The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-18 00:00:00

PIT BURIALS IN ST. JAMES'S CEMETERY.

The enquiry into the subject of " pit burials" in St.
James's Cemetery was resumed at two o'clock on Saturday
before P. H. Holland, Esq , Inspector for the Burial
Department of the Home Otlice.
Mr. M‘Gowan attended on behalf of the Health CGm-
mittee, and Mr. Almond for the trustees of the Cemetery.
Before the enquiry was proceeded with,
Mr. Holland begged to correct an error which be
observed in the revert of the NORTHICAN Timss—the only
report which he had read. He was reported to have said
that the Health Committee were the only parties to
decide upon the expediency of a prosecution ; bnt what
he did say was that he considered the Health Committee,
as the local authorities, were the " best partie4' " not the
" only parties." He made the correction because the
observations might be made matter of comment.
Mr. William Jones, builder, carrying on business in the
upper end of Duke-street, was then examined as to the
depreciation of property in the neighbourhood of the
cemetery.
Inspector Aynsley examined: I saw Dr. Formby at his
house at Grasmere. He is unwell and not able to attend.
He told me that he wee a mortgagee of this cemetery.
I asked him if he was aware that the system
of pit burele was carried on there, and he said
that he was not. He said that he bad property in
Sandon-terrace, and thee in consequence of the many
complaints he had received from his tenants of
the bad smells from the eemetery, the property was much
tieprec,ated in value, so much so that houses that he let
for £lBO and £2OO some years ago, are now reduced as
low as £BO, and he attributed it to the bad smells and the
other nuisances of the cemetery, such as the concourse of
people, Bc3. He also said that visitors to his house com-
plained of the smells. Mrs. Formby also told ma that she
often informed the doctor that the serve/m.B complained of
the bad smells from the cemetery. She ale° felt them,
and she and her visitor', in consequence, generally sat in
the back of the house.
Mr. M‘Gowan here put in the tw6 following letters from
Dr. Formby to Mr. Fresh, inspeetor of nuisances :

Grasmere, 12th May, 1857.

Dear Sir,—The rents of my holt. es in Sandon Terrace
are about one third reduced since the interments in the
cemetery become so numerous. Nos. 5 & 6, the two
centre itons-s, were let one to Mr. Ireland and the other
to Mr. Feio, for 180 guineas each, and now 80 guineas
is the rent paid.—Yours RECHIED FORABY.
To Thos. Fresh, Esq.

Grasmere, 12th May, 1857.

Dear Sir, When your messenger was gone, I thought
I had better have g7ven you my opinion of the effects likely
to f )110 w a cnntinttance of the present plan of burying in
the cemetery. No one will deny, and I have myself
known, fever and death arise from bad smells. How can
there be a more fruitful source of fever than the stench of
an ill-kept churchyard. The cemetery is this at the present
time, And its effects will soon be visible —Yours very truly,

To Thos. Fresh, Esq. IizeBARD FORMBY.
Mr. Almond observed that Dr. Formby's property was
kept in bad repair, and that that was the cause of its de-
preciation.
Catherine Jones, Dr. Formby's servant, said that she
Yelt the smell from the cemetery on opening the front
windows of the house.

Mr. Davies, deputy engineer, stated that there was no
drain in front of the h,uie, nor any lodgment of water.

Mr. Richard Formby, barrister, stated that the houses
belonging to Dr. Formby, his uncle, were in as good re-
' pair as any houies could be. He did not feel the smell
himself, but he had often heard both Dr. and Mrs. Formby
complain of it; in fact, Mrs. Formby could not live in the
house in con,equence. In summer she always lived at
the Lalc!s, and was then well. In winter she came to town
and, shortly after her return, invariably became ill.
By Mr. Almond : Some of the houses were built on
artificial ground, and two of them showed marks of
sUbsidenen.

Mr. C. Davies, deputy borough ergineer' described the
length and depth of the cemetery. It was about 400 yards
long, and abut 100 yards average width, and 45 feet
below the highest point of Hope street.
William Millar and Henry ikzp4triek, officers in the
Inspector of Nuisances department, stated that in the
month of March, and occasionally since then, they
visited the cemetery for the purposes of inspection, They
reported what they saw. Mr. M'Clowan here read the reports
from which it appeared that, on the 15th March, they saw
a pit of thirty feet deep, and in thak they saw thirty-four
b:xiies buried. They saw another pit twenty feet deep,
and in it they saw the bol;e3 of fifty children buried. On
April 7th they saw is pit thirty-five feet deep, and in it
they Paw thirV-tere persons buried. On April the oth
they saw a pit thirty feet deep, /IA in it the bodies of
fie e-t.ix childree were buried. The reports contained
various other items of a similar purport. Each pit was
generally kept open about a month, and, until full, was
merely covered with a wooden d-,or. In one pit the
witnesses saw clffins from an old and adjoining pit pro-
iecing. Taking an average of thirty bodies in a pit, there
would be 24,000 bodies in an acre.

Mr. Almond : There have been only 24,000 in'eruaents
in the whole ten acres.

Mr. M`Gowan : That may be ; bit the pit burials were
far the most numerous, and hey were all in one spo!.
Mbert Orford and Charlet. Campbell, officers in the
inspector of taisamvs department, stated that they
officially visited the cemetery in 1834, and that at that
period the system of pit interments was being carried on
there The smell was most offensive

Henry Aynsley atd Robert Higgins, also officers under
the Heath Committee, corroborated the other witnesses.
Mr. Ayngley said that he often attended interments of
trlends in the cemetery, and that he invariably found the
smell most offensive, particularly in what were called the
poor graves. He had often heard people speak very strongly
of the proceedings there—in fact, the word " disgraceful"
was often app►ied to them. Mr. Higgins said that he had
regularly visited the cemetery for the last ten years, in
c nsequence of complaints, and that the smell was very bad.
Be often felt the same smell in Parliament-street.

D. Duncan, Medical Officer of Health said: I consider
the pit burials, as described, most prejudicial to the health
of the parties frequenting the cemetery, but, I can speak
with little confidence as to the injury to the health of th
inhabitants of the neighbouring houses. I doubt the pos-
sibility of the foul air from the pits at the south end of
the cemetery extending perceptibly to the north end, except
occasionally under certain states of the weathe7 ; but in
whatever degree it might be felt it would be injurious. The
non-covering the bodies with clay fora considerable tine
is decidedly injtpions ; and sever‘l years ago I reported
against the system of pit burials as prejudicial to 'public
health. I think it is unjust, that while in all other burial
gzettuds in the town, pit burials are prohibited, the system
should be allowed to be continued in Elt, James's cemetery.

Mr. M‘Gowan observed that so strongly was this in-
justice felt, that they had a memorial from St. Mary's,
Kirkdale, praying for the same exemption.
The enquiry was then further adjourned till two o'clock
this day, (Monday.)

SIR GEORGE SIMPSON, MR. A. K. ISBISTER, AND

THE HIIDSON'§ BAY COMPANY.

We (Belfast Ulsterman) extract the following from the
London correspondent of the Toronto Times, which gyes
a slight insight into the -investigation which was g ing on
before the House of Commons previous to dissolution,.
If such statements were made by Sir George Simpson, as
would appear from the extract, we unhesitatingly dec'a4e
them to be false. In a future number we will show to the
public that they could only have been made through
nterested motives ; therefore no dependance should bo
placed upon them :
" In the committee upon the Hudson's Bay Territory,
Sir G. Simpson's evidence wag continued, and emboldened
by Mr. Ross's testimony, and the unaccountable onslaught
made by your opposition papers against the appointment
of Chief Justice Draper as commissioner, the patriarchal
governor declared the Red River district, and those parts
adjacent to the United States territory of Minesota, were
unfit for the dwelling of man, and for profitable agricultural
occupation. After decrying tha wlrkle country in terms of
great contempt, several members produced Sir George's
own book, and read portions of it directly contradicting
his testimony-. In answer to these unpleasant reminiscences
of former opinions, the g wernor did not, for a moment,
hesitate to declare that the truth was to be found in bis
testimony—not in his book. It is unnecessary to say that
the innate love of truth in Englislig-ntlemen became unmis-
takeably impressed upon the features of the committee, and
Sir George felt that he had knocked the ground from under
his own testimony. During the latter portion of his exa-
mination, he painfully evinced the absence of the accom-
panying smile to each question, and left the committeeroom evidently [depressed. Mr. A. K. Isbister gave his
evidence on Thursday, and by the frankness of his manner,
his full knowledge of the subject, and the avoidance of all
exaggeration in his testimony, made a very happy impres-
sion. Mr. 1., with great candon", admitted such deteriora-
tiots of portions of th, territory as were pointed out to
him, when founded in fact, and as simply and naturally
explained away error and misrepresentations."

PARIS, May 15.—Prince Napoleon has arrived at Dres-
n and immediately proceeded to the Chateau of Pilnitz
it is thought that this tour will have a happy influence on
the affairs of Neufchatel, and that the conferences, which
re to be shortly resumed, will bring about a solution of
the difficulty.

LORD MONTEAGLE AND THE FINANCIAL

REFORM ASSOCIATION.

It would appear that her Majesty's Comptroller-
Geneva cf the Exchequer is one of the parsons who do
not subscribe to the pretended suspicion of the nines, that
the Financial Reform Association is a non-entity, and its
president a myth ; nay, that this high functionary quite
agrees with bath that the monetary affairs of the nation
are managed in a most unsatisfactory manner. Amongst
the correspondence read at the meeting of the council on
Tuesday last, was a letter from Lord Monteagle, taking
exception at some passages in the recent address to the
House of Commons, as implying a charge of neglect of
official duty against him personally. Having been sub-
sequently assured that the council intended to convey no
such charge, and that what was meant was that parlia-
mentary checks were nullified by others, not by him, his
lordship, in a note, datel the 11th inst., declares himself
much gratified by the explanation ; and, in reference to a
suggestion that the publication of his letter would bear
influential corroberation of the vie we of the association
as to the utter inefil...iency of the existing control over the
public servants in the expenditure of the public money.
leaves the council to exercise its own discretion in the
matter. The following is icopy of the letter in ques-
tion :

Park-street, Westminster, May 6,_18571

Sir,—There are two passages in 'oar letter of the Ist
inst., as p-fated iu the Times newspaper, in which you
refer to the duties of the Comptroller-General of the
Exchequer, which seem to me founded on misooncoption,
or expressed in a manner likely to mislead. I trust t:u
will excuse me if I trouble you with a few observations
on the subject, confining myself, at, far as pr.e.ticable' to
the business of my own department. You very naturally
call the attention of the 1101133 of Commons to what you
term " the astounding revelations contained in the evidence
taken before the Select Committee on Public -Moneys,"
and you proceed to observe that " the checks and counter-
cheats- passed to secure the safe custody and proper
appropriation of the public money are deliberately set at
nought, and that official personages intended to
be bound by them have the hardihood to denounce
them as cumbrous, inconvenient, and impracticable."
You thin advert to 'various public departments,
to the t essury—the pay office, and the receipt of the
exchequer; and in relation to th, latter, over which I
preside, you observe—" the Comptroller-general, who is
supposed to see that every issue is rightly made, controls
nothing." From, this, two inferences might be deduced,
both of which would be erroneous, first, that the irregu-
larities and unconstitutional practices of which you com-
plained were in any way whatever connected with this
department; the second, that the duties of control, with
which I am entrusted by law, bad been neglected by me
during the eighteen years I have filled this office. I can-
net, with any regard to consistency of opinion, contradict
the statement which you make of the existence of what I
consider irregularities in respect to the mode of providing
for the public expenditure. On the contrary, in a paper
which is now before both houses of parliament, so far back
as the 10th February, 1854, two years banes appoint-
ment of the select committee, I reported officially on what
I described to be " a daily increasing departure from the
law, tending to supersede the stringent provisions of the
statutes, to defeat all parliamentary responsibility, to
strike at the integrity of the accounts rendered to bolt
houses and to the auditors, and to permit an application of
the revenue without due authority, and possibly to pur-
poses wholly unsanctioned by law." How far these serious
charges made in 1854, are supported by the evidence
taken before tha select committee of 1856, it is for the,
legislature, the government, and the public to consider and
to determine. You state, very truly in my (pinion,
that " the evidence of Lord .11.1onteagle, before the corn.
mittee of 1856, shows the futility of the existing checks on
the issue of public moneys ;" but you will perceive that it
by no means follows that what appearei to me abute, aid
which I protested against as such in 1854. and which I
described in detail, in evidence before a select committee
in 1856, is attributable to this department, or entails any
blame or responsibility on the C omptroller-general. This,
most emphatically, though with sincere respect., I take
upon myself to deny. Permit me to call your attention to
the facts of the case, referring you., in confirmation of my
statements, to the evidence taken and reported in 1856.
The act 4 and 5 William Ty., c 15, recnodellicg the
exchequer, abolished the great offices of auditors, the four
tellers, the clerk of the polls, and various subordinate
officers. The number of offices was reduced from 74 to 18,
and the annual expo- se of the department in salaries from
£42728 to £7,380, making a saving of £35,348 per
annum. The act, which does infinite honour to the
government of Earl Grey, regulates my department, and
prescribes my duties. By that set the comptroller general
of the exchequer, es might be inferred from the title of
his office, is charged only with th" monies pad into and
issved out of the nrchcquer. With respect to nannies
before they are paid in to my account, or after I have
issued them for the public service, I have no authority
wha,ever. But in respect to the whole revenue, and other
payments received by me, my duty is strictly defined by
law. lam bound, before I -comply with the sign manual
of the sovereign, and the warrant of the treasury, first to
satisfy myself that the issue required is authorised by
law, and that the issue s made for the service stated, and
fr no other. lam thus a psrliamentary officer to guard
against the issue of one single fraction exceeding the sums
set forth in the appropriation act, or placed as charges on
the consolidated fund, and-for which ways and m ans have
been provided by law. This control is invariably exor-
cised 'by me with the utmost strictness, nor was there
any suggestion made by a single witness examined before
the select committee to shew that there hsd been a single

instance in which this important duty had been neglected.
These issues are made by me to the public officer (gene-
rally the paymaster general) authorised by law to receeve
them; but, on receiving his acquittance as my discharge,
all my legal power ceases. The issue is made by meander
a warrant which defines and prescribes its legal appropri •
ation. The words of the appropriation act (which we owe
to the constitutional wisdom of Lord Somers at the revo-
lution) after reciting the several distinct services, _Pre-
scribes that "the said aids and supplies, provided as
aforesaid, shall not be applied to any uses, intents, oe. pur-
poses whetever, other than the uses intents, and purposes
before-mentioned, or for other payments directed to be
made by any act passed in the present session" (See 20
Vic. 20 and 16). It is subject to thi; principle that all
my issues are made, and when I see occ esion to doubt the
legality of the demands made upon me by the executive
government, I have no hesitation in refusing absolutely,
or suspending the is.e. ue. The evidence given by me ex-
hibits the numerous cases in which this has been done
even when the strongest remonstrances were addressed to
me for taking such a course. My accounts, showing in
detail every receipt and every warrant for issue, are fur-
nished quarterly to the auditors, and annually to parlia •
ment. Both in my evidence to the select committee, and
by report to the treasury, I have urged that these accounts
should be regularly audtted, and every voucher during my
eighteen years term of office is now preserved, and capable
of being produced and examined. The issues from the
exchequer for the last three years, as appearing on my
parliamentary account, are as follows--
Year ending 1854
„ 1855
„ 1856 110,051,711 15 3
These enormous sums may now be examined, and vouched
with perfect accuracy and every single ease of control
exhibited and explained. Thus, as far as the law vests
me with authority, you will perceive that my functions are
underiating!y performed, and are complete. But when
those issues pass into the hands of other public offieere,
my control ceases. Moneys which I have issued for one
eervi-:e, after examining, and satisfying myself of the
legality of the demand and its appropriation, may be
applied to other services, the legality of which I have not
examined or certified, nor have been allowed any power of

jnd&g. This is the practice of which I Com-plained
officially in 1854, as " being unconstitutional and e.ntraty
to law, and as defeating the control of the Exchequer,
however great may have been the accuracy with which
that control has been exPreised." This is not attributable
to any misfeasance or neglect at the Exchequer, where
the law has been strictly and invariably complied with
In my earnest appal to tha Treasury, dated 18th Fell-
ruary. 1854, (Sessional papers, House of Lords, 1856,
No. 285), in the request that I made at that time, ti,at
the opinion of the law officers should be taken, to ascertain
how far the practices to which I adverted, were legally
in,tifiabre—in the detailed and explanatory evidence which
I gave before the Select Committee, I have shown that not
only have I faithfully performed my proper functions, but
that I have gone further, in pointing out, officially, practices
which appeared to me objectionable, and requiring amend
merit.— I have tho honour to be, Sir, your very obedient
humble servant, MONTILAGLE.
To Robertson Gladstone, Etq

A senior admiral of the British navy, Admiral Gosselin,
has died at Jersey. He was in his 93rd year.
The death of -General Sir James M‘Dlnnell, K C. 8.,
Colonel of the 71st Highlanders, is announced.
On Wednesd4y, at the India House, Capt. Geo. Greville
Wellesley, RN., C.B„ was sworn in Commander-in-chief
of the Indian navy.
The news from Constantinople of the Bth instant, brings
intebigence that the Mountaineers, under the command
of the son of Schamyl, had repulsed 4,000 Russians near
Shamisch.

TatesTr, 31. y 15.—News from Constantinople of the
Bth instant, states that the treaty of peace had arrived at
Teheran on the 4th April, and • been received with satis-
faction by the Shah. There is still great disorder in the
finalises of Persia.