NEW ZEALAND CENSUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3713, 12 May 1925, Page 28

NEW ZEALAND CENSUS.

TO RE TAKEN NEXT YEAR (From Ou.r Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON. May 6. Every five years a census ot the dominion's population and of its general affairs is taken by the Government. The time for the taking of tho next census is ou tho night of Tuesday, April 20, 1926. Arrangements for the carrying out of the undertaking arc under way, and the Government's Statistician (Mr Malcolm Fraser) is busy completing his organisation tor the work In making un announcement last evening of the date selected for the taking of the census, the Minister in charge of the department (the Hon. R. F. Bollard) said that the information to be asked for in the census schedule to be circulated to the inhabitants of the dominion had not yet been determined. “It is proposed,'' added the Minister, “to omit some of the inquiries made at the last census, but it is possible that the opportunity may be taken of introducing some new inquiries. That matter is at present under consideration.” In April next, the month in which the census is to be taken, the South Seas Exhibition in Dunedin will be in full swing. Special arrangements are to be made by tho Census Office to deal with the Exhibition population. “It has been decided,” remarked Mr Ballard, “as a result of conferences I have had with the Government Statistician to arrange matters, so as to provide for the allocation for representation purposes of the temporary Exhibition population at Dunedin.” The collection of census returns next year will again be undertaken by the Post and Telegraph Department. “The services rendered bv tho officers of the Post and Telegraph Department in the past,” said Mr Bollard, “have been invaluable in two ways—namely, the increased accuracy of tile data collected and the keeping down of the expenses which the census entails.’’ The last census of the dominion was taken on April 17, 1921. It showed that the population of the dominion was as follows: Europeans 1,218,913 Maoris 52,751 Cook and Pacific Islands 13,209 Western Samoa 36,343 Total 1,321,216