THE CENSUS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4257, 17 January 1901, Page 7

THE CENSUS.

HOW IT WILL BE TAKEN IN MARCH NEXT. Though tlie State takes a son of general interest ui As a” ail umes, there arc period;; when its attcrc.iops t.ec-v.-ne individually particular. We are ,}uH now approaching one of tno-o periods. -■ reir.ii- of ihe whole colony i-- to be t. - ken on or about 31st March. Our inm-'s will be tabulated, r.iid •'< score or more of inquiries will be made rega:dmc; our noble selves, tho place of or.r nirO. 1 . (ior age, our ot-Tupi’-tion. cur religion (if '- l---have any), the degre-.- 0* ctbication. our physical condition, whoDicr hto sick, deaf, dumb, or blind, wha; oar house, if we. have one. made of, ike number of ‘•Pftm*-, and lot of otin-r iiiijuisitive question-, v .m.';:. .eonung from anyone but tiie fttate, would oe r' 1sented as impertinent- .'■rtviral;,.'. Iniwork must involve an enormous amount of labour and ot expe-ii"-*'. 'n't. t!:e p;uermd instincts of the btatc ur-utiiiKi tbet it should be undertaken periodically. Only in that way can- if ascertain the number, variety, and erudition oi its progeny. . , Tho colony hits been divided »i>!o forty-two enumerate s' district-;, each consisting of a group of cuiuiguoii-; ‘'ourties with their interior borough-. The enumerators have divided t-heir di-tncis into subdi-i ricts, for eacn cf which a ■su'b-rmnncrj'ior Iras boon or is to bo selected to (Ibifritmie and collect- tho household schedules. Incre will be. about- 830 sub-enumerators altogether.

Tho particulars required by the Act respecting the people include— name, sex, age, married or “ingle, birthplace, length of residence in colony, reugion, occupation, education, whether .British subject or alien, if suffering Rom _sicknerss accident, or infirmity. Tho dwellings -are also to be described,in .respect of rooms and material. Resides the inuii.maliou as to the population, special returns -will bo uni. looted relating to all industries, manufactories, or works in the‘colony, giving particulars as to hands and power employed, value of materials bp'rt' l ' ed on, produce or manufacture, value of land and buildings, .machinery, and plant. Further, returns of places of worship, land and building societies, liter-.;-ry and scientific institutions etc., will also be collected by enumerators from information . supplied uy sunami me raters.

Preliminary statements of the population in counties, -boroughs, and electorates, stating, roughly, the results, will bo made up by the local enumerators, but the full compilation will bs done in the Kegistrar-CcncraV» office at Wellington. When the exact- number ,of the people in every division of the colony, lias been fixed, a certificate of tho same will be given to tho Commissioners under tho Representation Act, with the - particulars for oaoh of tho vast number of small blocks of territory before referred to, so that new electorates may be defined on a population basis;. Tho information as to age. whether married or single, religion, birthplace, occupation, etc., will be dealt with afterwards in a. second compilation, which will he done .by whrJ is known as tho “card system,” the cards l being sorted by band.