989 Transactions.—Miscellaneous. 
the existing difficulties, and of setting on foot a sound gencral system. 
First in order, he referred to the surveys which had been made for the 
General Government, and which were then under the direction of Mr. T. 
Heale, Inspector of Surveys, comprising surveys for the use of the Native 
Lands Court, surveys of Confiscated lands for sale, and surveys of blocks 
of land to be purchased from the Natives ; and, after a most careful exam- 
ination of all these surveys, which then extended over more than seven 
millions of acres of land, he came to the following conclusions :— 
l. That, as regards lands surveyed for the purposes of the Native Lands 
Court, the area of which was,— 
In Auckland ... ux Te ... 2,880,760 acres, 
» Hawke Bay d Poa ue Agh A OU ^ 
» Wellington es E e CP NEEONT oe 
» Canterbury Aa i mr 21,769 
39 
Making a totalof ^ ... 4,711,556 
but little, if any, had been done with such accuracy and detail as would 
enable it to form part of a general cadastral survey. 
2. That, as regards the surveys of confiscated lands (the area of which 
was about 1,916,000 acres), none were good; and that those in the Wai- 
kato were as bad as bad could be,—done mostly by contract, years ago ; 
plotted to all kinds of compass meridians; unchecked and unconnected. 
But, nevertheless, the greater part of those lands had been granted by the 
Crown on the basis of those worthless surveys. 
9. That, with regard to the surveys of blocks of land acquired from the 
Natives, the survey consisted simply of a periphery traverse of the bound- 
aries of any block about to be purchased. 
It is due to Mr. Heale to state, that he was in no degree responsible for 
the mass of error referred to by Major Palmer, and was then engaged in 
rectifying the matter as far as possible, and Major Palmer points out that 
if à sound system be introduced, and made the basis of land transfers, 
possession and documentary titles might gradually be brought into har- 
mony, as required, without any special active provision for the purpose. 
He then proceeds to consider the various Provincial surveys, commencing 
with those on the North Island, and, first, with those of Auckland. The 
area supposed to have been surveyed under the direction of the Provincial 
Government was about 2,400,000 acres ; and he tells us that the history of 
these surveys is one of lamentable confusion and neglect, and want of 
system and accuracy. He says,— 
“ A block having been thrown open, selectors were allowed to take up 
sections, usually rectangular, anywhere within it, not less than eighty acres 
in extent, and to have them surveyed by men of their own choosing. The 
