president's address. — SECTION G. 201 



In regard to statistics of Population, the Conference suggested 

 that there should be an endeavcrur toi take a census at intervals 

 of not more than five years; that all censuses within the Empire 

 should be within the same year, and within two months (before 

 or after) the 15th of April, and should relate to the de facto 

 population, by sex. The legislatioii for this should be on a per- 

 manent basis. Particulars of inquiry should, where the par- 

 ticulars as to divorce are not ascertainable, return divorced 

 persons as widowed: in addition to ages of husband and wife, the 

 duration of marriage, the total number cf children born, and the 

 number still living, should be recorded (information obtained 

 through censuses in regard to' infirmities, it was held, have hitherto 

 proved unsatisfactory) : special attention should be given to' the 

 questic'n of aliens and persons of alien origin. Unifoinn systems 

 of classificatioins of industries and occupations should be regarded 

 as important and should be so defined as to' admit of grouping 

 into classes according to a fixed and definite system, and so that 

 it should serve as a basis of both industrial and of occupational 

 classification. A suggestion was made that a complete descriptive 

 glossary of oecupations should be prepared as soon as possible. 



In connexion with Vital Statistics, it was recommended that 

 the death-rates applied to a standard distribution of population 

 should be adopted for the purposes of coinparison. The Con- 

 ference advocated a more complete recording of migration, the 

 returns to' include "information as to se^x, conjugal condition, 

 age, occupation, nationality (present and original), country of last 

 permanent residence, and countr): of intended future permanent 

 residence; the interpretation of permanent residence being lefl 

 to the various Governments concerned." 



It was indicated that it was desirablei "that all birth registers 

 should contain a record of the age of each parent and the number 

 of children previously born to the same marriage, distinguishing 

 between those living and those dead : that statistics of still-births 

 should be compiled in all parts of the British Empire wherever 

 feasible; that the conjugal condition cf deceased persons should 

 be recorded in all death registers ; that the international classifica- 

 tion of causes of death, as revised from time toi time, should be 

 adopted for the purposes of tabulation of deaths ; that the present 

 system of open certification tends to prevent candid statements 

 of the causes of death and thus introduces a systematic error into 

 deatii statistics • that the error would be eliminated by a system 

 of confidential certification ; that in view of the national im- 

 portance of vital statistics, these statistics, wherever practicable, 

 should be further developed by recording, at birth -registrations, 

 particulars as to' the occupations and nationalities of parents, and 

 the sexes and ages of their previous children, both living and 

 dead , and at death-registrations the occupation and nationality of 

 the deceased and the sexes and ages of his (or her) children." 



