THE CENSUS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 41, 10 April 1862, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE CENSUS.

Just at the moment of our going to press, the general results of the late Census have been pub-

lished. We propose to give a few of the figures in as brief a form as may be for the information of our readers. Since the close of the first decade of the present century, each recurring census has exhibited a constantly increosing growth of population as compared with the one preceding ; but, at the same time, the rates of increase on each period have been constantly diminishing. This is a general law observable in all communities after they have attained a certain degree of development; and probably there does now not exist any country of the Old World in which such a vigorous growth of population is to be found as in the United Kingdom. In the year 1811 the population of Euglancftgid Wales stood at 10,454,529 ; this year is amounted to 20,223,746; that is to say, in the course of the half century it has almost doubled. But the internal movement of the population is not less interesting than its general growth. A steady change in the distribution of the people is discernible. The figures confirm, with a high degree of certainty, what has been already inferred from the know progress of manufacturing and commercial industry as compared with the state of the agricultural populations. The towns and cities which depend on manufactures and trade for their existence show vigorous growth, while agricultural towns are for the most part stunted and decaying. Every county in England and Wales save seven, exhibits an increase on the period; these are Cambridge, Norfolk, Rutland, Suffolk, Wilts, Anglesey, and Montgomery. Huntingdon Oxford, Somerset, Brecon, Merioneth, and Radnor have been little better than stationary. On the other hand, the counties which exhibit the greatest absolute increase are Lancaster, Staffordshire, Middlesex, the West Riding of Yorkshire, Surrey, Durham, Kent, and Glamorgan. A very slight acquaintance with the distribution of the two great departments of industrial occupation enables us from this to see at a glance that the agricidtural population is diminishing, and the manufacturing increasing. This takes place chiefly by the removal of the rural populations into the great towns. The ratio of natural increase has varied upon the period in various districts; but in all of them, -without exception—England and Wales 'are divided into G 23 such districts—there has been an excess of registered births over registered deaths within the ten years. Thus, in Cambridgeshire, the county in which the largest absolute decrease (9,455) of population is noted, there were 25,582 persons born in excess of those who died; so that from that one county, an emigration amounting 35,000 must have taken place. On the other hand Lancashire stands at the head of the countries which have increased in population. The excess of births over deaths in that county during the period was 254,189; but the total absolute increase of the population amounted 397,508, so that Lancashire not only kept his own natural increase, but attracted from other places an immigration of 143,319 persons. Taking the metropolis in the same way: The population within the metropolitan district is now 2,803,034 ; ten years ago it amounted to 2,362,236; the increase is, therefore equal to 410,789. Now, whence comes this increase? Contrary to general belief, by far the larger portion of it is due to natural increase —the proportion of it represented by immigration being only 164,591, as against 273,177, arising from excess of births over deaths. Some few districts of the metropolis have absolutely lost in population, but in all of them the births exceed the deaths. Among these the most notable is London City itself, in which the resident populatipn has fallen from 55,942 to 45,450, or nearly 20 per cent.; yet there occurred nearly three thousand births more than deaths in the City during the period. East London and West London, St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Holborn, the Strand, St. James Westminister, Whitechapel, and St. Giles, also exhibit an absolute loss of population. Kensington, Islisgton, St. Pancras, and Poplar arc the districts which have gained most. The reason of this is obvious, and has long been noticed. The central districts of the metropolis, of which the City is the heart, have steadily been becoming more and more places of business, less and less places of residence, dwelling-houses giving way to warehouses and shops : this itself arising from the vast increase of business and trade. The population is therefore more and more domiciling itself in the suburbs, of which the Western and Northern seem to be preferred. Of the provincial cities and towns Liverpool now stands at the head. Its population is now 443,864. Ten* years ago it numbered'37s,9ss. Next to it stands Manchester, with 357,601; then Leeds, 207,153 : then Sheffield, 185.157 ; Bristol 154,073 ; and a long list of others, centres of manufacturing or commercial activity. In all these the increment during the period has been of course far above the general increase of twelve per. cent. The metropolitan boroughs have all largely increased, the Tower Hamlets topping every Parliamentary borough in the kingdom—its population being 647,585 —as many people as are contained in some not inconsiderable principalities. On the other hand, the small Parliamentary boroughs, which are in the hands of one or two territorial proprietors, go steadily decaying. Arundel, Ashburton, Beccles, Bewdley, Bideford, Boston, Buckingham, Caine, Chichester, Clitheroe, Dartmouth, Droitwich, Gloucester, Grantham, Great Marlow, Honiton, Huntingdon, and so on to the end of the alphabetical list, all show a falling off in population. Could we discus politics in these pages, we think it might be said that the census tables possess a remarkable degree of political suggestiveness. Numbers wealth, and intellectual activity must more and more govern the country, and the tables show what changes are to be made in the distribution of representation in order to correspond with the distribution of those three great elements of power. As soon as the quinquennial returns are published we shall see in what way Friendly Societies have kept pace with the general increase in the population.