eighteen selectors taking up 2,!)•'!(> acres under this form of lease. Only one bolder of a lease in perpetuity purchased the feesiinple, the area thus made freehold being .'SI9 acres. No exchanges were made of leases in perpetuity Tor renewable leases. Seventy-six settlers took up 13,345 acres under ordinary renewable lease, ami four settlers acquired 1,485 acres under land-for-settlement renewable lease, within the past twelve months. New selections under the Laud for Settlements Act have been few in number, for the reason that no large estates in Otago were acquired for closer settlement in 1910. Three selectors took up 1,174 acres nti Matakanui Settlement, but one tenant afterwards surrendered his lease, assigning as a reason that he could not make a living on the laud. Eighteen persons selected 120,989 acres in small grazing-runs, and twenty-seven individuals became holders of pastoral runs, aggregating 302,273 acres in area. The year has been, comparatively speaking, a quiet one, owing to the non-purchase of any large freehold estate for closer subdivision. It must, however, be borne in mind that there are now hardly any large freehold estates available in Otago for closer settlement. Arrears of Rent. The amount of rent in arrear at .'ilst March, 1911, exclusive of the current half-yearly instalments payable in advance, was only t44. - ) Us. 9d. This gratifying record is due partlj to the prosperous season experienced, partly to the easy terms on which borrowed money is obtainable, and partly to the persistency of the staff in collecting arrears. Forfeitures and Surrenders. The largest forfeiture was that of a pastoral run of 17,500 acres on the west coast of Otago, bringing in an annual rental of £12. The reason for forfeiture was that the licensee was absent from New Zealand and failed to make provision for She payment of his rent. Five occupation-with-right-of-purchase tenants forfeited their holdings through non-payment of rent and nonresidence, and two holders of renewable leases had to relinquish their holdings—the one lease being forfeited for non-iniprovement of the land, and the other lease being surrendered, as previously mentioned, because the lessee was unable to make a living on the area. A villagehomestead leasc-in-perpetuity selector also forfeited his interest in 12 acres for non-compliance with the residence conditionof his lease. On the whole the number of forfeitures and surrenders is few : the majority of the settlers satisfactorily fulfil the conditions of their leases and give little cause for complaint. TItANSFEItS. The total number of transfers completed during the past year is shown by the following list : — Tenure. Number. '.\!-[-'X. Lease in perpetuity ... ■■■ ■•• ••• ••• *6 10,166 Renewable lease ... ••• ■•■ ■•• ••■ ' 683 Occupation with right of purchase ... ... ... 18 3,392 Land for settlements (lease in perpetuity) ... ... •'!■"> 8,656 ~ (renewable lease) ... ... ... 3 ■)■"><) Small grazing-run ... ... ■■• ■■• ■•• 2C 89,498 Perpetual lease ... ■■■ •• ••• ...12 . <J9!) Occupation lease ... ... ■■■ ... 11 505 Pastoral license ... ■■■ ••■ •■• •■■ 20 368,235 Miscellaenous ... ••• •■• ••■ ...35 1,464 204 483,778 The number and area of holdings transferred during the year show a considerable increase on those of last year, and as a rule the amounts paid for goodwill are large. Workers' Dwellings. Out of twenty houses in Windle Settlement, eighteen were occupied at 31st March and two were unoccupied. The unoccupied houses were both two-story oottages. There has been a very good demand for the single-story houses ever since the inception of the settlement, and, had all Hie houses been of that class, no difficulty would have been experienced in letting them. The tenants as a rule are doing well with their places, many of them taking great pride in their gardens, and, with one exception, the rents are well paid up. The houses have been built four