The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-11 00:00:00

He knew it because he put a mark on a tombstone near.
He did it because his wife asked him to mark it, in order
that she might bring the widow and childt n to see their
father's grave. The mother and children afterwards went
to the Necropolis and looked at the grave where they
thought their father wes buried. They were not then
aware of the removal• of his body to another grave.
J— C—'s wife made a similar statement. She
took the widow and children to mourn at the first grave,
thinking that the body was still there.
Richard Smith's examination continued : The charge
fora grave wis before 10a, it is now £l. Knows the family
grave of Mr. C—; it was purchased in 1866. A body
was lately buried there, but before it was buried, a body
which wee there before was taken up and placed with other
bodies elsewhere. That body was about five years down.
I know the family grave of H—; it was, before he got it.
the family grave of L—. The tombstone bearing the
name of L—, under which a body was placed, was
removed further up the ground, and the body which was
under it was placed in the "bone-house." The "bone-
house" is a deep grave into which the bones are thrown
and covered with mould.
Mr. L. said : I remember Mrs. -- L— being
buried in the Necropolis twenty years ago. She
died in childbed. Her husband was my brother.
He has left Liverpool. His mother in law remained in
Liverpool, and when she died we wanted to have
the family grave opened in order that she might be interred
there. The manager of the ground said that '' had
no ground there—that it had been transferred to s,mebody
else." We disputed it, and there a paper purporting to be
a transfer of the ground was produe•d, It was a manifest
forgery.-
Richard Smith's examination continued : I . know the
family grave of Mr. K. [Mr. Nl•Gowen produced Simpson's
receipt for this grave. It was for £6 is 6d, for grave and
stone and " expenses of first interment."] I know where
Mr. K— was buried. The name that was on the stone
before was T— C—. That name was erased, and the
stone then placed at K—'s grave. There were three
coffins in the grave before the body of K was placed in
it ; two of them were taken up and placed in the bone house.
The first coffin we took up was whole, and we placed it in
that state in the bone house ' • the lid of the other coffin was
split. The third coffin was left in the grave. The state-
-Arent in the receipt, as being a " first interment," is not
correct. The bodies were generally taken out of the
cemmon graves between seven and eight o'clock in the
morning. Evan Roberts has assisted many a time. Our
own minister generally read the prayers over the bodies
buried in the common graves. When they were removed
to another grave there was no funeral service over them
unless we would "sweat" at them. I mentioned
these matters to some of the trustees the
removal of the bodies. I afterwards mentioned
to them the burying of several bodies together. Many of
the bodies removed were buried in the ground where the
"cholera and fever deaths" were buried ; the graves were
opened down to the tops of the cholera and fever coffins.
I could show these spots.

Joseph Carl, lahiuter at the cemetery, said that he had
beard what Smith said, an that he could not contradict
hint.

Simpson, the sexton, on being recalled, said that what
Smith lied stated was in substanca correct.

This closed the evidence on the part of the Health Com-
mittee.

Dr. Holland asked what course the trustees intended to
pursue ?
Mr. Lace replied that there cluld be no question that
several bodies were buried in each of the common graves,
but in regard to the private graves, he thought there was
same mistake. They were kept as private and sacred as
possible. In the case of the common graves, it was at first
attempted to obey the order in council, but after a time it
was found impossible to do so, from the number of bodies
for which interments in the Necropolis were sought, there
being no 3tber place of burial in the town. The
Welsh people, in particular, sought interment there,
and in fact the trustees were obliged to raise the
price for a common grave front 103 to £l. The cost of a
private grave was £6, and as it was impossible for a labour-
ing man to pay that sum, the several interments in one
grave were rendered necessary.
Mr. M•Crowan : Yes, but your raising the pr:ce, and
burying the body first in a separate grave, naturally led the
people to believe they got a private grave for £1 In
addition to the indecency of rcamval, you also deceived
them.

Mr. Lace : The mode of separate interment at first was
for the sake of decency, and not for its violation. With
regard to the transfer of private graves, the Hey. Mr.
Kirkus knew nothing of it.
Dr. Holland : Tha object of the Order in Council was to
have the cemetery closed as soon as possible, but this
practice of interring several bodies together, in common
graves, would completely (bloat it.
Mr. Lowe • non holf of tito t, round hoc nocor pot Loon
touched; no interments of any kind have taken place in it.
T would advise tha trustees, from this out, to bury in no

common grave ; to sell none but private family graves.
Mr. M‘Gowati thought there was sufficient shown to
justify the Health Committee in calling for the closing of
the cemetery alt)gether. What guarantee could they that
private graves would not be again disturbed ? a practice
which he would contend was as illegal as indecent.
Mr. Lace : A sufficient guarantee will be given to that
effect. Besides, that about the private graves cin be ex-
plained.
Dr. Holland': Explanation is much wanted.
Mr. Lace observed that, if the Health Committee pressed
the closing up of the cemetery, he would require the wit-
nesses to be sworn. He looked upon this merely as a pre-
liminary enquiry.
•After some conversation, it was agreed to adjourn the
enquiry for a fortnight, the particular day to be named by
Dr Holland, to enable the trustees to submit whatever
evidence in explanation they might think fit, Mr. Lace,
on their behalf, undertaking that in the interm no interment
will take place in any common grave in the cemetery.

LIVERPOOL INSTITUTE

Last eveeing the R-v. H. S. Browne delivered a lecture
at the above place, Mount street. There was a very large
attendance of the members and frieu!s of the Liverpool
Sunday School and Literary Institute, this being one of a
course of weekly lectures delivered on behalf of that
society. Mr. R. C. Hall, on taking the chair, observed
that the duty he bad to discharge on that cecasion was a
very formal one, and he was quite sure that if lie attempted
to occupy their time, it would only be delaying their
pleasure; therefore, he should only introduce the lecturer,
the Rev. H. S. Browne, who was well known to them,
and state that the subject of the lecture was " Liverpoo
Life.''

The rev.. lecturer was received with great applause,
and on commencing his observations, he said there were
not many places that had undergone greater changes than
the town of Liverpool, which he showed was a place of com•
paratively recent establishment,and then proceeded to trace
its progress history from the reign of King John to that
of Queen Elizabeth, when its population did not exceed
800, and its mercantile fleet consisted of 15 vessels, the
largest of which was the Eagle, which was manned by
few men and a few boys. He next proceeded to trace
the progress it wade from that tiine to the reign of Queen
Anne, and then compared Liverpool as it was in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth and what it is in the reign of Queen
Vic'oria. Ae then,with considerable minuteness,proceeded
to state some interesting facts as to its population—the
great amount of food and drink that was daily and
howly coesuurd, which facts had been taken from returns.
He next dwelt on the variety or its population. a'moit
every place in the world being represented, and also the
variety of the religions, there being no less than 165 dif-
ferent places of worship in it, and 37 different sects.
Besides those, there were several other institutions for
religious instruction. He did not therefore think that
the religious welfare of the people had been forg,otten,
and lie denied that larger sums were given by the religious
public, for the education of the foreigner, than was devoted
to the people of the [awn. He then enumerated the
various educational institutions, particularly alluding to
the public library, expressing a hope that the time was
not far distant when there would be a library in every
ward, which he conceived was much required. He
expressed a hope that poll ical feeling was fast dying
away, never again to rise, and then mentioned the several
other institutions, and said there was much in Liverpool
life to admire, and he was happy that his lot had been
ca,t in such a place. There was, however, other ',bases
of Liverpool life which were much to be deplored ; and
he then, with his usual ability and eloquence, proceeded to
quote statistics from the Chief Constable's returns, as to
crime and drunkenness, which he said was much fostered
by the number of licensed public houses, and
then proceeded to read extracts from some papers
published on the subject of the lecture, upon
which he commented at considerable length, and then
referred to the daily police resorts, for the purpose of
showing that there was great crime and much degra-
dation in Liverpool. He concluded by suggesting as'a
remedy to sueli evils, the early closing of shops, and
proper rational amusements for those who are confined
to business; such as public gymnasiums, parks, and
libraries, and a grea'er spread of the truth of the Gospel.
The lecturer sat down amid loud applause. A vo'e of
thanks brought the meeting to a close.