Burma: Census of India 1901 Vol. I - Khamkoo

'
REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF BURMA. 137
was only when the returns were made in English by an enumerator with an
indifferent knowledge of the language that the meaning of some of the terms was,
obscure. " Hunting maistry " for instance was a puzzle for some time. A refer*,
ence to the enumeration book concerned .showed, however, that it was probably;
the title given by the enumerator to the headman of a gang of coolies employed
in keeping the turf of the Rangoon race-course in order. Fortunately, however,
instances of this kind were rare. Even when the entry in the schedule was
unambiguous, there was always a danger lest the occupation writer's scanty
acquaintance with English might lead to a ludicrous error. One prominent
official who had returned himself as a " Civil Servant " would certainly have found
his way into sub-order 14 (Personal and domestic service) had not the mistake
been discovered in time and corrected. Slips of this kind were, however, reduced
to a minimum by a system of check on the writers' work as it progressed.
204. The classification of occupations adopted at the 1901 Census corre-
',._.,
. sponded in its general outline with that employed at
Classification of occupations. ., _,• ° ,• rp. . , 1 j- • •
the preceding enumeration. I he largest subdivision
was the class, and of classes there were eight, as compared with seven in 1891.
Class A (Administration), Class B (Pasture and Agriculture), Class. C (Personal
services), Class D (Preparation and supply of material substances), Class E
(Commerce, Transp&rt and Storage) and Class F (Professions) all covered the
same ground as the corresponding classes of the earlier Census. The only change
introduced was the division of the 1891 Class G (Indefinite and Independent)
into two classes, namely G (Unskilled labour, not agricultural) and H (Means of
subsistence independent of occupation). Each class consisted of so many orders,
each order was split up into so many sub-orders, and each sub-order contained so
many occupations, to each of which a separate number was allotted. Of orders'
there were 24, as in 1891, while the total of sub-orders was 78 or one less than the
total of the " groups" of the preceding enumeration. In all the occupation numbers
reached an aggregate of 520, as compared with 479 in 1891.
205. Imperial Table No. XV is printed in two parts. The first gives the
Provincial total for actual workers and dependents'
^Contentsof Imperial Table No.
against each D f the 520 occupation numbers in the
classified list of occupations, first for the Province as
a whole, including the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay, and next for the two cities
aforesaid. It also gives in the case both of the Province and of the cities the
totals of partially agriculturists, males and females, against each one of the
occupation numbers. The second part exhibits the totals for each district
in respect of 169 callings selected as being the most representative and important
in the Province together
with the totals by districts for each sub-order, order and
class in the occupation list. It contains no particulars in regard to partially agriculturists.
The entry of data on this latter point is unnecessary in view of the
fact that the Provincial Tables give the totals of partially agriculturists for each of
the townships in Burma. No attempt has been made at this Census to show
occupations by age periods. It is considered that the existing law in regard to.
the supervision of children in factories has already secured all the ends that the
.
g ^^
exhibition of age periods in the occupation table was intended to further.
"206. We may now
^
proceed to examine the various classes, orders, sub-orders,
. . , „ &c. as they come, contrasting them, where a con-
,
Companson with ,891 totals.
^ the corresponding figures of
,1891, In connection with this latter point the following extract from a letter
written by the Census Commissioner when forwarding the final list of occupations
Jo Provincial Superintendents will explain how it is that the comparison with the
returns of the previous Census cannot be fuller.
" Although the classes, orders and sub-orders have been retained the system now
adopted for dealing with occupations differs very materially from that employed in the last
Census. The figures of 189 1 gave merely the population supported by the various occupations,
males and females were mixed up and no attempt was made to distinguish workers
-
Irpnvdep'enderits, Makers and sellers again were shown together and no distinction was
drawn' between home industries and industries carried on in factories. In view of these
wide discrepancies of treatment it seems doubtful whether any comparison with the statisticsof
189 1 will be
-
possible."
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