Census (1841) Act 1840 No 31a (NSW)

No. XXVI.

An Act for ascertaining the Number of the
Inhabitants of the Colony of New South

Wales in the Year One thousand eight hundred

and forty-one. [23rd October, 1840.]

New South Wales as well those who arc free as those who are serving	WH E R E A S it is expedient that provision should be made for ascertaining the number of inhabitants within the Colony of
under sentence of transportation Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency the Governor of New South Wales with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof That on or before the first day of February in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one the Police Magistrates for the several and respective Police Districts the boundaries whereof arc set forth in a certain Government Notice published by order of His Excellency the Governor in the New South Wales Government Gazette and bearing date the twelfth day of August one thousand eight hundred and forty and in any such Police District where there is no Police Magistrate the Justices of the Peace assembled in Petty Sessions at the chief place within the same and the several and respective Commissioners of Crown Lands in places beyond the boundaries allotted for location in their respective districts shall and they arc hereby required and directed to cause general notices to be affixed on the several churches chapels market houses and court houses and on such other conspicuous places as they shall deem proper within the said Colony requiring every householder employer of servants and proprietor or occupier of land therein to be prepared upon the second day of March next ensuing or on the days immediately subsequent thereto to give all such information as is required by the Schedule hereunto annexed marked A to such persons as shall be appointed in manner hereinafter mentioned to collect the same.
2. And be it enacted That the said Police Magistrates Justices in Pet ty Sessions and Commissioners shall on or before the fifteenth day of February next appoint one or more fit and proper person or persons for each district to collect the information hereby required and the said person shall on the said second day of March next and on the days immediately subsequent thereto if one day shall not be sufficient proceed to take an account in writing of the number of persons at that time being within the limits of their respective districts and inform themselves of the several particulars specified in

in the said Schedule distinguishing the county or reputed county as well as the parish in the County of Cumberland and town or reputed town in which each such person shall be or reside and the district if beyond the boundaries prescribed for location to settlers and the better to enable such persons to take such accounts they are hereby authorized and empowered to ask such questions of the persons residing or being within their respective districts concerning them­ selves and the number quality class age and trade or calling of the persons constituting their respective families and all such other particulars as shall be necessary to All up the said Schedule and every such person refusing or neglecting to answer or wilfully giving a false answer to any such question shall for every such refusal or neglect or false answer forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five pounds nor less than forty shillings at the discretion of the Justice or Justices before whom complaint thereof shall be made.

3. And be it enacted That the persons so to be appointed as aforesaid shall within fourteen days after the said second day of March next deposit with the respective Police Magistrates Justices in Petty Sessions and Commissioners as aforesaid the several original accounts so taken in writing and subscribed by them and shall make affidavit to the same in the form contained in the Schedule hereunto annexed marked B before the said Police Magistrates Justices or Commissioners who are hereby authorized to take such affidavit and shall answer all such questions as shall be put to them concerning such accounts by the said Police Magistrates Justices or Commis­ sioners and if any such person shall fail or neglect to take such accounts or shall knowingly make any false statement therein or shall omit to deposit the same in manner hereby required or shall refuse to answer or wilfully give a false answer to any such question he shall on conviction forfeit and pay for every such offence a sum not exceeding five pounds nor less than forty shillings.
4. And be it enacted That the said Police Magistrates Justices in Petty Sessions and Commissioners shall as soon after the receipt of such original accounts as may be appoint a convenient day for examining the same at which the persons so appointed as aforesaid shall attend to answer all such questions as shall be put to them touching such accounts and the correctness thereof and such Police Magistrates Justices and Commissioners respectively shall make a note of any apparent error therein and shall cause an abstract of such accounts to be made according to the form contained in the Schedule

terms therein set forth and if the district for which such Police	hereunto annexed marked C and shall subscribe a certificate in the
Magistrates or Justices shall act shall comprise more than one county or parish in the County of Cumberland or any town or reputed town such Police Magistrates or Justices shall transmit a separate abstract in the form before mentioned of the persons residing or being in each such county reputed county or parish in the County of Cumberland or town or reputed town and shall subscribe the same in manner afore­ said and such Police Magistrates Justices and Commissioners respec­ tively shall on or before the first day of June next transmit to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales the said abstracts together with the said original accounts and the notes of apparent error if any as aforesaid and if any Police Magistrate Justice or Commissioner shall fail or neglect to perform the duties required in the premises or any of them he shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty pounds to be sued for and recovered in the Supreme Court.
5. And whereas in the District of Port Phillip the boundaries of the Counties or reputed Counties of Bourke Grant and Normanby have not yet been definitively arranged and proclaimed Be it enacted

That

That it shall he lawful for His Honor the Superintendent of the District of Port Phillip for the purposes of this Act to define the boundaries of the same and the Police Magistrates of Melbourne Geelong and Portland shall perform the several duties and have the like powers and immunities under this Act within the said counties or reputed counties respectively as are hereby imposed on and granted to the Police Magistrates of the police districts the boundaries whereof have been notified as aforesaid and the Commissioners of Crown Lands in the said District of Port Phillip shall in parts thereof other than the said counties or reputed counties perform the duties and have the like powers and immunities in their respective districts as are respectively imposed upon and granted to the Commissioners in districts beyond the boundaries of location as aforesaid.

6. And be it enacted That it shall be lawful for the said Police Magistrates Justices in Petty Sessions or Commissioners as aforesaid to cause an allowance for the number of days which any such person shall be actually employed in taking such account as aforesaid at a rate not exceeding ten shillings a day if employed on foot and fifteen shillings a day if employed on horseback to be paid to the persons so to be appointed as aforesaid.

7. And be it enacted That all the fines imposed under and by virtue of this Act shall be recovered in a summary manner before any one or more Justice or Justices of the Peace unless here­ inbefore otherwise provided and if not immediately paid shall be levied by distress and sale of the offender's goods and chattels by virtue of a warrant under the hand or hands and seal or seals of such Justice or Justices rendering to the said offender the overplus (if any) after the charge of such distress and sale shall be deducted and in case sufficient distress shall not be found then it shall be lawful for such Justice or Justices to commit such offender to the common gaol there to remain without bail or mainprize for a term not exceeding three months unless the said fine and charges shall be sooner paid and all fines imposed by this Act when recovered shall be paid one half to the informer or person who shall sue for the same and the other to the Treasurer of the said Colony to be applied towards defraying the expense of carrying this Act into execution.

8. And be it enacted That nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed or construed to extend to that part of the Territory of New South Wales situated within the Islands of New Zealand.

Reviewed under the 22nd section of the Act of Parliament 9 Geo. IV. cap. 83 Amended by the addition of an explanatory clause by way of Rider and finally passed the Council this sixteenth day of December one thousand eight hundred and forty.

EXPLANATORY CLAUSE OR R I D E R R E F E R R E D TO.

Provided always and be it declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid That nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed to authorize any person appointed to collect information under the provisions of the same to ask any other person directly any question relating to his or her civil condition or to render any person to whom such a question may have been proposed liable to any penalty under this Act for refusing to answer the same.

SCHEDULES

SCHEDULES REFERRED TO.

A.

N E W S O U T H W A L E S .

( C E N S U S of the Year 1841.)

County Parish Town or District.	Return No.
Name of Householder Employer of Servants or Person in Charge.
Place of Residence and Street if in a Town.
Questions to be proposed to every House­	Replies to be inserted by the Househol­
holder Employer of Servants and Proprietor	der if able to write otherwise by one of
or Occupier of Land in the Colony by Persons	the Collectors appointed by the Justices
appointed by the Just ices of the several Towns	under a penalty in case of failure or neg­
and Districts respectively to collect the Infor­	lect or of giving a false answer of not less
mation required by the Act.	than Forty shillings nor more than Five pounds.

1.   What is the Name of the Person at the head or in charge of this House or Estab- ment and who is the Proprietor thereof?

2. Is the Dwelling-house buil t of Stone of

Brick ? or of Wood ?

3. Is i t completed or unfinished?

4. Is it inhabited or uninhabited?

5.   How many Persons are residing in this House or Establishment including your­

self?

6. How many of those persons are Free ?

7.   Be pleased to give me a Return of those Persons in the Form annexed distinguish­ ing Males and Females and shewing the number of each Age Religion and Calling as therein specified.

N U M E R I C A L

N U M E R I C A L R E T U R N shewing the Age Sex Religion Occupation Condition and Trade or

Calling of persons in the said House or Establ ishment.

SEX.

MALE. FEMALE.

TOTAL.
TOTAL.

Married. "Single. Married. Single.

Under 2 years

f

.

o

2 and under 7

ge

rs 7 and under 14

be	A	14 and under 21
ch
um	ea	21 and under 45 . .
N	45 and under 60 .60 and upwards

TOTALS

e.

.	re
on	Born in the Colony

il ti F Arrived Free ..

iv	di	.
. Other Free Persons . .

C	on	d.	Holding Tickets of Leave . .
C	on	In Government Employment
B	In Private Assignment

TOTALS

Church of England

n. Church of Scotland . .

io	Wesleyan Methodists	. .	. .	. .
ig	Other Protestant Dissenters
el	Roman Catholics

R Jews . .

Mahomedans and Pagans

TOTAL

Land Proprietors Merchants Bankers and Pro-
fessional Person

n.	Shopkeepers and other Retail Dealers
io
at	Mechanics and Artificers . .
up
cc	Shepherds and others in the care of Sheep
O	Gardeners Stockmen and Persons employed in
Agriculture
Domestic Servants All other Persons not included in the foregoing

TOTAL classes

Dated a t Signature of Householder

1 8 4 1 .   Collector.

B.

Form of Affidavit.

I do hereby make oath and swear tha t the accounts numbered from to

inclusive severally signed and now delivered by me contain a t rue statement of the number and quali ty of the persons residing within the District (or Town) of to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sworn before me at

this day of 1 8 4 1 . (Signed) A. B.

J . P .

N.B.—These Totals if the Returns be correct should correspond.

c.

s

UNINHABITED. nt

INHABITED.	ou	e.
cc	m

UNFINISHED.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.

S
S
S
S
S
S

S	FINISHED.	sa	R
E
E
E
E
E
E

E	A	E
S
S
S
S
S
S

S .

e

U L al N

U
U
U
U
U
U

A th

O	T	IO
H
H
H
H
H
H

O
O
O
O
O
O

H	O	in
T
ig to S

IS

WOOD. Or ng M

STONE OR BRICK. di M

e

th or O

GENERAL TOTALS. C

cc

.
.
.

ed

S
S

S	t a
L
L

L	FEMALES.	in
A
A

A	ou
T
T
T

am

O
O
O
T
T

T e

MALES. ex ad

f lly m

o	All other Persons not included in	fu	tly
)
be	the foregoing Classes.	Domestic Servants.	re
ca ec

rr

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

N co

N
N
N
N
N
N

Cardeners Stockmen and Persons

ay	IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO ve

employed in Agriculture. s

T
T
T
T
T
T

T ha t i

m	A
A
A
A
A
A
A Shepherds and other in the care of Sheep.
P
P
P
P
P
P
P ac
se	U
U
U
U
U
U
U )
C
C
C
C
C
C
C str
ca	Mechanics and Artificers.

C
C
C
C
C
C

C	r I
O
O
O
O
O
O
O	Ab
e	(o

Shopkeeper and other Retail Dealers.

. th

41 e is

Lauded Proprietors Merchants

18	(as	Bankers and Professional Persons.	w
at th

Mahomedans and Pagans. e

th ev

R	t
ric eli

EA Jews. fy

ist rti

Y	N
N
N
N
N
N
N ce ) b

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Roman Catholics.

D	IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO

E	r	IG
IG
IG
IG
IG
IG
IG Other Property Dissenters. by r I
H	o	L
L
L
L
L
L
L (o
T	wn
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
R
R
R
R
R
R
R Wesleyan Methodists. re

he e r

F	To	Church of Scotland.	do	W	o
O	d

e) an . . .

Church of England.	P
J. P

S	h
ris

J. P

J.

SU	d.
d.
d. In Private Assignment. b

ay n

. Pa eo

on
on
on

S.
S.
S.
S.
S.

S. In Government Employment.

c	N
CE ty

se	er
th

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

E
E
E
E
E
E

m

B
B
B

Holding Tickets of Leave.

L
L
L
L
L
L

N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N

A
A
A
A
A
A

IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO
IO

Other Free Persons.

e.
e.
e.

M
M
M
M
M
M

un

IT	E
E
E
E
E
E ca
F
F
F
F
F
F re

IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT

re

re Arrived Free. d

—

F te

S.	Co	D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D F

F

Born in the Colony. the

N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N

N no

O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

d.
d.
d.

In Private Assignment.

LE

C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

e

on
on
on

s

In Government Employment.

IL	S,
S,
S,
S,
S,
S,
E
E
E
E
E
E

a be

th

IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL

B
B
B

A

Holding Tickets of Leave.

IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV

IV	L
L
L
L
L
L er

A	e.
e.
e. Other Free Persons. to
M
M
M
M
M

W	in	C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C A

A
A
A
A

M ion

re
re

re Arrived Free. r

TH	F
F
F iss ro

n Born in the Colony.

L	S.
S. Single. mm er

SO	tio
la

.
.
.
.

U

E
E
E
E

nt

L
L
L

E
E

L Co re

pu	G
G
G
G L

IN	A
A

IN
IN
IN

F Married. the pa

W	Po	S
S
S
S M

M
E
E
F

R ap

R
R
R

NE	O
O
O
O

e r I y

th	D
D
D
D S.

S. Single. an

IE
IE
IE
IE

E
E

L	(o
A

L

f	R
R
R
R

A ed

R
R
R
R

o	A
A
A
A M

M	Married.	d
ble us

s	M
M
M
M

rn Sixty and upwards. ca

m

tu

S. Forty-five and under Sixty. se

as ve

. S.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

S.
S.
S.
S.
S.

Re

E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E

E	ha
E	Twenty-one and under Forty-five.

E
E
E
E
E
E

G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G

G	L
L
L
L
L
L
L
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A	A
A
A
A
A
A
A Fourteen and under Twenty-one. s

e	M
M
M
M
M
M
M on nd

F Seven and under Fourteen. ssi t a

th	H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H E

E
E
E
E
E
E
F
F
F
F
F
F

C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

C	Two and under Seven.
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A

f	E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E Se ou
o	UNDER TWO.

F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F

F Sixty and upwards.

CT	O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O tty e

Forty-five and under Sixty. ad

R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R

S. Twenty-one and under Forty-five. Pe m

RA	E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E S.

S.
S.
S.
S.
S.

B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B

B	E
E
E
E
E
E
E

ST	M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M L

L
L
L
L
L

L	Fourteen and under Twenty-one.	is
A
A
A
A
A
A

A in

AB	U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
U M

M Seven and under Fourteen. ct

M
M
M
M
M

N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N

Two and under Seven. s tra

Under Two

ce

sti	bs
Ju	A

F

T. is

O e

EN	th	th
M
H	ch
IS	e
BL	hi

E	W
M	TA
A	ES w
N

m

NUMBER OF RETURN. fro

2 z—VOL. 2.