G. —10.

costs arranged. Many of the owners had already commenced dairying, some with the assistance of the Maori Land Board and others with means supplied by storekeepers and stock and station agents. Considerations of unemployment and of improving the pastures and quality of the herds and increasing the area of production involved financial provision clearly beyond the resources of the Maori Land Board, and beyond what mercantile firms or private persons could grant on the security available. The officers who investigated the lands and conditions at Torere were satisfied that with proper methods and supervision a sound farm settlement could be established. Section 23 of the 1929 Act was applied on the 14th April, 1931, to twenty allotments of the total area of 1,366 acres, being blocks which were mortgaged to the Waiariki Maori Land Board, so that these might be taken over from the Board. The liabilities amounted to £1,565, but were compromised and discharged with a payment of £1,492. Further allotments were added to the scheme on the 2nd December, 1931, amounting to 2,016 acres, so that at the 31st March, 1932, the total area brought under the Torere Development Scheme was 3,382 acres. Mr. Orr estimated that 3,000 acres would be suitable for dairy-farming, and that the area in pasture—good, fair, and poor—was 976 acres. The land was of fair to good quality, being river-flats, marine flats, terraces, and easy hills with soil of good loam, easily worked, and capable under proper treatment of growing good dairy pastures. He noted the tendency to overstock, and stated that in the previous season 359 cows were milked and gave an average return of £5 14s. per cow. He was confident that the prospects of the district were good, and that with regular top-dressing and bringing in undeveloped land the number of cows would be greatly increased and the butterfat-production per cow vastly improved. The expenditure on this scheme at the 31st March, 1932, was £2,476, reduced to £2,159 by repayments by settlers. The largest item of expenditure was £1,492 for discharging the liabilities of the settlers. Grass-seed and manure cost £613, equipment £182, fencing-material £47, the purchase of dairy stock £125, and sundries £17. Hori Mio was appointed foreman of the scheme towards the end of the 1931-32 financial year at the unanimous request of the Torere community. Mr. Royal, reporting on the results achieved to the 31st March, 1932, estimated the area in pasture to be 910 acres good to fair, 65 acres rough, and 259 acres newly laid down, making a total of 1,234 acres, while 224 acres had been cleared and prepared for sowing. The stock on the scheme at the same date consisted of 364 milk cows, 132 springers, 52 yearlings, 20 bulls, and 38 working horses. The dairies were well equipped, and there was a fair supply of agricultural implements. A good shed for storing seeds and manure was an urgent requirement. The Torere community is keen, well educated, and contains hard workers, and it is well led. It is very progressive and should respond well to instruction in the most profitable farm methods. (r) Te Kaha. Under this name all the coast lands from Maraenui to the Whangaparaoa River are comprised, the total area being 41,826 acres. Half of this area is considered capable of development. The scheme was undertaken officially on the 2nd December, 1931, further blocks being added on the 13th January, 1932. It is what may be called a "blanket" scheme, devised to authorize the expenditure of money from the Native Land Settlement Account on any land, listed in the official notifications, that the Department might think advisable upon the recommendations of the field officers. Commencing in the last quarter of the financial year ending the 31st March, 1932, at five separate points along the seaboard great progress was made in clearing, ploughing, and fencing. So much of this was piece-work caught by an arbitrary date at unascertained stages of progress, and so much material seed, manure, wire—was in transit to various points of the widespread scheme, that it was impracticable to balance actual payments against definite items of development and to assess the cost of the results achieved It is better to defer a full statement of this scheme and of its various parts until next financial year, when expenditure and results may be compared after a proper taking of accounts. The schedules show that the total expenditure to March, 1932, was £3,811 after allowing for repayments by settlers and unemployment subsidies. Mention should, however, be made of the Te Kaha water-supply, which accounts for an expenditure of £994. The people of Te Kaha have been farming for a great number of years and is one of the most industrious communities in the Dominion. Until 1926 the cultivation of maize was the main activity of Te Kaha, and, indeed, of other places in this part of the Bay of Plenty. In 1926 a dairy-factory was established and the people changed over to dairying. The need for a sufficient and reliable supply of water was felt, but could not be provided for with such means as were available. When it was decided to bring the Te Kaha lands under a development scheme the first instalment of assistance to the dairy farmers was the provision of a water-supply. A dam with a capacity of 33,000 gallons was constructed to store the water from a spring on a hill behind Te Kaha Settlement, and from there the water was piped and distributed over an area of 592 acres, the total length of the reticulation being seven and a half miles. The labour was voluntary, but a foreman brought from Rotorua received wages. It was estimated that in the driest season eighteen thousand gallons would be available every twenty-fours hours and that the supply would be sufficient for an area half as large again. A Water Committee has been appointed by the Court and proper easements have been secured. The Committee is responsible for the control and maintenance of the system, but the cost is secured to the Department m the same way as other items in development expenditure. Reference should also be made to the Maraenui Section of the scheme. This was taken in hand because of the spread of ragwort especially on the river-flats on the south side of the Motu River. It

6 —Gr. 10.

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