History of the New York Census. 



211 



of state, a certified list of enumerators who have made 

 acceptable returns, and no one should be paid whose 

 name is not on these lists. 



The compensation would probably be about $3 per 

 day, or perhaps more in cities. 



The ideal of a perfect census, is one taken on a single 

 day, upon schedules distributed before, and collected the 

 day after that fixed for the enumeration. I deem this 

 unattainable, in view of the present circumstances in 

 which we are placed. 



Next to this would be, small districts, in which the cen- 

 sus could be taken within one or two weeks, but with 

 reference to one day. If the extreme multiplication of 

 districts be found impracticable, we may at least depend 

 upon election districts in towns, and the subdivisons of 

 these in cities, as a basis which has afforded one state 

 census without the omission, so far as is known, of a sin- 

 gle district. "While nearly every country marshal had 

 finished his labor and filed his returns in duplicate within 

 the month, we found that many of the city marshals were 

 still in the midst of their labors at the end of that period. 



The reason of this is obvious. The average population 

 of election districts in the rural sections, ranges from 

 1,400 to 2,200, while in Albany county it is 3,000, in Erie 

 3,200, in Kings 8,000, in New York 6,300 and in other 

 densely settled regions it is correspondingly high. In ' 

 1855, one marshal in Brooklyn, reported over 10,000 

 names, while in one of the rural districts a return of less 

 than 300 was received. Under the existing law, discre- 

 tionary power rests with the secretary to equalize the dis- 

 tricts, and this may be done under the advice of judicious 

 friends in every county, who are familiar with the local 

 peculiarities of their vicinity. 



In subdividing districts, the greatest care should be 

 taken to leave nothing doubtful about the boundaries. 



