THE CENSUS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14400, 23 March 1911, Page 2

THE CENSUS.

WHAT THE STATJS WANTS TO KNOW. A LENGTHY CATECHISM. A great many residents erf Tiuui:u received their census papei'3 yesterday, and no doubt there were very general comments made upon the amount and variety of iniormaviou required. £k>me American humorist, vviios? name lias been utmost lorgutvcn, once r< commended tkau Oie eaoiest way u take the oausus would be to start a dug light, climb u telegraph, pole, and count the heads. in no such crud i way are the people counted now. i'lio business ia brought to a tin© poiao. A vimi amount. oi trouble is taken to divide up the whulo country into small sections that 0110 man can cover luily, pud an army oi officials work simultaneously in tae endeavour to take a udi tally without duplication. I he air. yt the census is more than a»hi jiy t«.» count tho. people; it is to oual'U suiimjcs to bo complied regarding ihr I'essious aiid trades, tne nationality, tho religions, aud the state of edtu-i----tjun oi the population. The coristts is to be taken om the night or Sunday, April 2, "and the time for making all preparations between now and then is no more than is necessary, so mo' ilelays that have not been accounted for having occurred in the despatch of the census papers. But a!, steps have been taken to enable a speedy, distribution to be made. The subcimmerators who have been appointed will each have a book of full instructions, which will contain a full specificatou of the area in which he is r y im d a plain map oi: the locality so that there shall be no overlapping or missing; and each schedule issued'has to be returned to the enurnator and accounted for as if it were a «; nknote. It is intended that the papers shall 'be distributed in time for evervone to thoroughly understand the'r use and they nre printed with very Vjill an< ] caretnhy worded directions upon points where doubt exists, and a carefxil perusal of the whole dcieument should enable, anyone to fill tlie different "olimins ill a proper manlier. The schedule is m nluch 'tlie usual form, and the yarous ooimnns demand the follow.m' liiforraalioji:—(l) Xame and (2) sex.; (3) age last birthday; (4) whether married, unmarried, widow or widower, or divorced; (1) duration of exstns marriage: (6) number of children living; (7) number of children dead ; (8) position in household (whether head, wife, daughter, or other relative, lodger, servant, officer, of an inst tu-T-on, prisoner, patient, inmate, nurse, etc.); (9) nature or name of ion; (10) ; (11) any infirmity; (12) country where born; (13) length of residence iu New Zealand, if born elsewhere; (14) religious denomina-' t|on; (15) degree of cdueation; _ and (16) information as to education still being received. The d rections on the baek of the schedule are esphcit as to the way of filling in column 9 ji£ to occupation, and ">0 us to frade. iiic other columns headed/ religious denomination is to \bo filled in explicitly and not in generai terms such as ''Protestant," ''Catholic/' or "Methodist," but the word ''object' f can be written if it is not desired to disclose one's religious belic-f. The schedule is to he filled up bv the occupier or person in charge of the dwelling, and is to refer solely to such persons as live in the dwelling on the night mentioned, or who, being absent return on the following day and will not be entered upon any other sched•ute. The 6ub-enumerator is empowered to fill in the schedule if necessary and to make enquiries needed to enable him to do so} and the household- » er who refuses to fill up, sign or deliver the paper, or to supply the subeimmerator with such information as lip may require is liable to a penalty of £2O. The whole of the information is to be regarded as confidential, and a penalty of £2O may be imposed if it i 6 divulged. Some sensitiveness is often felt as to disclosing such matters as age, religious belief, find other details, but the information, being required for satis, tical purposes, is necessary, and with the exception of the Teligious belief must be given. In the case lodgers and others, however, who do not wish to d : sclcse anything about themselves, to others, the chief enumerator told a reporter on Saturday, cards may be obtained for individual filling in, and the entries are to bo made subject to the same regulations. At the foot of each schedule is a form in which are to be described the . nature of the dwelling, and also the number of poultry kept, and, if bees

are kept, the number of beehives and th* amount of honey and wax produced. If any doubt exists as to tlie movie of filling in tlie schedule; it can be act at rest by consulting a couple of .schedules which are printed on the outside of the docmrienfc. tilled in with' particulars respecting- typical 'persons. Occupiers of persons in duirge of agricultural and pastoral holding'; w 11 reeeive in addition to the populai.-on schedule, which is white, another on blue paper.' in which are to.be entered a number of replies to questions regarding *th© land, its animal mhaoitants,; and' ita crops, produce, and pre-sent--state. This schedule is returnable to the: ( sub-emimerator at the ante time n; .the other.- This form is for th» purpose- of enabling , th© ngr:cultu'\U and pastoral statistics of the Dominion t-r. be accurately made up.