COUNTING HEADS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 94, 15 January 1926, Page 8

COUNTING HEADS

CENSUS DUE TO BE TAKEN THIS YEAR ENUMERATIONS IN EARLY DAYS MANUSCRIPT RECORDS By Telegraph— special Correspondent. Auckland, January 14. Householders throughout New Zealand will have an onerous task to perform in a few months’ time, the filling in of a census paper. Just when the next census will be taken has not been announced, but as the last one was in 1921 and the law requires an enumeration every five years, the work must be carried out again in 1926. The quinqennial period was chosen in 1881 as a convenient one, being half a decade, and since that year it has been strictly adhered to. It was adopted some years ago by’ the British Empire Statistical Conference and in 1921 censuses were taken within a few months of each other by the Governments of all the principal British countries. In the compilation of statistics with in and without the scope of the census, New Zealand has a very good record. In the first place, says the Official Year Book, the comparative shortness of the interval between cen sus enumerations mitigates the dangei of serious intercensal error. Secondly owing to the high standard of intelligence of the population and to the political, social and geographical con ditions prevailing in the Dominion, the data compiled as the result of the census are both remarkablv free from error and unusually complete. The history of the census in New Zealand dates back to the days before responsible Government was established; indeed, some crude form of census taking appears to have been brought into operation in the early forties, shortly after the proclamation of British sovereignty over the islands of New Zealand. Manuscript records of the population of different settlements were compiled by resident Magistrates from 1842 to 1852. The returns, however, were far from adequate because the settlements were few in number and limited in area, and settlers, whalers and other persons living in remote places were not enumerated. Various difficulties also occupied. For example, the population of Nelson in 1842 was estimated at 2500, with a footnote stating that the actual figures were unobtainable, as the resident Magistrate had been killed by Maoris, doubtless in the Wairau massacre.

What is usually regarded as the first general census of New Zealand was made in December, 1851, being the first taken by law. This was more comprehensive than earlier enumerations, which contained only the number of persons, male and female, separately, in each settlement. Particulars of the sex, age, and degree of education of each person were now required, with information concerning the numbers of scholars at day and Sabbath schools. Particulars of live stock and crops were also obtained. The population, according to this census, was 26,707. In conformity with an ordinance of 1851 censuses should have been taken in 1854 and 1857. The responsibility for carrying out the work rested on the provincial councils, which had been constituted in 1853, and for some unexplained reason all of them did not comply with the law. Provincial enumerations were made in Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury', Nelson, Taranaki, and Otago, at various dates, but no return for the whole country could be compiled. In 1858 the procedure was put upon a new footing by the passing of a Census Act, which contemplated triennial censuses, the first of which was taken in the same year tOhers followed in 1861, 1864, 1867, 1871 Others followed in 1861, 1864, .1867, 1871, ed repealing that of 1858 and its amendments, and providing for censuses in 1878 and 1881, and every' fifth year thereafter. After 1858 the scope of the census was gradually extended, find the procedure in enumeration was improved in various ways. A most important change was made in 1910, when the Census aud Statistics Act separated the offices of Registrar-General and Government Statistician, and enabled the census and statistics office to be set up..