186 EEPORT— 1870. 



ports concerning births, deaths, and mamages drawn up independently in the seve- 

 ral offices for England, Scotland, and Ii-elaud, but even the census is performed by 

 the separate authorities in the three kingdoms. Consequently we have really three 

 censuses and three reports, and at least in 1861 the tables were constructed to a 

 great extent in different modes in these reports. Thus there is a total want of that 

 unity and uniformity which, in a scientific point of view, is indispensable. If 

 there is one thing more than another which demands perfect unity and centraliza- 

 tion, it is the work of the census and the Register Office ; but if we cannot have 

 one central office, let us hope that the several Ilegistrar-Grenerals ■will cooperate so 

 as to produce the nearest approach to uniformity in the census. The different ter- 

 ritorial divisions and arrangements may require some modifications in the mode of 

 enumeration, but except in this respect, there should be perfect identity. 



I should like to du-ect j^our attention for a moment to the very copious and ex- 

 cellent statistical publications with which we are now furnished by Government. 

 Owing partly to the prejudice against blue books, and partly probably to the in- 

 effective mode of publication, the public generally are not aware that for the sum 

 of 8d. any person can obtain the Statistical Abstract of the Board of Trade, con- 

 taining an admirable selection from the principal statistics of the country during 

 the preceding fifteen years. For a few shillings, again, may be had the ' Miscel- 

 laneous Statistics ' of the Board of Trade, furnishing a wonderful compilation of 

 facts concerning three recent years, •though I wish that this information could be 

 brought more nearly up to the time of publication. 



By degrees a considerable amount of system has been introduced into our par- 

 liamentary papers. They have always been sufficiently copious — rather too copi- 

 ous in fact ; but until the last twenty years they consisted mainly of disconnected 

 and accidental accounts, which were exceedingly troublesome to statisticians, and 

 often of no use whatever. It is from regular annual publications, carried on in a 

 uniform manner, that we derive the most useful information, that which is capable 

 of comparison and digestion. The annual reports which have for some years been 

 issued from various Government departments are the best source of statistics ; and 

 I may suggest that there are several public departments (for instance the Mint) 

 which do not yet give any regular annual reports. 



I would especially point, again, to the last report of the Inland Revenue Depart- 

 ment as a model of what we might desire from other departments. In addition to 

 the usual annual report, it contains an abstract of the previous reports for ten years 

 back, and, what is still more valuable, complete tables of all inland duties from 

 their first establishment, some of the tables going back to the beginning of last 

 century. We are thus provided with a complete history of the inland revenue. I 

 cannot but believe that in many other departments is much valuable information 

 which might be fiunished to the public in like manner at a very slight cost. 



Under other circumstances I should have had something to say to you concern- 

 ing international money. Just before the present unhappy war broke out, a Com- 

 mission in Paris had reported in a manner greatly facilitating the adoption of an 

 international money in the British Empire and in America; at the same time 

 a conference was about to be held in Berlin, which would probably have resulted in 

 some important measures as regards Prussia. Everything, in short, was favourable 

 to the early adoption of a common money ; but it need hardly be said that all 

 hope of such a great reform must be defeiTed until peace is once again fu'mly esta- 

 blished. 



Since this Association last met, the great experiment of transferring the tele- 

 graphs to Government control has been carried out. The result has been to some 

 extent disappointing. The proprietors of the telegraphs, when negotiating with 

 Government, discovered that their property was about twice as valuable as they 

 had before considered it. The enormous profits which they made out of the sale 

 seem to me to throw immense difficulty in the way of any similar transfer in the 

 future. It becomes, for instance, simply chimerical to suppose that the Govern- 

 ment can purchase the railways, which are about two hundred and fifty times as 

 valuable as the telegraphs, and which, if purchased in the same way, would cost 

 considerably more than the whole national debt. The working of the telegraphic 

 department; again, confirms the anticipation that we must not expect from it any 



