Table V., p. 2

Increase of Population.-The population of the colony, exclusive of Maoris, on the 1st day of March, 1874, numbered 2,99,314, an increase since February, 1871, of 43,121, or 16.82 per cent This increase during this period was at a smaller rate than that during either of the two previous Census periods. The rate of increase between December. 1864, and December, 1867, having been 27.01 per cent., and between December, 1867, and February, 1871, 17.25 per cent.

Tables VII., VIII., pp. 4,5.

Table V., p. 2.

The rate of increase varied very much in different provinces; while the pastoral and agricultural provinces exhibited a varying but still high rate of increase, the population of the mining province of Nelson remained almost stationary, and that of Westland decreased. The increase or decrease in each province was as follows:-

Table X., p.6.

Notwithstanding that the actual increase in numbers in Nelson amounted to .25 per cent., the supporting strength of the population was less in 1874 than in 1871, in consequence of a considerable decrease during the three years in the numbers of the male population between the ages of 21 and 40 on the Nelson South-west Gold Fields. The deficiency in the number of the population caused by these departures from the province was chiefly made up by the excess of the total male and female births over the deaths during the same period. The decrease in the province of the males of the ages specified amounted to 1,872. The excess of births over deaths during the years 1871, 1872, and 1873, amounted to 1,527.

Proportion of the Sexes.-The males in 1874 numbered 170,981. the females 128,533, showing an excess of males over females of 42,448. The Chinese are included in the above numbers, all of whom, with two exceptions, were males. Exclusive of the Chinese the numbers would be 166,167 males to 128,531 females, or an excess of males of 37,636. The increase of males since 1871 was 20,625, or l3.72 Per cent, on the then number of males; the increase of females was 22,496, or 21.21 per cent, on the then number of females. There were on 1st March, 1874, 100 males to every 75.17 females. This proportion varied much in the different provinces. The equality between the sexes was greatest in Wellington, the numbers being 100 males to 83.37 females. Canterbury ranked next, having to every 100 males 82 females. Auckland was third on the list, having 81.78 females to every 100 males. The population attracted to the Auckland Gold Fields does not appear to have disturbed, to any serious extent, the proportion between the sexes, as there were on the gold fields in that province 78.01 females to every 100 males. The proportion in the other provinces was as follows :-

In dealing with this subject the exceptional condition of the Chinese population should not be overlooked, as they do not come to the colony with a view to permanent settlement, and do not bring their women with them. Of the two women returned as Chinese, one dwells in Otago, the other in the Chatham Islands, and it is doubtful if the latter is of purely Chinese extraction. The proportion of the sexes should therefore be considered without including the Chinese element. The proportions in the different provinces, excluding the Chinese, appear thus:-

And in the whole colony, including the Chatham Islands, there were to every 100 males 7735 females. Similarly excluding the Chinese, and estimating the proportions of the sexes within and without the gold fields in the provinces in the South Island, the result brought out is, -

In Westland, the whole province, except the towns of Hokitika, Greymouth, and Okarito, is a gold field. The numbers, still excluding Chinese, were within the gold fields, or within all the Province, but those three towns, to every 100 males 47.48 females.

Table XI., p.6.

Density of Population.-The population of the colony, exclusive of Maoris, amounted in March, 1874, to 2.855 persons to a square mile; but as 105,213 persons resided in towns, the population outside towns, numbering 194,301, only amounted to about 1.85 persons to a square mile. The rural population of England and Wales in 1871 amounted to 158 to a square mile. The population was most dense in the Province of Canterbury, amounting there to 4.328 persons to a square mile, and least dense in the Province of Marlborough, where it only amounted 1.446 persons to a square mile.

Table xiii, p.7.

The average number of persons to an inhabited dwelling throughout the colony was 4.88 in 1874, against 4.48 in 1871, and 4.05 in 1867. But while the average number of persons to each dwelling was on the increase, the average character of the dwellings was evidently improving, and their capacity for occupation by a larger number of persons becoming greater. Of the population (exclusive of Maoris and Chinese)-

Table XVI.,p.11

I am unable to compare these results with the results of the previous Census, as the information necessary for making such comparisons was not then given.

Of the Chinese population 918 dwelt in houses, 2,288 in huts, 12 on shipboard, 1,588 in tents, and 10 were camping out.

Table XVI., p.11.

Dwellings-Number and Character.-In the term “dwelling” has been included every variety of building or erection within which any of the population dwelt. These buildings have been classed under two principal heads, (1) showing the materials of which they were composed, and (2) showing the number of rooms they contained. The distinction between houses and huts has not always been well preserved, the term “hut” having apparently been in some districts applied to dwellings which in other districts were designated houses. The number of inhabited dwellings in 1874 was 61,356, against 57,182 in 1871, an increase of 4,174. It is to be observed, in relation to my remarks on the increasing capacity of the dwellings for occupation by a larger number of persons, that while there is an absolute decrease in the number of one and two roomed dwellings, including tents, upon the number existing in 1871, there is, since that time, a considerable increase in the houses of greater accommodation. The following table will show the increase or decrease in the numbers of the dwellings containing respectively one, or two rooms, three or four rooms, and five or more rooms:-

As the abstracts of the Census of 1871 were compiled in the several provinces, I am unable to state under what heading those houses were placed of which die number of rooms was not stated in the household schedules. If, as seems probable, they were placed among the one-roomed houses, and, for purposes of comparison, a similar practice had been adopted for this Census, the decrease, 3,386, in the one or two-roomed houses, would be reduced by 1,038, making the decrease only 2,348. There is little doubt but that this has been the case, as the results of the Census of 1871, as compared with that of 1867, showed a decrease on the one and two-roomed houses of 3,560, including a large decrease in tents. The number of tents inhabited in 1871 was 2,404. The number classified as tents in 1874 was 1,967, an apparent reduction of 437. The reduction is really very much greater, as erections having walls and canvas roofs were included in the numbers for tents in 1874; but in 1871 they were placed among houses of “other materials.” While the total increase in the number of inhabited dwellings between 1871 and 1874 amounted to 4,174, the increase of inhabited houses containing three or four rooms amounted to 3,289, and the increase 1 of inhabited houses containing five or more rooms amounted to 3,233, or together 2,348 more than the total increase in dwellings of all classes, the number of smaller class dwellings having been to an equal extent reduced.

Huts and tents were most numerous on the gold-fields of the West Coast of the Middle Island and in Otago. Houses of brick and stone were most numerous in Canterbury and Otago. The following table shows the percentage in each province of each class of inhabited dwelling:-

MATERIALS OF INHABITED DWELLINGS.

The number of brick and stone houses inhabited was 1,540 in 1871, and 1,901 in 1874. But the erection of buildings in brick or stone has more than kept pace proportionately with the erection of buildings of wood, for whereas in 1871 to every 100 inhabited houses of wood there were 3.35 houses of brick and stone, in 1874 to every 100 houses of wood and iron there were 3.73 houses of brick and stone.

Table XVI-.p.11.

Uninhabited Dwelling-houses.-The number of uninhabited dwelling-houses in March, 1874, was 3,967. The following figures show the number of these houses in each province, and the proportion they bore to the number of inhabited dwellings, exclusive of, tents:-

At the rate of 4.88 persons to a house, there was still house accommodation in the colony for a further population of 19,359 persons.

Houses Building.-The number of dwelling-houses in course of erection was 535.

Table XXII., p.22

Uninhabited Buildings.-The number of stores, warehouses, workshops, business premises, and buildings returned as used for offices only, was 4,401. These figures cannot however be considered to be accurate, as the sub-enumerators differed much in the carefulness with which they enumerated this class of building. In some cases almost every erection has been apparently noted; in others, there appears to have been a general disregard of all buildings but those of some importance.

Table XVIII., p.14.

Cities and Towns.-There were in 1874 85, defined cities or towns having a population of 100 persons and upwards.

Of the above towns 35 were in Otago, 16 in Auckland, 11 in Wellington, 6 in West-land, 5 in Canterbury, 6 in Nelson, 2 in Hawke's Bay, 2 in Taranaki, and 2 in Marlborough. The population of the town of Reefton, which is included in the above list, was not shown by the sub-enumerator as distinct from that of the district outside the town. The number of inhabitants has been estimated at 545 persons - 370 males and 175 females - but no accurate account having been taken, Reefton does not appear in the series of tables of cities and towns having a population of 500 persons and over. The most populous city in the colony was Dunedin, which had 18,499 inhabitants. These persons were within the borough boundaries. I am not aware to what extent the suburbs might be considered as an extension of the city, but as the boundaries of the portions containing any dense population. Have not been defined, it has not been possible to give the number of the suburban population that might be considered as fairly partaking of the character of town population. The population of Dunedin increased from 14,857 in 1871 to 18,499 in :1874. Auckland was the next most populous city, with 12,775 inhabitants. These also were the numbers sleeping within the borough boundaries. As, however, a large number of persons, whose avocations require their daily attendance within the borough boundaries, reside in the suburbs, which, in the cases of Parnell and Newton, may be regarded as extensions of the city outside the borough boundary, to properly estimate the population of Auckland the population of those suburbs should be considered. In i874Parnell contained 3,976 persons, and Newton 4,839, making the total population of Auckland and suburbs amount to 21,590. The population of Auckland city in 1871 having been 12,937, and 12,775 in 1874, there was a decrease in the population of 162 persons, while the suburbs of Parnell and Newton increased from 7,520 in 1871 to 8,815 in 1874. Wellington ranks as the third most populous city, having had 2. population of 10,547, but not possessing any noticeable suburban population. The population of Wellington increased from 7,908 in i87r, to 10,547 in 1874. Christchurch, as a city within its defined boundaries, ranks next, with a population of 10,294; but its suburbs, consisting of such portions of the electoral districts of Christchurch City East and Christchurch City West as are not within the city boundaries, and which had a population of 6,665, must not be overlooked. The population of Christchurch and suburbs thus amounted to 16,959. The respective populations in 1871 were:-

The borough of Thames had a population of 8,073; and the city of Nelson a population of 5,662.

The population of the other towns of the colony will be found on reference to page 14.

Table I., p.27.

Table II., p.28.

Table VI., p.27.

Of the 299,514 persons enumerated on the 1st March, 1874, 5,850 males and 5,576 females were infants under the age of one year. There were, including these infants, 51,888 under 5 years of age, viz., 26,111 males and 25,777 females The numbers at the ages usually recognized as the school ages, i.e., 5 and under 15 years, amounted to 72,147, viz., 36,423 boys and 35,724 girls. The total number under 15 years of age was thus 124,035, viz., 62,534 males and 61,501 females. There were 13,351 youths and 12,926 young women, or a total of 26,277 persons, at the ages of 15-21. Thus, while during the first year of age there were 100 males to 95.32 females (the proportion of females being somewhat less than that in which the births occurred, to every 100 males born in 1873 there having been 96.64 females born), there were 100 males under 21 years of age to 98.08 females at the same ages. In 1874 me children under 5 years of age amounted to 17.36 per cent, of the population, the children of 5 and under 15 years amounted to 24.14 per cent., and the young persons of 15 and under 21 amounted to 8.79 per cent, of the population; the total number under 21 years of age amounting to 50.29 per cent, of the population. The total number of persons of 21 years and under 40 was 99,120, viz., 61,867 males and 37,253 females. The persons of 40 years of age and under 65 years numbered 45,834, viz., 30,583 males and 15,251 females. The number at 65 years of age and upwards amounted to 3,651, 2,171 being males and 1,480 females. There were 197 persons, viz., 100 males and 97 females, between 80 and 90 years of age; 3 males and 6 females between 90 and 93 years of age; and 4 males and 3 females between 94 and 97 years of age. One male was returned at the advanced age of 103, and one at the extraordinary age of 116. Doubts having arisen as to the correctness of this age, a special inquiry was made of the Secretary of the Benevolent Institution in which this man resided. The reply made was to the effect that the man was a native of Tahiti; that there was no authentic record of age but his own statement; that he was a very old man in appearance, and that he had repeatedly stated that he remembered Captain Cook being at Tahiti.

Table I., p. 27.

If the numbers at each age period, in 1874 be compared with the corresponding numbers in 1871, a great disproportion will be observed in the percentages of increase at the various periods. While children under 5 years only increased 11.40 per cent, on the numbers living at those ages in 1871, the children between 5 and 10 years increased 32.62 per cent. The children under 5 years amounted to 18.19 per cent, of the total number of the population in 1871, and only to 17.36 per cent, in 1874; and the children 5 to 10 years amounted to 12.75 per cent, of the total number of the population in 1871, and 1449 Per cent 1874. The percentage of increase of children 10-15 was 30.40 and the numbers at that age period were in 1871, 8.64 per cent, of the population, and in 1874, 9.65 per cent.

Table I.,p.27

Decrease in Males, 21-40.-In comparing the numbers between the ages 21-40, a noticeable decrease is observable in the number of the males. While there has been only an increase of 1.44 per cent, on the total number of persons of both sexes at the ages 21-40 living in 1871, the proportion of persons of those ages to the whole population has fallen from 38.15 per cent, in 1871 to 33.16 per cent, of the whole population in 1874. But while the female population at those ages increased by 4,129, or 12.47 Per cent. on the number of females at those ages in 1871, the male population at the same age period decreased by 2,719, or 4.21 per cent, on the numbers of males at those ages in 1871. This decrease of male population 21-40 is evidently attributable to the fact that there is not a sufficient number of males at the younger ages to supply the places of these between 21 and 40 who may die, or from increase of age be enumerated among those above 40 years of age. In England in 1871 the number of males from 15 to 21 years of age comprised 29.84 per cent, of the total number of males from 15 to 40, while in New Zealand in 1874 the males from 15 to 21 years of age amounted only to 17.75 per cent, of the total males 15 to 40.

The extent of the deficiency in the number of males 21-40 in 1874, on account of the insufficient number of persons between 15 and 21, may be approximately estimated in the following manner, which is necessarily somewhat lengthy, on account of the large range of the age periods published for the Census of 1871, and the want of data for subdividing those periods. If, from the number of males at the age of 65 and upwards in 1871, the deaths for three years be deducted, and the remainder be deducted from the number of males at the ages 65 and upwards in 1874, the last remainder would approximately represent the number of males who in .1871 were under 65, but were enumerated in 1874 in the age period 65 and upwards. The number thus arrived at is 822. By a similar process, and making allowance for these 822 transferred to the age period 65 and upwards, the number of 2,147 given as representing the males who were between 40 and 55 years in 1871, and were classed as between 55 and 65 in 1874. The continuation of the process would show that the number of males 21-40 in 1871 was reduced by 10,019, who were enumerated as between 40 and 50 years of age in 1874. As the total number of males in 1871 at the ages 15-21 was only 10,138, those from 18-21 would (estimated at 5,069) be enumerated as between 21 and 40 in 1874. The numbers would stand thus:-

This remainder represents the probable number of males at the ages 21-40 in 1874, if not increased by immigrants at those ages. So that if the population had not been increased by immigration, the number of males 21-40 in 1874 would have been by 6,138 less numerous than the males at the same age period in 1871. The actual number of males 21-40 in 1874 was 61,867. There was therefore an excess of arrivals over departures in the colony during the three years of 3,419 males at the ages 21-40. These calculations, would doubtless be somewhat disturbed by the arrivals of persons at the older age periods; but as the total net immigration, during the three years, of males above 12 years of age only amounted to 8,135, the number of those arriving at the higher ages would not be great. It is, however, apparent that there are not enough males of ages under 21 to supply the places of the exceptionally large proportion of the population between 21 and 40. Were it not for the immigration of persons between 21 and 40 years of age, a steady reduction in- the numbers at that age period might be expected until the proportion with the preceding age period was more equalized with that which obtains in older communities.

The following table shows the number of males in each province at the ages 21-40 in 1871 and 1874, and the increase or decrease in each province since 1871:-

Males of 21 to 40 Years of Age.

Of the total decrease above mentioned of 1,726 in the Province of Auckland, a, decrease of 1,135 is found to have taken place in the number on the Thames Gold Field; and of a total decrease of 3,896 in the Provinces of Nelson and Westland, a decrease of 3,651 is discovered in the numbers on the Nelson South-West and Westland Gold Fields. There are decreases in the males of 21-40 in all the gold field districts of Otago, which are, however, more than counterbalanced by increases in districts outside gold fields, there being a net increase for the province of 315.

Table I.,p.27

Increase of Females, 21-40.-The females at the age period 21-40 increased 12.47 per cent, on the numbers in 1871; but there was not then the same disproportion between the females at the ages 15-21 and 21-40 as between the males at the same ages. In 1871 the females at 15-21 amounted to 10,050, and at 21-40 to 33,124, the males at the same ages having been 10,138 and 64,586. There was an increase of females in 1874 at every age period. In Victoria during the 10 years 1860-1871 the males between 20 and 35 years of age decreased by nearly 49,000, and the females between the ages 25 and 30 decreased by 1,394. This decrease appears to have been attributable to a similar cause to that in operation in New Zealand, i.e., the want of a sufficient number at the younger ages to supply their places.

Population at Supporting Ages.-The proportion of the inhabitants at the supporting period of life, viz,, 15-65 years, in New Zealand in 1874 was greater than in the adjacent Australian colonies in 1871, Queensland excepted. The following table will give the relative strength of the undermentioned Australasian colonies for every 10,000 persons:-

The following are the numbers per 1,000 persons at the age periods under 20, 20-60, and 60 and upwards in New Zealand in 1874, and the corresponding numbers in England and Wales in 1871:-

In Victoria, in 1871, the numbers between 20 and 60 amounted to 474.65 per 1,000 living.

Of the Chinese population, 13 were under 15 years of age (these are, however, more correctly speaking, half-castes, as it appears that in most, if not all, cases they were the offspring of Chinese men and European women, their wives); 1.88, including 1 female, were from 15 to 20; 3,686 were from 20 to 40; 896, including 1 female, were from 40 to 60; and 16 were 60 years of age and upwards.

Table I,, p. 55.

Out of a population of 299,514, the persons who objected to state their religious belief amounted to 6,760. No entry was made in the column for “Religion” in the household schedule opposite the names of 955 persons.

Table II., p.55

The bulk of the population may be divided into Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants of all denominations amounted to 243,761; the Catholics, including the Greek Church, to 40,412. Of the Protestant denominations the members of the Church of England (including Protestants not otherwise defined) amounted to 127,171, or 42.46 per cent, of die population. The Presbyterians numbered 72,477, or 24.20 per cent., and the Methodists numbered 25,219, or 8.42 per cent, of the population. The Roman Catholics numbered 40,371, or 13.48 per cent, of the population. Of these principal denominations the Church of England has increased most in proportion since 1871, the proportions to the 10c of the population having been respectively in 1871 and 1874 as follows:-

Table II.,P.55

Of the smaller bodies, the Baptists increased from 4,732, or 1.85 per cent., to 6,355 or 2.12 per cent.; the Congregational Independents from 3,941, or 1.54 per cent., to 5.441, or 1.82 per cent.; and the Lutherans from 2,341, or 0.91 per cent., to 3,914, or 1.31 per cent. Hebrews decreased from 1,262, or 0.49 per cent., to 1,215, or 0.40 per cent. Pagans (embracing nearly all the Chinese) increased from 2,612, or 1.02 per cent., to 4,764, or 1.59 per cent. The number of persons who objected to state their religious belief was reduced from 8,630 in 1871 to 6,760 in 1874.

The birthplaces of 299,008 persons were returned in the household schedules. No birthplaces were given for 506 persons. Of these 506, there were 365 who had British names, 21 had foreign names., and 120 of the 506 omitted to give any names in the schedules.

Table I.,p. 77.

Allegiance.-The number of British subjects in the colony in 1874 amounted to 286,7.09, or 95.56 per cent, of the population whose allegiance could be ascertained. In this number were included all persons born in British possessions; all naturalized British subjects; British subjects born in foreign countries; persons, having British names, born at sea; and those whose birthplaces were not given, but who had British names. The foreign subjects amounted to 13,285, or 4.44 per cent.

Table II., III., pp.78, 79.

Number Born in New Zealand.-The persons in New Zealand in March, 1874, who were born in the colony, numbered 122,635: of these, 61,779 were males, and 60,856 were females. The total amounted to 40.94 per cent, of the whole population. The number of New Zealand born in 1871 was 93,474. There has thus been an increase of 29,161, or 31.20 per cent, on the New Zealand born population.

Numbers Born Outside the Colony.-The Australian born were 135601 in 1874- an increase in the three years of 1,175, or 9.46 per cent. The English born increased from 67,044 in 1871 to 74,628 in 1874, or 11.31 percent. The Scotch increased from 36,871 to 38,431, or 4.24 per cent.; the Irish increased from 29,733 to 30,255, or 1.76 per cent.; and the Germans increased from 2,416 to 2,810, or 16.68 per cent.

In every 100 of the persons born in New Zealand, 50.38 were males and 49.62 were females; in those of Australian birth, 51.60 per cent, were males, and 48.40 per cent, were females; of those born in England, the females amounted to 39.23 per cent.; of those in Wales to 32.08 per cent. 39.43 of those born in Scotland, and 40.46 of those born in Ireland, were females. Of those returned as born in the United States, 82.96 per cent, were males, and 17.04 per cent, were females. Of the Germans, 73.36 per cent/were males, and 26.64 per cent. were females. Of those born in France and French colonies, 76.80 per cent, were males, and 23-20 per cent, were females. Of those born in other European countries and their dependencies, in which are included 1,172 Danes and 1,78o Swedes and Norwegians, the males comprised 77.14 per cent., and the females 22.86 per cent. In considering the tables of birthplaces, it should be borne in mind that the numbers given as born in any country are not necessarily natives of that country, the children born of British parents being included. These have all been separated in the table showing the allegiance of the population.

Table iv., p.80

The table on pages 80 and 81 gives 75 birthplaces, or groups of birthplaces (as in the case of a foreign country and its colonies many distinct birthplaces are grouped together), each of which was given as the birthplace of some one or more of the inhabitants of the colony. It might, perhaps, hardly have been expected that Persia, Barbary, Greenland, and New Guinea would be found among the list of birthplaces; yet each is given.

Table I.,p.101.

Table II.,p.101.

Table IV.,p.102.

In 1874, out of every hundred of the male population (excepting Chinese), 27.28 were married, and 72.72 were single; and, of the female population, in every hundred 34.72 were married, and 65.28 were single. While the proportion of married males has increased from 26.23 per cent. in 1867 to 27.28 per cent. in 1874, the proportion of married females decreased from 37.59 per cent. in 1867 to 34.72 per cent. in 1874. The decrease in the proportion of the married in the 100 females is attributable to the greater increase in the number of females under 2r years of age. In 1867 the females under 21 years amounted to 54.87 per cent. of the whole number of females, in 1871 to 56.82 percent., and in 1874 to 57.96 per cent. 117,085 males were returned in 1874 as unmarried; of these, 73,232 were under 20 years of age, and 43,853 were over 20 years of age. Of the females, 79,888 were unmarried, of whom 61,500 were under 15 years of age, and 18,388 over 15. There were thus 25,465 bachelors of 20 years of age and upwards in excess of the number of spinsters of 15 years of age and upwards. To every 100 spinsters there were therefore 238 bachelors. Of the 18,388 spinsters, 9,942 were from 15 to 20 years of age, and 8,446 at 20 and upwards. The marriages in 1873 of spinsters under 20 years of age amounted to 473, and of spinsters at 20 and upwards to 1,578; at that rate about 4.76 per 100 of the spinsters under 20 years of age, and 18.68 per 100 of the spinsters over 20 years of age, would be married in the year.

Table III., p.102.

The husbands in 1874 numbered 45,334, the wives 44,624, the husbands being most numerous by 710. There was an excess of husbands over wives in every province except Westland, where the wives were the most numerous, the husbands having been 2,084 and the wives 2,094. The widows amounted to 3,990, being in excess of the widowers by 719, the latter only amounting to 3,271. The widows were more numerous than the widowers at all ages, except at the periods 40-45 and 45-50. At the ages 40-45 the widows were 431, and the widowers 483; at 45-50 the widows were 373, and the widowers 419; but if more extended periods are taken the widows will be found in all cases most numerous, but especially so at the extremes, i.e. at the youngest and oldest periods. Under 30 years of age the widows numbered 275, the widowers 107; from 30 to 50 years of age the widows numbered 1,565, the widowers 1,494; at the age of 50 and upwards the widows were 2,150, the widowers 1,670. Thus to every 100 widows under 30 years of age there were 39 widowers; at the ages 30 to 50, to every 100 widows there were 95 widowers; and at 50 years of age and upwards, to every 100 widows there were 78 widowers.

At the higher ages the married men (with wives living) were more numerous than the married women; but at the same ages the widows were more numerous than the widowers. At the ages 65 and upwards there were 1,385 married men to 646 married women, while at the same period there were 785 widows to 545 widowers. The number of married women in the colony in 1874, between 15 and 45 years of age, was 36,588. The number of legitimate births in 1873 was 11,063, or 30.24 births to every 100 married women at 15-45, or on an average one child was born to every married woman at that age period every 3-31 years. In England, in 1871, the number of married women of 15-45 amounted to 2,600,768, the legitimate births in 1870 to 748,050, or 28.76 births to every 100 married women at 15-45, or one birth to each such married woman in 3.48 years. The married women comprised in the age period 15-45 are generally younger than the married women of the same age period in England. Taking the whole number of married women in each country between the ages 15-45 as a basis of comparison, the following figures show the proportions per cent. at the respective ages in England and New Zealand:-

Table V.,p.103.

Conjugal Condition of Chinese.-The instructions in the Household Schedule were that Chinese were to be set down as unmarried, unless they either have or have had wives in New Zealand. Twenty-eight Chinese have thus been returned as married, one of whom had a Chinese wife. The schedules evince the fact that in many of the instances the wife was an European resident in New Zealand; but in some cases the correctness of the description cannot be tested, as men alone are given in the schedule. There is not, however, any reason to doubt that the Chinese returned in the schedules as married were married to European females; the Chinese given in table of age, page 30, between 10 and 15, were the offspring of these unions.

Table I.,p.145.

An elaborate series of tables is for the first time published in the colony, in which the occupations of nearly the whole of the population are shown, for out of a total of 299,514 there were only 1,911 whose occupations could not be ascertained. The numbers occupied in every branch of industry in the colony can be thus ascertained, and the rise and expansion of any new employment be watched. The importance of this subject may be well illustrated by the remarks of the able Registrar-General of England, in his report on the tables of occupations compiled from the English census of 1871:-“The tables require exhaustive study in connection with special inquiries of into the industrial organization of the country, which, as yet only imperfectly understood, of is the subject of conflicting theories. The co-operative societies, the of companies with limited liability, the question of the employment of women, the of regulation of children's work, trades unions, the federation of employers, the of continued developments and displacements of branches of trade in different localities, of amidst an increasing population which derives food and the raw materials of manufactures of partly from home and partly from foreign countries, at one time friendly, at of another time hostile, are all reasons for collecting full and exact information on a of subject of such unquestionable importance. The Census can deal with an essential of part of the question. It can ask the heads of families to return, in conformity with of instructions, the profession or occupation of every person in their houses on the of Census night.”

Some of the subjects above enumerated are not at present of as much social importance in this colony as they are in England, but after a while the increase of our population may probably cause greater consideration to be given to them. The questions relating to the subject are, however, even here sufficient to make the information obtained of “unquestionable importance.”

The classification adopted is similar in character to that used in Victoria and in England, with small variations in detail to suit the circumstances of the colonial population.

The instruction given on the back of the Household Schedule was, that “the occupation which each person is following and deriving income from at the time of the Census is the occupation that should be stated.” All through the tables there are persons given as following one occupation, but who are also following others of an entirely different character, but only one such occupation is given. As instances, Members of Parliament, Magistrates, &c., who in nearly all cases are returned under the non-official occupations followed by them, persons following combined professional or commercial and agricultural pursuits, &c.

Professional Class.-This class consists of the officers of the Government (colonial, provincial, and local), the Defence and Militia forces, the learned professions with their immediate subordinates, literary and scientific persons, and those engaged in the fine arts. The total number of this class comprised 5,305 males and 1,155 females, or a total of 6,460 persons. The first order of this class comprised those who were engaged in the general or local Governments, or the defence or protection of the country. The number in this order was 2,470, viz. 2,453 males and z7 females. These numbers do not include those persons returned as employed by the Government, whose occupations being of a special character required that they should be brought into other classes. The system adopted in the classification was that, under the term “officers of the Government,” the following were not to be classed:-Law Court officers; persons employed in working (not constructing) railways or electric telegraphs; persons under Boards of Education; persons in port or harbour services; persons in lighthouses; in museums, observatories, hospitals for the insane, industrial schools, botanic gardens, sewerage, and water; in the pilot service; and printers, binders, &c., in the Government Printing Office.

It is therefore impossible to give the exact number of the persons who were employed by the Government, the object of the classification having been chiefly to show the number of those engaged in any special branch of occupation, which object would have been defeated had a complete account of those paid by Government been given in Class I., Order I. If, however, those groups of excepted occupations are included, in which the whole or nearly the whole of the persons stated are employed by Government, the under-mentioned numbers would have to be added to the number of 2,470 given above :-

A considerable further addition could also be made by taking from Sub-order VI. of Order II., teachers, &c, the schoolmasters, mistresses, &c. in Government employ; from Class V., Order VIII., Sub-order 1, the Government printers and binders, and from other places in the classification those engaged in museums, observatories, hospitals, industrial schools, botanic gardens, sewerage, and water.

The term “General Government,” used in these tables, is not meant to represent the Colonial Government as ordinarily understood apart from the Provincial Governments, but is for the purpose of these tables made to comprehend both General and Provincial Governments as distinguished from the government of local bodies, as Municipal Councils, &c. The numbers, therefore, given as officers of the General Government are to be read as of the General and Provincial Governments; the character of the Government to which an officer belonged not having been shown with sufficient clearness to enable the numbers to be separated. As, however, those numbers can be ascertained from other sources, the importance of showing them separately is not so great.

The second order of this class comprised those who were engaged in the learned professions, or in literature, art, or science (the terms being necessarily used in a very comprehensive sense), with their immediate subordinates. These numbers amounted to 3,990, viz. 2,852 males and 1,138 females.

The Domestic Class.-In addition to 62,747 males, this class embraces 122,216 females out of a total of 128,533 females in the colony. In this class are included wives, also those persons engaged as mothers, mistresses of families, children, including those attending school, and relatives (not otherwise returned); also those persons engaged in personal offices to man, the details of whose occupations and the numbers engaged in each can be ascertained by a reference to Table IX., page 156. As this class absorbed so large a" portion of the female population, there remained only 6,317 who were employed in various occupations other than of a domestic character.

The Commercial Class.-This class comprises those who deal in money, land, goods, &c., or who are engaged in the transport and conveyance of men, animals, goods, or messages. The number so engaged was 13,297, of whom 13,018 were males and 279 females. Many of the persons herein enumerated, such as railway officers and persons engaged in the telegraph service are, from the fact of those services being under Government control, paid officers of the Government, but for the reasons previously given they are exhibited here.

The Agricultural Class.-This class does not merely include those engaged in tilling or cultivating land, but all persons possessing, working, or cultivating land, raising animals or dealing in them, or following pursuits subsidiary to any of the foregoing. While the class as a whole, embraces 34,390 persons, viz. 33,689 males and 701 females, the persons classified as engaged in agricultural pursuits amounted to 26,067, viz. 25,436 males and 631 females; and those engaged in pastoral pursuits to 5,074, viz. 5,037 males and 37 females.

The grouping of these numbers cannot be considered as altogether satisfactory, as agricultural and pastoral pursuits in many parts of the colony are so combined that an absolute separation or definition is impossible. Many persons returned as farmers, and classified as engaged in agricultural pursuits are in point of fact engaged in pastoral pursuits on a small scale, as they reside on land with a small number of cows and sheep, or either, but do not cultivate further than to encourage the growth of grass. The numbers classified as engaged in pastoral pursuits have been confined to those (including their subordinates) who occupy considerable areas of land, either freehold or leasehold, and whose primary occupation is to graze large numbers of either sheep or cattle.

The Industrial Class.-All persons working or dealing in art, or mechanical productions, in textile fabrics and fibrous materials, in food and drinks (except such as are engaged in board and lodging under the Domestic Class, in which hotel and innkeepers are included), animal and vegetable substances, and metals and minerals, are comprised in this class.

Persons engaged in mining are the most numerous of any order in this class. Of this class 15,699 persons, of whom three were females, were engaged in mining; of these 15,229 were engaged in gold mining, 261 in coal mining, and 209 in various occupations immediately subordinate to mining, the details of which are given in page 176. It will be a subject of great interest and importance to watch the rise and growth, or decadence, or the local development, of any of the industries specified in this class.

The Indefinite and Non-Productive Class.-This class comprises 12,206 persons, and may be sub-divided into four heads:-

1. Labourers and other persons whose special branch of labour or employment is not defined, so as to allow of their being placed in previous classes, which, it will be observed, are arranged according to the special branch of occupation followed. As an example, there are 613 engineers, engine-drivers, stokers, firemen, given in this class, but whether belonging to Class III., Order VI., Sub-order 1, carriers on railways, or Sub-order 3, carriers on rivers, or engaged in working machinery required for some of the occupations specified in the agricultural or industrial classes, could not be ascertained. It has been necessary, for similar reasons, to group the large number of 7,880 labourers in this class.

2. Persons of property or rank (not returned under any office or occupation). This number includes many imperial pensioners at Auckland. The heading does not at first appear strictly to apply to these men, but as they are living on their pensions, without stating that they have any occupation, they are of necessity included in this order.

3. Persons supported by the community. These numbered 2,330, of whom 559, viz. 452 males and 107 females, were of the criminal classes.

4. Persons whose occupations were not stated.

Table XI.,p. 174.

In addition to the occupations specified in Tables IX. and X., pages 155 to 173, at the end of nearly every sub-order there is a number given as being of other occupations of the same sub-order. The numbers of these other occupations are shown for the colony as a whole in Table XI., pages 174 to 176, the number opposite the word “others,” in each of the Sub-orders Tables IX. and X., referring to the number placed over the list of occupations in Table XI.

Table XII.,p, 177.

Occupations of the Chinese.-The occupations of the Chinese have been shown on page 177. Of a total of 4,814 males, 4,005 were engaged in gold mining, 159 were employed as road and railway labourers, and 102 as farmers and gardeners. Of the whole number 12 were inmates of charitable institutions, and only 2 were in prison.

Table XIII.,p.178.

As the character of the information herein given is quite new, so far as this colony is concerned, it is impossible to show the increase of any particular class or order. The bare numbers can only at present be given.

Occupations of Members of Universities.-408 persons returned themselves as 178. members of Universities, of whom 30 belonged to foreign Universities, and 20 to Australasian Universities. In the majority of cases no degree has been specified. Of the total number, 97 were clergymen, 55 were medical men, 54 were schoolmasters, 24 were farmers, and 20 were lawyers. The occupations of the others were varied in character, and in many instances far from compatible with a high standard of mental acquirements.

Table IV., p. 186.

The information required to be given on the household schedule was, as to the measure of education, limited to reading and writing, reading only, or not able to read. Of the 299,514 persons enumerated, the information under the above heads was not ascertained in respect of 2,243.

It will be noticed that in the earlier tables of this part the Chinese have been excluded. The instruction in the Census Schedule was, that only those Chinese who could read and write English were to be enumerated as being able to read and write; and as they form so exceptional an element in the population, and for whom no educational provision is made or attempted to be made, to have included them in the earlier tables would have led to erroneous conclusions as to the extent of rudimentary education among the European portion of the population. Of the 4,816 Chinese in the colony, 60 males and the 2 females were returned as being able to read and write, and 11 males as being able to read only.

Table I., p. 183.

Dealing thus with the population, exclusive of Maoris and Chinese, except for the Census years previous to 1867, when the numbers of Chinese were not separately shown, it appears that in 1874 68.15 per cent. could read and write, 8.09 per cent. could read only, and 23.76 per cent. could not read. The percentage of those who could read and write is less than in any Census year since 1858. The rates in the intervening years have been as follow:-

The rate having been lowest in 1874 is attributable to the fact that in the earlier periods the proportion of males 21 to 40 years of age was greater than in 1874; and in 1874 the proportion of children under 10 years of age was greater than in the preceding years, the proportions in 1864 and 1874 respectively of persons of those ages having been to the whole population as follow:-

Table II., P. 28.

Table VII., P. 31.

Table I., P. 183.

Table III., P. 185.

The percentage of females who could read and write was at each of the Census periods considerably less than the percentage of males who could read and write. In 1874, while 71.40 per cent. of the males could read and write, only 63.94 per cent. of the females could read and write. The percentage of females able to read and write was less at all quinquennial periods of age, except at the periods 5 to 10, 10 to 15, and 15 to 20 years, when it was slightly in excess of the similar percentage of the males. The inequality in these percentages increased with the ages of the persons enumerated.

At the school ages, 5 to 15, the proportion of females able to read and write was in excess of the proportion of males, the percentages to the total of each sex at those ages having been,-

Table II, p. l84.

While of the total number of persons in the colony, 68.15 per cent. could read and write, the Provinces of Nelson and Westland showed the respectively higher percentages to their population of 71.02 and 70.11. This is explained by the existence in those provinces of a larger proportion of adults to the whole population.

Table VIII., p. 193.

There is a marked difference between the proportions at all ages of those who can read and write within and outside the towns. At the school ages, 5-10 and 10-15, the proportions were as follow:-

But while in towns 5.54 per cent. of the children at 10-15 were returned as able to read only, in the outside towns population 8.53 per cent. of the children at 10-15 were returned as able to read only; 1.86 per cent. of the children at 10-15 in the towns, and 3.45 per cent. of the children at 10-15 outside the towns, were returned as unable to read. These last proportions may be considered fairly to represent the extent to which the young people in the towns and outside the towns progressing from youth to maturity have not received any education whatever.

Table X., p. 195.

If the education of the children at the school ages 5-15 be compared in the different provinces, a somewhat considerable variation in their relative proportions will be observed. The percentage of the children at those ages able to read and write was lowest in Marlborough, being there 54.86 per cent.; and next lowest in Otago, being 56.98 per cent. The highest percentage was in Nelson, viz. 62.92 per cent. If the proportions of those children at 5-15 unable to read be taken, the relative positions of the provinces will be altered. Marlborough has still the highest number entirely uneducated, viz. 24.93. But Otago, instead of having the next highest percentage of entirely uneducated, has a less proportion than most of the other provinces. The proportions for all the provinces were as follow:-

Table XI., p. 196.

The table on pages 196,197, 198, is worthy of consideration, as exhibiting the extent to which the children are being educated in the several electoral districts. The town electoral districts show a generally high percentage; the districts, on the other hand, remote from the centres of population show a much less percentage. In these tables also, from their being political divisions, the degree of education of such of the population as are of an age to be registered as electors, that is 21 years and upwards, is given.

Table XII., p. 199.

In Table XII., page 199, the information is specially given for all the principal towns of the colony.

Table XIII, p. 200.

Attendance at School.-In 1874,34,407 children attended Government schools; 13,752 attended private schools; 7,947 attended Sunday schools only; 30,584 attended both week-day and Sunday schools; and 8,368 were receiving tuition at home. Thus 56,527 children were receiving secular tuition at school or at home, and religious, instruction was being imparted in Sunday schools to 38,531 children. The total number of children at what is generally defined as the school-going ages, 5-15, was 72,134, but the above numbers of those attending school also include children under 5 years and over 15 who were attending school.

Table XIV., p. 201.

The increase in the numbers attending Government schools since 1871 is very remarkable. In 1871 the numbers amounted to 14,953, in 1874 to 34,407; while the numbers attending private schools decreased from 16,757 in 1871, to 13,752 in 1874. The increase in the numbers attending public schools was greatest in Auckland, the number having been 1,349 in 1871, and 7,112 in 1874, although the increase in the numbers attending public schools, and the decrease in the numbers attending private schools, occurred in a greater or less degree in nearly every province. (Taranaki should be excepted from consideration, as there are no public schools there; but the Provincial Government pays a small capitation fee to private schools that fulfil certain conditions.) The percentages of increase or decrease in the public and private schools in the several provinces, Taranaki being excepted for the above reason, were as follow:-

Tables XVI. and XVII., pp. 202, 204.

Tables XVI. and XVII., pages 202 and 204, show the population attending schools and receiving tuition at home, also the total population 5-15 in each electoral district and town of 500 inhabitants and upwards.

The numbers returned on the schedules as attending public schools have been compared with the provincial returns of attendance at schools for December 1873, and a remarkable approximation in the numbers in each province (from which the full returns for 1873 were obtained) is observable. In Nelson, for instance, the total numbers obtained from the two distinct sources, viz. household schedules and school returns, are identical, having been 3,020 in each case.

While the population at 5-15 years increased 31.73 per cent. in all the provinces between 1871 and 1874, the numbers attending school during the same period increased 51.87 per cent.; and the proportion of children attending school to the total number of the children at the ages 5-15, increased from 57.93 per cent. to 66.78 per cent.

The centesimal increase of the number of children attending school in the several provinces does not bear any relation to the centesimal increase in the numbers of the children aged 5-15; the increase on the numbers attending school being generally greatest in those provinces where the proportion of children attending school was least in 1871, thus evidencing the greater attention given in those provinces to education during the period 1871-74. To take as examples-(1.) Auckland: The centesimal increase on children aged 5-15 was 19.17 per cent; the centesimal increase on children attending school was 51.62 per cent., and the proportion of children attending school increased from 53.36 per cent. to 67.90 per cent. (2.) In Otago the increase on children 5-15 was 42.36 per cent., the increase on the numbers attending school was 40.04 per cent., and the proportion attending school decreased from 67.42 per cent. to 66.33 per cent.; so that while the increase of attendance at school in Auckland has far more than kept pace with the increase of the children, in Otago the increase in the number attending school has not been equivalent to the increase of children. The last remarks apply to Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, and Westland, in all of which provinces the increase of children has been at a greater ratio than the increase of the numbers attending school; while in the other provinces the increase of those attending school has been greater than the increase in the children. Nelson shows the largest proportion of children attending school, the percentage being 71.23. Canterbury ranks next, with a percentage of 68.82, and Auckland follows, the percentage being 67.90.

The following table gives these various heads of information for each province:-

Table I and II., pp. 245, 247.

Sickness, Debility, and Accident.-As the instruction on the Census schedule only required that when persons “were unable to follow their usual occupations by reason of sickness or accident,” the words “sick” or “accident” were to be entered, no notice has been taken of die sickness of persons under 15 years of age; the numbers of such persons returned as being sick showing that the children of no occupation have not generally been entered, and thus to include those numbers would lead to erroneous deductions as to the health of the population.

The total number at 15 years and over, returned as suffering from sickness, accident, and infirmity, was 2,219, or 126.45 per 10,000 persons living at those ages; the proportion was greatest among the males, on account of accidents being included, having been 137.03 per 10,000 of males, and 109.35 per 10,000 of females; but the sick males amounted to 99.40, and the males suffering from accident to 30.80, per 10,000, while the sick females amounted to 97.41, and those suffering from accident to 5.82 per 10,000.

The proportion of sick and infirm increased regularly and rapidly at each quinquennial period in the case of the males, while the increase was far more irregular in the case of the females: at 35-40, 83.08 per 10,000 of males and 95.62 per 10,000 of females were returned as sick; at 40-45, the numbers were respectively 115.88 males and 105.12 females; at 45-50, 168.21 males and 170.18 females; at 50-55, 184.69 males and 215.35 females.

The cases of debility and infirmity commenced to be numerous at the ages 55-60, when they amounted to 14.15 per 10,000 males and 28.42 per 10,000 females: at 60-65, 45.25 Per 10,000 males and 29.78 per 10,000 females; at 65-70, 93.99 per 10,000 males and 58.14 per 10,000 females; and at 70-75,335.57 per 10,000 males and 286.30 per 10,000 females.

The proportion of females at the higher ages who were suffering from sickness or infirmity was on the whole considerably less than the proportion of males at the same ages who were sick or infirm.

Specified Infirmities.-The number of persons at all ages returned as suffering from specified infirmities amounted to 1,034. The following are the infirmities, with the number suffering under each affliction:-

Deaf and Dumb.-57 persons are tabulated under this head; 10 of them were returned as “dumb,” but as deafness from birth is a cause of dumbness, it is presumed that in using the word “dumb,” deaf and dumb persons were referred to. Of these, 28 were under 15, and 29 were of various ages, from 15 to 75. 12 of these persons were returned as having specific occupations. These were as follow:-1 female house domestic, 3 bootmakers, 2 farm labourers, 1 dressmaker, 1 miner, 1 labourer (unspecified), 1 farmer, 1 bushman, and 1 carpenter. There was one a widow, and the rest were boys and girls, or returned as relatives or persons with no occupation stated. All those returned only as “dumb,” were, with one exception (a man “out of business”), children without special occupations.

Blind.-70 persons, viz. 42 males and 28 females, were returned as suffering under, this affliction. Of these, 17 persons were under 20 years of age, 16 between 20 and 40, 16 between 40 and 50, 6 between 50 and 60, and 15 over 60.

15 of the females were returned as wives or widows; 18 persons as sons, daughters, relatives, or visitors. In respect of 13 persons, no entry was made in the occupation column. Various occupations were returned for the remaining 24, but whether past or present cannot be stated.

Lunatics.-The 597 persons returned as lunatics were all patients in various asylums. The occupations given for them are necessarily their past occupations previous to their admission to the asylums. 398 were males, 199 females; 10 of these unfortunates had not reached the age of 20, and 19 were between 20 and 25. There was a larger number of patients of each sex at the ages 35-40 than at any other quinquennial period, the males numbering 85, and the females 44.

Idiots.-52 persons were returned as idiots or imbeciles. The occupations given for these persons may be considered their past occupations.

Epileptic,-68 males and 47 females were given as subject to this disease.

Paralysis.-61 persons were returned as suffering from paralysis; 31 of these were under 50, and 30 over 50 years of age. The number at the ages 40-45 suffering from this complaint was larger than the number at any other age period, amounting to 13 of the whole number, of whom 10 were males.

Crippled and Deformed.-82 persons were returned as being thus afflicted: 6 were returned as wives or widows, 32 as sons, daughters, &c, and 2 as attending school; no occupation was given for 8; 4 were supported by the community (one being a pensioner), and 30 had specified and various occupations which they were following.

Tables I. and II., PP. 257, 258.

Extent of Holdings.-The extent of holdings in the colony in March 1874 was returned as 24,426,648 acres, against 22,774,498 acres in 1871, viz.,-Freehold, 7,036,066¾ acres, against 5,647,838 acres in 1871 (an increase of 1,388,228¾ acres); and leasehold, 17,390,581¼ acres in 1874, against 17,126,660 acres in 1871. The leasehold includes Crown land rented for pastoral purposes only, the extent of such land amounting to 14,192,553 acres in 1874, against 14,866,057 acres in 1871.

Table IV., p.261.

Size of Holdings.-The number of holdings of one acre and upwards (in the different provinces) amounted to 22,900; of these 14,793 were holdings of various sizes under 100 acres; 4,804 of which were from 1 to 5 acres. There were 6,791 holdings from 100 to 1,000 acres, 700 holdings from 1,000 to 5,000, 145 from 5,000 to 10,000, 163 from 10,000 to 20,000, 196 from 20,000 to 50,000, 76 from 50,000 to 100,000, and 36 of upwards of 100,000 acres.

Tables I. and II., pp. 257, 258.

Land Fenced.-The total number of acres fenced amounted to 8,487,096¾ in 1874, against 6,778,773 in 1871. The distinction between land fenced, “not including moveable fencing of wire or other material,” and “wire or other moveable fence,” was stated in the returns for 1874, and figures for each such class of fence are shown; but I do not think they can be depended upon, as there was evidently much confusion in the minds of the persons filling up the schedules as to which class certain fences were to be placed in.

Tables I. and II., pp. 257, 258.

Land broken up, but not under Crop.-The quantity of land broken up, but not under crop, was, in 1874, 173,110½ acres, against 116,204 acres in 1871.

Tables I., II., and III., pp. 257, 258, 260.

Land under Crop.-The total quantity of land under crop as shown by the Census of 1874 (including sown grasses) was 1,547,645¼ acres, against 1,042,042 acres in 1871. In this total were 110,741¾ acres of wheat, against 77,082 in 1871; 108,485¾ acres of oats, against 123,135 in 1871; 19,783½ acres of barley, against 23,071 in 1871; 12,823 acres of potatoes, against 12,901 in 1871; and 1,248,285 acres of sown grasses, against 776,402 in 1871. A distinction was made in 1874 between permanent sown grass land and grass land not intended to be permanent, but laid down in rotation of crops. The permanent grass land amounted to 1,107,456½ acres; the land in grass not permanently laid down amounted to 140,828½ acres.

In other crops there were 47,526¾ acres (including 24,445 in turnips or rape, and 12,808 in garden or orchard), against 29,452 acres in 1871.

Tables I. and II., pp. 257, 258.

Plantations of Forest Trees.-The extent of land returned as planted with forest trees amounted to 3,650¾ acres; of this amount 2,009 acres were situated in the Province of Canterbury. In Otago 436¾ acres had been planted with forest trees, and 420¾ acres were returned as being so planted in Nelson.

Tables V., VI., and VII., pp. 262, 263, 265.

Live Stock.-The aggregate number of live stock of all kinds (exclusive of stock belonging to Maoris, and excluding poultry) in 1874 was 12,438,778, against 10,382,540 in 1871. Taking the principal kinds of live stock separately, the numbers were-Horses, 99,859 in 1874, against 81,078 in 1871; cattle, 494,917 in 1874, against 436,592 in 1871; sheep, 11,704,853 in 1874, against 9,700,629 in 1871; and pigs, 123,921 in 1874, against 151,460 in 1871.

Between 1871 and 1874 the number of cattle increased 13.36 per cent., while the number of pigs decreased 27,539, or 18.18 per cent. The sheep, however, increased at the rate of 20.66 per cent.

Table V., p. 262.

Production of Butter and Cheese.-The annual production of butter was returned in 1874 as 4,861,309 lbs., and of cheese as 1,964,809 lbs., against 5,199,072 lbs. of butter, and 2,547,507 lbs. of cheese, in 1871. These figures must be taken as a very rough approximation to the truth, as the dairymen and farmers do not keep records of the amount of their year's produce, and numerous cases of palpable mistakes made in filling up the schedules have been observed.

Table V., p. 262.

Agricultural Machines.-The numbers of agricultural machines in the colony in 1874 were returned as follow:-Threshing machines 770, viz. steam 201, water 61, and horse 508, against 745, viz. steam 177, water 39, and horse 529, in 1871; reaping machines, 2,744, against 1,708 in 1871; steam ploughs, 18, against 26 in 1871. There were also 11 steam harrows in 1874. against 13 in 1871.

Table I., p. 269.

Grain Mills.-Returns were furnished, more or less correctly, in respect of 80 grain mills, of which 22 were worked by steam, 51 by water, 6 by water and steam, and 1 by steam and wind. They employed 214 hands, and made 36,884 tons of flour, and 3,793 tons of meal, during the year 1873. These mills were most numerous in Canterbury (29) and in Otago (23).

Table II., p. 269.

Breweries.-There were 82 breweries at work in 1873, employing 430 hands. 4,247,402 gallons of beer were made during the year. The provinces in which the greatest number of breweries existed were respectively Otago, in which were 18; Canterbury, in which were 17; Auckland, in which were 12; and Nelson, in which were 11.

Table III., p. 269.

Flax Mills.-There were no flax mills in the colony in 1873 (a decrease since in, 1871 of 51), the working of which employed 1,048 males and 39 females. Only 4,255 tons of flax were manufactured in 1873, and in consequence of the low prices realized for flax in England, a large number of these mills had ceased working towards the end of the year.

Tables IV. and IV., p. 270.

Manufactories, Machines, Works.-Information was given in respect of 657 manufactories or works of various kinds in operation in December 1873. Some of the most noticeable differences in the numbers given for 1870 and 1873 are the following:-

Table VI., p. 271.

Quartz Mines and Machinery.-There were 67 gold quartz crushing machines in operation in the month, of December 1873, viz. 43 in Auckland, 3 in Marlborough, 2 in Nelson, and 19 in Otago. They employed 836 hands, and produced during the year 100,594 oz. 5 dwts. of gold from 130,026¼ tons of quartz, or an average of 15.47 dwts. of gold per ton of quartz.

Table VII., p. 271.

Land and Building Societies.-29 societies of this class were in existence in December 1873, having 12,221 shareholders, whose monthly contributions on realized and unrealized shares averaged £14,380. There were only 11,290 realized shares to 33,285 unrealized.

Table VIII., p. 271.

Public Libraries, Mechanics' Institutes, and other Literary and Scientific Institutions.-There were 161 institutions of this class in 1873, having 9,411 members, and 98,039 volumes. 75 of these institutions (or nearly one-half) were in the Province of Otago.

Table XI., p. 272.

Places of Public Worship.-There were 548 churches and chapels in March 1874, 138 school-houses used for public worship, and 18 dwellings or public buildings used for the same purpose. These provided for the accommodation of 113,597 persons (the population at and over 10 years of age amounting to 204,323). The average numbers attending public service only amounted to 69,155.

Tables I. and II., pp. 275, 280.

The desirability of ascertaining the numbers of the Maori population at the time that the general Census was being taken, having been recognized by the Hon. the Native Minister, instructions for that purpose were issued to the officers of the Native districts. The enumeration was not made from house to house, as was done with that of the rest of the population, but was ascertained from careful inquiry by the various officers from intelligent and well-informed Natives. As the Maoris have always been accustomed to transmit their traditions, history, and pedigrees orally from one generation to another, the information thus given would be far more accurate of its kind, and more reliable, than if similar inquiries had been made from people who were accustomed to depend upon written or printed records. At the same time the returns given can only be looked upon as more or less approximate; in some cases being, possibly, perfectly correct in numbers; in other cases, when dealing with tribes who, like those occupying the Waikato territory, have continued in a state of isolation from the European, and partly so from the friendly Native population, the numbers given cannot be received as very reliable. The ages given must also not be considered perfectly correct, as the Maoris keep no records of births and dates. I am however assured by Mr. Clarke, the Under Secretary for Native Affairs, that the tendency of any error is in the direction of classifying the young females under 15 among those, over 15 years, on account of the early maturity of the Maori women. The total number of Maoris, and of half-castes living as Maoris, was thus in 1874 estimated at 45,470, of whom 43,538 were in the North Island, and 1,932 in the South and its adjacent islands. These numbers do not correspond with the numbers given in the return of the Maori Census laid before the Houses of Parliament last session, as the half-castes residing in the South Island, but who, from their habits and mode of life, were enumerated in the general Census of the rest of the population, were included in that return among the general total of the Maori population. The numbers now given do not include those half-castes.

Tables I. and II., pp. 275, 280.

p. 278.

In the tables given herewith I have not made any mention of the hapus of the tribes, but Mr. Clarke has, by giving me the names of the principal tribes to which each of the sub-tribes (called tribes in the Parliamentary paper) belong, enabled me to group the Maori population in the North Island into principal tribes, and show the total strength of each. The number of these principal tribes is 19. Of these, the Ngatikahungunu is the strongest, numbering 6,065 persons, of whom 3,262 were males, and 2,803 females. The Ngapuhi rank next in point of numbers, having a following of 5,867, viz. 3,235 males and 2,632 females. The Waikatos are third on the list, their numbers being estimated at 4,518, viz. 2,438 males and 2,080 females. The Ngatiporou numbered 4,024, viz. 2,234 males and 1,790 females; and the Arawas 3,294, viz. 1,733 males and 1,561 females. A reference to the printed table will show the strength of each of the remaining principal tribes. Of the Maoris in the colony, 24,363 were stated to be males, and 20,335 t0 be females. The sex of 772 was not given.

p. 280.

As much difference of opinion has existed as to whether the numerical decline of the Maori race has not been, at any rate in certain districts, arrested, it may be interesting to compare, so far as they are given, the ages of the Maoris with the ages of the settled and steadily increasing population of England. The numbers and sexes of some of the Maori tribes have been imperfectly given. It is therefore necessary to deal only with those tribes for which full information as to numbers, ages, and sexes is given. This was the case in respect of the numbers belonging to 13 of the principal tribes, amounting in the whole to 31,645. Of these, 6,079 were males under 15, and 5,225 females under 15. The males over 15 amounted to 11,209, and the females over 15 to 9,132. There was a total excess of males over females of 2,931, or to every 100 males there were 83.05 females. In England, in 1871, the males under 15 amounted to 37.15 per cent, of the whole male population; the Maori males, of the tribes given, under the age of 15, amounted to 35.16 per cent, of the whole male population of those tribes. The females of similar ages were respectively in England 35.13 per cent, of the whole female population, and among the Maoris 36.39 per cent. If the numbers of the males and females under 15 be respectively compared, the following result is shown:-

To draw any conclusions from these figures, it would be necessary to have more exact information as to the numbers of the Maoris living at the various higher age periods, but the information has only been given for the periods under and over 15.

The existence among the Maoris of a higher proportion of females under 15 (ultimately to become wives and mothers) to the total female population than obtains in England, the numbers under 15 to the total females being respectively 36.39 per cent, among the Maoris, and 35.13 per cent, in England, might at first sight lead to the belief that the decline in the numbers of the race had been arrested, and that even an increase might be expected.

Tables I. and II., p. 275, 280.

It will, however, be manifest that if there are causes in operation which increase the mortality of the adult Maoris without increasing the mortality of the children, the actual proportion of children to the whole population would be thereby much greater, and an appearance of productiveness shown which did not really exist.

Do such causes exist ? Does the fact of the partial adoption, by the adult Maori, of civilized habits and costume, and the continual reversion to the habits and costume of barbarism, with a system rendered more susceptible to external influences, especially and those of a humid and changeable climate, tend to promote the spread of diseases, notably of tubercular diseases, and consequent mortality? Does the spread of drinking habits tend to shorten the life of the adult Maori? These and other similar questions have an important bearing on the subject.

p. 280.

The examination of the numbers of some of the tribes points rather to the conclusion that some such causes of mortality among the adults do exist. The Ngatikahungunu show 41.91 per cent, of the males and 41.21 per cent, of the females 35 being under 15 years of age. The Rarawa show 40.58 per cent, of the males and 48.30 per cent, of the females as being under 15.

It is hardly conceivable that the women of these tribes should have been so exceedingly prolific, and that, as in the case of the Rarawa, nearly one-half of the female population should have been under 15, unless a large number of adult women had died before reaching middle age, thereby increasing the proportion of younger females by reducing the proportion of the adults.

It may be noticed in connection with this subject that in 1871 the Maoris were estimated at 37,502, and in 1867 at 38,540, while in 1874 they were estimated at 45,470. The estimates formerly made were, however, from the then state of feeling in the Maori population, necessarily much more imperfect and unreliable than those recently made.

Important tables, in which the divisions of the Colony shown are Electoral Districts, will be found throughout this Volume. The boundaries of these Electoral Districts have therefore been reprinted from the Representation Act in force, and form a second Appendix.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

Wm. R. E. BROWN,

Registrar-General.