The Acts for taking the census in England, Scotland, and Ireland, of 1881

Abstract

In the last session of Parliament three Acts were passed for taking the Census of the United Kingdom during the present year. The English Act is 43 & 44 Vic. c. 37. The Scotch Act, c, 38, and the Irish Act, c. 28. Inasmuch as information substantially the same is collected in all parts of the United Kingdom, we naturally ask whether three Acts were really required. The common presumption is that three Acts would not have been passed if one would have sufficed; and such would not have been the case if before allowing three Acts to be passed inquiry had been made to ascertain whether one Act could not be made applicable generally to the whole United Kingdom. A comparison of the three Census Acts shows that no such enquiry was made in their case, and that uniformity was not aimed at in drawing them. Hence we shall be justified in suspecting that in the case of more important Acts this preliminary enquiry has also been neglected.