territory plainly and distinctly bounded by water courses, mountains, or public roads. The marshals and assistants, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, were required to take an oath or affirmation to make, or cause to be made, as the case may be, "a just and perfect enumeration and description of all persons" resident within their several districts, and, in the case of the assistants, to make due return thereof to the marshal, and, in the case of the marshals, to return the same to the President of the United States, agreeably to the directions of the act aforesaid, according to the best of their abilities. The assistants were required within the said nine months to transmit to the marshals accurate returns of all persons, except Indians not taxed, within their respective divisions, said returns to be made in a schedule (the form of which was prescribed by the act), distinguishing the several families by the names of their master, mistress, steward, overseer, or other principal person therein. The inquiries in 1790 related to but six items, and called for the name of the head of the family and the number of persons in each family of the following descriptions: Free white males of 16 years and upward; free white males under 16 years; free white females; all other free persons; slaves. In case any assistant failed to make return within the time specified by the act, or made a false return, he was to forfeit $200. For the purpose of settling "all doubts which may arise respecting the persons to be returned, and the manner of making returns," it was provided by the act that every person whose usual place of abode was in any family on the aforesaid first Monday in August next should be returned as of such family; in the case of persons having no settled place of residence it was provided that they should be enumerated in the division where they happened to be on the first Monday in August, and in the case of persons occasionally absent at the time of enumeration, as belonging to the place where they usually reside in the United States. The act also made it obligatory upon each and every person more than 16 years of age, whether the head of a family or not, to render a true account, to the best of his knowledge, of every person belonging to the family in which he usually resided, if so required by the assistant of his division, under penalty of forfeiting $20. Each assistant, before making his return to the marshal, was further required to "cause a correct copy, signed by himself, of the schedule containing the number of inhabitants within his division to be set up at two of the most public places within the same, there to remain for the inspection of all concerned," for each of which copies he was to receive $2 upon submitting satisfactory proof of such action at the time of making his return to the marshal; but in case any assistant failed to make such proof he was to forfeit the compensation allowed him by the act. The marshals were required to file the assistants' returns with the clerks of their respective district courts, who were in turn directed to receive and carefully preserve the same, while the marshals were further required to transmit to the President of the United States, on or before September 1, 1791, "the aggregate amount of each description of persons within their respective districts." In case a marshal failed to file the returns, or any of them, or to make the return to the President, as required, he was to forfeit the sum of $800; and "for the more effectual discovery of such offenses" the judges of the district courts were required to cause the returns of the assistants to be laid before the grand juries, for their inspection, at the next session to be held after the expiration of the time allowed for making the returns to the President. In the case of Rhode Island and Vermont, subsequent legislation was had July 5, 1790, and March 2, 1791, respectively, by which the terms of the act providing for the first enumeration were extended to these two districts, the enumeration in Vermont to commence on the first Monday in April, 1791, and to close within five calendar months thereafter. By act of November 8, 1791, also, the time for the completion of the census in South Carolina was extended to March 1, 1792. The assistants were to receive compensation at the rate of $1 for every 150 persons in country districts and at the rate of $1 for every 300 persons in cities and towns containing more than 5,000 persons; but in those divisions where, "from the dispersed situation of the inhabitants," $1 for 150 persons should prove insufficient, the marshals were authorized, subject to the approval of the judges of their respective districts, to increase the compensation not to exceed in any case $1 for every 50 persons returned. The amount of compensation prescribed by the several acts for each of the marshals of the sixteen districts varied from $100 to $500, as follows: $100-Rhode Island, Delaware. 200-Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey. 300-Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina. 500-Virginia. There was no uniformity in the returns made by the several assistants, so far as the size of the sheets used is concerned, and it was not, in fact, until the fifth census, that of 1830, that the assistants made use of a printed schedule of uniform size for the purposes of the enumeration required by the several census acts. Until that census, all sorts of sizes and shapes of books and sheets were used by the assistants, the columns being ruled in ink and the headings indicated thereon, while in some instances a printed slip containing the column headings was used, following the form of the inquiries prescribed by the law. name of the head of the family; a statement for each family of the number of free white males and females, respectively, under 10 years of age, of 10 and under 16, of 16 and under 26, of 26 and under 45, and of 45 years and upward; the number of all other free persons, except Indians not taxed, and the number of slaves. The enumeration was to begin, as before, on the first Monday in August and to close in nine calendar months thereafter. The marshals and secretaries and their assistants were required to take an oath or affirmation before entering upon their work and were subject to the same penalties as prescribed by the law of 1790. The marshals and secretaries were required to deposit the returns of their assistants, which were to be transmitted to the marshals within the nine months specified, with the clerks of the district courts or, in the case of the Territories, the superior courts, but were required on or before September 1, 1801, to transmit their return of the aggregate amount of each description of persons to the Secretary of State, instead of to the President, as provided in 1790. The assistants were compensated at the rate of $1 for every 100 persons returned in country districts, instead of 150 persons, as in 1790, and $1 for every 300 persons returned in cities and towns having upward of 3,000 persons, instead of 5,000 persons or more, as in 1790, while the increased compensation to be paid in some divisions, with the approval of the judges, was not to exceed $1 for every 50 persons, the same as before. The assistants were also allowed $2 for each of the two copies, which they were required to have set up at two of the most public places in their divisions, the same as in 1790, and under the same conditions of proof. The only changes in the compensation of marshals from the amount allowed in 1790 was an increase from $100 to $150 in the district of Rhode Island, an allowance of $200 to the marshal of the new district of Tennessee; a similar allowance to the secretary of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and an allowance of $100 to the secretary of the Mississippi Territory, making in all 19 districts and territories to be canvassed. The printed report of the second census consisted of a folio volume of seventy-four pages, which was printed by order of the House of Representatives in 1801. As in 1790, the results of the enumeration of population are shown by counties, cities, and towns in the northern and eastern districts, and by counties only in the southern sections of the country, while the returns are given for the territories by counties and townships. The scope of the second census differed from the first only in an extension of the age distribution of the free white element of the population and in that this distribution by age was made to apply to females as well as males. An effort was made, however, by the members of two learned societies, previous to the enactment of the law governing the second census, to make the enumeration of 180 tur vehicle for ascertaining sundry facts highly interesting a tant to society, and for that purpose presented to Cong rials (a) which were communicated to the Senate Jun One of these memorials, that of the American Pica was signed by Thomas Jefferson as its president, ant [ 19TH submit to the wisdom of the legislature the exped addition to the table of population, as in the former w senting a more detailed view of the inhabitants of the under several different aspects:" and for these purEMEN, HL_CENTERI that a table be presented showing the number of hers and the num ber of persons **2. 5, 10, 16, 21, and 25 years of age, and amape porn of five years from thence to one hundred,” in order that "2em nav ve calculated therefrom "the ordinary duration of life in Zee Yules, the chances of life for every epoch thereof, and the rano of the demise of their poplatne, my belemng that the mut ville ensuit different from V which we are, from abilities of life were teachers, kuć wines renemi. 2 Merrants and me. bankers, insurers, and tealers of (4) Hadiem. other devriptions. Comestie erants. Ter sons of no partia aling, iring in her nemet am that every person se acted int ineen the are, and that description to wie je primenally wings. * the belief of the memocrat it will be highly gratifying a A comparison of these mea Census (House Reports, Forty-fre T name of the head of the family; a statement for each family of the number of free white males and females, respectively, under 10 years of age, of 10 and under 16, of 16 and under 26, of 26 and under 45, and of 45 years and upward; the number of all other free persons, except Indians not taxed, and the number of slaves. The enumeration was to begin, as before, on the first Monday in August and to close in nine calendar months thereafter. The marshals and secretaries and their assistants were required to take an oath or affirmation before entering upon their work and were subject to the same penalties as prescribed by the law of 1790. The marshals and secretaries were required to deposit the returns of their assistants, which were to be transmitted to the marshals within the nine months specified, with the clerks of the district courts or, in the case of the Territories, the superior courts, but were required on or before September 1, 1801, to transmit their return of the aggregate amount of each description of persons to the Secretary of State, instead of to the President, as provided in 1790. The assistants were compensated at the rate of $1 for every 100 persons returned in country districts, instead of 150 persons, as in 1790, and $1 for every 300 persons returned in cities and towns having upward of 3,000 persons, instead of 5,000 persons or more, as in 1790, while the increased compensation to be paid in some divisions, with the approval of the judges, was not to exceed $1 for every 50 persons, the same as before. The assistants were also allowed $2 for each of the two copies, which they were required to have set up at two of the most public places in their divisions, the same as in 1790, and under the same conditions of proof. The only changes in the compensation of marshals from the amount allowed in 1790 was an increase from $100 to $150 in the district of Rhode Island, an allowance of $200 to the marshal of the new district of Tennessee; a similar allowance to the secretary of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and an allowance of $100 to the secretary of the Mississippi Territory, making in all 19 districts and territories to be canvassed. The printed report of the second census consisted of a folio volume of seventy-four pages, which was printed by order of the House of Representatives in 1801. As in 1790, the results of the enumeration of population are shown by counties, cities, and towns in the northern and eastern districts, and by counties only in the southern sections of the country, while the returns are given for the territories by counties and townships. The scope of the second census differed from the first only in an extension of the age distribution of the free white element of the population and in that this distribution by age was made to apply to females as well as males. An effort was made, however, by the members of two learned societies, previous to the enactment of the law |