The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, May 6, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 988, 6 May 1911, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, May 6, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Thk interim census returns supplied by the Government Statistician afford some interesting comparisons. In order that the figures may be considered fairly, it must be pointed out that the department takes no account of alterations that have been made in the boundaries of local governing areas, but merely recognises the actual boundaries existing at the time of the census. The greatest increase outside the four centres is shown in the case of Wanganui, where the figures have risen from 8175 to 10,930 —a gain of 2755. Hastings is augmented by rfi/fi, the present population being 6270. Palmerston North numbers 10.985 inhabdtants (increase 746 b Napier io,oi.S (564), and Foxton 1637 (307)- Of the counties returned so far, Castlepoint has the smallest population Waimarimo has evidently made the greatest progress in settlement, the: population increasing from 2787 to 4149. Big decreases are evident in certain counties, notably in the Taranaki district, but, in the absence of data as to possible amendments of area, the figures do not necessarily imply that the apparent falling away is due to either aggregation of properties or emigration of individuals ; indeed, the townships of Taranaki exhibit large increases in the number of their inhabitants.