History of the New York Census. 



215 



subjects, concerning which, accurate means for obtaining 

 data already exist. The tendency has been to overload 

 the census with extraneous questions, which really impair 

 the accuracy of the whole. I would therefore leave the 

 statistics of schools and school houses, to the organized 

 system of supervision arranged for the purpose. We en- 

 quire nothing about commerce, or trade, finances, insurance 

 or of capital or industry of any kind, except as applied to 

 agriculture and manufactures. 



Our citizens are jealous above all other people of any 

 interference in their religious opinions, and therefore it 

 would be highly injudicious to include in the census, as 

 has been done in Canada, and in several European coun- 

 tries, any question concerning religious preferences or 

 church membership. Nearly every denomination has its 

 annual statistical reports, and for purposes of illustration 

 these might be freely and properly used in connection with 

 the explanatory introduction. A few questions relating to 

 church edifices, and their accommodation and attendance, 

 have been formerly included and may be continued with- 

 out objection, yet the official returns of the several sects? 

 collected and published by themselves, would be far more 

 reliable. 



The passport systems of Europe present an opportunity 

 of showing the movement of population by travel, to 

 which we were until very recently strangers. The only 

 approach to this, has been the annual statement of immi- 

 gration obtained through our custom house returns, yet 

 even these were far from being full, as they took no ac- 

 count of the thousands who crossed our northern bound- 

 ary from Canada unrecorded and unknown. 



The ebb and flow of the human tide along our great 

 lines of travel, may in some degree be ascertained from 

 the reports of rail road and steam boat companies, but 

 have never fouud a place in our census returns, by way of 

 comparison or illustration. 



