Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/202

194 CENSUS tria was taken in 1754, and was followed by a general enumeration of the population at triennial periods. Until 1857 this information was obtained for military purposes ; but in that year a new census law was made which provided that a census should be taken every six years by the civil authorities, and should embrace an enumeration of the population and the useful domestic animals. Printed schedules, with detailed instructions, are distributed by municipal and administrative officers, to be filled up by the heads of families, owners of tenement houses, and those in charge of con- vents, schools, and public institutions. Any person refusing to furnish the required infor- mation is liable to punishment by fine and im- prisonment. The inquiries relate to the com- position of families, including servants, age, sex, names, and titles, civil state, social condi- tion, religion, occupation, marriages, births, and deaths, and the number of cities, towns, hamlets, villages, dwellings, and renters. The number of Austrian subjects living in foreign parts is obtained through the imperial lega- tions. The census returns are tabulated and published by the " central statistical commis- sion," under whose direction many other sta- tistical inquiries are carried on. In Sweden the science of statistics has been more particu- larly cultivated than in any other country. As early as 1686 a law was promulgated requiring the clergy to keep registers of marriages, legiti- mate and illegitimate births, deaths, persons removed from or settled in the parishes, and of the inhabitants arranged by habitations and households. This information was tabulated, and published for the first time in 1746 by the Stockholm academy of sciences, for the pur- pose of showing the total population of the realm. After 1749 annual consolidated re- turns were made by the clergy. In addition, general censuses were taken at irregular inter- vals from 1749 to 1775, and subsequently at quinquennial periods. These censuses exhibited the number, sex, age, and occupation of the inhabitants; the number and sex of married and single persons, widows, and widowers; the number of blind, deaf and dumb, and in- sane ; of pupils attending schools ; of persons not belonging to the established church ; and the number of inmates of hospitals,- asylums, and prisons. To these was added in 1804 the number of vaccinated persons; in 1821, the number of first, second, and third marriages, the age of the married, the number of legiti- mate children deceased when less than a year old, and the number of immigrants and emi- grants; in 1831, the number of marriages, births, and deaths among all classes, the num- ber of legitimate and illegitimate children, still- born, and deceased in their second and third year, by months; the. number and age of per- sons deceased in hospitals, asylums, and pris- ons ; and the movement of the population not belonging to the established church. The cen- sus is taken every five years, by means of printed schedules, through the joint agency of the civil authorities and the clergy. The most recent was taken Dec. 31, 1871. A separate census is taken of the Laplanders and Finns. The governors of provinces are required to pre- pare every five years statistical summaries upon a variety of subjects not included in the census. A central statistical bureau was organized in 1857, charged with the superintendence and publication of population and other statistics. There has been a decennial census in Norway since 1815, the last having been taken Dec. 31, 1865. Inquiries are made as to age, sex, civil state, number of families and inhabitants, use- ful domestic animals, and the territorial area of each district. Annual exhibits are made up of births, marriages, and deaths ; of commerce and navigation ; of the administration of jus- tice ; and of the population suffering from phys- ical or mental disabilities. General censuses were taken in Spain in 1787 and 1798. The next one was taken in 1857, and was followed by another in May, 1860, which is the last gen- eral census. The population was, however, determined by calculation in 1867. The in- quiries relate to name, sex, age, birthplace, civil condition, occupation, physical disabili- ties, degree of education, school attendance, habitation, and the distribution of population in cities, towns, villages, and hamlets. The census is taken in one night, by government officials charged with the collection and con- solidation of the returns. In Denmark a gen- eral population census was taken every five years between 1840 and 1860. It is now decennial, the last having been taken Feb. 1, 1870. The movement of the population is ascer- tained by means of civil registers. The first di- rect and simultaneous enumeration of the people throughout the kingdom of Portugal was made Jan. 1, 1864, in pursuance of a law passed the preceding year, providing for a decennial census. The enumeration, made by means of household schedules, was completed in one day, and com- prised inquiries as to sex, age, civil condition, occupation, nationality, habitual or accidental sojourners, and the present and absent. In Switzerland census taking was instituted about the middle of the 18th century. In 1860 a law was enacted prescribing a decennial cen- sus for the whole federation, and in the same year the first census under the law was taken. The inquiries include sex, age, civil condition, origin, birthplace, domicile, religion, language, physical disabilities, immigration, the distribu- tion of real property, and the number of 'fami- lies and of habitations and other buildings. Belgium ranks among the first nations of the world in completeness of its national statistics. In 1841 a central commission was established by royal decree. A general census was taken in 1846. In 1856 a new law was passed pro- viding that a general census should be taken every ten years, which should exhibit the n<-- tual as well as the legal population. The pre- scribed inquiries include surnames and Chris-