The Sun. — London, England, 1849-05-18 00:00:00

England— (hear, hear)—and he wantetl to know, if the maximum rate shoul fail, what party would be called upon to contribute ?—(Hear.) The Lion. Member for hurry (Mr. Herbert) had stated that the union rate was very unpopular in England, but he (Mr. V. Smith) differed in opinion on that subject, and should have no übjec • tion to see the union rate introduced into Ireland. His object now was to warn the people of England of the measures contemplated in the present Bill. The Bight lion. Member then alluded to what had been proposed a few nights ago by the Honourable Member fur Limerick county (Mr. Monsell), as to giv ing increased powers to the boards of guardians in Ire. land, on the subject of emigration, and, in conclusion, said he hoped some provision would be introduced into the present Bill on the subject.—(Hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL said his Right Honourable Friend (Mr. Vernon Smith) had asked him a question relative to the maximum rate, and he was therefore desirous of addressing the Home on two or three points. His Right Honourable Friend had asked him, as it was proposed to impose a maximum rate in Ire land, as there had been no such rate imposed in England how the poor were to be pro vided for in the event of that rate being ex hausted ? They were aware that the condition of a number of unions was such, although the amount of the rate was far from being excessive, that money was required from this country to supply the want. That being the case, he did not see much value in an abstract declaration that the property of the Union was liable for the support of the poor. If they came to inquire relative to the expenditure of the 50,0001. in Ireland they would find that 8,2451. had been given to the Ballina Uunion, and it appeared that the amount raised in Ballina on the second rate was 3s. lid. in the pound, and that the date of that rate was on September 21, 1848, while he found that in some unions eleven or twelve shillings in the pound had been called for, yet in those unions which had required relief rates of three shillings, three shillings and sixpence, and four shil hogs only had been made. If, then, such was the case, it was a proof they had no security against being called upon by means of an abstract declaration, such as had been alluded to. It might be asked why rates" of a larger amount had not been called for, but the collectors said there had been great diffi culty in collecting the rates that lied been levied. What he inferred then from those things was this—that With a small amount of rate they might have great amount of distress.—(Hear, hear.) It seemed to him, therefore, that there was no way of providing for the destitute poor in Ireland, but by placing some limit be yond which those who cultivated the land in that coun try should not be called on to pay for others.—(Bear, hear.) The view which he took of the proposed maxi mum rate was this, that by allotting a certain portion upon property for the relief of the poor, they provided for the poor with greater certainty, and secured at the same time the cultivation of the land in Ireland.— (Hear, hear.) Still there might be an amount of dis tress greater than that which would be provided for, and his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. V. Smith). had asked whether to meet such distress there could be a general rate in aid, or whether the relief would be contributed out of the Consolidated Fund. His (Lord John Russell's) opinion was that the rate in aid : should not be continued in Ireland, and he would not there fore propose a further continuance of the Bill for that purpose.—(Hear, hear.) As to having recourse to the Consolidated Fund, he thought it would be much better to leave those who required relief to the resources of the same kind they had before the measure of the poor-law was passed, than to make such a charge upon the Consolidated Fund.—(Hear, hear.) If they retained the maximum rate, he had no doubt that the amount that would be raised would be used with due economy. He, therefore, thought, upon the whole, the passing of the Bill with a maximum rate would not give any reason for a rate in aid, or for coming upon the Consolidated Fund, and he considered that the measure, taken altogether, Would prove to be advantageous, and would be for the benefit of all classes of the community.—(Hear, hear.) His Right Hon. Friend (Mr. V. Smith) had also alluded to the necessity of introducing some provision relative to emigration. The Hon. Member for the county of Lime rick (Mr. Monsell) had paid attention to that subject, and as. he should be desirous in Committee to have a clause introduced, he should be glad to have the as sistance of the Honourable Gentleman, as his wish would be to make it effective. The Noble Lord then referred to another subject which had been intro duced, namely, as to the area of taxation. Government, he said, had been asked whether it was intended to in troduce a small area, without any explanation having been given as to what a large area or what a small area was. In all those questions there were two sides, and it was, he confessed, a very important subject. He would take for instance an electoral division of 8,000 acres. Suppose it was proposed to cut it in four, and make divi sions of 2,000 each, it requires more care and calculation than merely to use a pencil and compasses. A gentleman of ability and experience (Captain Larkin) was at pre sent engaged in making enquiries on this difficult subject, and he would, no doubt, soon be able to furnish important information, and would be able to point out what was essential to be done, and what new unions would be absolutely necessary. lie (Lord J. Russell) was ready to admit, that if the unions had been better regulated at the time of the passing of the Poor Law, it would have been better fer the working of that measure. —(Hear, hear.) He could only, in conclusion, further state, that whatever appeared to be necessary for the efficiency of the present measure should be introduced into the Bill in Committee.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. HORSMAN adopted the opinion which had been expressed, that the Government had brought for ward the measure with the very best intentions; and he agreed also that in considering the present mea sore they should be influenced by one feeling only— namely, a feeling of making the measure the best they possibly could for relieving the distresses of the country. (Hear, hear.) It was confessed that, after all that had been done, the condition of Ireland was worse than ever. Re felt assured, and was, therefore, bound to say, that the general distress of Ireland required that this measure should not be / passed, particularly when not only the People, but the priest and the proprietor, were subject to the evil influence of misery and distress in that country, which that measure would not relieve, but would rather increase. He also considered that there was a requisition for the combination of good measures, to counteract the combination of the evils of that country; and, as that measure showed that the poor-laws were broken down, it was the duty of the Government to re vive that measure of the poor-laws as much as possible. The combination to which he alluded for the benefit of Ireland was the facility for the disposing of incumbered est ates, a limited liability for poor-rates, and an encou ragement for small proprietors; and as this Bill was a solitary one, he did not think that it would effect any , n g r, d _ for that country. He would ask could it be ex `-e'''tt that any one could venture, under this measure, to Purch ase property in Ireland, when the maximum rate aceordi -fig to the Bill might be made much more should the Government think fit, for the Government is nowa days the only means of carrying any measure. He be lieved that a limited liability for poor-rates would be the best means of securing and encouraging; the industry of the p eop l e, and hoped t h ere f ore t h at t h e area of tax ation would be judiciously reduced. He would next ask What was the use of imposing on the rate-payers a new ax, when th e o ld one was not paid, and from a not being paid he thought that measure totally useless. He considered that the first task of the House should be either to remit or obtain the rates already due, but the latter, he believed, could not be effected. Then let the House look to the conditisn of crime. In 1844 there were only 400 persons trans ported, whereas in 1848 no less than 1,300 were transported, and th e num b er o f conv i c ti ons i n I re l an d i n 1847 was 170 persons, and in 1848 the number was 2,800. Therefore he considered he was bound, not only from these circumstances, but from the evils that this measure was likely to entail on Ireland, to oppose it. He knew no better system that could be adopted for the payment of poor-rates than the lessening of electoral divisions. As, in consequence of the great extent of those electoral divisions, many poor persons were known to have perished through famine on the roadside before they could roach th e wor kh ouse . I n t h e next place, he would call the attenti on o f t h e H ouse to the evidence filenncbec fore the Commit tee o f t h e H ouse, and in that e was clear that in consequence of the great extent of electoral area, that most of the mischief and evil pre- T ailed, and as such was not the case i n England, he thought that a great injustice was done to Ireland, for England, considering its valuation and population, was much less in electoral area than Ireland. He consierded that a Committee should be appointed for a just and fair division. He knew from all that he had heard and ex perienced that crime prevailed most in the large unions, and that, in addition to other circumstances, induced him to oppose the measure, particularly when he bad the opinions of Captain Hamilton and other men of distin guished humanity, who well understood the state of Ireland, With regard to the multiplication of work houses, he believed it was the strongest argument in favour of a limited area. In a paucity of them there could be no economy, and it had already occasioned a great but useless expenditure. The evils of that system did not terminate with the waste of money, nor even With the waste of human life; but it had given rise to a feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction. The founda tion of all systems of improvement in Ireland should, in his opinion, have especial reference to a sufficiency of em ployment for the p oor , toget h er w ith a r i g id enforcement of the workh ouse test. Those ma i n po i nts b e i ng ob served, they would have laid the groundwork for useful schemes in all directions—the substitution of a solvent proprietary the promotion of emigration—the encou risarafesnts of : aea h n industrious population, and the impart land contained character to the advanc es of ca pital. Ire but all the elements of national prosperity, they w ere i ll-assorted ; m a e n r d i t e w d i re h e p t r h o e ac s e h a t d o v a p n a t r a i g i a e before th em, it would be a went if it did not assist earl believed th at Ireland w y in th e i r development. He change, and th at as now u n d ergo i ng a great induce the En patri otism and c ommon sense would glish Pa • nt to ch er i s h new sy mpa national cris thies for her, is. in assistordertrllorn her th roug h this great Historian could not record any greater events than the r econstruction of society itself, and the correspondingaolel c no_ alterationrrgr a ngis; a forton hoaefidnttohhwee lams. And all this was now witnessed the dissolution of setting free of old elements slpornig combined, from whence hnge-h—(llear, hear.) HO new combinations would drew hope from the confidence ad of Parliament dis charging its duty, and from his eo he ic look e d forward ti on of the m ora l elevation of the Irish ch ar acter;and to the day when the two nations, united hitherto only in name, should be united, too, in heart and charact er .— (Cheers.) That th e I r i s h people were this improv ement b y proper means he nesvuesrcedpotuibbiteedo!., fur he saw t h at i t only required to remove the Irishman from his native soil to render him a quiet, industrious, and useful member of the comm un it y . S ome one had said that the b b e _ .. n righ test pages of E ng li s h hi story were to t gems of Irish product, and Ireland h a d woven ""w7 Wrenn for ringland'a brow without one lcarpf the chaplet being given to herself." He hoped that a la:.cer day would bt.arn upon her, and that, fully ac knowledging her claims upon their sympathies, she would be legida;ed for in a spiri", of true sincerity and wistlum.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. NAPIER said he felt it unnecessary at that moment to address the House at any great length on this subject; but he was d, eply impressed with its im portance—the more so because it excited a considerable degree of attention before the commencement of the ses sion. He thought also that it was only justice to the Government that this question should be fully debated, in order that they might be the better prepared, when in Committee, to arrive at a conclusion conformable to each other's views. In his own opinion this was an unjust measure, and he objected to it mainly on the ground of extending the area for all purposes of taxation to the union at large, contrary to the spirit of the law of 1838. The electoral divisions were taxed in the first in stance, and vi hest the rate amounted to the maximum in the division, it was to be thrown upon the union at large. The consequence was that a man, however indus trious and frugal he might be, would be compelled to sink or swim according as the fortunes of his neighbour fluctuated, though he himself had no check upon his ex penditure or conduct. There were two things which ought to b 3 kept carefully distinct—the law and the ad ministration of the law. In his opinion the latter was the more important, but under such a law as that now proposed there could be no distinction between the in dustrious and the idle, the extravagant and the econo mical. In illustration of this point, he might quote the accounts of the Dublin union, where a great expense was gone to for wine, porter, whisky, sugar, and lemons, in all which items debts had been contracted beyond the power of control of the industrious and thriving popula tion of Ulster and Leinster. He would put it to them therefore, whether it was just to subject to a general taxation, under such circumstances, a laborious and de serving tenantry, and the proprietary discharging their duties? The complaint against the injustice of taxing a meritorious class of men bearing up against difficulties of all kinds, would not be regarded as a captious or unfounded one. A very important case. which frequently arose, seemed to be omitted, viz., where the tenants deserted the land, and the; land became unoccupied. The House was aware that the landlord wculd not enter, because if there were arrears of poor-rates he would immediately become re sponsible for the amount. That case might be provided for. In the case of jointures and rent charges an un just liability was imposed by the Bill, which a little con sideration, it might be supposed, would not have per mitted. Dlr. CLEMENTS regretted that no Hon. Member connected with Ireland had opposed the second reading of this Bill. He was opposed to that feature of it which imposed a union rating of 2s. in the pound. When they went into Committee he would endeavour to reduce the charges upon unions, and place them upon electoral divisions. Mr. MAURICE O'CONNELL reminded Hon. Mem bers that the people of Ireland were dying while they were differing about the mode of feeding them. It was an admitted fact that the old poor-law in Ireland was a failure, and the proposed law was an improvement upon it. That was his reason for supporting the present pro position. He had opposed the introduction of a poor law in Ireland, and he believed that ultimately it would be the ruin of the country. Sir H. W. BARRON was opposed to the 2s. rate in aid, to be found in the second clause of the Bill. He admitted there were some amendments in the Bill, and on that ground he should support it, although he should object to some of the clauses in the Committee. Until they limited the area of taxation, they could never ex pect to establish a good poor-law in Ireland. Mr. MONSELL said he would call the attention of the House to some points in the Bill. He regretted that no change was made in the principle of chargeability. He thought limiting the law of chargeability and the area of taxation would tend very materially to prevent evictions. He suggested that the county cess and the poor rate should be collected at the same time and by the same collector. He also suggested that half the county cess should be deducted by the tenant from his rent. Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD said the best means to adopt would be to reduce the area of taxation, and throw the responsibility upon the individual landlords. Sir D. NORRRYS objected to a limitation of the area of taxation, as tending to an increase of evictions. Mr. STAFFORD said he was in favour of a limita tion of the area of taxation. In fact, the evictions arose out of the fear of the area being limited, as then the landlords would have to bear the entire support of the paupers; while under the large area they only bore one third of the expense, and consequently a limitation of the area would check evictions. While he did not op pose the second reading of the Bill, and while he did not object to a certain maximum rate, yet he confessed, if it were not extended to unions it would be a failure. Let the boards of guardians have the power of making new unions, if they pleased, but let them at the same time be at liberty to raise money in any way they thought pro per. He would earnestly request the Noble Lord to say whether any more changes were to be made during the present session, for it was highly desirable that all such, should be discussed together. The Bill was then read a second time. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he would state on Monday what day he proposed going into Committee on the Bill. ACCOUNTS OF TURNPIKE TRUSTS (SCOT- LAND) BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. POLICE OF TOWNS (SCOTLAND) BILL. This Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on the 31st inst. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE BILL. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL nominated the fol lowing Hon. Members to form a Select Committee on the Bill:—Mr. Attorney-General, Sir Frederick The siger, Mr. Forster, Mr. Henley, Mr. Bouverie, Mr. Drummond, and Sir W. Molesworth. N. SNIITH .O'BRIEN. Lord JOHN RUSSELL—I have to state to the House that I propose to-morrow, instead of the motion of which I have already given notice in regard to William Smith O'Brien, that I shall move that the re cord be read, and shall then move two resolutions; after which I shall move that a new writ for Limerick be issued in place of William Smith O'Brien. The House then adjourned at Half-past Eleven. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL'S.-YESTERDAY. The run yesterday was all in favour of the recent ar rival at Danebury—Chatterer—and so strong was it that in less than a coupe of hours 7to 1 was taken freely. The outlay was heavy. The Flying Dutchman remains precisely as on Wednesday, viz.—at 2 to 1; 9 to 4, or even less, would have been taken. His companion, El thiron, as the odds will show, was not out of favour. Nunnykirk was backed for several hundreds at 4 to 1, but Tadmor did not maintain the position he occupied on Wednesday. Scarcely any business was done ex cept on the four leading favourites. Very little was done on the Oaks; but Gliuca and Sister to Arkwright may be selected as having been most conspicuously in favour. The latest prices were:— DERBY. 2 to 1 agst Lord Eglintun's The Flying Dutchman 4 to 1 agst Mr. A. Nichol's Nunnykirk—taken 5 to 1 agst Colonel Peel's Tadmor—take 6 to 1 7 to 1 agst Mr. Watts's Chatterer—taken 15 to 1 agst Sir C. Monck's Vanguard 18 to 1 agst Lord Eglinton's Elthiron—taken 22 to 1 agst Sir J. Hawley's Vatican—take 22 to 1 22 to 1 agst Mr. Bowes's The Knout—taken 30 to 1 agst Lord Clifden's Honeycomb—taken 30 to 1 agst Mr. Pedley's Old Dan Tucker 50 to 1 agst Mr. Farrance's The Old Fox—take 1,000 to 15 66 to 1 sgst Mr. Godwin's Hotspur. By the death of Mr. Cloves, several bets, taken by him in his own name, but on account of other parties, be come void. OAKS. 5 to 2 agst John Day's lot 11 to 2 agst Mr. Payne's Glauca-6 to 1 taken freely 7 to 1 agst Mr. Grevillo's Clarissa—taken 15 to 2 agst Lord Chesterfield's Sister to Arkwright —take 8 to 1 8 to 1 agst Mr. Wreford's Woodlark—taken 10 to 1 agst Mr. Whitworth's Lady Jersey—offered 10 to 1 agst Mr. F. Clarke's Lady Tryphena—taken 16 to 1 agst Mr. Wreford's West Country Lass 18 to 1 agst Count Bathyany's Eva. ALARMING FIRE NEAR THE STRAND THEATRE.— Last night, between and wh i ch eleven o'clock, a fire of an alarming character, with which at one period was feared had premisescarryingattended belongingo n' bu si ness fatal consequences, broke out on to Mr. Sheard, a tailor and sh next door but two to the draper, S t k h e t e r e a w n ed causeTheatre . i n the The Frontli fl ames commenced from some un perdeohp, a f nd before their existence the premises was in a became known that blaze. Timely information having e been forwarded to expedition the tbe engine•stations, p ossib le w,ithLaeleldoe and abundance d W a neeset of en gines of the parish , B r igade, a partfire waswas England attended, and there being water, the machines were set to work, eventually extinguished, but not until the loa t :e e r burned out, and the upper portion severely injured. in It was at first believed that a woman had pr flames, but at one o'clock this morning it was ascertained the that such was not the case. The people in the theatre at the time of the alarm being given made a precipi tate retreat from the building, but, fortunately, as far as could be learned, no one was injured. HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION, BROMPTON.—Yes terday evening a very full Meeting of the board of management was held at the above institution; Captain Lyon in the chair. The usual routine business having been disposed of, some reference was made relative to the new chapel, after which it was stated officially by the secretary that, in addition to the amount announced at the recent anniversary festival, over which Benjamin Diraeli, li , q., M.E, preside d, his Grace the Duke of Norfolk has contributed 501., the Duke of Buccleugh, 31/. lOc., Thomas Lowndes, E-q , 501., and Philip Rose, Esq., 501. Thanks having been voted to the gallant chairman, the meeting was adjourned. ROYAL SURREY THEATRE.--Sergeant Talfourd's classical play of ion, which the learned author describes as the phantasm of a tragedy, " not a thing of substance mortalist,d into the !icing rack of hum anity," and Morton's admirable comedy of the Honeymoon, were produced last night for the benefit of Mr. Anderson, whose engage ment at this theatre, in conjunction with that accom plished actress, Mts. Warner, draws near completion. The interesting character of the entertainments, and Mr. Anderson's excellence in the higher walks of the drama, attracted a numerous, though not a crowded audience , and Mr. Anderson's admirable delineation of lon, g ave universal satisfaction. Be deaf to the quarrelsome, and dumb to the in gqi§itiio.--kli4a Cook's Journal. rector lost his wife, his daughter, and the gardener who had used the poisoned earth for manure. The patron's gardener, who had dressed his flower beds with human manure, was also attacked; in short, wherever tho earth was taken to, the fever fol lowed.—(l.lear, hear.) The children of the Sunday schools caught fever, went home and died, but they did not communicate the disease to their relatives and at tendants—those only suffered who had been exposed to the cause of its development. Seventeen deaths are re corded as having taken place from this cause alone; and Dr. Smith states that nearly 200 cases of scarlet-fever and measles, with anomalous and peculiar eruptions, followed, all in his opinion from the sama cause. "Ia ancient Egypt, the plague was unknown so long as the sepultural rites of civilized heathens were continued, but the barbarous practice of interment was introduced, and the land of mummies became what it now is—one vast charnel-house.—(Hear, hear.) " During the decomn isition of the human bady, after death, certain principles denominated morbid poisons are thrown off. The stsgc in which these are eliminated is called putrefaction. Besides sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid gas, there aro other peculiar animal principles, hitherto not reduced to palpable existence, which do their deadly wor k. Th e ma nner in which these morbid poison s ac t on t h e li v i ng f ra me has been well explained by Baron Debi* According to this illus trious chemist, th e e ff ects o f mor bid po i sons are ana logous to fermentation—that is, a similar process to that which takes place when yeast is placed in contact with sugar or glutinous matter." A protest against the burial of the dead in churches and in graveyards in populous towns, is no new thing. In an admirable volume from the pen of Mr. Walker, now present, entitled " Gatherings from Graveyards," I find a most interesting document, in the shape of an or. dinance of the Archbishop of Toulouse on the interment of the dead in churches. This was at a very early period. On the side of this excellent cause, which is one of the highest public importance, we have our respect for the rites of our religion, our regard for the feelings of the bereaved. the importance of health to the dwellers in towns, the diminishin g o f l oca l b urthens, the diminution of genera l pauperism, an d t h e checki n g of gross immoral i ty.— (Cheers.) Ag a i nst i t we have prejudice' the love of burial f ees, and the and custom, and D e an and Chapter of Westminster—.(Laughter ) _and the ministers, sextons , and gravediggers of oth er religious edifices ; b ut t h ese may and will be overcome When the intelligence and re ligious feeling and domestic affections, and the anxiety for the advancement 'of sanitary measures throuhout the kingdom are enlisted in the cause. Let Us g then boldly face the impediments which exist in our way, and we shall finally reach the goal of our desires—the entire removal of this flagrant and most pernicious abuse. —(Loud cheers.) Too much credit cannot be awarded to the gentleman who bas devoted the most precious portion of his life, whether for pleasure o r p ro fi t , t o thi s humane and beneficent work.—(H ear, hear.) I trust he will not look in vain for the encouragement and support to which he is entitled, and which his cause so impera tively demands. Let him, and all others who are simi larly engaged, gather hope and confidence from the contemplation of past victories in enterprises for the good of their fellow -creatures.—(Cheers.) Let every reformer here, whatever be his object—if it be a good one—listen to the words of a simple but sweet poet, whose muse is consecrated to the cause of the people—l refer to Eliza Cook—(Cheers):— " If ye see afar off that worth winning, Set out on the journey with trust; And ne'er heed if your path at beginning, Should be among brambles and dust. " Though it be but by footsteps ye do it, And hardships may binder the way, Keep a heart, and be sure you'll get thro' it, For where there's a will there's a way.' " —(Loud cheers.) Mr. G. A. WALKER rose to propose the first resolu. tion. He said, if a man from a far country, a stranger to our manners and customs, an Egyptian, for example, could take his stand on the top of St. Paul's in this city, he would be surprised at the view that presented itself. If he were told that within the immediate circuit of his view there lived some two millions of people— that the living swarm beneath him would be gathered to their fathers, would require graves with in about thirty-five years, he would probably inquire how and where those two millions of people would be buried. And what would be the humiliating answer? Why, that the inhabitants of this the most magnificent city in people rich and po wer f u l, h a d, during centuries, by experience a n d unite- the universe, untaught a strutted by misfortune, committed the sad and lament able error of burying the dead in the very midst of the habitations of the living. In the 19th century of the Christian era, temples dedicated to the worship of the Most High were, by the sanction of law, and by the per converted into "mlssion of our forms of pent housesreligion, for the living. The rich, interred at the p rice of gold, aro a llowed to corrupt the atmosphere of our c h u rches and chapels. The poor and the middle classes are stacked in graves , in deep pits, one upon the other, and side by side, as was the case in the very neighbourhood—in the Golden. lane Cemetery, to his own knowledge, the uppermost coffin frequently not being more than a few inches below the surface.— (Hear, hear.) There were divisions in death as well as distinctions in life— " Here lie I. beside the door, Here lie I, became I'm poor; Further in the more they pay; Here lie I as well as they.' --(Laughter.) Now for himself, speaking as an indivi dual, he would have no objection at all to those divisions in graveyards—they had their rich man's ground, their poor man's ground, and their pauper's ground, but then it resolved itself into a:most important sanitary question. It had frequently been his lotto endeavour to demonstrate — more especially in writing, and latterly by speaking— that the dead man required so much material, so much earth in which he should decompose. According to a calculation which he had long since made, an adult body would require thirty-two superficial feet for its burial ; that was the body would pass off, it would be resolved into its original elements, into gaseous matters and animal compounds, which must enter into the lungs and corrupt the blood, and produce va rious forms of disease. Now, let any man show him, as times went, a better investment than this ; a man took a plot of ground, or rented a house, and there might perchance be a cellar underneath, and be forthwith com menced burying the dead. He (Mr. Walker) was not at all desirous of pressing hardly upon any individual or upon any locality, but there was a place which he had in his memory, Enon Chapel, in Clement's-lane, Strand. —(Hear, hear.) Now he would adduce that as an in stance, demonstrating the truth of what he had asserted to the meeting. In that place, merely fifty nine feet in length, by twenty-nine feet in width, many thousands of bodies were interred—that was, they were put away somehow or other—(Hear, hear)—which was another name for the same thing. In that place, measuring, as he had said, fifty-nine feet by twenty-nine, many thousands of bodies were buried, and the sum derived during six years by the proprietor of the place for burials in that cellar—for cellar it was— (Hear, hear)—merely the usual j‘sists supporting a floor, covered by boards. and not even a lath and plaster de fence—(llear, hear)—in that place—that manufactory of malaria—there w ere deposited many thousands of bodies, and the sum received by the proprietor amounted to 9511. ss. during six years for burials in that cellar. — (Hear, hear.) Now, those facts were taken by himself (Mr. Walker) from the book of the proprietor of the place, the figures writte n , h e b e li eve d , i n the hand of the man himself, and therefore there could be no mistake about them. Ile proposed, however, that night dealing rather with the dangers than with the immoralities of the system. He did not know whether it was with, them as it was with himself; but in his case he had looked at that mat ter so frequently in its various aspects, it had come so often upou him, that he felt it was like the thrice told tal e ,. Vexing the dull ear of d ro wsy man." coounldthteellohtheeekm of ff tenoogrimishitmieesotahoadt u b b l Hu l i sh c e would per m i t suc h a state of things to long a a u tl hi s e ea . ) p how— should(A—(Applause.) English women. He had l ong and frequently wondered go on. It was now some 14 years since he commenced his inquiries. From 1839 up till now the question had, however, progressed; and by the meeting that night, and by other meetings, he thought they might judge that at length public attention had been roused to its euormit (Applause.) There were learned men who would Y give them, perhaps, the most minute, the most elaborate histories of the methods and modes of interment prac tised in the earlier ages—men who would write them very good books on that subject, yet those men, perhaps knowing better, as he feared too many of them did, yet hesitated to deal with a question which must eventually be dealt with, and the sooner it was dealt with the better.—(Applause.) It would seem that men could only be brought to the recognition of great truths and of simple facts through the paths of suffer ing and of sorrow ; and yet what had a series of such experiences taught us ? Why, that they had made scarcely a move in the prevention of so fruitful a source of disease, of immorality, and of death. It was true that during the last session of Parliament a few measures had passed the Legislature; but what had they done in this? He must say, even at the eleventh hour, that they had done nothing on this, the greatest question of all.—(Applause.) Yet they had paid most scrupu lous, the must deferential attention to every other known cause of disease. The City Sanitary Act talked not of the width, not of the superficial surface of the graves and graveyards of this metropolis, notoriously over crowded as they were ; but talked of depth only, of five feet from the surface. How was it that they did not talk of the width as well? ir, as he had told them, a dead body must require thirty-two feet to give it sanitary burial, hew was it that the City authorities, knowing, as they must know—for they had had sent among them books, not by ones or twos, but. by tens, and fifties, and hun dreds, at the expense of the individual then addressing them—displayed so: much indifference ?—(Loud ap plause.) He said, therefore, that they had a right to expect better things. The City authorities, in their corporate capacity, should be the leaders of the nation in this matter.—(Hear, hear.) If all that he (Mr. Walker) had stated was true, it was time, not that they should regulate the depth of the graves, but that they should shut up the graveyards altoge ther.—(Loud applause.) There is a period in the history of nations when the common succession of events in the material world passes unnoticed,—when. Governments and Legislators cease to regard with due concern sub jects of esaential importance to the welfare of the mass of the community,—when ordinary occurrences lose their interest, and nothing has power over attention but facts I TEE SUN, LONDON, VRIDAY EVENING, MAY 18, 1849, NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE ABOLITION OF BURIALS IN TOWNS. A public meeting was held on Wednesday evening at the Royal National Sch,ols, Cowper -street, City•road, fur the purpose of petitioning Parliament for the imme diate closing of all burial places in cities and towns. George Thompson, Eai., M.P., was unanimously elected to take the chair. Th 2 meeting was very numerously attended, and among those present on the platform we observed Mr. George Allred Walker, Mr. Luke James Hansard, Mr. Joseph George Ross, Mr. Joseph Rogers, Mr. Charles Gilpin, Mr. Elihu Burrit•;, and Mr. J. C. Atkinson, and a number ot ladies. Tim CHAIRMAN observed that this was emphatically an age of reforms. Look in whatever direction you might, you saw men eager and earnest in behalf of measures of improvement and social advancement. It was well to sec the intelligence and energy of the nation so employed. It was a proof of activity of thought, of the existence of a large amount of philanthropy, and of a general desire to lessen the inevitable evils which humanity in its best condition was called to bear. He (the Chairman) sympathised with most of these reform movements, and if not prepared to vote for the accom plishment of all the projects afloat, he at least rejoiced to see the minds of men so much alive, and their powers so generally quickened into active exertion.—(Cneers.) Nothing was worse than a state of indifference and inertion. He could cordially wish good speed to all societies aiming to elevate, to instruct, and to enfranchise the people.—(Loud cheers.) The meeting of that evening was called, not to pro mote financial, or representative, or ecclesiastical, or educational reform, but to help a great and vital branch of sanitary improvement —to promote the cause of public health, and with it, the cause of public decency, and order, and morality—(Cries of " Hear, hear") —also to recognise, to honour, and to protect from outrage, the holiest and sacredest feelings belonging to us as human beings. He (the Chairman) was not in favour of combination and organization on every subject, for he thought there was much for every man to du in his individual capacity, which, if ho per formed it, would tend to better the condition of society around him; but he was in favour of public agitation and of organized action on the question under discussion, because the evil was a great one—a national one, con netted with the cherished institutions of the country — likely to be defended by those who thought they had a vested interest in the abuse, and because the remedy could only bo applied by the Government with the aid of the Legislature, and that Government and that Legislature would require on this, as on all great questions, a wholesome and powerful pressure from without to induce them to do their duty.—(Cheers.) What was the object sought to be attained by this and similar meetings? A law to prevent and to prohibit the burial ot the dead within the immediate pre cincts of the dwellings of the living.—(Hear, hear.) A law to provide, that in future the sepulchres and tombs of our friends shall be at such a distance from the abodes of those they leave behind, as that the process of decomposition, inevitable after death, shall not be the parent of diseases that may be fatal to those who survive. —(Hear, hear.) But do we assume too much when we say that the existing prac tice is attended with danger and positive injury to the living ? Unhappily, wo do not. No man requires to be told, that large accumulations of putrescent animal matter are in the highest degree pernicious when in the midst of the living.—(Hear, hear.) No man can deny that the scythe of that indiscriminate destroyer, Death, sweeps down 50,000 of our metropolitan popu lation annually. No man can deny that these lifeless bodies are, with comparatively tew exceptions, buried within the immediate neighbourhood of our places ot abode. No man can deny that in consequence of the amount of mortality, and this mode of burial, from two millions and a half to three millions of pounds weight of dead and decaying animal matter are annually deposited in our graveyards. The measurement of those graveyards, and a comparison of their capacity with the number of deaths and funerals, has demon strated beyond the power of successful cavil or dispute, that not only are our consecrated places of sepulture overcrowded—that not only are bodies interred within a few feet and otten wain a few inches of the surface— that not only is there a reopening of graves, and a mo- lestation of their tenants beture dust has returned to dust, and ashes to ashes; but that there is a systematic work of sacrilegious and brutal destruction carried on, and that the bodies anxiously tended while sick, tearfully laid out when dead, reverently shrouded, and then buried with the most solemn and holy of Christian rites, are torn from their cuffing and hewn to pieces by the spade of the gravedigger, that room may be made for others, to be in their turn subjected to similar outrages.—(Hear, hear.) Were our grave yards innocuous —did they, in stead of steaming forth pestiferous and pestilential exha lation—breathe 6abean odours—such atrocious burgla ries, where more than gold is rifled, ought to call down the gathered execrations of all who love decency—of all who respect the peace of the dead —of all who regard the rites of our holy religion.—(Cheers.) But the pre cious gift anti inestimable blessing of health is put in peril by the system. The best earthly possession is a body in health and vigour. Give me health, and I may be poor, but still serene, cheerful, happy. Give me health, and I may have to toil, and more, to grapple with difficulties, and to bear perplexities and trials; but the toil shall prove a blessing in disguise to my body, and the elastic soul beneath its burden shall wax stronger and stronger by the very necessity of bearing up against the obstacles that oppose me.—(Cheers.) But, rob me of my health—make me the victim of slow disease, or functional derangement. and the spirit at once sympa thises with the body—the treasure of an immortal mind is in this state of being in an earthen vessel—the lamp burns in a frail pitcher—this cerebral matter is the ma terial organ of the soul—this body (with its various members) is the servant, the instrument, and more, the companion, inseparable, of the immaterial and ' den thl-ss mind.—(Hear, hear.) We are fearfully and wonderfully made ; and so close is the connexion between, so intimate and mutual the depen dence of mind and matter, that you cannot derange the one without an injury to the other. If, then, you would have pure, vigorous, active, healthy minds, study the structure and functions of the body; darken not the windows of the soul, pollute it not its temple, do not pull it down by the grossness of the body, do not enfeeble it in its operations, or taint it in its currents, by the neglect, the abuse, or the desecration of the physical system.—(Cheers.) But what has this to do with grave yards? This. There is nothing more essential to the health than the purity of the atmospheric air. With hold it, and we die; pollute it, and a " thousand ills that flesh is heir to" happen. The past and present mode of burying the dead might have been the invention of some malign being to render baneful this essential ele ment of healthful existence. Cathedrals, parish churches, churchyards, and burial-grounds of all kinds, consecrated and unconsecrated, are la boratories of disease ; earth and walls are satu rated with putrefaction, and the air in them and around them is charged with sublimated particles, which entering the lungs of the busy and unsuspecting popula tion of our city, are poisoning them by inches, if they do not in many instances prove speedily fatal.—(Rear, hear.) lie continued—l will venture to read a brief extract or two from a valuable communication from the pen of W. Simpson, surgeon, to the Journal of Public Health for April, 1849. The facts are taken from the writings of Mr. G. A. Walker—from the publications of that gentleman, who has done so much to enlighten the world on this subject. He says— " Let any one look with unprejudiced eyes at the actual state of the metropolitan graveyards and bury ing places; let him examine the vaults crowded with dead, over which, separated by a thin covering, he must sit during divine service, and ask himself whether such things ought to exist. The numbers annually buried in the Portugal-street burial-ground are ten times as many as they ought to be, and the necessity of obtaining room gives rise to the most revolting in decencies. Of some of them Mr. Walker was himself an eye-witness. He saw heaps of coffin• wood perfectly fresh, with cloth covering—bones on the surface pre pared for removal, and experienced the effects of the (Slavin which are constantly thrown off from the surface. The new Bunhill-fields burying-ground, Dover-road, Borough, contains about two-thirds of an acre of ground, and receives every year about 1,560 bodies— average, 2,323 to an acre. It has been calculated by Mr. Chadwick that no ground can neutralize more than 110 bodies annually to the acre. According to Mr. Walker's calculation, 136 are the utmost—thus - twenty times as many bodies are buried every year in this ground as ought to be. And thus the violation of the tomb must be inevitable—must be a work of daily necessity."—(Hear.) He quotes one instance of the atrocities committed under this hideous system, which I cannot omit to refer to, though it exhibits human nature under a most revolting and humiliating aspect. " The Spa-fields ourying-ground, London, contains 42,640 feet, and might inter decently about 1,361 bodies. Within a period of fifty years about Bu,ooo bodies have been deposited there. The number of burials average 1,500 per annum, in place of 1,361 in perpetno. The gravediggers in this ground have committed the most fearful atrocities on the bodies of the dead. The long hair of women has been cut off and sold to hair-drossers;. teeth have been taken from every corpse worth ravag ing, and the clothes of the dead torn off by these mid night miscreants. The practice of burning coffins and portions of their contents in the Spa-fields burying•ground, has been carried on upwards of a quarter of a century—a fire has been constantly burning day and night. It has not been possible for a long time to obtain a grave without muti lation and disturbance of previous corpses. The coffins of still born' children have been broken up and used for the purpose of lighting the fires in the bone-house, because they are made of deal."—(Hear, hear.) Let me now refer to a case fully proving the danger of opening graves, and filling the surrounding atmosphere with the subtle poison which exhales from decayed bodies. " The circumstances connected with the outbreak of fever in Minehinhampton sustain to the fullest extent these opinions. Minchinhampton is a swat! town in Gloucestershire, containing about eight hundred inhabi tants. It is pleasantly and healthily situated on a declivity, wo•ll drained, free from most causes of disease, and re markably exempt from fever heretofore. Dr. Daniel Smith had not met with a single case of typhus during four teen years' practice in it. Tho church and churchyard are very old—the latter has served as a burial-ground for the last 500 years, and is small in extent. In 1843, the church was rebuilt, and it became necessary to lower the surface of the churchyard a few feet. The earth so removed was, in a fatal hour, devoted to purposes of agriculture. 'the o d n s e o t f ho d u i s s a s n as d e, ca t r h t us loa w d i s de w l3 e . re so t w hu n s , employed. f f e a le i r ly br o o f ke th o e ut re in cto th r, is a p h r d ev th io s usl pro( healthy.ucedlothcaeliirtyr.eesulel:th—e the first attacked, and the greatest in habitants of the street adjoining theeh t u u ri e h r y e a r r o d : were the most startling and astounding, and when matters of vital import, of the most profound interest, are disre garded or treated with negligence and indifference. Such a crisis may arrive with regard to public health in this country. Whilst the cries of enslaved negroes, the de m: h ho r o r o es p o y u , r gh ey physical it e nc cal ainfinitely call of energies e r impaired ip mands o f di s t ant co l on i es f or succour an d ass i stance, are listened to an d re li eve d b y t h e no bl e b u t thousands n sometimes misdirected eff o rts of B r iti s h philan thropy, claims,oauirrefd fellow b3 t t-h h c e eo us nl slow w y r y ma far nedn insidious operation of causes, the effects of which they can neither avoid nor control, are unfortunately passed over with indifference, or heard without commiseration. The experience of the wisest men, of all ages, has gone far to prove that the mental and moil! qualities of a people materially depend on their physical organization —that causes, injuriously affecting the latter, must surely and inevitably blunt the susceptibilities and im p:air the energies of the former—and since the physical being can be modified and altered by varying the exter nal influ' laces acting on our population, the importance, nay, imperative necessity, of due sanitary regulations for the conservation of the public health must be a paramount and primary consideration in the projection of any scheme of social improvement.—(hear, hoar.) lie was reading y es t er d a y an art i c l e i n the Time s newspaper which struck him very forcibly, and, with the permission of the meeting, he would call its at tention to it. The article had reference to the returns made by the Registrar General of the Marriages, Births, and Dea'hs of the nation : " The cholera," said the writer, " as we have said, did not produce effects enough to overbalance the results of sanitary improvements combined with a tolerably healthy season. There died of this disease in London, during the last quarter of the past year, 516 persons of all ages, being full 500 above the average from that complaint. Oa the other hand, the deaths from typhus, though 700 in number, were 223 less than in the winter previous; but these figures in themselves are enough to show how far more serious than our occasional epi demics are those maladies which are always with us, un seen and almost unnoticed. The disorder registered as ' bronchitis' must either have enormously increased of late years, or it must be made to comprehend a variety of diseases formerly known by more vulgar names, for its doings within the limits of the metropolis in the single winter of 1848 alone are represented by the item of 1,271, being second only to consumption. In fact, consumption, bronchitis, and pneumonia together, are the causes of one-fourth of all the deaths in the kingdom." Now, what did those facts prove? In his opinion they were the basis on which would be built a series of most invaluable facts. They showed too clearly that con sumption, bronchitis, or affections of the bronchial tubes, and pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs, were the causes of one-fourth of all the deaths in the kingdom. —(Hear, hear.) Well, that was not at all extraordinary to him ; it might appear very strange—exceedingly strange to them ; but if they knew what he knew—and really they might be just as much acquainted with the matter as himself—if they knew that they must take air into their lungs 28,000 times in every twenty-four hours—that the heart beating, say seventy-five times a minute, each time propelling about two ounces of blood— that this blood supplied the air-tubes, the lungs, the blood vessels, and absorbents—if they knew those things, could they at all wonder that consumption attacked so many people of this country ?—(Hear.) He thought not ; the wonder to him was that deaths from consumption were not more numerous.—(Hear, hear.) He would also read a most important statement in re ference to this question from the writings of a well known and most talented physician, Sydenham, who practised in London during the time of the great plague of London in 1665. Talking of the pestilential fever and plague of the years 1665 and 1666, he said:— " Fever, however, of the true malignant character, is anything but an every• day disease; and from those other forms of fever which are called malignant, only on the strength of the severity of their symptoms, it differs both in kind and character. Its true affinities are with plague, nor more nor less; and from the true plague it is distinguished only by its difference in degree." Then he went on to say—speaking of the constitution and peculiar condition of the atmosphere to which he (Mr. Walker) would earnestly request their close atten tion, he continued:— " Over and above, however, this constitution of the atmosphere and these general influences, there must be an additional determination in the form of a susception of the miasma. This means—the admission of the mor bid principle from some pestiferous body, either imme diately and by close contact, or mediately from the transmission of a forces. When these conditions coin cide with the disposition of the atmosphere which we described, a small spark gives origin to a fearful confla gration. Death presses upon death; and partly from the exhalations of those who have sickened, and partly from the corpses of those who have died, disease and contagion are propagated through the whole atmosphere of the affected area. And now both the existence of the fomites and the presence of the stricken have ceased to be the conditions of its propagation. The simple atmos phere drawn in as we breathe is in itself and of itself sufficient to destroy; and it deztroys even those who have been removed with all care from the affected, pro vided only that their bodies be impregnated with the humours adapted to the receipt of the influence." With the permission of the meeting he would give an other line or two, and then conclude as quickly as pos sible. They would perceive from the remarks of the celebrated Sydenham, the author whom he had just quoted, that to bring about a constitution of the atmosphere favourable to propagation of that disease, they must have peculiar conditions of weather. IN ow he would read an extract from a very old work, which perhaps many would hear for the first time. It referred :o the time of the plague, when a hundred thousand people died in the then comparatively thin population of London. 12,000 persons tperished in one w,:ek in the month of Septemn:r, upwards of 4,000 souls being sent prematurely to their last account during one night alone. The writer ssii— During the time of the plague there was such a general calm and serenity as if the wind and rain also had banished the realm, for for many weeks together I could not observe the least breath of wind, not enough to stir a weathercock or a fane; if any, it was southerly; the fires with great difficulty were made to burn, I sup pose through the great scarcity of nitre in the air. There fell abundance of mildews, and the very birds would pant for breath, especially crows, kites, &c.; and I observed them to tall more heavily than at other times." He (Mr. Walker) considered that a most important matter. They had no business to talk of Providential visitations, though he bowed to the decrees of the Almighty as reverently as any man, when they knew that the remedy was in their own hands. Nei ther had the clergy, who permitted or sanctioned, or attempted to continue this practice, any right to repeat as they did Sunday after Sunday, to that God whose very providence they were abusing, the prayer "From plague, pestilence, and famine, good Lord de liver us."—(Cheers.) He knew there were many good men among them, but he trusted they would soon find out that he was right and that they were wrong. He thought the time was not far distant when they might calculate upon such assistance in the House of Commons as would enable them to carry the measure which they sought to obtain.—(Chjers.) One word more—he would warn men to he careful how they cor ruptedhe earth atmosphere co wasrtrhuep t earth, eed,rru tpht f te c d r , s so surely es au s tr u he r el e yd l , y wa a en s udi t d h e stoh s e llr as fil tum C r e eol of yp f a s that atmosphere was corrupted every organ and all the tissues of their body must be supplied with blood of an unwholesome kind. The heart, the liver, the brain, and the various tissues must be supplied with blood of some quality or another ; and the resolution which he was about to propose was to pray that the House of Commons, would, as soon as possible, give the working and labouring population, the sinews of the nation—that it would give them at least, if it gave them nothing more, exemption from those pestilential causes of disease.—(Cheers.) Mr. Walker concluded by proposing the following resolution: "It having been repeatedly demonstrated that the practice of burying the dead in the midst of the living produces the most deplorable consequences to the health of the community, by poisoning the air we breathe and the water we drink, this meeting deeply regrets that a question, involving the disposal of some 600,000 bodies, the annual mortality of the United Kingdom. should not have taken precedence of all others in the sanitary mea sures passed in the last session of Parliament. That more especially at the present time, when cholera is among us, the constant disturbance of dead bodies, in every stage of decomposition, and the exposure of human remains in consequence of the incessant upturning of the soil, for the purpose of making graves in places long since filled to repletion, ought to be instantly abolished. That this meeting also protests most strongly, on the ground of the utter worthlessness of the protection thereby afforded to the public health, and for other cogent reasons, against the practice of depositing bodies in vaults, or other receptacles, under churches or cha pels, whether in leaden or pitched' coffins; and there fore it records its unqualified condemnation of clause 112 of the City sanitary measure, which, in the year 11148, legalised this most objectionable and destructive custom." The CHAIRMAN apologised for the absence of Mr. Mackinnon, M.P., and Mr. Wyld, M.P., from the meet ing.qcouuesrstieoonff t o h r e a eveningmoment. beroTrheeythebpardocaeessdtiinregds Both Honourable Gentlemen were detained by particular engagements, but their attachment t o th e cause couldief at all practicable they wo u ld att en d so m e timehn e that e t t the terminated. Mr. LUKE JAMES HANSARD, in seconding the resolu tion, said he thought Mr. Walker had clearly proved that intramural burials were not only merely a nuisance, but a great injury to the health, well-being, and morality of the people of this metropolis. He was entitled to great credit for persevering in keeping that great sub ject constantly before the attention of the public, and he hoped he would continue to do so until he succeeded at last in forcing it upon the attention of the Legislature and the Government.—(Hear. hear.) The Chairman had also said sufficient to satisfy any ordinary mind of the evil effects of the present system, and if he had been a general of some great army, going about from country to country and slaughtering his fellow-creatures, he could not have applied his pow der, his ammunition, and his sh ot with greater effect than he had done that evening his oratorical weapons and missiles upon behalf o f a peaceful agitation.— (Cheers.) They had to con sider bow far the subject had reference to the feelings of the living, and how far to the sacred regards o f the dead. Although he had followed Mr. Walker in his visits to the graveyards of London, he could not p retend to an y thin g like his zeal and perseverance in the cause, but he could confirm the testimony which he had given. In the New Bunhill fields burial-ground he saw as many as twelve or fifteen graves open; they were all walled up with coffins; some were three or four feet deep, for infants, others about eight or ten feet, and most of them were within a foot of the surface,—(llear, hear.) He was Also startled at seeing in the sexton's depository undecayed Fds of coffins with inscriptions upon them; he broke a piece from one of them, and produced it at the meeting which was held in Leicester-square, to show what he stated was correct. The impression produced on his mind by that piece of coffin was that the body which it contained had not undergone the natural course of decay appointed by the Creator—that of returning from flesh into dust—and that the undecayed coffins were taken up from the earth for sale, and for making roads with, as was the case in the neighbourhood of Euston-square. It was upon those grounds that they, as reasonable men, ought to enter into the consideration of the subject, and if he might presume to:call upon them to sanction this resolution, it was that they should do it upon the best approval of their minds, and the best conviction of their heart and understanding. The Legislature could not postpone the subject much longer if the people joined together in the way in which they had met together that evening, and if they made that meeting a nucleus of action. It was attributed to Sh4kespere, that great spirit who so faithfully held the mirror up to nature, with all those fine feelings which were generated by the contemplation of human nature, that he recorded his great and most earnest desire that uo one should disturb his remains— " Good friend, fur Jesus' sake, forbear To dig the dust entombed here; Blest be he who spares these stones, And curst be he who moves my bones." (Applause.) Mr. Hansard concluded by seconding the resolution. Mr. Roor:ris said, before the resolution was put to the meeting, he trusted he might be permitted to claim their attention for a few minutes. That resolution had his deepest and fullest support. He felt that they were all convinced of the urgent necessity of some legislative measure that would p ut a stop to this evil. Having spent almost all his leisure for many years in gathering information relating to this important question, he trusted the meeting would give him the opportunity of bringing before them a few of the facts which he had collected. This was a question that was to be settled by facts, and by facts al one . A num b er of medical men had disputed the truth of the observations that had been made upon this atrocious system; but, however, truth was mighty, and would at all times pre vail.—(Applause.) They bad in London 212 acres of land devoted to burial-grounds, 176 acres of which be longed to the Church of England—that Church whose principle it was to do unto others as it wished others to do to them.—(oh, oh.) The Dissenting community had only thirty-six acres of ground in this metropolis devoted to burial places. They buried 50,000 persons in those 212 acres of ground. He found from a calculation he had made that no less a quantity than 2,160,0001b5. weight of human flesh were annually buried in the grave yards of this metropolis; and during the last forty years they had buried 40,000,0001b5. of human flesh, the ef fluvia from the decomposition of which has tended to shorten the lives of hundreds of their neigh bours and friends.—(Hear, hear.) It stood to reason thiit either the graveyards of this metropolis must rise above the surrounding streets, or that the debris of the dead was from time to time made away with. He knew a street not far from them—Church -street, where there was a distinct thoroughfare over a consecrated burial ground.-11ear, hear.) He was anxious to bring before them the condition of certain graveyards, some of which he had visited and examined within a very short time. He knew if they could only sweep away the abominations connected with this system, which the Church was charge able with, they would succeed; for the Dissenters as a body were not powerful to do much mischief in this matter.—(Laughter.) The following were a few of the remarks which his visit to some of the graveyards had suggested:— " In St. Bride's, Fleet-street, there were 427 persons buried to the acre. The burial-ground in Farringdon street was in some parts four, in others seven, in others fifteen feet above the level of the ground-floor of the adjacent houses. No vestige of grass. Several recent graves. Has a pump at the corner; the water is very dark. A woman, living in an adjacent house, stated it was offensive and unfit to drink. The owner of a house adjoining the graveyard in Farringdon-street stated that during the summer months he was horribly annoyed by the disgusting smell, by a crowd of noisome flies, earwihs, and other'insects; that it was full to repletion; that his daughter last summer was affected with typhus; that his assistant and apprentice had laboured under the same disease, and he had been affected therewith three times; that there was a box kept to hold the human bones in. The graveyard is a quarter of an acre in extent; not a vestige of grass on the ground. There are only four tombstones, and nearly all the rest of the ground is flat. "In St. Andrew's, Holborn, here were 250 pers ons buried to the acre. In some parts the graveyard is 15 feet above the level of the ground floor of the adjacent houses; similar absence of grass ; on one side there were 13 recent graves ; on the other a large heap of rubbish, in terspersed profusely with human bones ; one open grave, coffins on each side, no mould between ; nearest coffin to the top distanced two feet ; there was evidently a brisk trade done.—(Laughter.) At one side of the church yard stands one of the City of London charity schools. One of the children stated that at times there is a very offensive smell ; a woman in an adjacent house also com plained of smell ; she stated also that no one stopped there long ; all were anxious to get away. There were a numb:r of holes, where borings had been made for the purpose of ascertaining whether there was any more room for coffins. Thomas's-ground, Golden•lane, is about a quarter, or, perhaps, half an acre in extent. Three open graves; the surface scattered over with bones, &c. The keeper and his wire complained that they were doing •ery little business—(Laughter)--as the place below—thu City Bunhill—took away all the trade. The entrance to this Golgotha was a narrow, low, and dirty alley, called Rose passage. " At Worship-street Chapel the sextoness told me they bury their own congregation, and as many more us they can ge: ; is closely surrounded by houses of the poor. "At St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, are buried about 396 per sons tot he acre. Business over when I reached it, but giving evidence of having done brisk trade during the day ; one part looked like newly ploughed. The backs of many houses look into it. I believe the Bishop of London formerly officiated here, and drew his facts from thence, perhaps, on which to found his assertion of the harmlessness of intramural burial. " At St. Sepulchre's about 293 persons are buried to the acre. The graveyard is in a similar conaition as regards grass; is considerably elevated, in one part about four feet; several recent graves; the rest flat. The gravedigger would not admit me to view the ground closely; one open grave; he stated he could not dig a grave without boring. " At St. Botolph's, Aldersgate-street, about 631 per sons to the acre are buried. The ground is excessively crowded; one open grave; sides lined with decayed and decaying coffins. Evidently a brisk business done; several skulls and other human remains in sight; entire absence of grass.—(Laughter.) " St. Olave's, Silver street, Falcon-square, 335 square yarfls. Threw recent graves; no grass. Two dead cats and other rubbish thrown into it.—(Laughter.) Ground raised several feet. _ " Cripplegate Churchyard, 346 to the acre. Sexton rather sulkily refused to admit MC. •' City, Buuhill, 605 to acre. Gravedigger rather savagely refused admission to me, but on any stating a desire to bury a friend altered his tone.—(Laughter.) There were eight open graves, all lined with recent coffins; no mould between; some exceedingly deep; one at least 25 feet; at the bottoms of some recent coffins no mould between. W hen I was discovered taking notes the proprietor and gravediggers surrounded me, and denounced my doings end inquired my objects, and when I stated them warned me what I said. "Holy Trinity, Haydon-square, is paved over, and about the size of Meard's-court. There is a public thoroughfare upon the gr iund, where I saw boys play ing at marbles. There are great numbers buried there. Mr. Paterson informed me that they had shortly before dug a grave just outside his door, and the skulls and other bones were kicking about his passage." Now he would call on the members of that meeting to lend their assistance to put a stop to those atrocious doings. Lord Morpeth once told certain gentlemen who took an interest in putting an end to this system, and who waited on his Lordship. that he was perfectly aware of those evils, but they must go back and educate the people, for he and those with whom he acted could do nothing in the House of Commons unless they had the pressure from without.—(Loud cheers.) He (Mr. Rogers) and his friends around him on the platform were striving by that meeting, and by a hundred means, to educate the people as far as they were able. He could assure them further that the longer the agita tion continued the more it would interfere with his pro fessional pursuits. He wished, for his own sake, that it was brought to a conclusion; he wished that also for their sake; but having taken up the subject from an ac cidental circumstance, he had since followed it up from conviction, and for his own part he should continue to do se, and he had no doubt that his friends and coadjutors would do the same until they succeeded in crushing out that great abilse.—(Cheers.) With every thank' for his kind reception, he would take his leave of them hy sup porting the resolution: Mr. GEo. F. CARDEN, a gentleman in the body of the meeting, after expounding the benefits t from the establishment of cemeterie s in the s b u e bu d r e b r s ive o d f London, gave his cordial support to the r esolution. was The CHAIRMAN then put it to the mee tin g a carried unanimously. A person in front of the platform here suggested t hat some thing should be done abo ut a more econom ica l mode of carrying bodies to ceme teries for interment. Mr. Ross rose to propose the next resolution:— " That this meeting believes that the many injurious consequences unavoidably resulting from the present system of interring the dead, can only be removed by a legislative enactment, originated with, or supported by her Majesty's Government. That in the year 1842, a Committee of the House of Commons reported to Parliament, That after a long and patient investiga tion, they could not arrive at any other conclusion than that the nuisance of interments in large towns, and the injury arising to the health of the community from the practice, were fully proved. That the evils of inter ment in towns and populous places had grown to such a height, that no time ought to be lost by the ,Legis lature in applying a remedy. That this eustOm had desecrated the repose of the dead, and injured the health and feelings of the living, could not be denied. That it had also exhibited the singular instance of the most wealthy, moral, and civilized community in the ;world, tolerating a practice and au abuse which had been cor rected for years by nearly all other civilized nations in every part of the globe: That these views of the Par liamentary Committee of 1842 were affirmed by_ ti majo rity of the House itself in the year 1845. That universal mischiefs require universal remedies, and, therefore, a General Act, for the establishmeni, of cemeteries in suitable 19calities, should be passed, as a mono of wise legislative economy, and of simple justice to the nation." In reference to the remark which had just been made• he might be allowed to state that it was intended that the Government should take up the subject, and if they did so, he had no doubt they would be careful that every detail connected with it was fully considered. It was. most important that some arrangement should be made to carry dead bodies to burial-grounds at the smallest possible expense.—(Hear, hear.) He had often asked himself the question why it was that this subject, which had been so long under discussion, was not settled yet-- why it was that his friend Mr. Walker, who had conse crated some of the best years of his life to obtaining facts, to amassing them, to diffusing them among the public, and to awakening public attention and public indig nation with respect to these most atrocious practices; why it was that he who had laboured so strenuously, and alone and single•handed in the advocacy of that cause, had not been rewarded with great success, and not achieved a triumph long ago.—(Hear, hear.) lie had inquired the reason, and he bad been Vid that those who had opposed them were the clergy and their sa teilites—(Hear)—that the clerical interest in the House of Commons, and the bench of Bishops in the House of Lords, were their opponents; but if they fought hard, and awakened the public sympathy, and bound together the masses who were most deeply interested in the matter, they would be able to force the Government to adopt some measures to meet the present exigencies and to redeem the Christianity of the country from the sacrilegious practices which now prevailed.—(Hear.) He stated that 2,158 persons died anenally in the parish of Whitechapel, and to accommodate that number of bodies fifteen acres of burial -ground would be required; whereas there were only three and a half acres, and sup posing no more;buried than it could conveniently hold, as many as 1,580 bodies would have to be left to rot in the streets. The present practice was, however, actually worse than that. To be sure, they did not bury in the streets, but they buried in their houses, and that in the most hallowed of houses,—the houses of God.—(Hear, hear.) Even the temples of God were made hordes of abo mination, they were profaned by being made the sources of private gain, although it was the duty of the clergy to preserve them from sacrilege of any kind.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") Mr. Ross then alluded to St. Bride's burial-ground, Fleet-street, and said, that after a number of bodies had been interred upon one occasion, three persons,were commissioned by the vestry to open the ground. Two of them had done their part of the work, and the third one was left to finish the lower portion, and whilst being so engaged, the ground lost its cohesion, in consequence of the putrescent matter having filtered through it, and gave way, and the person was actually buried alive. some of the coffins rested upon his breast, others over his legs, and many hours passed before they could ex tricate him from his position, and when they did he was quite dead. They had often talked of burying the dead among the living; but here was an instance of burying the living among the dead.— (Hear, hear.) It was said that intramural burials were not attended with those evils which were attributed to them. The Bishop of London, who, perhaps, might be looked up to as an authority, had stated that the alleged evils had been very much exaggerated—(Cheers) --but Dr. Russell, whose experience was derived from the same locality and the same churchyard to which Dr. Blomfield formerly belonged, stated just the reverse; he said the existing system was infamous, shocking, and horrible, and that it behoved the Government to take speedy measures to abolish it altogether. (Hear, hear.) Here ore doctor was combatting another; it was said two of a trade could not agree, and he thought they might congratulate themselves that such was the case in the present instance. Medical men had also stated that there was a great deal of exaggera tion connected with this subject. If there were exag geration it would be a virtue, because they could not exaggerate anything too much which was calculated to promote the public health.—(Hear, hear.) But they said they derived no infection from a dissecting -room—. that many young men came to London and attended tho dissecting-room, and that ne injury happened to them; and they brought forward that as an illustration of the innocuousness of the gases emitted from a dead body. He altogether denied that statement; the emanations from a dead body were deadly poison, and by means of medical agency they could make them produce almost any disease, and if they took a full charge they could almost kill any man upon the spot. If they took a less charge, perhaps, they might produce typhus and other diseases of less importance. Those lacts.were so incontestable that no medical man dared to deny them, and yet they pretended to deny them. To show the truth of what he stated, he said that a friend of his youth came to London to attend the dissecting room ; he worked hard in the confined atmosphere, polluted as it was with exhalations from dead bodies, but was soon -taken ill and went home, and died before big relatives and friends could be apprised of his danger. —(Hear, hear.) There was another topic which had 'not been alluded to at the meeting—it was that of keep ing dead bodies in the habitations of tho living prior to interment. Perhaps it was not generally known that it was a common practice among the poor of the metro polis to retain bodies in their apartments as long some times as a week or ten days; the consequence was that the survivors were frequently attacked with the same, if not a worse disease, and carried perhaps to the same tomb. In some instances it had happened that the very insects had crawled out from the coffin on to the table where the persons in the room were taking their food. They had at home acts of that kind committed every day in this metropolis. If those men were savage what were the people of this city? It was recently stated in the papers that in Ireland, at the present time, the poor suf fering people, perishing of hunger, kept their dyad re latives in their,housps—an accommodation whi c h wou ld not have been awarded to them it living. But the people committed the very eame act in this metropolis. What then could they say, if the poor Irishman, w ho had an ex cuse for what he did, who was pursued by hunger, and did that to preserve his own life? It was merely the imperfection of our social arrangements; and when the Government took up this question it was one which must be settled with all the other great questions which it embraced. He should not longer occupy their time, but would merely read the resolution which had been put into his hand to propose. Mr. GEORGE . seconded the resolution. He would not detain them beyond a single moment at that late hour. He came prepared to make a speech, but his speech would keep—(Laughter)—and he had no doubt at some future period be would have the pleasure of delivering it to a very enlightened audience. He would only say, that the evils of the present system could not be exag gerated.—(Hear.) The resolution was put from the chair, and carried by acclamation. Mr. PHILLIPS then moved the following resolution:— "That, in accordance with the foregoing resolutions, the following petition bo signed by the Chairman, on behalf of the meeting; and that he be respectfully re quested to take charge of its presentation to the House of Commons, and that the metropolitan Members be also requested to support the prayer thereof. " To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Briatln tad Ireland in Parlia ment assembled, " Sheweth—That your petifitiiieis have, during many years, had just cause for complaint, arising.not only from the number, but the overcharged state of the metropolitan and other burial places. That your petitioners have a firm conviction that the numerous and incalculable evils inseparable from a state of things at once destructi►e to health, degrading to religion, and insulting to humanity, will never be remedied unless your Honourable House interposes its authority. " Tliat your petitioners desire to express their un feigned satisfaction that this national grievance was the subject of inquiry by a Committee of your Honourable House in the year 1842, whe reported that, "after a long and patient - investigation, your Committee cannot arrive at any other cinclusion than that the nuisance of inter ments in large towns, and the injury arising to the health of the community from the practice, are fully proved." That, from the evidence adduced before the Committee, and many subsequent exposures of the terrible consequences resulting and necessarily arising from the present system of interment, your petitioners venture to express their earnest desire, that the burial of the dead in the midst of the living may be instantly and for ever prohibited, by the closing of all burial places in cities and towns, and by the adoption of such measures as may secure the public from the injurious and debasing practices at present existing. And your petitioners will ever pray.' "That, for the purpose of carrying out the objects of the petition, and of obtaining furl and legislative sup port, a fund be immediately raised by subscriptions 84 donations, which will be received by the honorary secre tary, Mr. Charles James Thicke, 17, New Bridge-street; by any member of the committee; and by the following bankers :—Messrs. Coats Strand ; Messrs. and Co., Masterman, Peters, Mildred and Co., Messrs. Spooner, Attwood, and 0., Gracechurch- street; Nicholas-lane; ree lane t ! Q and the Commercial Bank, Lothbuzy . Mr. GOSWELL seconded the motion, which was put and carried unanimously. The CHAIRMAN, after signing the petition, said he should take care that it should be presented to the House of Commons, accompanied by a prop er representat i on of the number and spirit of the meeting. Mr. LUKE JAMES HANSARD then moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which that gentleman briefly acknowledged, and the meeting separated. THE ----- ROCKINGHA M '•• OR, IHE YOU NGER BROTHER...—. This new work of fiction, which has lately attracted so much attention, is now ascertained to have been written by a distinguished nobleman, who lately retired from a very high diplomatic appointment.—Morning Post. The messenger of the Princess's Theatre, Mr. WI - Jean, has announced his annual benefit, which is fixed for Thursday next, the 24th inst. The entire strength of the company will be brought into action on that ucca sion. Thei eis no doubt of his being well supported by his frienus, as we can bear testimony of his obliging dis position._ _ _ _ - Love labour ; if you do not want it for food, you may for physic.—Eliza Cook's Journal. PEDESTRIANISM.—J. BRIEN AND C. HILET.—• This match, to walk three miles fair toe and heel, on a fair turnpike road, for 2001., was to have been brought to a conclusion on Tuesday, at Horn's Cross. Kent, but owing to the friends of Hiley demurring to the ground, which is as steep a mile in ascent and descent as can bo found for many miles round the metropolis, Brien walked over the ground by himself to claim the stakes. and thus the matter stands at present. It must be re marked that the friends of Hiley had not seen the ground till the day before the match. APPROACHING MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFS.--WE are enabled to announce that a matrimonial alliance is arranged, and will shortly be celebrated, between Sir James Carnegie, Bart., and the Lady Catherine Noel, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Gainsborough.— Posts