The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)(about) |
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Monday 4 April 1921
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TAKING THE CENSUS.
SUNDAY NIGHT OBLIGATION.
Two Years for Complete Bétails.
The people of the Commonwealth stopped for a moment last night to take connt of themselves The census is the result of the arrangement between Government statisti
mans throughout the I mpire that a count of the population should bo taken every 10 years VII the self-goi crning Dominions, as well as most of the Crown colonies have lallcli in with this plan and the period over which the various counts wall take place is mainly confined to the next three weeks the notable exception is In lia where the shifting of poptilatun canscd by the great religious teslivals makes the exact day of
the census u movable feast '
The first j ear in which a census woes taken throughout all the States in the Common wealth was 1881 Since then the census h is been taken ev cry 10 v ears and the follow ing table shows the growth of population -
^ eir 1 o| ulation 1^1 " - »lol»! 'Ml " a i i io 1WI 3 Î73 801 1011 4 4G_,00o
Alore than 8 000 people wall be engaged in the taking of this census AVhcn the returns aro collected the work of tabu Iitton will be greatly facilitated lv the use lor the. first time of th Hollerith electric machine This ma clune - an Amencan invention - will re- cord particular«! by means of holes punched in cards which are then sorted and classi lied 1 veil so a large staff of cleika will lie required Mt C If Wickens of the Statis tician s department states th it so far as he knows even male clerk cmplojed is a re turned soldier Therefore the census staff has provided useful repatriation woik
As an instance of the magnitude of the task it is slated that it will probably be two vears before the final figures anti statistics ure available The statistician a nport published nftei the 1911 census occu pied three bul!-} volumes
In u compact and organised rentre s ich as the metropolitan area the collection of the i chums is a simple matter flic worl will be begun this morning and all papers should be in within a few dajs certainly within a vi eck Hut in in area such as the fn north west of Australia the mohican is dif ferent Wo shall le luoVv said the Com monwcalth statistician (Air G H l.mblsl
if we have many of those returns in within three months In «orne cases it may be possible for the first co mt to be nrrived at by the aid of the telegraph from st »li places but in most instances the at mai of Um first camel caravan from the fal interior most be awaited and that may bo weeks or months Mi Knibbs saul on katnrdav that a fnirh iccuraielprcliminarj count of llio population of the Commonwealth should bo I osBible in about three months
In G re it Britain sijs Mr Knibbs the census authorities hope to have preliminary returns leadv within i month He points out that a small country with a dense nopu lition is veij mu li easier to deal with than
i country the sue of Lurope or of the
Lnited States
Slums and "Sundowners "
The sundowner who docs not boast
any loof to his lead is tile most difficult
finn to catch wide as the collectors net is spreid Bul ho is rurel} away fiom some hamlet or station for veiv long and when ever he puts in an appearance he wall be asl ed by the police to lill m a census return if lie has not done so Hie solitary camper living in his tent on the plums ia compara tivelv east to deal with He will fill in his
dwelling slip and his ' personal slip as eertainlv as if be oeeupied a mansion m town Hie citj s underworld will present e problem to collectors but after all the tesionsibility rests with the head of cverj
household to supply a leturn for eveiy nerson who spent last nicjit under his or
her Aof
People vi ho find thal thev have been over looked in mi way are required to notify the nearest ^ ohec station Thej will then make their returns as at midnight last nißht. Tn these eueiimstanccs inv person vi ho dies but who w is alive al midnight should be nccouuted foi as a living ]ei.-on m the
return
Travellers by Tram
Passengers on long distante trains were apeoinllj provided foi On tlie Great \\ cBtcrn train the census p ipers were dis tnbutcd ut Port Augitsla on the South Au« trolian side and at Kalgoorlie on the West Austi alian aide TrtiuiB in other States were similarly provided for and an officer on each tram was appointed a collector for the purpose
At the Hospitals
' Personal ' papers -were distributed to patients in the publu hospitals vcfctoiduv and victo filled in b} all those able lu do s >
Those whose condition was too si nous for them to vvntc were assisted bv the nurac-s
On Board Ship
Ciptains of all vessels m toit on Salure! iv were requested to furnish t etui lis stating the name of the vessel mel its I ositi n at midnight between A] ni 1 md 4 Other details required were the de riplioii of tho vessel boroo power of the engin s (if iny)
molhod of pro] tilsion tomine maten ik, of winch the bull of the vessel is built name of the eoiintiy in whi li the vessel w is con structed and lcgisteied an I the number of persons on board the vessel m the n tht between April 1 ml April 4 mi lading pet sons who were absent Irom the vessel dunng the night Personal sli¡ s wore also sup plied to even one on board for Idling in
NOT SUPPLIED WITH PAPERS
Police Kept Busy
Tolice engaged on census worl al tie Russell street police inquin oflice were kept busj vestcrdu} answering questions Alanv householders complained th it thej hud not received census j apors 1 loin son e of the complaint« it appealed tint whol streets bid been missed uy the census lol
lectors It had been arranged that Biipplrcs of census papers should be left at subuiban police stations foi people who I id I çcn missed in the genei ii distribution but it was found, in manv instances that the papers bael not reached the Blutions A suburbuti boaidingbouse 1 ceper sud that while all the residents of one side of the street had boen provided with forms those of tie other side had not received any Chinese and other foreigneis thronged the police oflice nsl ing for insUuclions in idling
in their fonns
I Special forms were left with the watch house keeper for prisonoi-s locked np at the City Wutchhousc vesterdaj
Last night the collectors assisted by the police made a final round un oí strnjs in the parks and numerous benchers were disturbed in their Blumbcr to nil in the fprms_
TO THE FDITOn OV THF ARGUS
S,rj-Mj census papers avcie delivered to me at my bouse at 11 oclocl this (Sundayl morning Hie man delivering was apologetic nt having to do tins on a Sunday but said that be was given a day and a half to do (as represented to lum) 2o0 bntches of papers Vi hen he yns heie he had then debvcied 301 md lind several more to do lhere is- gross bung ling somewhere when papers have thus to be tlcbvercd on a Sunduj It is not ri"bt either to ask or expect a min lo do it not jet as it were, compel i
householder to «^$_V Wtó'
South "Jarra April 3