§ MR. MORGAN LLOYDasked the Right honourable Baronet the Member for Wigton, in reference to his Redistribution Bill, on what principle he computed the population of Anglesey at 193,511; what are the "latest available returns" of population mentioned in his Bill, Schedule A, in contrast with the Census of 1881; and, what is his authority for the statement that the population of Wales is "stationary," seeing that, according to the Census Report of 1881, the population of Wales had increased 11.7 per cent, since the Census of 1871, being a greater per-centage of increase for Wales than for Scotland?
§ SIR JOHN HAYI have to thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for his courtesy in giving me private Notice of his Question. In column 3 of Schedule A of the Bill the urban and rural population of Anglesey is correctly given as 51,416. The error in column 2 is owing to an error of the copyist, who has inserted the number of statute acres 193,511, taken from the next column of the table. This is an error, however, which I ought to have detected, and for which I express my regret to the House. As the number of Members to be returned in column 6 is based on column 3, the error makes no change in the other parts of the Bill. The latest available returns of population are to be found in the quarterly return of births, deaths, and marriages, 1884; but I have also to express my obligation for information derived from the returns of the hon. Members for Salford, East Staffordshire, and Stafford, and from a return circulated by Sir Henry Peek, lately a Member of this House, and from The States-man's Year Book, Whitaker's, Oliver and Boyd's, and Thorn's Almanacks, and other sources of information. The population of Wales in 1871 was 1,217,135; in 1881 it was 1,460,513; and in 1884 it was 1,376,480. From 1871 to 1881 it increased 11.7 per cent; but from 1879 to 1881 only 1.3 per cent, and the rate is now even less, and may, I think, be described as stationary. As the hon. and learned Member is aware, the civil and registration county of Angle 902 sey is not conterminous. The population of the civil county, exclusive of boroughs, in 1881 was 36,570; in 1884 it was 35,141, a decrease of 1,429 in four years.
§ MR. MORGAN LLOYDOn what has the right hon. Baronet founded his calculation of the number of inhabitants of Wales in 1884?
§ SIR JOHN HAYOn the Registrar's Returns of births, deaths, and marriages, laid on the Table of this House in May, 1884.