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afterwards became particularly valuable in the preliminary reconnaissance for the Northern Railway. While engaged in this, he received the offer of an appointment in another colony, and to my great regret he left the Department in August, as soon as he had finished the flying levels for the railway.

Mr. C. Maling joined the staff in November, 1862, and Mr. S. Weetman in February, 1863. Both have proved useful and valuable officers.

Mr. Clement Johnston has joined quite recently, and the necessity of pressing on the Northern Railway and other works has made it desirable further to strengthen the staff. Mr. Butler and Mr. Brown have accordingly been employed on the railway survey within the last few days; and if that work goes forward, the former will probably be continued for some time at least as an engineer on it.

Mr. Aitken has been so long detached from the Department that it is not desirable that his name should any longer be retained on its apparent strength.

The office establishment of senior and junior draughtsmen remains the same, with the addition only of a lithographic printer. The two first are very heavily pressed with work, and occasionally further assistance is required. The efforts now being made to supply the public with lithographic maps throws much additional work on the office. Mr. McGowan has also undertaken to record the meteorological observations, but it has been found that to work out all the results, and to fill up all the papers supplied by the General Government, would, in fact, occupy several hours in each day, and this, with the other duties of the office, is absolutely impossible. He has been obliged, therefore, to limit his duties under that head to simply recording the reading of the various instruments twice in each day. I should be very glad if he could be relieved altogether from this duty, and, if it could be, transferred to some one having time to devote himself to the subject, and to follow it up with undivided attention and interest.

The office department will undoubtedly require to be strengthened this year. I think that the way to do so will be to add to it a clerk, so as to leave Messrs. Stevens and McGowan free to attend solely to the survey work, which they have thoroughly mastered.

The necessity of supplying the public with maps, especially of the new surveys, involves the establishment of a lithographic press. I was fortunate in being able to do this very satisfactorily, and to obtain the services, as printer, of Mr. James Hughes. It will take some time before complete district maps can be issued, owing to the many changes in the surveys; but the maps of the blocks and of the hundreds which are now issuing, will, I think, be a great convenience to the public. The spare time of the printer will be fully occupied in printing forms and documents for other Departments, which will effect so considerable a saving that I hope that the establishment will be nearly self-supporting. A map of the Province was sent some time since to Melbourne to be lithographed, and one on a large scale, embracing a radius of twenty miles round Invercargill, was sent to London to be engraved. The copies of both are now nearly due.

The work which the Department has now before it consists of:

1st. The survey of the blocks and broken remnants of land which have been left unsurveyed within the settled districts, especially on the Bluff Road, and the re-survey of Jacob’s River Hundred. These will, as I before said, be completed in about two months, for which time they will occupy three surveyors.

2nd. The continuation of the triangulation, on which I propose that one surveyor at least, with a strong party, be permanently employed.

3rd. Blocks of new land, of which at least 100,000 acres ought to be laid off in the course of the ensuing year. This will include the greater portion of the new Hundreds of Aparima and Mataura, both consisting of exceedingly choice land, likely to be eagerly demanded by the public; several blocks at the north extremity of Jacob’s River Hundred, and beyond it on the east bank of the Aparima River; some also at the other end of the Oroti Plain, north of Spur Bush. These, with the remainder of the Winton and Mabel Districts, and portions of the Lindhurst and Lothian, will more than make up the area I have designated.

Lastly. And, lastly, it is likely that townships and small detached agricultural settlements may be demanded towards the north of the Province, and many miscellaneous works connected with the survey are certain to arise from time to time; such, for instance, as the Northern Railway at the present time.

To keep pace with this large amount of work, it will be necessary that at least seven surveyors should be constantly in the field; and it may,