The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-08-20 00:00:00

SELECT VESTRY.-,YESTERDAY

, The usual fortnightly meeting of the Select Vestry,
Was held in the Parish Offices, Brownlow-hill, at ten
oth'eloek, yesterday. The Rev. Ree'or Campbell occupied
Woodruff,
chair. The other members present, were Messrs.
Bairstow, Whitby, Bold, Owen, H. Jones,
Paw, Denton, Satchell, !Mellor, Critchley, Lull', J.
Jones, Cooke, Crellin, and Jackson.
The Chairman said, before the proceedings coin•
illeneed, he wished to refer to a communication he had
received from Mr. Thomas Urquhart. That gentleman
stated that,)acco line- to the rcport in the Courier, he
(the irtr
an called' him the prime mover in the affair
the Walton cemetery. Now, he did not say that Mr
Mr(ltlhart was the prime mover, but that lie was one of
Prrintoters. As he was very anxious not to damag,e
Tr Urquhart's reputation, he thought the best thing he
uld do, was to read the letter he had received from
lnAt Rename The Chairman then read the following
letter 11.

R'
Brynley House, Menai Bridge, 15th Aug , 18.56.
• rtev. Sir,—.From the Select Vestry's proceedings, as
;n the Courier of the sth instant, you are reported to
It' said "that with regard to the new cemetery being
a Soh, perhaps I need not refer to it. But as far as my
Memory serves me, Mr. Urquhart was the prime mover ;"
thus in-inuating that I was " the prime mover " in the
Be-called cemetery job, which cost the parish above
415,00 Cf- This is incorrect—because I did not take any
cart, directly or indirectly, in the instructions, the pur-
base,- or the payment, nor bad•l any sympathy in such
a wasteful expenditure of the parishioners' money—nor
wa‘ I on the SeleCt Vestry when the purchase was made.
Iteing re-elected on the Vestry about two months
after the contract was mate, I then, for the first time,
flew the purchase was made, aril from whom—the
nature of the land, and the situation. I then remon...
Itta ed will the sellers of the land, (the churchwardens,
the overseers, and the Select Vestry,) against their
jli:gagement to pay above £9,200 for an isolated,
fol:achipted, inconvenient, and expensive `
piece of land
the burial of the poor and the paupers of the parish.
48 they would not be induced to cancel their contract, I
11.1rged on them, as they had made such a bad contract
land parish, they ought to secure an entracce to the
turnfrom Bootle-lane, and not take the circuitous
or nearly two miles, and through expensive
After my frequent remonstrations were in

be parishioners, in general vestry, in the hope the
eisontract would be abandoned, the land disposed of, or
ti;le Purchase extended to Bootle-lane, resolved on
~:neralving a public cemetery, extensive enough for all the
The Cemetery purposes of the inhabitants.
tlect Vestry took no notice of the resolutions of
2b"" Renseeral vestry sent to them, and entered in their
°.ksi but went on contracting, and erecting expensive
vralls and buildings on the Walton ground.
rter the walls were built, in the hope the land would
garden be used as a cemetery, being so well adaptod for
greater
Purposes, the Select Vestry then converted the
tudater pan of the ground into garden land, for the
thellBtrial and useful training of the pauper children of
Kirkdale schools, and while I was on the Select
jetitt no ,
for the' resolution was ever passed to pay any money
74, so called Walton cemetery.
gehuese facts, and reference to other proceedings of the
Bp
7ral select vestries, while you sere in the chair, may
thelailrbserve your memory, as to convince you " that Mr.
eett;;„"art Wag the prime mover" to prevent "the new
at tle,rY being a job ; " and not as represented by you
the'e last vestry meeting.
terefore, write to you, in the hope that you will, at
I)ortendext vestry meeting, correct the statement as re-
4)bedient-°," Prejudice.—l am, reverend sir, your most
t ervant, THOMAS URQUHART.
4° the Rev. A. Camnbell, Rector of Liverpool,
and Chairman of the Select Vestry.

WottlitioUsE COMMITTEE,
appear The proceedings of this 'committee were read. It
tiled that the number admitted during the week to
he vagrant sheds were 271 males, 132 females, and 43
hospital all, 446. The number of sick cases in
land tan the 13th inst. were 484,
land 28 including 13 fever
The total numbers in the house the
13th inst. Were 1,956.
pePr• Shaw in moving the adoption of the proceedings,
of LI." to the success which had attended the adoption
that, test. Gentlemen of the hoard must he aware
e4ll. InanY years, until the mill had been erecte.l, it
was 'nund •1 Ito weed the house of a certain
~18„ possi
byes had
People, whose fathers, grandfat.her.s, and rela-
y), "an made it their habitation. But since the test of
„Pill had been applied an effectual cure was the
aebtf,' an much so, that whereas there used to be many
‘,,a—uodied persons there, at the present moment there
u 4 not absolutely one. It would be dieing an injustice
hin°ll,his Part if he did not call the altellion of the
RA-4 to tile able and efficient manner in which the
atittetrinnr had conducted these operations. He had done
the tat anYlindy could do under the circumstances, and
uoard was mainly indebted to him for the results
whieh liad followed.
Mr. ►
Woodruff said it was very satisfactory to hear that
the w Rend had taken place in the ma"agement of
_ eurtiZkillcuse, but he did not think the governor was
„ 'n all the credit. It was originated long before
eie",v'ernor came to the house, and he thought its effi-
si,:„,earrYing out Was due in a great measure, to the
Pre'rle"cer,aeVrtivity of that 'committee than to that of Ls
11Ir. •
--enton thought it rather ungenerous that Mr__
"nruff should make these remarks. It was well
atna?: antltat the house was not previously in an efficient
no meansd that the committee could net classify. and had
tvhfor of testing, the paupers. That was the reason
Noj .nrirn'r committees could not carry out their plans
znilt,lrhee.house was properly- classified, and they bad the
and
st trstotv denied that the bath test was of no avail
toidOted that the superintendent of the vagrant sheds
b numbers of people would not go through the
a'n for a 10tt,3-*
The Su
eject then dropped.
Man
e Clerk read the following letter from Mr. Wight-
,. .--.
(thDear Liverpool, August 16, 1856.
e ear have postponed answering your letter
the ate of which does not appear) on the subject of
b„,.acounts of the workhouse, in the hopes that I should
able to forward one portion of them this
Inv but have been prevented by circumstances outside
kith ran
I trust they will be completed next week.
of regard to the resolution of the finance committee
yo,:,use 4th November, 1853, I beg to observe that the
therefore then in progress, and very incomplete, and
CPassed it must have been nown at the time it was
r,;ed that it could not be complied with ; however, it
accondn." an excuse for refusing me a payment on
ain_ of my commission in the following year.—l
4,1 dear sir, yours faithfully, JOHN WIGHTNA.N.
40 the Rev. A. Campbell, &c., &c.,
Chairman of the Select Vestry.
proceedings were confirmed.
e..l:tie proceedings of the Industrial schools and finance
ouontihniiittee were read and confirmed, They contained
ng of importance.

. MARTIN'S CEMETERY.
tar he chairman s ST
tated that he had written to the Secre-
„hThr f State to say, that he had given notice to the
4-e-Preliwardens that he would not permit funerals to be
iti,n.ised in St. Martin's Cemetery after the 17th of
the6,".3,i, but, on the representation of the churchwardens
to"t`bls would be extremely inconvenient, the parish
1 eine in
th b a state of adequate preparation for convey-
tl,ll4 -ee bodies elsewhere, he 'had consented to extend
4: e to the 31st of August; and after the 31st of
0f g,usi, u nlesle
s be received an order from the Secretary
ail ate to close it sooner, he should discontinue
~"inR funerals to take place in St. Martin's Cemetery.
I,:e rePly be received the following :—" Sir,—l am di-
er-"” bY Secretary Sir George Grey to acknowledge the
jleeilit of your letter of the 12th, and to inform you,
; st no time should be lost in complying with the order
at)
4 Canncii to discontinue burials is St. Martin's Cerne-
`erY, Liverpool." That letter did not actually ord, r the
cemetery to be closed sooner, and he should, therefore,
!(2ntinue to permit funerals to
AI rtin's Cemetery until the Ist of September. Alter
the Stet of
b August he Would'n t permit any funerals to
e solemnised in John's churc that cemetery. He believed, also, that
7
St.
Yard would The Rev Taylor,
be closed about the same
church, had received not' aylor, the incumbent of that
ce from the Secretary of State,
to the effect that he must close that churchyard, and he
believed it would close about the same time. It was,
therefore, for the parish and the seleet vestry now to
take whatever measures the thought fit upon
the
subject, and to make arranrements for
burying their deal in sorne other .'l.ece With
y, he should place With
to Walton cemetery, h should wish them to
regard to Walton cemeter
perinit him to trouble them with atew observations.
Ihe Chairman then
or i
geionnattienda eidn;
be
hrsepresentUtion laid
purchase of the
walton Cemetery
cif ore ore tile vestry bythe
late Rector Ilrooks, in Isl 7, that
St. Mary's Cemetery was full and inner be closed,
coupled with the then prevailing conviction that intri-
lee.blued interineets would soon be rrohibited by the
i
eieiature, and that it would be adv. isab!e „
to he
, a pre.
provide a burial place at soul, a
efi4°.linn.ary measure, to
e'ri'.Vll(e trom the town as that was never likely
The
se;epotet.ed upon by the increase of
,loldings.
L" init.. 'airy enquire-
w matter and ere
• d whether they were called upon
inforeellte any proceeding in the _
that it was
their
,i 4 'het they were so called upen,
Place eer ' 'least, provide,
"tY 'it to if necessary: a. bi:iciatti! Pro ,
_,. Ole poor. They consequen'ly did Intl
d to
d, leeltrigs, and, having about this time been urge
for
i sob
lend
.Y the Health Committee, advertised publicly
In
order It seme convenient di.tance f,om the town.
ce.._el!°
.proceed safely, they applied to the poor-law
e
lags, iirtoners to know whether they could pay for I inferie etbeY purchased it, out of the poor-rate, and were
20, 1,4e.,,u by the commissioners, in a letter, dated August
"%(1 that they could not—that it could only be

paid for by a church rate laid by the vestry, under the
sanction of the church building commissioners, in con-
formity with the church building acts. A rate was
consequently laid for this purpose at the Easter vestry
in 1848, at 2id in the pound, and at the same time a
resolution was passed calling on the Select Vestry to
apply for an act of parliament to have only a part of the
new cemetery consecrated, and a part left unconsecrated.
But this resolution was a nullity, for three reasons : it
was a nullity, in the first place, because the land being
paid for out of the church-rate under sanction of the
church building commissioners, in conformity with the
church building acts, was all consecrated as a matter of
abs lute legal necessity, and no part of it could remain
unconsecrated. The resolution was a nullity, secondly,
because no previous notice had been given of it, and it
could have no legal binding effect on the Select Vestry,
for defect of notice; it was .a nollity, thirdly, because,
though it called upon the Select Vestry to procure an
act, it did not, and could not, nrovide them with the
means. An act of parliament cannot be procured
without the spending of a large sum of money, which
the General Vestry had no power to provide, their power
being limited to lay a church rare for church purposes,
and which the Select Vestry also had no power to
provide, their power being strictly limited by act of
parliament, subj 'cting them to the revision of the
auditor, and precluding the possibility of their spending
any money in soliciting an act of parliament for any
such purpose as the purchase of an unconsecrated
cemetery out of a church-rite. The land for the Walton
Cemetery having been thus deliberately purchased by a
fo mal series of public proceedings rubl,cly advertised,
recommended deliberately in due course by the finance
committee, adopted deliberately, after considerable delay
and due investigation, by the hoard, and sanctioned by
a vote of general vestry, which laid a church-rate in
1818, for the purpose of paying for it, was, according to
law, conveyed to the church commisssoners, accepted by
them according to law, and consecrated in due course
according to lbw, in the month of May, 1851 ; and,
having been so consecrated, it is, by the 8 and 9 Vic.
c. 70 s. 14, made part of the parish of Liverpool for
burial purposes, though not within ifs bounds ; and by
the same act 8 and 9 Viet., c. 70 s. 13, as also by the
59 Geo. 111., c. 134 a. 38, the freehold of the land so
consecrated does, after the consecration thereof, rest in
the incumbent of the parish of Liverpool, he being the
person in whom the freehold of the ancient churchyards
or burial-grounds of the parish were vested. It is
declared by the parish surveyor to be very eligible for
the purpose, as far as the soil is concerned. I have not
heard that it has been objected to by the sanitary
commisssoners recently sent down from the Home-office
to inspect the burial places in the borough ; it is not
objected to by our own local board of health ; it is in a
very airy and retired situation—open to the sea breezes ;
it is accessible by an excellent road for the conveyance
of the bodies, and accessible to the poor who may
wish to be present at the Christian burial of their
friends, by cheap conveyance on the railway ; and,
seeing the necessity for extra-mural interments, I
do not know where a less objectionable site
could have been procured. (Hear, hear.) In
addition to these observations I should wish to state
that the purchase of that cemetery was really no affair of
mine. It was not purchased at my instigation, or by
my desire. At the special meeting of the general
vestry, held on the 7th January, 1848, the late Archdea-
con Brooks being in the chair, it was moved by Mr.
Thoineley, and seconded by Mr. Johnson, that £9,357
should be borrowed to pay for the land. I really was not
cognisant of it, I did not oppose the purchase of the
cemetery, because I foresaw that intramural interments
would be prohibited, and I did not think it would be a
bad thing to purchase land a good way out of town. But
I did not, I must confess, think it was necessary to pur-
chase it then. I did not think it was an absolute neces-
sity—and although I do not pretend to advocate intra-
mural interments, still I have not that objection to them
which many individuals have. I think there is a good
deal of exaggeration upon the subject, and a good deal
of fancy. (Hear, bear.) I really do think so—and I
have not that horror of dead bodies which some
persons have. (Hear, hear.) I may mention that
while Mr. Woodruff and I were in St. Martin's
Cemetery recently, we saw three very hale, ruddy old
men, working in the graves, and we observed to them
that they looked remarkably well. The one to whom
we spoke replied, " Oh dew-, sir, it is not the dead who
do us any harm, it is the living" Now, I hive an
addition ,1 reason for not having any very great horror
of dead bodies, from a circumarance which happened to
myself, and which I will relate to you. A great many
years ago, I attended a funeral where the body was to
he buried within the church—a very objectionable prac-
tice, I think, but it was to he buried within the church.
When we reached the churchyard, we were met by a
most offensive smell—when we got into the church, the
sinell'ircame indeed insupportable, and when we en-
quired what the causes of it were, we found that it
proceeded from the dead body of a young man who had
been laid in the vault, and who had lied of typhus fever.
There we all were—and I must confess I Caine to the
c nclusion that we should all of us be seized with
typhus f ver. an) v 'ry possibly die. But the result of it
was, that not a single one of the party there, neiiher
the clergymen, the clerks, nor the sextons, nor any of

the party present took any harm. I am here at the
present day, and I never heard of any mischief occurring

to any of the parties who attended the funeral
along with me. I have, therefore, come to the conclu-

lion that there is not so much apprehension from dead
bodies as some persons suppose. At the same time I
think it is very desirable that the cemeteries belonging to
great towns should be out of tow,!s in as convenient a
place as they possibly can he. But, with those impres-
sions upon my mind, I took some pains to prevent the
closing of St. Martin's churchyard two years ago. If it
had not been for me St. Martin's parochial cemetery
would have been closed from the Ist of August, 1854. I
made a representation to the Secretary of State which
causei the delay, and allowed it to be kept open until
this time. It can be kept open no longer now, as the
Secretary of Sate insists upon its being closed, and he
has the power to order it. As I have told you before,
any person who officiates there after the Ist of August is
liable to a penalty for misdemeanour, in addition to a fine
of .£lO.

Mr. Jackson asked whether it was the fact that the
Select Vestry was bound to provide burial places for the
poor ? Was that the duty of the Select Vestry or of
a General Vestry ?

The Clerk read, as a reply, a letter of the poor-law
board, dated the 20th of August, 1847, to the effect that
the poor-law commissioners could not find any express
authority given by law to the Select Vestry for any such
purpose ; but, on the other hand, power was given to the
inhabitants under the Church Buildings' Act to provide
a cemetery.

The Chairman : The general vestry did so.
The Clerk continued to read from the letter, which
further stated, that where there was sufficient land
adjacent to the workhouse to enable such a project to be
carried into effect, the guardians had sometimes guaran-
teed possession of the land to the church commissioners,
and it had been used as a burial ground of the union.
Mr. Jackson said, it would appear that the proceed.
ings at the time, with regard to Walton, were somewhat
irregular, but it would be fruitless to go into that
question now, as they had been confirmed by the
general vestry. With reference to the expected closing
of St. John's .churchyard, he begged to ask, whether
the incumbent of St John's, independently of the per.
mission of the rector, would have an opportunity of
taking the dead of his congregation, or his ecclesiastical
district, to the new cemetery at Walton, interring them
himself, and dividing the fees between himself and the
rector of the parish, the clerks and sex►ons, as had been
the custom hitherto in St. John's churchyard ? Was it
the fict, that the incumbent of that church and of other
churches in the town, would have no place of burial,
and no right to bury their dead but by the permission of
the rector for the time being ?
The Chairman: I very much fear that, under present
circumstances, such is the case. He would have no
right to go there without the permission of the rector, but
I am of opinion that something may be done to obviate
the disagerable and prejudicial consequences of such a
state of the law.