THE CENSUS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2257, 31 March 1921, Page 3

THE CENSUS

SCHEDULES AND THEIR USE. NEED FOR CAREFUL FILLING. The Census will be taken on Sunday, 17th April, and on that night householders are required to supply details of all-the persons in the house at the time, and no others. Three forms are issued for the Census, but with few exceptions no person will be concerned with more than one. The commonest will be the “householder's schedule,” in which will be entered the particulars of all the persons in the house on the night of the Census. Another is the “householder’s covering schedule,” which is issued only for hotels, boardinghouses, clubs, ships, trains, and such places where people may be other than in houses. The third is a “personal schedule,” issued for each person in such a place. The only persons who have

to fill more than one schedule are those who return the “covering schedule.” They have to fill their own personal schedules as well. Completing a Census return is not a task that can be done in two minutes. There are twenty-two columns, most of which require an entry for each person; and in some of them the answer is to be made by symbols. Whoever undertakes the work for the household should spend a little time beforehand in reading the rather lengthy instructions, so that errors may be avoided. If this is not done it is very easy to make mistakes, which will have to be corrected by the heavilyburdened sub-enumerator when he collects the return. Particular care i- required in regard to the inquiries as to occupation. It is here that mistakes are most often made; but I lie instructions are quite clear, and errors can be avoided if attention is given to them. Accuracy is more important than may at first appear.. The details supplied are used for the compilation of a great

number of tables, and a single error »■—may ultima] ely bring about a multitude of inaccuracies in the final results.