THE IMPERIAL CENSUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VI, Issue 327, 18 June 1874, Page 2

THE IMPERIAL CENSUS.

From an article under tbe above title, in which reeenb Parliamentary Blue-books, giviag tbe census returns of theEmpire in 1871, are re tie wed, we mak« the following extracts. After reviewing various Colonial appendages to th& Empire, the writer comes to the Australasian settlements :—: — West Australia has not yet been in tbe proper unie of tbe word, colonized, and has only 24,785 inhabitants to it* 978,000 square miles of domain. South Australia is a very different instance of colonisation ; with an area of 760,000* square miles, it has 185,626 white and 3369 aboriginal inhabitants. But this measure of success is far surpassed by Victoria, which, with an area of 88,000 square miles, has 731,528 inhabitants (including 17,935 Chinese and 1300 aboriginals). New South Wales ' has, on its 323,433 square miles, 503,981 inhabitants,' the population in 1821 having been no more than 29-.000. Queensland, which split off quite in our own day from New South Wales, has 120,104 inhabitants, four times as many as it had only ten years ago. Tasmania, on the other band, shows a very slow rake of progress, its present population of 99,328 being only 10 per cent, greater than that registered m 1861. Norfolk Island' contains a total population of 401 souls. New Zealand, tbe England of the southern hemisphere,' it ' one of theyoungest born of the Colonies and one of the most progressive.' The white population numbered, in 1871, 256,393, while the aboriginals (all except a couple of thousands,, established in the North Island) were estimated at 37.500. In 1851 the immigrant inhabitants were only 26,000 in> number. The article thus concludes : — We have thus completed' the circuit of the Empire. Tbe result of the surrey is briefly summed up in the report, and the figures, concise and few, are pregnant with interest. ' The Empire possesses7,769,449 square miles of territory. The UrUed Kingdom,. 121,608 square miles ; the Colonies, 6,685,021 ; India and Ceylon, 962,520. There are 38 persons to a square mile in the Empire ; 260 in the United Kingdom, 201 in India,, and 1-41 in the Colonies.' It should bo observed, however^ that m some parts of India the density of population morel than equals that of England. The Queen rules over 234,762,593 souls ; her people dwell in 44,142,651 houses ; the area of the lands they inhabit is not less than 7,769,449* square miles. Never has the census of an Empire so splendid m existence and so imposing in prospect been recorded.

The Sawke's Bay Times has a column and a half printed in the Maori language. 'It adopts this conrse,' it explains, 1 in accordance with the strongly-expressed deiireof a number of the principal resident natives, who have intimated their willingness to give their support by subscribing to the journal in the ordinary pakeha fashion, and finding numerous subscribers among their people. We hare acceded to their request, and if they are as good as their word, the experiment will succeed, if not, after sufficient trial, it will simply be discontinued. We believ* thati judiciously conducted, this will be found of great value *t a time like the present, when evil influences are at work among the natives, inciting them, as in the late instance at Manawatu, to acts of violence. The Maori column will be open to those interested in the welfare of the natives, pro Tided their communications are of general interest, are sufficiently brief— a great requisite — and are accompanied by a correct English verson.' The mineral resources of Marlboroagh are attracting some attention. The antimony reefs at Endeavor Inlet, Queen Charlotte's Sound, ore soon to be worked, and the company are lnying ninety chains of a tramway to the reefs. A splendid bed of limestone has been found in Shakespeare Bay >. near Pielon. A reef exists near Havelock, and the people there are raising a fund to try whether there is gold in it. The first three volumes of the first newspaper published in Melbourne — The Port Phillip Gazette — have beenjshipped on bonrd the Bangalore, cousigned to the British Museum,, for which institution they hay« been purchased at a cost orf £50 from Mr Strode, who was the original proprietor and publisher of tho papor. The dates of the paper* contained in tlieao volumes are from 27th October, 1838, to December 18 11.