Gr. —'10.

GENERAL REPORT. This report provides a summary of the principal activities of the Board of Native Affairs during the financial year ended 31st March, 1941, in connection with the development and settlement of Native lands and the measures taken for improving the living-conditions of the Maori people. Previous reports submitted by the Board have dealt with events leading up to, and have given full descriptions of the lands involved, with financial and statistical summaries year by year. The outstanding feature of this year's activities was the marked increase in the volume of production both from the dairying and sheep-farming operations controlled by the Board, which resulted in revenue receipts from butterfat, wool, live-stock, and other produce reaching the record total of £547,516. This compares with £360,178 for the previous season —an increase of 52 per cent. During the eleven years of progress and expansion there has been a steady upward trend, and the figures now reached are an indication of the magnitude of the Board's operations. The season just ended has been particularly favourable for production, and this factor, together with the extension of farming activities, has been responsible for the satisfactory results achieved. The principal items of production from lands financed by the State (landdevelopment schemes), with the preceding year's figures shown in parentheses, are as follows : Butterfat, representing the Department's proportion only, which is averagely 40 per cent., £169,660 (£118,513) ; wool sales, £79,274 (£55,852) ; proceeds from sheep and cattle sold, £200,504 (£108,857) ; and sundry receipts—crops and other farm produce—£2B,6s7 (£11,721). The volume of dairy-production has increased from 4,445,753 lb. to 6,123,888 lb. of butterfat, or, expressed in other terms, from the equivalent of 2,416 tons to 3,328 tons of butter, and the wool-clip of 4,663 bales compares favourably with the return of 3,601 bales for the season 1939-40. The ten stations financed from trust funds by the Native Trustee, which come under the jurisdiction of the Board, show as returns : Wool, number of bales 1,234 (1,270), proceeds £22,398 (£20,333) ; sales of live-stock, £23,652 (£26,059) ; the two Maori Land Board sheep-stations under the Board's control produced 619 (535) bales of wool realizing £10,542 (£8,732), and received £11,915 (£8,397) from the sale of lambs and fat stock ; while on the East Coast Trust stations 2,369 (2,336) bales of wool were shorn. Climatic conditions experienced throughout the year have been exceptionally good. The late autumn followed by a mild winter and spring resulted in ample supplies of feed, and stock came through the cold season in better condition than for many years. Lambing percentages were satisfactory, but in parts of the East Coast where a heavy rainfall was experienced in the early spring months, the mortality amongst young lambs was high. The wool-clip benefited considerably both in quality and quantity by the favourable conditions prevailing through the season, and larger numbers of fat stock than usual were sold for export. With an abundance of grass, conditions were ideal for dairying, and in some districts, notably Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Taranaki, the pasture growth was phenomenal during the summer and autumn and was difficult to control. Dry conditions prevailed, however, during the late summer and autumn in the Raetihi and Wanganui River districts and in parts of the South Island, with a consequent falling off of feed. Excellent crops of hay have been harvested, and in all localities the supply of winter fodder should be ample for stock requirements. Nearly 1,000,000 acres of Native land have now been proclaimed under the development provisions of the Native Land Act, and of this area, which represents approximately one-foxirth of the ancestral lands remaining to the Maori people to-day, 291,850 acres are under active development. Of this area, 267,361 acres are occupied by 1,933 settlers, while 3,000 additional farm labourers were employed during the year in the work of clearing and fencing new country, preparing land for permanent pasture, improving deteriorated Native holdings, controlling the spread of noxious

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