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Napier, was appointed to succeed him. Mi. D. M. Calder, District Surveyor, Dunediu, was appointed Chief Draughtsman at Hokitika, vice Mr. F. A. Thompson, who succeeded Mr. Price as Chief Draughtsman at Napier. Mr. G. H. Bullard, Inspecting Surveyor and Land Officer, Gisborne, was promoted to be Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chief Surveyor for Taranaki in the place of the late Mr. W. Armstrong. Mr. T. Brook, District Surveyor, was promoted to succeed Mr. Bullard at Gisborne. Owing to the retirement on superannuation of Mr. F. S. Smith; Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chief Surveyor for Marlborough, Mr. W. H. Skinner, Chief Draughtsman at New Plymouth, was promoted in his place, while Mr. H. J. Lowe, surveyor, Wellington, took the latter's position. Mr. W. F. Marsh, Chief Draughtsman at Blenheim, was promoted to Dunedin, his place being filled by Mr. A. D. Burns. Mr. H. T. McCardell, draughtsman, who has been Acting Chief Draughtsman at the Head Office for the last two years, was promoted to the position of Chief Draughtsman in the same office. Mr. J. H. Boscawen, Chief Clerk at Auckland, was appointed to the position of Inspector of Kaurigum Reserves and Forest Areas, and the vacant position was filled by the transfer of Mr. J. G. Bendely, Chief Clerk at Christchurch. Mr. R. Leckie. clerk in the Auckland office, was promoted to the Chief Clerkship in the Christchurch office.

Report by the Chief Clerk. The Chief Clerk reports as follows : — The work of the Head Office has been performed both efficiently and expeditiously during the twelve months ended the 31st March, 1912. Correspondence.- —The number of letters and telegrams inwards during the year amounted to 15,352 addressed to the Lands Department, and 5,022 addressed ro the Immigration Department, making a total of 20,374, whilst the correspondence outwards totalled 16,293 for Lands, and 5,923 for Immigration, making a grand total of 42,590 for all correspondence. The modern system of using cards both for indexing and also for keeping records of correspondence has now been fully established, and has proved a great saving of time and labour, as well as being more efficient than the old system of entering precis of correspondence into large record-books. Another feature of the recording-work that has proved very beneficial is the abolition of the copy-press books, and the substitution of carbon copies of letters, which are always typed. These carbon copies are bound in books of five hundred, and form a ready and quick method of reference. A second carbon copy is placed on the file of papers relating to the subject in question. Although the number of letters, &c, passing through the office has increased of late years, yet the alteration in the system of records and correspondence lias enabled the work to be undertaken and carried out more economically and efficiently. Land-sales. — The following Warrants and Proclamation offering land for disposal were issued : Under the optional system, 67 ; under renewable lease, 50; by auction, 31 ; land-for-settle-ment estates and areas, 18; village settlements, 3. Other documents comprised 6 Warrants setting land apart for, or withdrawing it from, improved-farm settlements; setting small graziug-runs apart, 7 ; notification of rivers under the Timber-floating Act. 6 ; miscellaneous, 4. Land-sale posters to the number of 182 were issued, the number of each printed varying from 500 to 2,000, and their publication is now entirely undertaken by this branch of the office staff. Cemeteries. —Forty-three Warrants appointing trustees to Cemetery Boards were issued in the course of the twelve months. Domains. —Ninety-eight Orders in Council making domains or constituting Domain Boards were published ; whilst 79 appointments of persons to vacancies on existing Boards were made. Crown Lands Guide. —Ten thousand copies of the Guide were published in four quarterly editions, and distributed. Public Reserves. —One hundred and eleven Warrants under sections 321 and 322 of the Land Act, 1908, were prepared, setting apart Crown lands as reserves for various public purposes. Seventeen Warrants changing the purpose of reserves, eight Warrants exchanging reserves for other lands of equal value, and twenty-four Warrants vesting reserves in local authorities, &c, were prepared also. Scenery-preservation. —Thirty-seven Proclamations setting Crown land aside for reservation under the Scenery Preservation Act were prepared and issued. Kauri-gum Industry Act. —Eleven Orders in Council withdrawing lands from reservation under the Kauri-gum Industry Act were drafted and issued. State Forests. —Five Proclamations creating State-forest reserves, or withdrawing lands from such reservation, were prepared. Roads. —Under the provisions of the Native Land Act, 1909, there were nineteen Proclamations prepared and issued for laying out and taking roads through Native land. Under the Land Act, 1908, sixteen Proclamations were issued taking new roads and closing old lines of road.