The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-18 00:00:00

kte Government had passed a measure to remedy these
evils. In that measure Parliament gave greet, and
aloe )st extravagant, powers to the Board of Health, but
great as they were they were insufficient for the pur-
Pose ; the net became practically inoperative, and alter
two years the Board of Health, in its second report, ad-
mitted that there had not been one burial-ground closed
in the metropolis, and that nothing had been done to
Mitigate those evils. The causes which led to the
failure of the Act were two-fold. In the first place, as
the money for carrying out its provisions was to be raised
by loan, it was discovered by the capitalists, to whom
!polieation to that effect had been made, that the ex-
tstence of the Board of Health was not guaranteed for
k longer period than three years. Thfs objection,
no doubt, might have been surmounted by
giving the security of the State, and it was
therefore one of form only. But the second
cause of failure was an objection of a substantial
nature. It turned out that the fees to be levied, and
Which the insurance company who were applied to for
the loan in question had to look to for the repayment of
their advances, did not necessarily go to the Board of
Health. In fact there was no provision against the crea-
tion of extramural joint-stock cemeteries by any parties
who chose, and as the cost of the cemeteries to be
created by the Board of Health would be very great in
consequence of the compensation that body would have
to pay e y for closing intramural graveyards, the probability
Was that a number of those joint-stock cemeteries would
spring into existence. The Board of Health had ex-
Pressed themselves to the effect that they went direct to
the root of all these calculations, and that if it was not
remedied, the Act would remain a dead letter. To re-
reedy it, they proposed one of two alternatives to the
Government—namely, to make it compulsory on all per-
sons to bury their dead in their cemeteries; or to levy a
fine equivalent to the burial fees upon all interments
in cemeteries other than those of the Board
tiealth. The late Government, however, declined to
adopt either alternative, or to accede to this propo-
sition. That was the state of the case when the
Present Government came into office; and their atten-
tion being at once directed to the subject, it teemed
to him (Lord J. Manners) and his colleagues to be a
bounden duty to endeavour, at least, to cut the Gordian
knot which hampered so completely the operation of an
Act of Parliament, passed, he was free to say, in his
°pinion, with the best intentions. They considered,
therefore, that the proper remedies for the evils that ex-
isted was to be found, not in carrying out to such a great
extent the principle of monopoly and centralization pro-
Posed by the Board of Health, but in a more consitu-
tional, simple, and effective system, based upon the old
Parochial system of burying the dead, which had existed
from time immemorial in this country, subject of course
to the supervision of the state as regarded those abuses
end grievances which, it was admitted, defaced parochial
laeogement in some parts of the metropolis. The Go-
Verement had accordingly introduced the Bill which he
then asked them to read a second time, and the prin-
Cipal provisions of which he would recite briefly. In
tut) first place, it proposed to repeal in tote the Act of
1850; in the second, to give power to the Secretary of
State to close such burial grounds in the metropolitan
districts as should be proved to be noxious and
unwholesome • in the third, to give power to
the parochial authorities to replace these burial-
grounds so shut up by others out of the districts of
the metropolis; and in the fourth, to reserve to the Go-
vernment the power of opening new burial•grounds,
Where parishes were deprived of such accommodation by
the shutting up of the old ground. The Bill had been
already some weeks in the hands of the Hon. Members,
and therefore he should forbear entering into farther
aetails of its provisions. He wished, however, to meet
taken
objection which had been taken, and he thought
Wren fairly, to the constitution of parochial boards
!?rider the Bill. It had been urged that in the city of
London, where some 50 or 60 parishes might unite for
_
burial ground, that inasmuch as the Bill provided
that not less than three members should represent each
Parish in a joint burial board, it was obvious that a
board of 150 or 160 members would never be able to
tit:Lnsact business. To meet this objection, however, he
k jaord John Manners) proposed to substitute in the
City of London for such separate burial boards the old
machinery of corporate action which existed in 1848,
aoci which was then found effectual for the purpose to
hit was applied. That would at once have the in-
laded effect, and at the same time preserve the principle
ut responsibility. On one important point, the
Present Bill escaped the greatest difficulty of all other
4
eenses—namely, compensation. As it was proposed
r Close only such burial grounds as should be proved a
Public nuisance, no compensation could be deman ied,
and none ought to be paid. It might be objected that
_
the Bill stood the Home Secretary might close
grounds as nuisances which in the eye of the common
atsi.
were no nuisances at all. All ho (Lord John
rianners) could say was, that nothing was more
Some
than that his Right Hon. Friend the present
;cloe Secretary would exercise that power in a manner
`g;;;',, avoid such a difficulty; but, nevertheless, he (Lord J.
unners) should be prepared in Committee to propose
ileisuse to meet this objection in the fullest manner.
It did not anticipate any objections to the Bill; he
he would
amendments might be proposed in Committee, and
would be ready to give them his best attention. He
therefore asked the House to assent to the principle of
~16 measure, and he committed it accordingly to their
eel
Passionate and deliberate consideration, firmly be-
tj:tiog that, though the Bill might not, perhaps, meet
views of those excellent but mistaken men, who sub-
Ititted that the burials of this great community should
4,stinclertaken by a department of the State, still that it
arded a practical remedy for a practical evil, with as
4ttle alarm to the ancient constitution of the country,
titilti as little violation to the feelings, to the rights, to
5 habits, and to the customs of the inhabitants ot the
metropolis, as was consistent with a due regard to the
enforcement of public decency.
t Viscount EBItINGTOI would not oppose the mea-
-11113 if he believed it to be a practical one; but he be-
eved it was the contrary, and that it would excite public
eg
f pectation higher than the former Bill, without satis-
sing, it in the same manner. Therefore he protested
,Rainst it. He did not think the burials of the metro-
-4°litan community should be made a department of the
Conducted
; but he thought that this department should be
the
on representative principles. He objected to
ti 7 Bill being brought in at the close of the session, on
tte eve of a dissolution of Parliament, and in a thin
wiTlse, to repeal the Interments Acts of last session,
ti,, leh had been passed after the most mature considers-
s'a by large mejoritios of the House, and with the
.p._
tjroral of almost all parties. The Noble Lord had
lost to what he called the failure of the scheme of
rorlit ?mien; but it could not properly b 3 called a failure,
pto; tee whole scbeme in its completeness had not been
lied, for it had not been wholly embodied in the Act
it last session. Instead of introducing the present,
4 Would be far preferable to pass a temporary, men-
are, which would meet the exigencies of the case
rich this Bill did not), and leave it to the new Par-
tt4itaient to come, with full time for due deliberation, to
,0 consideration of a permanent and complete measure,
fit could not be said that there was any overwhelming
pleasure to proceed with this measure, for under the Act
Which
year the Government had got a burial-ground
lcb together with the unoccupied ground of the
CiiSting cemeteries, amounting to between 150 and 200
ores,b, would suffice until a measure of large scope was
boards
Besides, experience showed that parochial
°Lards such as those contemplated by the Bill, would not
tt)ride an efficient and economical management; and
re-opening of the religious question out of the este,
el:binent of mortuary chapels for members of the
i.!urch and of dissenting bodies, would lead to much
p;seasion; and the disposal of the mortuary fees as
proposed was by no means satisfactory. On these
round's, then, he was strongly opposed to thus summa-
: disposing of the important question of extramural in-
:lista of the metropolitan dead.
relative
T. DUNCOMBE insisted to sot himself right
occasion
to a statement which he had made on a former
sqsion relative to some practices at the burial-ground
t• Clement Danes, iu the Strand, as ho had been
ht'br,ged by the parochial authorities of that parish with
teg:lrig misrepresented the circumstances of Ot revolting
att? to which he had referred on that occasion. The
tit,,‘eroent was that a young man, who had died of malig-
eCt smallpox, had been buried in St. Clement Danes'
erehyard, and that the uncle of the deceased, in pass-
il4t
IF, three weeks after bur, had observed coffin
ti
on
of his nephew exposed toial view, and read thethe inscrip-
*r.9 on it; that the sexton was at work on the grave,
ich had been re-opened and the coffin tossed about.
I!_iit was stated to be the misrepresentation; he had made
biz
on his attention being directed to it by the paro-
miel authorities, and he found that it was not three
tt N", but three days after the burial of the young man
witi the uncle noticed the opening of the grave upon
leh the sexton was at work, but that he could not
114 a to what extent the coffin was disturbed. He (Mr.
,'
to"boombe) had, however, received a statement relative
V,i,e practices at that graveyard in the centre of the
st-claisd, from a person named Woolridge (as we under-
), who had resided clos that that churchyard in the
itilnoYment of a baker, and statement was corrobo-
itlke-e" by another person who also gave his name, and
rid
s'la their united testimony it appeared that it was usual
of SLaturdays to open the graves, after an examination
letilue ground was made by means of a long iron rod,h
Oti ',lb Was forced into the ground for the purpose—that
t over
ths'uo graves being opened, a triangle was fixed
d
is,ta+ by means of which pails filled with decomposed
hatter were drawn up, which was removed to a stone
'leak log at the side of the churchyard—that human
tll„'s Were frequently seen thrown carelessly about, that
as,; alevium which escaped from the open graves was
offensive, the graves being left open all the Saturdayd
tarpaulin only thrown over them, until Sun hay
tkrr,aing, when fresh bodies were interred in them—t
f5,,,1N their residence in the locality, the health of their
isragies suffered greatly from the noxious exhalations
tl4lbg from tho burial ground, and that on that account
Ncir had to remove to another locality to reside. They
asked that they bad frequently seen the grave-diggers,
inter being at work on the graves, scrape off the decomposed
tha;'e,r from their tools. He might remind the House
11,-„"b the evidence given before a Committee of the
rs-,,'"e relative to this same burial-ground of St. Cle-
theaTt Danes it was stated by one of the gravediggers
4; When engaged with others at work uponagbraeevne
issrie_ eognised the head of his own father, er,who had
thu, "1 there which had been cut off from the body—
ited e knew' it by its having one tooth knocked out,
another splintered—that when he told the grave-
Opt 18 of the fact, and desired them to desist, they
Cle're..'aughed at him. He made the authorities ot St.
aiels
t Danes, then, a present of the correction which
Witrv? gave of what they called a misrepresentation.
t!ty threBPect to the Bill before the House, he eould.only
It at he thanked the Government for introducing it.
titiewr by far the best measure that had yet been intro-
Peaitn 011 the subject, and he also thanked them for re-
cant -4 the Act of last year. With respect to the pre.
tbe eteasure, ho would only suggest that the closing of
002tellyards
Frhich were most objectionable should
'"Pillsory.
would *Nee the introduotion a a

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