THE CENSUS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14196, 13 January 1917, Page 7

THE CENSUS.

NORTH ISLAND MAY GET FIVE" NEW SEATS IN PARLIAMENT. (Per Press Association.) ' WELLINGTON, last night. The Hon. Mr Russell (Minister for Internal Affairs) announced to-day the following, census figures- dealing with the population of the Dominion, excluding Maoris : — North Island : Counties and boroughs, excluding camps 322,608 males, 319,945 females, total 642,553; camps 8666 1 males, 12 females, total 8678; totals, \ 331,274, 319,957, 651,231. > South Island : Counties and boroughs, \ including Stewart and Chatham Islands, • 220,811 males, 227,253 females, total • 448,064. l i Grand totals: 552,085 males, 547,210 \ females, total 1,099,295. ' The increase on the 1911 census for the Dominion excluding Maoris, Islanders, I and troops abroad, is 90,831. Commenting on these figures, Mr Russell said the most striking fact m connection with the returns was the enormous increase shown m the population ' of the North Island as compared with [ the South. This had been going on for a number of years. In the census of 1906, the population of the North Island was 476,732, and, excluding military camps, it has now increased to 642,553. On the other hand, the population of the South Island, which was 411,340 m 1906, rose to 444,735 m 1911, and had now increased by only 3329 during the five and a-half years since the 1911 census was taken. The position, of course, on these figures would appear to imply that the South Island was not even retained its normal increase, but ' the position of the South Island — m I fact of the whole Dominion — is largely '. affected by the absence of over 50,000 men with the Expeditionary Forces. The total number who have left New Zealand for the front is some 63,000, but s of this number from 8000 to 10,000 have • already returned. f Probably, however, the most interesting feature about the returns is the • question as to how the figures will affect 8 future representation of the people m r Parliament. Roughly speaking, prob- • ably four and possibly five seats may be • transferred from the South Island as a n result of the huge drift of population II that has taken place.