The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1871.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 767, 24 January 1871, Page 2

The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1871.

Under the altered financial arrangements, existing between the colony and the provinces, it is a matter of vital interest to the latter that the enumeration of their respective populations should be carefully and efficiently compiled. Under the old arrangement the provinces received a fixed share of the consolidated revenue, the whole of the land revenue, the export duty on gold and the gold fields' revenue. By the Payments to Provinces Act, passed during the last session of the Assembly, the partnership subsisting between the General Government and the various provinces has been done away with, so far as regards the previous division of the consolidated revenue, substituting in its place a capitation allowauce, based upon the population of the various divisions of the colony. This allowance, during the past year, was fixed at forty shillings per head of population ; and is to be reduced at the rate of two shillings per annum until reaching thirty shillings, the minimum at which the payments are to continue. It may be incidentally mentioned that Westland County, on accouut of its large adult population, as compared with the older established provinces, is to receive an additional allowance—a mark of consideration that might, very reasonably, have been extended to this portion of.the Nelson Province, seeing that the disadvantage under which Westland is placed by the new order of things, exists, perhaps, in a still greater degree on the Nelson goldfields. Setting aside, however, the justice of our claim to participate equally with Westland in auy special exemption, and dealing with the question on its present basis, there can be but one opinion as to the urgent necessity of arriving, as nearly as possible, at a correct enumeration of the population; and, in effecting this, neither trouble nor reasonable expense should be spared. We are further led to dwell upon the subject since it is a matter of notoriety that in the census of 1867 the population of these goldfields was greatly under - estimated, and also on account of the present population being distributed over a very wide area of country. In this latter respect the taking of the census presents even greater difficulties than attended the enumeration of 1867. If the population was scattered at that time it is more markedly so now. To the north of the Buller we have a population distributed over a very long line of beach and terrace workings extending to theKaramea, while to the south, as far as the Kazor Back. On the Upper Buller and. its tributaries we have also a Jarge area of country, for the most part inaccessible and presenting very considerable difficulty to any one entrusted with the enumeration of the population. It is in respect to these outlying diggings that, we very : much fear, groat loss may accrue to the province, unless the utmost care and I j

diligence are used; unless the subenumerators are sufficiently paid for their services, and they are sufficiently numerous to do justice to the large and widely scattered districts over which their labors will extend. When it is considered that the payments to the province during the next four years will very nearly reach £7 10s per head of population, it will be at once seen how very necessary it is that the work should be thoroughly and efficiently performed.