STEWART'S ISLAND.

Southland Times, Issue 1537, 13 February 1872, Page 3

STEWART'S ISLAND.

«> Now when the Stewart's Island settlement is before the public mind, a few facts concerning the vital statistics of the place may not be wholly uninteresting. "We may explain that the subjoined has been gathered from late returns, and includes the adjacent islands as well as Stewart's Island. The population numbers 143, viz. , 79 males and 64 females. Seventy-two of these are half-castes, the sexes of whom are equally divided. Their social relations are : — Married — males, 21 ; females, 17. Unmarried — males, 53 ; females, 43. Widowers, 5, and widows, 4. Their house accommodation consists of 19 wooden, 2 brick, and 5 tenements erected of other material. These are subdivided into from one to six apartments. In addition to these there were 35 tenements uninhabited, and 6 in course of erection. The occupations followed by the residents xiqxq : — 1 baker, 2 boat-builders, 2 blacksmiths, 3 carpenters, 28 domestics, 3 domestic servants, 1 farmer, 2 farm servants, 10 fishermen, 1 gardener, 3 lighthouse keepers, 6 laborers, 13 mariners, 3 master mariners, 60 persons of no occupation, 1 storekeeper, 2 shipwrights, 1 surveyor, and 1 clergyman. Their nationalities are :— 15 Englishmen, 18 Scotchmen, 96 New Zealanders, 7 British Colonists, 6 Hanoverians, and 1 Portuguese. Under 15 years of age 56 could not read, 7 could read only, and 5 could read and write. Fifteen years and upwards : — l6 could not read, 16 could read only, and 43 could read and write. The number of children attending a day Bchool was limited to three. What is designated by the old feudal law, " Rights of Conquest," are put down as follows: — Ground held freehold. 587 acres ; held leasehold, one eighth of an acre. The number of acres fenced in was 75£. The acreage under crop was i\ in wheat, 1 in barley, 3 in rye or bere, 3 in hay, 12 in grass, 1 in peas, 49| in potatoes, and 2\ in garden produce, making a total of73i. The live stock was 4 horses, 1 brood mare, 125 cattle, including calves, 964 sheep, including lambs, 131 goats, 83 pigs, and 357 poultry. The annual production of butter was 600 lbs.