New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-12-09

A Bnt.h-J1,it bat Amlrican-feslstercd vessel
having no advantage over one that carries tie
f-. a. her mother country, why not register
lcr es British, man l.r in British pci,s and illus
make twice thc swing urged 10y The HOr!dT
.-~---r---.-- -- -
ORR NIV cry CENSUS.
Tho prssiI.u, having ordered a new Census
Of tLis c,v. provoked thereto hy the clamor "
Democratic Journals about what they atEna-
tilod AS fraud in the first enumeration, these
same Journals gre now indirectly taking back
n..l. du.,s Cr ru.ai;Ucss ~ making excuses
t.t Cc numbering was impcricctly done be-
cause tie Dmr-..al5 were poorly paid; 'nd
nv fIiAcg coy That no faith shall be pat IN
tie now count II it be done under the same
auspices. The zeal .Lth is, they do not want
another count The one just made though
imperfect, as Is always The case in large cites
IS about as near ,Lo mark rs We shall come
if thc ground is gone over fifty Zines. The
car,l.inanl, know this, and they do not want
tie fact exposed dat all their cutlery was Tor
r.r.i-au effect. Those who pretend to believe
thai there are more then p million permanent
residents or this island are simply mad. That
New-Yui-, ia its business hours, Icpc-
s.u.s considerably more than mil
lion, is tine enough; but these inclndc
thousands who vo.l here and sleep in Book
lyn, aud as many mono in WcotchcstcT and
Nov-JI-cy, W no, VIII. their iam.ics, cannot be
counted as NcW-IOThoIs. Doubtless, the re-
counting VIII show few residents more than
We hal il June, and any succeeding enumcr-
alton would do the same; for in large city
Ike Nov-Yoik, With population so hetcTo-
goncous, Babel Of lang lagos, and an OycrpiHs
Of ignorance, especially among the foreign
born population, it is almost a wonder that we
! get anything like Census at all.
/ Since, however the Census is to be rctaken,
We expect Mayor Hall to make manifest the
I grounds for his outrageous assault upon the
nIst eii0r,. When he has shown that Marshal
Sharpe Intentionally kept down the real pOpu-
| lation in his report, or in any way knowingly
connivcd at any fraud, the Mayor will do well
10 turn TO that celebrated Xth District of the
Sixth Ward, and show IFS by what method Of
enumeration lc gets more Democratic votes
into the ballot box than there are inhabitants
men, women, and cliildrcn--in the district. Let
him try this little sum in proportion If $40
persons east 03 votes Gas they are recorded
as doing in May only a month before the
Census was tal,en), how many votes ought
$4,000 TO cast for the whole city We
think the answer would satisfy the repeating
taste of Michael Norton himself. An OpporJu-
nifty viii also be offered for the correction OF
all tie alleged errors and omissions of June !;
only one schedule will be used, and that
requires simply the name, age, birthplace,
married or single, and birthplace of parents.
If any have been omitted or wrongly set
down, let them see to it that the fault is cor
rcc,cd. The Democratic papers object to
having the record dated on the 1st of June
hut that is the law, and no other date would
be legal in the new appOrtionment of Con-
grcss districts.
AS to ccnsu5-taking generally, it is clear
that our system is cumbersome, and in many
respects very inefficient. The British plan is
much better, though it would not work so
well here as there where population is COM
pact Our appointment of marshals is bad in
many instances because too often done in the
interest of party instead of the Census. Now
We have constantly on hand, in every city
and township in the country, the right men in
the right place for numbering the people we
mean police, assessors, health and school Off
GERS. in the country, for instance, there are
commissioners and trustees of schools who
know every resident of their districts, from the
centenarian to the infant at the breast, and
who can make census of the dis
trict in one day that would be as nearly rs
possible perfect. With the Assessors and Con-
stables-say town officers altOgether-the Cen
sus might be done with far greater accuracy
than was ever yet attained and at much less ex-
pense. The School Officers now take a census
every year of children of the age emitting the
town to its share in the School Fund In cities.
we could have the same officers joined with
the Police, taking in also the Health Officers
Here we might put fifteen hundred or two
thousand men at the work and men, too, who
knew what they were looking for and Just where
to find 1t. The State Census should be kent ND
through these agencies, every year. taking
the count on or about the 1st of November
so that the result miglA Re known in time for
Incorporation with the Governors Message.
Our people pay too little attention to statis-
tics; by-and-by, they will learn that the most
important facts for Lawmakers and law admin
istrators to know, are the extent, orilin. char
acter and condition of constituencies A com
mssary who would undertake to provide for
an army without knowing even the number of
men, would be set down M n lunatic. Ii is
scarcely less foolish TO carry on n great Gov
eminent Ill Ignorance of the number and char
acter of its citizens.