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examined, 52 reports furnished, and 39 leases examined for warrants. Diagrams were drawn by contract on 64 Crown titles in quadruplicate, 79 in triplicate, 42 in duplicate, and 3 singly : total number of diagrams, 580. Photo-lithographic tracings were executed of Takaka County, the Moutere, Ohika, and Hope Survey Districts, and the Borough of Westport. Tracings were also made for the purpose of publishing a four-mile map of the northern portion of this Island. A much-needed map of the Waimea County has been partly compiled for lithography, but is now in abeyance owing to there being no officer available to complete it. The same applies to the map of the Borough of Nelson. The preparation of tracings and data for surveyors, and tracings for the. Valuation Department and for settlers and others, occupied a large amount of time. A very large extent of the triangulation has been recomputed on the polygon system, and brought in terms of the Imperial standard. Several new selection maps are urgently required, but, owing to the stress of current work, cannot yet be undertaken. Maps on a 20-chain scale were prepared of Mokihinui, Kawatiri, Orikaka, Ngakawau, and Steeples Survey Districts for the Geological Survey Branch of the Mines Department. Maps for the Qensus Enumerators were also compiled. Changes of Staff. —During the year the indoor staff has been subject to several changes : Mr. Kelly has retired on superannuation, and Mr. Wilkinson has taken the field ; Mr. Roebuck is leaving shortly, having received an appointment in Western Australia ; and Mr. Wright is to be transferred to Napier. The above are all capable officers whose services lam sorry to lose. Robt. T. Sadd, Chief Surveyor.

MARLBOROUGH. Triangulation. —With the exception of a little breaking-down to fix settlement and other work, no triangulation has been done in this district; although some which is quite good in the field-work requires to be recomputed in polygons, to avoid a multiplicity of values for one point. This we hope to do during the winter. Rural. —Under this heading 44,010 acres have been completed, at an average cost of l-455. per acre. This is a slightly better result than last year's return, owing to the block being larger and the weather generally much better for field operations. The whole area of this class of work has been hilly bush-clad country, generally densely covered by forest and undergrowth. Town Section Survey. —Twenty-three acres, in eighty-nine sections, has been completed in the Town of Picton. This work was rendered rather costly, in a great measure, by the thick scrub and gorse growing over the land, and, of course, entailed a great deal of work outside of the survey of the sections so as to be assured that we were not encroaching on other rights. The Native work has been, generally, the survey of isolated sections, where frequently it cost as much to get to the place as to do the survey when there. Roads, <&c. —This item has been very unsatisfactory this year ; the cost has been at the average rate of over £32 per mile. Much of the work has been either in heavy bush of thick scrub ; and. in the case of the 6 miles done under my own supervision, was over very broken bush country and before any road had been formed. Work done under these conditions is. in my opinion, a very great mistake —the land should be acquired by agreement, and on a magnetic survey. The final survey could then wait until the road,has been formed, and the traverse and side pegs could be put in at less than half it requires to do the survey of the grade line as blazed through the bush in the first instance. Other Work. —Under this heading there appears a sum of £112, the value of 13J miles of revision and extension of the standard survey of Blenheim. This works out at about £8 - 3 per mile, and is, I think, under the circumstances, reasonable. Standard Survey. —The standard surveys of both Picton and Blenheim are in a fairly good state now, and should only require trifling attention for many years to come. The past season has been unusually suitable for survey-work in the field. Proposed Operations, 1911-12. —I would recommend that Mr. Morgan Carkeek should complete some applications for land in the Sounds before he retires. Mr. Hodgkinson he's been detailed to make the very much needed survey of the railway-line between Pioton and Blenheim. Mr. Hunt has his hands full of settlement-work in the Heringa Survey District and Upper Pelorus Valley. With our staff reduced by the retirement of Messrs. Carkeek and Seymour, we shall probably find it difficult, to do the survey-work required in this district, and,'although out of the 121,000 acres which we hope to have ready for settlement in this district during the coming year all but about 4.000 acres is either already surveyed or does not require survey, we shall, I expect, have to defer many matters for want of a surveyor. The work done in this district reflects great credit to the. officers employed not only for the zeal in which they have performed their duty, but the extreme accuracy under rather adverse conditions. The particulars of twenty-one closures taken at random are as follow : Number of stations, 834; lengtli in miles, 39-12; mean error —on meridian 1-18 links, and on perpendicular 1-36 links, per mile. Standard Traverse, Town oj Blenheim. —Number of stations, 63 ; Length in miles, 4-74 ; mean error —on meridian 0-14 of a link, on perpendicular 0-33 of a link, per mile ; number of closures, 5 : but neglecting one rough closure over banks, river, &c, the mean error per mile is 0-14 of a link on meridian and 0-16 of a link on perpendicular. K. Ktephenson Smith, Chief Surveyor.