The Express.
London, England, 1850-05-23 00:00:00

Mr STEVENS then proposed that Me. Mackinnon, M.P.,
take the chair, which motion was carried untaintoarly ; but
chat tags. gentleman declined the offi-e, beams, by being the
chairman, w would be considered pleaged to the naolations
which might be passed, and some of them might be altoge-
ther opposed to his tee hugs, and which his duty would not
permit him to concur in. (Cheers.) lie was anxious that
the bill in its general principle should pass—(cries of "Oh !")
—there might he some present who were of a different
opinion—('I That there are")—therekee it would bean act
of hajolicy in him to preside over the meeting. (Cheers.)
He would, however, offer a few observations in the course
of the proceedings.
lir. NICHOLAY, a furrier, of Oxford-street, was then
voted to the chair, and having taken hie seat, observed that
the subject which they had met to disease was an Important
one. As a sankasy reformer he was anxious to carry oat
sanitary reform in respect to interments, sad tocheck abuses ;
but in remedying existing abuses they mast take care they
did not establish others. The opponents of the bill were
said to be undertakers, bat he was not ea undertaker, use
had he any interest In any cemetery essimpany. He had
attended on public grounds. If she government were
really anxious to promote saritary reform, there were
other eubjects which should have preceded that of inter-
ments. There was the window tax (Hear, hear)—the
ri mission of which would be forced from them goon. There
were many clauses in the bill which appeared to him mot
arbitrary. There were no doubt many existing graveyards
which wen a disgrace to the metropolis, and which ought
certainly to be closed ; but in d-ing so, the rights of the people
as well as those of the parsons and sextons, ought to be con-
sidertd. (Cheers.) He looked upon the bill as one huge
job. It proposed to close all the grave-yards and buy up the
cemetery companies, and then take the whole subject of
(menses, into their own hands. ("No," and cheers.) Well,
that was as he read the bill. (" It is so.") And then there
woe to be one large cemetery some miles front town, to which
all the dead were to be carried. (" No, no," and hear.)
MU: might be some in the meeting who entertained a dif-
(trent opinion, and he should be happy to hear them. He
'yawned that Mr. B. Osborne, who was to have presided,
cou:d not be present, not hosing yet returned to town. He
was glad to say that Lord 1) Stuart bad c :me forward in
the most honourable manner to oppose this unc.nstitutionel
bill. The chairman concluded by reading letters front Lord
D. Stuart, Sir Do L. Evans, and Mr. Doneembs, M.P.,
excusing themselves from attending the meetirg on the
ground of other engagements, but all promising to give their
beet attention to the resolutions which might be passed, and
the latter hon. gentlemen proatilng to propose amendments
to bill, and to move the omission of the more objection.
able clause..

/dr. COOKE EVANS moved the first moieties :

- -
That this meeting it devote tenvible of the neatwity for a neural
lertiMative enactment, ptomaines effectual wand over the leterotert
of the dead, and preventing the abuse. at preterit couneeted with
intramural 'vulture; but le of opinion that tat. Metropolitan Wer-
ra n•a Mil now before parliament la throughout fundamentally
objeetionalo, and wholly falls to seem the et.Jett for which it has
been profertedly introduced.

Although this meeting ba l be en e.nvened by oppolents
of the goverwmeat measure, he could see that there were
retie men prevent who were not prepared to join in the
opposition. (Hear, hear.) He was glad of it, oreau-e he
believed that nothing was neeesuiry but full, free, ehil
rational dismission, to establish the demerits of the CI( a•ure.
(Hear, hear.) It might be asked what interest a. a her.
Hater, had In this qui orlon. Iles answer s. w, th uas
the aittrorli se rublie, being likely to come under the in-
fluence of the Setif UTC:he felt jtistifi d in com4,g forwarl
manfully to express his 'TWIN'. (Hear, hear.) The advent
of the cholera last year had suggested the
adoption of this measure. A COM:Oil/10A of inquiry into
the sanitary coadition of the kingdom was instituted, and
IMPUILKII like the present were reconirteoded But why
was the only measure reposed one strictly cohfined to the
metropolis ? Ctuntty towt.s, and the great manufacturing
towns of the north, required reform in these matters as much
as London ; but the fact was, that the eommissionen thought
that by confining themselves to Londia they would
avoid waking ta, the oppn.it:oa of the rest of
the country. While he objected to the /gesture
immtdiate.-, tinder con.ideratit n, he claimed the priv.lege
et melbas himself as great a sanitary reformer as any oar,
but he wished to me lechery reform in every hieg—ia
water, is window lights, in ventilation, and, Isstly, in utter-
most*. (Hear, hear.) It was on record that 19,009 pusses
perished tens cholera in London Let autumn, and that the
average weal mortality of the metropolis was 62,0011. llwg
:An knows that the whole of this mass of mortality was buried
within the pr.eiset. of the City, and is a epece not ex:med-
ia; In the whole 218 eerie, from the surface of which poison.
cies gams were conitantly exhaling. These were facts be-
yond dispute, and therefore all must be ih.reed as to the
necessity of sanitary reform. (Hear, hear.) What their
objictioa we., was the nature of the measure
which bad bees introduced by the government as a
remedy. (II or, hear.) Nash bad been said of the expenses
of undertakers. He must say that undertakers were as
saxious to amke the most of a job a. other men, but were not
the members of paid public beards cm.ttly in the same
predicament? (Cheers.) Mr. Evans, hav:ng minutely
analysed the bill, and objected to its centralising character,
ccncluded be moving the resolution.
Mr. ROGEILS, of St. Lea's, Soho, seconded the resolu.
Lion. He had made so great sacrifices in the are of sanitary
refers as any man, but he had not done so in order tr.
enable the government to perpetra's ej.b. He eb eeted to
the Board of Health haring the control of this matter, for
he leaked upon that board with great .uspicion.
The Meeting had not Originated when we went to press.