June i, 191 i] 



NATURE 



449 



THE RECENT CENSUS OF ENGLAND AND 

 WALES. 



T N reply to a question put by Dr. Addison, the 

 ■'■ President of the Local Government Board gave 

 on May 24 a preliminary statement as to the results 

 of the recent census. The figures, which are based 

 on summaries furnished by the local registration 

 officers, are, of course, of a provisional character, 

 but it is not probable that any serious errors are 

 involved. 



The total population of England and Wales is re- 

 turned at 36,075,269, as compared with 32,527,843 in 

 1901, a gain of 1091 per cent. This compares with 

 increases of 12" 17 and ii'65 per cent, in the two pre- 

 ceding decades, and is the lowest percentage increase 

 recorded in any decade since the commencement of 

 I he nineteenth century. It would seem to imply a 

 'oss of nearly half a million by excess of emigration 

 ver immigration. 



The population of the administrative county of Lon- 

 lon shows an actual decrease, from 4,536,267 to 

 4,522,961, illustrating the almost universal outward 

 trend of urban populations as the facilities for locomo- 

 lion increase. The population of the "outer ring" — 

 j.e. that portion of London which lies within the 

 Metropolitan Police District, though outside the ad- 

 iiinistrative county — has grown from 2,045,135 to 

 ^730,002, and the populations of the counties of 

 Essex, Middlesex, and Surrey have increased by 30, 

 42, and 30 per cent, respectively. 



The same tendency is clearly exhibited by many of 

 the returns for the County Boroughs. Few show an 

 actual loss of inhabitants; Canterbury, Halifax, Hast- 

 ings, and Burton-on-Trent are the only towns coming 

 under this category. Many, however, show only a 

 very slight growth, notably Birmingham, with an'in- 

 rease from 523,000 to 526,000 only during the ten 

 cars. Coventry forms the most striking exception to 

 he general rule of slackening growth, with its in- 

 lease from 70,000 to 106,000, largely due, no doubt, 

 o the motor industry. To realise the general nature 

 f the changes, the figures given in the present 

 return should be compared with the populations esti- 

 mated by the Registrar-General for last year; these 

 rstimates are^ based on the rate of growth exhibited 

 by each district during the preceding decade, and in 

 he case of the great majority of the boroughs are in 

 xcess, often seriously in excess, of the true popula- 

 ion even at the present time. The population of 

 i Bristol was estimated last year, for example, at 

 ,>^3,ooo; the census figures show only 357,000. That 

 f Leeds was estimated at 491,000; the census 

 numerators could only find 446,000. That of Leicester 

 \as estimated at 248,000, against a census return of 

 -:27,ooo, and of Sheffield at 479,000, against 455,000. 



The present return reinforces, in fact, the lesson 

 that has been so often drawn by statisticians as to 

 the necessity, both for a more frequent census, and for 

 the use of better methods of estimating populations 

 during the intercensal intervals. Many of the County 

 Boroughs, and many of the Metropolitan Boroughs, 

 have been credited during the last ten years with a 

 fall in the death-rate far more rapid than they could 

 lay claim to, owing to the consistent over-estimation 

 of their populations; and this rapid fall has been used 

 not only as the basis for natural self-congratulation 

 by the local medical officers of health, but also as a 

 foundation for party posters in county council elec- 

 tions. Quinquennial censuses would largely reduce 

 the margin of error; the use of methods of estimation 

 based on local information, <?..c. those recontlv sug- 

 gested by Mr. E. C. Snow, (referred to in a Note on 

 p. 459), would narrow it still further. So many im- 



NO. 2170, VOL. 86] 



provements in the form of the returns have been in- 

 troduced during the new regime at the Registrar- 

 General's office, that we feel some confidence in ex- 

 pecting a change in this respect. At present the figures 

 given for birth- and death-rates in the annual sum- 

 maries and reports are often, towards the end of an 

 intercensal decade, very gravely misleading. 



INDUSTRIAL BURSARIES. 

 'T'HE Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 

 -■■ propose to establish industrial bursaries for 

 young men who, after a course of training in a 

 university or approved technical college, desire to 

 enter engineering, chemical, or other manufacturing 

 works. The bursaries are intended to enable suitable 

 applicants to tide over the period between their leaving 

 college and obtaining remunerative employment in 

 industry. The value of the bursary will depend on 

 the circumstances of the candidate, but will as a rule 

 not exceed p£^ioo a year. A bursar will be elected in 

 the first instance for one year, but the tenure of liis 

 bursary will ordinarily be prolonged for a second vear 

 provided that the Commissioners are satisfied with 

 the work done by the bursar during his first vear. 

 In special circumstances a bursary may be renewed 

 for a third year. 



The appointments to the bursaries will be made by 

 the Commissioners from among candidates recom- 

 mended by the authorities of certain selected universi- 

 ties and technical schools, and in dealing with these 

 recommendations great weight will be given to 

 evidence that a candidate has the practical abilities 

 likely to lead to his advancement in manufacturing 

 work, academic success alone being an insufficient 

 recommendation. 



The candidate must be a British subject, under the 

 age of twenty-five, and must have been a bond'fide 

 student of science for a term of three years. 



The candidate must further satisfy the Commis- 

 sioners : — 



(a) That he has obtained, or can, within one month 

 of election, obtain a post in some engineering or other 

 manufacturing works approved by them. 



(b) That he is in need of pecuniary assistance to 

 enable him to accept such a post. 



A bursar may, if the Commissioners approve, spend 

 part of the tenure of his bursary in studying a special 

 industrial process or processes in works either at home 

 or abroad. 



No bursar shall enter a firm as a premium pupil 

 without the special consent of the Commissioners. 



A bursar must submit a report of his work to the 

 Commissioners on the expiration of each year of his 

 bursary. 



The institutions invited to nominate in 191 t are ns 

 under: — University of Edinburgh; Heriot Watt Ccl- 

 lege, Edinburgh; University of Glasgow; Glasgow 

 and West of Scotland Technical College; University 

 of St. Andrews ; University of Aberdeen ; University of 

 Birmingham ; University of Bristol ; University of 

 Leeds ; University of Liverpool ; University of Slan- 

 chester; Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; 

 University College, Nottingham ; University of Shef- 

 field ; ITnivcrsity of Oxford ; University of Cambridge ; 

 University of London ; Imperial College of Science and 

 Technology; University Collocrc of Wales, Aberyst- 

 wyth; University College of North Wales, Bangor; 

 LTnivrrslty College of South Wales and Monmouth- 

 shire, Cardiff; Royal College of Science for Ireland; 

 Ouecn's LIniversitv of Belfast; University College, 

 Cork; University College, Galway. 



