Observations upon the census taken throughout Van Diemen's Land, 1st March, 1851

The circumstances under which the recent census of the population of Van Diemen's Land have been taken possess more than ordinary interest : for not only has a most important local purpose been served, by the data thus afforded for the arrangement of the electoral districts under the new Constitution granted to the colony ; but, regarded as an integral part of the British dominions,—of that mighty empire on which the sun never sets,—and the whole of which was almost simultaneously in course of registration, the proportion which Van Diemen's Land contributes, however insignificant in itself, towards the aggregate sum of those who live under British sway, can scarcely be viewed with indifference.