The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-09-18 00:00:00

THE BURIALS ACT.

The Times has published the following letter on the
Burials Act

Sir,—The settlement of the Burials Bill is a matter
of congratulation even to its opponents, as putting an
end to a great deal of present strife and bitterness. I
cannot help indulging in the hope that its ultimate
result may be the lessening, if not the removal, of
certain causes of animosity which have been at work
for some time past. The Dissenters must feel that
they have reason for satisfaction, and that it is their
duty to banish from their minds any feelings of con-
tention which may have arisen during the contest.
The clergy will doubtless have a sense of disappoint-
ment and even of wrong that they conceive has been
done to them; but, as wise men, they will not suffer
these feelings to deprive them of their well-deserved
character for Christian charity and forbearance.
I will, Sir, go further, and express the hope that
happier relations may be brought about by the late
change than either party has anticipated, and that if
the origin of the measure was political in its character,
its effect may yet be religious. The Bill has, happily,
escaped an issue which would have rendered such
hopes untenable. Had the services not been limited
to such as can be called Christian, certain very serious
complications could not have been avoided. Bishops
could scarcely have consecrated new cemeteries; the
old ones would, in the estimation of most religious
persons, have suffered desecration. Both sides may
now remember that it is for the expression of a com-
mon faith and a most precious hope that we are
henceforth to share in the use of our burial grounds.
That hope, I am persuaded, is as dear to Noncon-
formists as to ourselves. Let this recollection hallow
the solemn moments we pass at the graves of those we
love, and send us back to our several tasks in faith,
and hope, and, last and best, in charity.
PIERS C. CLAUGHTON, BISHOP.

The first interment under the Burial Laws Amend-
ment Act, in the parish churchyard of Beckenham,
took place on Thursday in last week. The officiating
minister was the Rev. G. Samuel, Baptist, of Penge, who
interred the remains of one of the members of his church.
The service consisted of an extempore prayer, the read-
mg of passages of Scripture, a brief address, and the
singing of a hymn. The occasion excited some interest,
and several clergymen and strangers were present.
The service, which lasted half an hour, was marked
throughout by befitting solemnity. No allusion was
made to the exceptional character of the occasion.

THE COVENANTERS.—A covenanting
Basscommemora-
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EtiowntoLfinksthe :uNffeorretrhs
Bonertwhe
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on
Dr. Moir Porteous, who was one of the speakers.
said they were met commemorate the noble'
struggle which went on in Scotland 200 years ago. It
was fitting that before these services passed over, and
nearly a hundred of them had been held over, the
length and breadth of Scotland, one should be held in
the neighbourhood of the Rock, which stood as a sen-
tinel at the mouth of the Forth, and was a standing
witness for the Word of pod and the testimony held
by their fathers. It was impossible to tell how many
were imprisoned on the Baas, as they were sentenced
in companies, but many names ha.d been preserved,
such ,a 4 Ffaittr o)3rae. (.11Qg PLlCAtearrtt_Eekry_the
propliet,And iohnei3lackadder.