73

New Surveys.

Acres.

Wanganui, Left Bank ... 4,702—Field work completed; requires plotting

Parae Karetu Block ... 46,000—Three months to complete; field work and plotting.

Manawatu—Palmerston ... 4,518—Completed.

Town of Palmerston ... 361—Two weeks to complete; contains 273 town lots.

Wairarapa—Opaki West ... 1,000—Completed in field work; requires plotting.

Maungarski ... 1,666—Completed.

Kurumahinaui ... 690—

Arikarau ... 610—

East Coast District—Akiteo ... 21,844—Field work completed; requires plotting.

Forty-Mile Bush, Mauriceville ... 3,700—Completed.

Total ... 85,091 acres

Making a grand total of 256,042 acres.

In addition to the foregoing, a survey of the boundaries of land purchased for railway purposes, between Wellington and section 178, Hutt District, was executed by this Department. An attempt was also made to survey 10,000 acres of swamp land in the Manawatu District, which, however, had to be relinquished owing to the opposition met with on the part of the Natives. Three survey parties were more or less delayed, during a period of five weeks, on this latter work.

The foregoing statements show that fourteen parties have been employed continuously during the year on field work, viz.—Thirteen parties on sectional surveys and one party on triangulation, whilst the number of field officers borne on the staff was sixteen for twelve months, two for four months, and four for three months, giving an average of eighteen parties for the twelve months. From these data I deduce that the whole of the survey staff was employed for about three months of the past year in working up the plots of the surveys returned as executed for the year preceding, and on the same ground I also estimate that the survey of the 256,042 acres now returned will occupy some two months of the current year to plot up, and probably three to four months more to complete the pegging of the sections.

I beg here to state that the average I return as the result of the labors of the Department for this past year cannot be said to represent the acreage of lands completely surveyed, but rather, for the most part, that of lands of which all field work possible to be done in connection with them has been completed prior to the 31st March, 1874. At this stage of progress the plots are necessary before further progress can be effected; but as the officers, as a rule, do not return from field duties before the commencement of the winter, and will not therefore have had opportunities of performing the office part of their work, it is obvious that I cannot return so full a Report of works completed during the financial year as I should otherwise be able to do if the financial year ended at the close of the winter season. It thus happens that the works which I include in the Report for any financial year must necessarily occupy some portion of the succeeding year before being completed. But, assuming my estimate of six months of the present year, occupied by the aforesaid eighteen parties to complete the works now returned, to be a correct one, there will result an average of 10,000 acres as twelve months' work for each party.

It will be seen from this Report that the survey parties have been fairly distributed over the several districts, and I trust that the progress indicated as having been made in each will appear satisfactory. I desire further to bring under notice the state of the “Arrears of Surveys” in the Wellington Districts. Here, as I have repeatedly mentioned in former Reports, the surveys are so confused, inaccurate, and difficult in the extreme to reconcile with the lands occupied, that the greatest care has to be bestowed to guard against the re-surveys exciting discontent amongst the land owners.

I have succeeded in replanning, so as to accord as nearly as possible with Crown Grants and occupancy, the following Districts, viz.—Harbor, Porirua Road and Harbor, Horokiwi Valley, Takapu, Horokiwi Road, Belmont, North Makara, Ohariu, 1st Valley; and a portion of the Lower Hutt.

The following Districts have also had preliminary surveys executed therein, of which, however, the sections are not yet replanned, viz.—Upper Hutt, including Whiteman’s Valley and the Mungaroa Swamp; sections Karori, Terawiti, S.E.; portion South Makara and Ohiro. There only remains—Terawiti, north and west.