Telegram-herald., 1890-07-04
ORIGIN OF THE CENSUS.
MOSES TOOK TIE FiRST oNs iA
The HlLOS or THg DESERT.

Hs- tAs ctEizens Of Greece We're cosns~
81 Usdsr sAs Dlrsetlos of ssl0a-E1aSt
sRd Cozplsts Information first o.
tanned ,, Augustus Cssar.
The Hnoet azcient statistical record of
the KIND Is thar of Moses ia the wilder
Hess. That enumeration must have bern
exceedingly simple. as shown - the nEs.
chapter CT the fourth book Of he Penta
teuch. Take We" says this account.
''the sum Of al the congregations Of the
children OF Israel after their families,
by the house Of their fathers, with tho
number Of their names. every male 5y
their polls from % years old and az
ward, all that are able % 20 forth 20 wEr
Ia Israel thou and Aaron shall number
them by their armies.
The names Of the chief enumerators
are also given, those who assisted Noses
and Aaron being 1.-THE renowned Of the
congregation, princes Of the tribes Of
thesr fathers, heads OF Thousands in
Israel Then the enumerstors "ss-
senbled all the congregation Oh the first
day Of the second month and they de-
clared their pedigrees after their faIni-
lies by the house of their fathers, Gc-
coriing 70 the number Of nainos, from
twenty years and upward, by the polls.
This enumeration.must have been AZ af-
fair soon over, requiring probably no
more than a days time, being merely
counting of the heads Of the fighting mon
There was no counting OF wenen or
children or old men or crippleS, and ''the
Levites were not numbered among
them" Those who did stand up TO be
counted numbered e03. $50,
THE CENSUS IN CHINA
There is record Of census in China
as far back as the year 2042 b. c., and
of one in Japan the last century before
Christ. Under the constitution Of Solon
the citizens of Athens were divided and
registered into four classes according to
the amount Of their taxable property or
income. The Roman census was bur
dened with more statistics than any of
these simple enumerations. 1t orgi-
mated under Servius Tullius. Sixth king
OF Rome, and was an affair of much
man or woman was found sufficiently
lost TO fear of consequences to make
faces at census officers or withhold de-
sired information.
Every citizen had to appear upon the
Campus Martius and declare upon oath
his name and dwelling and the value of
his property under the penalty Of hav-
inc Is oil s r..
scourged and sold for a slave. There
was no trouble about having such CEN
sus full and complete. 1t had the bone
fit, 20, of making the people to be count
ed anxious TO find the census man, while
he was not put TO the labor of going
from house 10 house to find the people.
Augustus Caesar, who had a great head
for detail, when he had the population
numbered greatly enlarged the scope of
the census and improved the method Of
taking it.
The census Of modern Europe is com
paratively recent. No exact popular
enumerations were made In the Seven
teenth century, but in the Eighteenth
great progress was made in the develop
the taking OF the census in a crude way
began in 100, and in 17le, under Peter
the Great, though improvement had
been made, females were omitted from
the enumeration.
IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
Census taking in Prussia dates from
the time of Frederick William IL The
90 <oI
and complete. 1t is taken by civil off
GERS in one day by means of printed
schedules. The first census in Austria.
was taken in 1854, and for 100 years was
taken each three years for military pur-
poses only. In Sweden the science Of
statistics has been particularly cultivat-
ed, and Belgium ranks among the first
nations of the world in completeness of
it's national statistics In Italy the re-
turns Of this character are very COM
plete, the range of inquiries having been
greatly extended. The movement of the
population is determined from civil reg
listers kept by the municipal authorities.
In Turkey enumeration is imperfect, the
chief object Of taking il being TO provide
DsEiS lOE tdAablou anu COISCTlpJlOn.
In France the first census Of which rec
ords are extant was taken In 1900.
OF course, rs in everything pertaining
TO statistics, work OF that kind is thor
ough in France. The first census Of
Great Britain was taken in 1901, and
embraced the sex, but not the age, Of all
subjects. The families and occupations
were classified, so as to exhibit the num-
Der employed in agriculture. in trade
and manufactures or handicrafts and
those not comprised in the classes Blanks
or householders' schedules are now left
all over the kingdom by an army o. emu
merstors. aud these are required TO be
filed mp on the night Of April 2, and are
collected by the cnumerators the follow
ing day. The police assist in enmnera-
ting the houseless population. The army
and navy ara returned by the naval
and military Observation-Disclosures
Journal