The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-07 00:00:00

CITY INTERMENTS.

TO T-IE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Having read in your paper of the 27th
ult. the very admirable report of DOCTOR, SIMON
On " CITY INTERMENTS," 1 would ask liberty for
the promulgation of a few facts bearing upon that

most momentous question.
The calmly lucid exposition in that report of
the evils suffered by the living from existing cus-
toms and practices with regard to the dead ; the
" gentle advisings" as to how to check the wrongs
done to us by ourselves ; and the truthful expres-
sion of those feelings which govern mankind gene-
rally towards those who have gone from us to
another world, are such as to make that document

but second to the report upon the Sanitary State
of London ; and if now, what we all suffer
under, be permitted to continue, it will indeed
be a discredit to those who can, if they will, pre-
vent it.

The report clearly proves that the inhabitants of
the city of London generally suffer, more or less, by
the baleful exhalations given out from the bodies

of above 20,000 persons who die annually within
the city—that during eight days, at least, after
death, those exhalations are yielded to the atmo-
sphere unchecked by any process or precaution,
filling, in fact, the house of death with its seed—
and then that those 20,000 masses of corruption
give to the soil, and to the air which the living
breathe, their poisoned vapours for 20 mortal years
after ! _ _

I would ask, can any previous conception of the
evils suffered equal this ? But an authority un-
questioned and unquestionable proves it ; and yet,
notwithstanding, will any one who reads that re-
port say when, or within what time, those cus-

toms and feelings can be changed Which are so
truthfully described as regards the reverence of the
living towards the dead—on which depends the
sprea of disease, and the cause of frequent death,
namely, the exposure of the body to the eye which
longs to linger upon it, and to the air which draws
from it the elements of further death after death
has taken place ?

Morels, mfact, nothing but the hope that feelings
may change, and that reason will act. But, who
can reason with a mind prostrated by grief ? Who
say to a wife or child " give to the earth and to the
worm" to-morrow the body which was clasped in
love and life the day but one before
I believe it is but " to hope against hope ;" and
Doctor Simon's own evidently heartfelt words will,
I conceive, show that no authority of law could be
hard-hearted enough to enforce as a general rule
those early interments. He says—" For myself,
having the deepest sense of the evil in question,
and having officially the power to order removal of
the dead, I may repeat that I have never yet
exercised my authority. Practically speaking, I
could hardly conceive aninstance in which I should
attempt to do so. It would require the strongest
case that could be shown of actual mischief in pro-
gress, of disease and death multiplied day by day,
through the presence of some particular dead body
to justify interference even in that single instance.
Nothing like the operation of a general law could
be tolerated. Nothing like including the dead M a
compulsory plan of Hygienic police."
It will be seen by the report, that no other means
are suggested than that of effort to produce a gra-
dual change of custom, by holding out inducements
of economy, &c. But even suppose that in process
of time such will have its effect, which, perhaps, as
regards the expenses of the last duties towards the
dead, will be but little felt, the change must be
slow, indeed, and in the interval the living suffer.
To suggest a mode for the immediate and lasting
correction of the evil is the object of my letter.
It is simply that in the arrangement of the laws to
govern interments, it shall be made compulsory
that there shall be placed in the coffin, at least
three inches in depth, peat charcoal beneath the
body, and that all the spaces and interstices round
it shall be filled up to the surface of the body with-
out covering it, if so desired, until the coffin is
about to be closed. No change would be apparent
in the arrangement of the body in the coffin, for
the shrouding will hide the charcoal, although,
from its colour (black), there can be scarcely any
objection, even by the most fastidious to have it
, seen.

The result of this process will be (if the pea,
charcoal be properly prepared for its purpose) that
the gaseous exhalations from the body will, from
the moment it is placed resting upon it, andpartially
surrounded by the charcoal, BE TOTALLY ABSORBED.
They will not, and, in fact, cannot escape
into the atmosphere of the apartment, for
so strong is the affinity between those gases and
properly-prepared peat charcoal, that they will be
even changed in their natural course and drawn
down into the charcoal, in place of rising into th©
atmosphere. But if, in virulent cases, there be any
doubt of this fact, the body can be covered within
the grave clothes, or above them, and the face left
exposed as long as desired.
If this course be followed, I deliberately aver
that, even in the worst cases of fever, no odours
will arise from the body. The present eight or ten
days of rest amongst the living may be permitted
with impunity, and when deposited in the grave
no exhalation can by possibility be given either to
the soil or the atmosphere. From thenceforth, as
the change takes place towards dust, the moisture
and the gases will be entirely absorbed by the peat
charcoal. The process of decomposition may and
will be slower, at least for a time ; but it may be
that when the charcoal has drawn into itself, as it
will, and greedily too, the juices of the body, and
with them the gases, that the comparatively small
amount of solids, bone excepted, will ere long be
imperceptible.
The absorbing powers of peat charcoal (prepared
as it should be) are equal to 80 per cent. of water,
and 90 volumes of those gases arising from decaying
animal matter—water, even if at first received, not
having the power of excluding the gases. A quantum,
therefore, of peat charcoal placed in contact with
the body, proportionate to this power, will be
before
of preventing all escape of gases either
or after burial ; and experience has taught me that
what a usual coffin will contain in addition to the
body, is more than ample for the purpose.
Now, sir, if what I set forth be a fact, can there
be any justification on the part of those who have 1
the power and capability both to test and put into
operation so simple a measure, if it be not done,
or that my assertions be proved to be wrong ?
It is right I should state that I have not brought
these special facts under the notice of Doctor
Simon personally—but even so far back as 1848 and
1849, 1 did bring the whole question of Sanitary
Reforms in Towns by means of peat charcoal under
the consideration of the General Board of Health,
but my views were differed from by Mr. Edwin
Chadwick. Whether that fact has been deemed
sufficient to prevent the adoption of a medium for
the absorption of all gases deleterious to human
life, the power of which has not been equalled by
anything else known, I cannot exactly say,
nor whether that gentleman's opposition will still
effect that end ; but in the present instance I pur-
pose having a quantity of peat charcoal, properly
prepared for burial purposes, sent to Doctor Simon,
in order that he may snake, if ho choose, the neces-
sary experiments to test my statements herein.
And in order that the opponents of the principle
which I have propagated may not have the power
of raising the cry that I propose the use of peat
charcoal because I am the patentee, and the dis-
coverer of several at least of its special chemical
and other qualities—this amongst the rest—l beg to
say that I don't hold any patent which can interfere
with its use for burial purposes ; and to set the
question at rest as to profit to myself in the prepa-
ration of that particular article which I recommend
for such purpose, I also say that it may be supplied
in London at the cost of one shilling for the quan-
tity sufficient for each coffin.
Trusting that the subject will be a sufficient
apology for the length of this communication, I
have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servan ,
JASPER W. ROGERS.
19, Essex-street, Strand, London,
Gth Oct., 1853.
y

CLOSE NOT YET.

AIR ny not yet'
Close not yet ! 'Tis just the time,
ime,
When Epidemics, in their pri ,
Infest the town with pois'nouq .
And stalk abroad, like fiends at night,
Beneath the silent moon.
'Twas to ensure a murderous trade
That City Graveyards first were made
And now the fees, plethoric growing,
Leave fond regrets that they are going.
Oh, pray, do stay •
Death will never meet again
So staunch a friend :—that, oh ! 'tis pain
To close Graveyards so soon.

Close not yet ! The gangrene curse
Has help'd to swell the Church's purse ;
Cry, Onward. Death ! and foul Disease?
For " VESTED RIGHTS" are more than these ;.

And life less dear than gold.
Let Walker, then, say all he can,
Self-interest loves the " good old plan ;"
Ne'er shall they dig our six by five"
Where Pestilence will fail to thrive.
Oh, pray, do stay !
That crowded alley, court, and lane,
Will breathe Heaven's freshness once again,
Is frightful to be told.
—Diogenes.

MANAGEMENT OF THE DEAD IN THE

METROPOLIS.

The number of superficial feet in an acre is
43,560. Hence we have merely to establish a
simple rule and say, If so many superficial feet are

made to contain so many bodies, how many will
43,560 (the acre) contain ?
When we reflect that from fifteen to twenty
times as many bodies as ought to be are daily de-
posited in many receptacles, that in some examples
upwards of 20,000, in others beyond 50,000, have
teen disposed of in a single acre of ground—that
dead bodies are corruping, within six inches of the
surface, under every variation of temperature,
every iancfe of atmosphere, from dry to moist,
from moist to dry; that myriads of dead, "piled
one upon another (according to one eye-witness)
like bricks," are incessantly evolving many thou-
sand times their own bulk of the most poisonous
compounds, within a few feet of densely-crowded
habitations—that the very ground is growing up
around us, and houses disappearing beneath masses
of corruption—we are compelled again and again
to repeat that the entire system of grave-yard and
vault management in this metropolis is an enor-
mous and scandalous iniquity.
Can we wonder that disease is engendered or life
destroyed by noxious emanations ? W e make for
ourselves the poison which we breathe; in our per-
verse blindness we sow decay, and we reap death!
It is almost unnecessary for me--indeed, it would
be impossible to enumerate the varied injuries in-
flicted on the health of the living, by a practice
which compels us to breathe, not the pure air of
heaven, but the poisonous compounds of our own
corruption.—G. A. Walker, in Practical Sugges-
tions for the Establishment of National Cemeteries.