§ Mr. James Fitzgeraldrose, pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in a bill for the purpose of ascertaining the population of Ireland. The right hon. gent. expressed his wish to assimilate the laws and regulation of Ireland to those of this country, as far as it was just and expedient. To the speaker he observed that this part of the united kingdom was, among other advantages, indebted for a measure of a similar nature; and he was happy to know that the proposition he was about to submit to the house, met the approbation of that justly respected personage. It must indeed be obvious to every man conversant with the subject, that to, ascertain the population of a country, was a grand desideratum in political economy, whether considered with regard to its physical force, its agricultural produce, or its financial capacities. In Ireland, the right hon. gent. observed, there were not the same facilities for enu- 114 merating the population that were to be found in this country. For, in that part of the united kingdom, there was no regular registry of births or deaths. Besides, there were no poor-laws; through the overseers and others employed in the execution of which, in England, means were easily had to discover the number of the population. Therefore, to remedy this inconvenience with regard to Ireland, the right hon. gent. proposed to introduce a clause into the bill, authorising the magistrates of the county of the city of Dublin, with the advice of their, recorder, and the magistrates of the other Irish counties, aided by the advice of the assistant barrister, at a general quarter sessions, to appoint one or more householder, according to necessity, for each barony, parish, or such other district as might be deemed expedient, for the purpose of collecting a list of the inhabitants of such districts, the expence arising from such appointments, &c. to be defrayed by the assessment of the grand juries of the several counties, in the same manner as presentments for roads, &c. are now provided for. The right hon. gent. stated his intention to move that the bill should, as soon as it was brought in, be read a first time and printed. He would then let it stand over for some time, in order that all persons concerned should have a full opportunity of examining it, and from that consideration, he should not move the second reading until after the Easter recess.—The motion was agreed to, and the right hon. mover was appointed, with Mr. Grattan and others, to prepare and bring in the bill.