Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1901.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 32, 9 February 1901, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1901.

THE (MSUS.

The census of New Zealand, the first of the new century, will be taken for the night of bunday, 3 1st March, and the occasion is of more than ordinary importance because it will furnish statistics to the immediate close of the Nineteenth (Jentary. 'Xhe Kegistr&r-Ueneral has issued a circular of instructions and exhortation to the people, and it in especi : ally desired that popular interest and co-operation should be enlisted. For the purposes of enumeration the colony has been dirided into 42 Enumerators' -Districts, each consisting of a group of- contiguous counties, with their interior boroughs. Then the enumerators hare dirided their districts into sub-districts, lor each of which a sub-enumerator hasbeen selected to distribute and collect household schedules. There will be about 850 sub-enumeratorß, and their maps wilt show all existing territorial divisions. One of the most important of tue duties of the sub-enumerators will be to mark the colony into the periodical delimitation of new electoral districts. * # # The H3ual statistical information will be collected, In addition to detail of population, special returns wll be prepared from the totals relating to all industries, manufactories, or works in the colony, giving particulars as ,to hands and power employed, value of materials operated on, produce or manufacture, value of land and building, machinery, and plant. Farther, zetarn3 of places of worship, land and building societies, literary and scientific institutions, etc., will also be collected. As soon aa possible after the figures are in hand preliminary statements of the population in counties, boroughs and electorates, giving roughly the results, w 11 be made ud by the local enumerators; but the fufl Compilation will be done in the Registrar-General's office. The information ae to age, condition, religious beliefs, etc., will be dealt with afterwards in a second compilation, by means of the card system. The Hollerith machine system of punching, sorting and counting the card 3 is used in America; but it has been found to be unsuitable for comparatively small populations. The cards in New Zealand, there* fore, will be sorted by hand. * * * Till very modern times there has been much popular prejudice against the counting of the people, anil among the conservative or ignorant 1 : the dislike to it was largely based on tbe punishment of David for having takert the first census on record. Behind the Soriptural reason, however, was the innate objection to a disclosure of one's private affairs to strangers. Phe prejudice is now almost entirely removed) and in fact the minority are forced to submit, and there is a penalty of £2 ) for " wilfully ref using ox neglecting to fill up, Bign, and deliver the form, or to answer the necessary inquiries which the enumerators and sub-enumerators are authorised to make, or for furnishing false returns, answers, or for obstructing- any person in tbe performance of any duty imposed upon him ,by the Census Act. " On the other handabsolate secrecy is provided by the Act,4tor any person divulging or making use 'of the information supplied for any purpose other than the compilation of statistical "Tetorns, in which no individual concerns transpire, is liable to a heavy penalty. • # « In his circular to ths people the Regis-trar-General says :— " The Census has been called the great neasuring-rod of a country's progress f aiding us in determining growing teniencies, and enabling ue to make intel-

ligent provision for checking the evil and fostering the good. The vital, material, and social well-being of a nation depends I in a larger degree than is ordinarily ! realised upon the accuracy of its knowledge concerning the number, characier, and condition of its people. It i3 the great object of a Census to gather such information as will be of service in throwing light upon the more important social and economio questions of the dav " # * # J ' The many other uses of (he periodical . census are also pointed out, and the cooperation of the public is asked to ren :er the task of the enumerators and subenumerators as light as possible. The enumerator for Nelson is Mr Wilson Heaps, Collector of Customs, and ho will appoint sub-enumerators in due course,