Now all this information was sought for purely scientific purposes. The distinguished memorialists, however, were not able to secure all they asked. Their memorials were referred to a Senate committee charged with the duty of preparing a new law relating to the census; yet the records of the Senate do not show that the committee ever made a report, although it was instructed so to do. The treatment of these memorials shows the peculiar attitude of the particular Congress dealing with them, and brings it into sharp contrast in this respect with that which directed the investigation made by Mr. Hamilton. The Federal Legislature of 1800 could not have been much interested in the scientific bearing of a national census. Nevertheless, the act of February 28, 1800, contained some new features of minor importance not contained in that of 1790; as, for instance, the schedule provided for 1800 contained fourteen specific inquiries instead of six. It provided for all the facts called for in 1790 and additional subdivisions as to ages.
In 1810, however, a fundamental departure in census work was taken by Congress. The population schedule remained the same as in 1800, but there was added to the work of the census takers the collection of the statistics of manufactures. The scope of the census, therefore, became greatly enlarged at the third enumeration. The census takers were charged with securing an account of the several manufacturing establishments and manufactories in the country. This was done by the Secretary of the Treasury, who at that time had the execution of the census law. The schedule was not incorporated in the law itself, the Secretary being given discretion as to collecting the information relating to manufactures. Unfortunately, the results obtained were of no great value, but a beginning had been made and the experiment was repeated in 1820, when the census was placed under the charge of the Secretary of State, and again the attempt was unsuccessful, and so unsuccessful that when the census of 1830 was taken the attempt to secure facts relative to manufacturing was wholly abandoned. The population schedule of 1820, however, was an improvement over that of 1810, and
