420 PROCEEDINGS OP SECTION F. 



people, their sexes, ages, birthplaces, religions, occupations, con- 

 jugal condition, education, sanitary state and domiciliation ; as. 

 experience has shown me that giving the collectors extra work 

 does not tend to the success of the census. As an exception, 

 however, I would still embody in the householder's schedule, a 

 provision for enumerating the live stock of the colony, as that 

 can be correctly done only when a census is taken, and every 

 census shows how defective the intermediate estimates of live 

 stock have generally been ; but statistics of agriculture, school 

 attendance, manufactures, mining, &c., can be secured as well or 

 better by other means, and there is no good reason why the 

 collectors should be called upon to collect them. However 

 tempting it may be when a census is taken to endeavour to obtain 

 information not immediately connected with the work on hand, it 

 is certain that anything which tends to complicate the duties of 

 the collectors, and especially to retard their labours, cannot fail 

 to act prejudicially on the correctness of the particular enquiries 

 they are specially appointed to secure. All the enquiries I have 

 mentioned as connected with the population, should, however, in 

 my opinion be made and insisted upon. One colony has hitherto 

 obtained no information respecting the religions of the people, 

 and two of the colonies have made no effort to obtain a statement 

 of the amount of sickness and infirmity prevailing. As regards 

 the propriety of asking a man what is his religious belief, there 

 may be differences of opinion — although if a man has a religion, 

 or even if he has none, there seems to be no good reason why he 

 shoiild be ashamed to own it — but the interesting and important 

 enquiry respecting the sanitary condition of the people ought 

 certainly to be made in all the colonies. I would suggest that, 

 in future, not only the numbers, sexes, ages, and occupations of 

 those laid up by sickness or accident should be ascertained ; but 

 that the enquiry should be extended to the numbers of the deaf 

 and dumb, blind, lunatic, idiotic, epileptic, and lej^i-ous persons ; 

 the number of cripples, of humpbacked, club-footed, or otherwise 

 deformed persons ; of paralysed persons ; of those who have lost 

 a limb or an eye ; of those who are partially blind or colour 

 blind ; of those who are deaf without being dumb ; and of those 

 who are imbecile without being strictly speaking idiots. 



I now come to the compilation of the census. An approach 

 to uniformity between the colonies was secured upon the last 

 occasion, only one colony standing apart ; with the result that 

 her census returns — especially those relating to the occupations 

 of the people — were rendered useless for comparison with those 

 of the other colonies, or with the returns of the United King- 

 dom, upon the form of which the returns of those colonies which 

 agreed to work in unison were based. There are, however, a few 

 minor points in which some of the colonies which were in the 

 main accordant, might in my opinion improve their work, and to 

 these I shall now pi'oceed to draw attention. 



