H.—35.

The contracts quoted above provide for work to the following extent : — Acres. Chains. Scrub-cutting .. .. 18,467 Fencing .. .. .. 3,665 Bushfelling .. .. .. 5,809 Draining .. .. .. 823 Stumping, grubbing, &c. .. 5,119 Eoading .. .. .. 402 Ploughing and harrowing . . 2,450 Cords. Top-dressing .. .. 300 Firewood-cutting .. .. 100 Sacks. Plucking maize .. .. 500 Splitting posts, battens, and strainers .. 41,300 posts and strainers, 67,000 battens. Scheme 4 (c). — That the Board is persevering in its endeavour to place men in permanent productive work is shown by the fact that, on the 30th April an official announcement was made of the inauguration of the third section (c) of Scheme 4. This new section has for its object the rehabilitation and settlement of abandoned farms, of which there were estimated to be four hundred in the various parts of the Dominion. Under Scheme 4 (c) the men to occupy these farms must be taken from the unemployed ranks, and the farms are_ to be written down to present-day values. They are to be rent-free for from two to five years, and the occupiers may obtain advances for necessary preliminary work and for the purchase of stock. Gangs of unemployed men are to be sent to each of the selected farms, where they will work under the supervision of the future occupier. Wages of £1 per week and allowances of 15s. per week for board will be paid by the Unemployment Board, such payment to be arranged in a similar manner to that of Scheme 4a. One-half of this expenditure will be paid to the Unemployment Board by the Lands Development Board, and such amount will be a charge on the property and be secured by a mortgage over same. Farms suitable for rehabilitation will be selected from time to time by the Unemployment Board in conjunction with the Minister of Lands, and the selected farms will be advertised by the Lands and Survey Department. Summary. —The foregoing indicates what has been done and is still being done to absorb unemployed men in the primary industries. Briefly summarizing the position, the Unemployment Board has expended and been committed to a total sum of £107,049 to provide 10,277 men with work in the direction of increasing the Dominion's primary production and thus hastening a return to prosperity. Detailed figures are appended : —

It should be emphasized that a considerable amount of reproductive work in the country was also done through the medium of Scheme No. 2. A summary of the various classes of work completed and to be put in hand through contracts subsidized under Scheme 4b and through the grant made for employment of Natives is appended : — Acres. Sacks. Scrub-cutting .. 26,397 Plucking maize .. .. 500 Bushfelling .. .. ..12,691 Chains. Stumping, grubbing, &c. .. 6,911 Fencing—Erection of .. .. 10,767 Ploughing and harrowing .. 2,818 Draining .. .. .. 6,943 Sowing .. .. .. 645 Eoading .. .. .. 762 Top-dressing .. .. 600 Corda. Firewood-cutting .. .. 100 Splitting posts, &c, for fencing .. 45,150 posts and strainers, 100,000 battens. Reproductive Work on Scheme No. s. —Although Scheme No. 5 can be taken advantage of by local bodies only, a good deal of reproductive work has been done through this scheme—Work which is calculated to benefit the primary industries, either directly or indirectly. It is impossible at this juncture to state the extent of this class of work or the numbers of men employed thereon, but the following details are of interest.

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Scheme. Cost to Board. Numb f of , Men employed. £ 4a .. .. ... .. 80,377 7,741 4b .. .. .. .. .. .. 10,488 1,004 Native Trust (Aohanga, &c.) .. .. .. 5,500* 471 Native developmental work ., .. .. 8,684 970 Prospecting .. .. .. .. .. 2,000 91 Totals .. .. .. .. 107,049 10,277 * Exclusive of £15,000 loan. *