III.
Population, &c., of Gairloch.
The only estimates of the population of the parish of Gairloch given in the old accounts of the parish are manifestly mere approximations. They are as follows:—
| Sir George Steuart Mackenzie says the population | in | 1755 | was | 2050 |
| Pennant in his Tour says the population | in | 1772 | " | 2800 |
| The Old Statistical Account says the population | in | 1774 | " | 2000 |
| Sir G. S. Mackenzie says the population | from | 1790 to 1798 | " | 2200 |
The Registrar-General's returns of the population and numbers of houses at the census taken in each of the following years is given below. The census of 1801 is believed to be imperfect, and that of 1811 gives a slightly less figure than the Rev. James Russell's estimate (see [page 114]). The population of Gairloch in 1801 was probably over 2000.
| Sex. | 1801. | 1811. | 1821. | 1831. | 1841. | 1851. | 1861. | 1871. | 1881. |
| Males | 740 | 1434 | 2410 | 2164 | 2346 | 2527 | 2617 | 2452 | 2253 |
| Females | 697 | 1321 | 2108 | 2281 | 2534 | 2635 | 2832 | 2596 | 2341 |
| Totals | 1437 | 2755 | 4518 | 4445 | 4880 | 5162 | 5449 | 5048 | 4594 |
Number of Houses.
| Description. | 1841. | 1851. | 1861. | 1871. | 1881. |
| Inhabited Houses | 925 | 947 | 1042 | 1001 | 966 |
| Uninhabited Houses | 3 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 28 |
| Houses in course of erection | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Totals | 930 | 961 | 1052 | 1033 | 1003 |