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and made available for the largest class vessels, to come up to the capital of the Province, for about the cost of a railway, although the process would be slower and occupy some years to accomplish. Granted therefore, that a railway to Port Chalmers might be carried out, its ultimate use to the Province or success as a speculation would be problematical, as it would have the powerful and overwhelming interest of the Capital against it, as opposed to the scheme of bringing loaded vessels up to the wharf at Dunedin.

I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
J. T. THOMSON,
Engineer of Roads and Bridges.

REPORT ON SURVEYS.

Survey Office,
Dunedin, 20th August, 1861.

To His Honor Major Richardson,
Superintendent of Otago.

SIR,—I have the honor to forward to you the annexed return of field work performed by the Otago Survey Staff for last season ending 30th June, 1861, by which it will appear that 885 square miles have been triangulated and submitted to main circuit survey; 141,690 acres have been surveyed and marked into rural sections, and 4485 town quarter-acre sections have been laid off; the total cost of which has been £8913 15s. 8d.

It will appear that little extra work has been thrown on the Department this year, consequently my anticipations of last year have been fully realized, which were to the effect that the department would execute 600 to 700 square miles of Triangulation—100,000 to 150,000 acres of rural section survey, and 6000 to 7000 quarter acres of town section survey. I have no hesitation in stating, that a much larger extent of survey would have been executed even than that returned, had the services of each Surveyor been kept to one locality; but this has not been the case, and almost every Surveyor has had to abandon one scene of operations to commence on another and distant one, to the great obstruction of his general progress. This has particularly been the case with Messrs. Hatley, Smith, and Shanks.

On reference to the figures in the return, it will be noted that this year the 838 square miles of Minor Triangulation have cost £1845 13s. 6d., equal to £2 4s. 0½d. per square mile, 8-10ths of a penny per acre. The 47 square miles of Main Circuit Survey, executed by Contract, have cost £375, equal to £8 per square mile, or 3d. per acre. The 141,690 acres of rural section survey have cost £5280 8s. 1d., or 8 9-10d. per acre. The 4485 quarter acre Town Sections have cost £1247 16s. 3½d., or 5s. 6 8-13d. per section. These results show an average cost somewhat less than those of last year; and considering the difficulties opposed to the survey by the unsettled state of the labor market, owing to the Lindis and Tuapeka Gold Field discoveries, may be deemed very satisfactory.

I will not allude to the separate results of each Surveyor\'s operations, as these by inspection can be easily arrived at, for without a

statement of the peculiar facilities and difficulties encountered by each, the comparison would generally be unfair. Without reservation I will content myself with stating, that my impression is—all have done their utmost to forward the Service. But I must notice the return of Mr. A. Dundas, otherwise an injustice might be done him. The large cost per acre, viz., 9s. 6d. per acre, shown in his return, is owing to the smallness of the sections (10 to 30 acres) and excessive ruggedness of the portion he had to survey, namely, Mount Cargill—the same being covered with dense bush. There were special orders for this Survey, otherwise it would not have been undertaken.

The material errors reported by Mr. Gerhard Muller, as being attached to the surveys of Mr. Robert Townsend at Jacob\'s River, had so far been revised by Mr. Shanks prior to the separation of the Southern Districts from this Province. His Triangulations (Mr. Townsend\'s) have also been wholly revised by Mr. Hately. The result has justified the necessity of such revision. Material errors calculated to complicate titles, and involve the Government in disputes with the Settlers, having been detected, and so far corrected, when the disruption of the Province prevented further revision.

The arrangements for the coming season that I would advise, are as follows:—

One Surveyor to complete a reconnaissance survey of the Interior and Western Districts.

Two Surveyors to go on with minor Triangulation in the Northern and South-eastern Districts.

Six Surveyors to go on with rural and town section surveys—4 Surveyors in the North and two in the South-eastern Districts.

One Surveyor to go on with District road surveys within the limits of the foundation or original surveys where this duty had been neglected.

By this means the remaining Pastoral Districts will be open for stocking. 400 square miles will be prepared for section survey, and 120,000 to 150,000 acres will be open for purchase or actual settlement; and the roads in the old settled Districts will be marked on the ground, and practicable entry obtained to the properties of back lying settlers.

I am persuaded that the results of this season\'s work, will now have conclusively demonstrated the propriety of adhering to a system of Survey conducted by a public staff of officers—a course which I urged with too little effect in the early period of my tenor of office. The effects of the opposite course of allowing \"spotting\" surveys are not yet cleared off, but I hope will be so this year, by their entire re-survey, and connection with the regular operations. Had they (the spotting surveys) been believed universal confusion would now have been attached to land titles in this Province—general doubt as to their validity, and consequent great depression of landed property founded on them. As it is I am glad to say that each person\'s property however small or remote, can at once be pointed out on the maps, and if obliterated on the field, can be correctly re-adjusted by reference to the working plans, a desideratum which we owe to systematic survey.