V That lessees for terms not exceeding 99 years, unless with perpetual right of renewal, were not to be included as owners. That incorporeal hereditaments were in like manner to be omitted. That where there were any commons or waste land in an electoral division, an approxi- mate estimate of their extent should be inserted at foot of the form provided for the return as to owners of land of less than one acre in extent. That where there were joint owners, the name and address of each owner, so far as they could be ascertained, should be entered, and that each should have assigned to him, as far as practicable, his proportionate part of the property. That the names and addresses of owners, when they could be ascertained, should be given in full, and as accurately as possible; and that in cases in which trustees, receivers, or other persons not beneficially interested appear iu the owners' column, the name of the actual owners should, when known, be substituted in the Return. It was at the same time suggested to the clerks that they might find it necessary to apply to the collectors of Poor Rates, or persons having the requisite local knowledge, to assist in revising the Return before its final completion; and that they might also with advantage consult the county lists of voters. These instructions were issued on the 10th February, 1873 ; but the last return was not received in the office until the month of November, 1875. The delay which occurred in furnishing the return is accounted for in many cases partly by the time of the clerk being necessarily engaged during certain periods in the discharge of other imperative duties devolved upon him by statute— such as the preparation and revision of the Parliamentary voters' lists, the Jurors' lists, the annual election of guardians, and the preparation of the rate books ;— also in many cases, especially in towns, by the extreme difficulty of ascertain- ing the names of the persons who answered the description of " Owner" given in the instruc- tions, and who ought therefore to be entered on the Return ; for it must be borne in mind that the " Owner" who is entered in the valuation and rate books has not necessarily such an interest in the property as would constitute him an owner within the meaning of those instructions, but is merely the " Immediate Lessor" or the person in receipt of the rent payable by the occupying tenant, however limited his interest in the property may be. As soon as a union return was received it was subjected to examination in order to ascertain whether the acreage and valuation returned by the clerk agreed with what was known to be the true acreage of the union according to the Ordnance Survey, and the true valuation, according to the abstracts of the union accounts deposited in this office. In many instances serious discrepancies were found to exist, and the returns had to be referred back to the clerks ( in some instances several times) for revision— this involved a very large amount of correspondence, and entailed much additional labour on the office. When the returns for all the unions in any county were received and examined, and had been subjected to revision where necessary, a return for the entire county was prepared from them in the office— the names of the owners being arranged alphabetically; and when the same owner appeared in the returns for more than one union, the acreage and valuation were amalgamated. The county return so prepared was then set up in type and a proof forwarded