The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-28 00:00:00

,LONDON, THURSDAy
OCTOBER 26, 1841.

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-_— • •
EQUALIZATION OF POOR-RATE
IN THE CITY OP IIoNDON-
The following statement, whia,fwas submitted to the
Poor-law Commissioners, is corrhid?red of importance at
this moment, particularly as at
the last Court of Common
Council it was referred to.,the Committee relative to the
Police of the City, to obtai.r, returns of the expense of the
casual poor 'sent for relief ;fromthe various police stations
in the City. The heavy brirdca of poor rates thrown upon
/ •
the out-parishes of the City
of London, has Occasioned a
great outcry.
Previous to the 43d Fdizabeth, in the year 1601, the
relief of the poor in the City of London was entrusted to
the care of the Lord Mayor, as Chief Magistrate of the
City of London.
1595.—A year of sear3ity ; a survey r.-ns made by the
direction of the Lord Afayor, of .the • number of poor
householders in the Cit y
of London, ,:equiring relief in
his jurisdiction, and 4,1.3:4 poor families were reported in
a population of then 10,q03 (ses Eden's work on the
" State of the Poor." -City
43c1 E lizaheth passed fin. equal rates in
liboi.ry, Guildhall).
large communities. -gorWich, with. its 42 parishes, and
most other towns aril cities then adopted an equalized
rate, according to th e intention of the Legislature.
In the 2d. cap. sek. 3 of Eliz. 43, poWer ryas given to
Magistrate:c to t5-t, rate, and ass's in any ocher parish
within the autul.„ed or county in..
aid of the poor-rate to
those parisl -inueli oppressed. with poor. And by sec.
8 the Mayc a• and other head-otEcers of criry town, place,
corpdermoratior I, and eity, have the same cutioritr; and every
Alan of the City of Landon within his ward, has
the same power under the Act as any Justice of the
Peace of a: .ly other county within the realm, • 1630.-7 .n consequence ofeerta:,n parishes not fairly car-
gr.al;sed rates, provided for by
rthyein4g3doutl:
;tillizeapbteitnhc,irpule of e
lesand‘l,
vders were issued by the
Privy Co until, as follows :-
feliebr theitcicifhigher.; ,the taxation for.
.the •
i every parish, and contri-
butions had froM other parishes to leep the Ave.:o4er
parishes,i. And when any money, stock, &c., bath been,.
or shall, be given to the. relief of the poor in any parish,
such gift to be no ocinsTion of lessening the rates of the
parish (see Eden, fo. 1.58).
165.4.—The Court of Common Council passed an Act
for 1, ;vying on the inhabitants of the City 2-15ths for
BIM dry repairs of conduits, and for the employ of the
pc or in bringing -water into the City, each 15th to be
erittal to 5001., to 'be raised in the following proportions,
(At the parishes in the several wards as uncter :
Aldersgate Within .£36!Cordwavner £44
Aldersgato Without ... 44ICornhili
Aldgate
Bassishaw • 32,,Cripplegate Without... 60
Billingsgate
Bishopsgate Within ... 64 Farringdon Within
Bishopsgato 'Without... 64!Farringdon Without
Bread-street
Bridge 54 Lime-5treet............... 32
Broad-street
............... 48
Candlewick 36 Queenhithe ............... 30
Castlebaynard 64 Tower
....... l6O
Cheap 64 Vintry ..... . ............ 28
Coleman-street
1666.--Fire of London, eighty-nine -arish churches
burnt down, and 13,600 houses &stray ea ; the poor dis-
tributed over the cut-parishes and, suburbs ; many of
the City parishes are without sr
Al houses, and only
nominal poorrates, and a small stipend instead of tithes
(see Parliamentary Return, 151,33),
1681.--Four-fifteenths -.fused in the City of London
for repairing conduits,
1695.-2:000/. was r.aised by an equal rate under sth
and 6th William Mary for the relief of orphan chil-
dren (see pr'iated corporation Report, fo. 17).
1698.—/in :I„ct of !Common Council passed under the
pro Visions, of the 13th and 14th Charles 11., for an equal
assessme.nt on the parishes of the City of London for
esl,ablirihing the London Workhouse (see Corporation
R.wport).

1701 to 1754.—The London workhouse provided for
three Cionsanu poor children from all parts of the City,
and educated and apprenticed the same, and 20,854 des-
I , titule poor admitted and relieved from a general rate
fryJni every parish (see above Report).
1747, Jan. I:l.—A rate was made for raising 1001. in
the several parishes, to defray the expenses of passing
vagrants, by an equalized rate.
1754 to 1819.—Equalized assessment;, made in the
several parishes within and without the City until July
15th, 1819, when 2,4 V./. 10s. was levied for the London
Workhouse. So much were the objects of the London
Workhouse approved, that during its continuance
150,00 C/. were received from benevolent persons by
voluntary contributions (see printed Report).
1840.—The funds of the citizens of London are still
devoted to the passing of Scotch and Irish paupers, from
every parish within and without the City.
The injustice complained of by the present system is
shown by the fact that thr out-parishes are overburdened
by the servants and labourers employed in the City,
where there are no small houses to receive them.
The result of the Poor-rate, in the 109 or 110 parishes
appear to be as follows, for 1839 :

Amount of
Popula- Rental of Poor-rate Poor-rate
Lion. Property. raised. in the £.
-----
City Union, -
X.
98 parishes 56,500 626,427 42,740 Or about 161
Last London, in the £.
4 parishes 33,311 125,683 15,C50 Or about 2s. 8d
`Vest London in the R.
7 parishes 27,825 103,614 13,462 Ditto.

In the parish of Cripple ate gate Without, of the 1,689
houses, 829 are rated at and under 101. per annum,
many whereof are occupied by the servants and la-
bourers employed by the residents of the inner p.arishes
of the City, and who ultimately become chargeable to
the parish; and the inner parishes, although receiving the
benefit of,their labour, contribute no part towards their
relief in sicknesS, adversity, infirmity, and old age.
Thus the above parish had to contend Ivith a ruinous
poor-rate of Gs. 9d. in the pound on a three-fourths
rental, whilst the City parishesitotally, or nearly, escaped
without charge. Under the effects of the new Poor-
law the rates are reduced to 3s. 6d. in the pound on an
enlarged assessment, which in the year 1838 procured
4,573/. 7s. 6d., out of which 1,000/. 2s. 10d. was paid
fir pauper children, and 1,0651. Bs. 4d. for relief cut of
the workhouse ; and that parish has to pay tithes
1,5261. per annum, while the rich inner parishes pay but
an average rate of about 16d. in the pound per annum.

THE BURIAL TIDE DEAD IN
THE METROPOLIS.
A document nppended to the Report made to the
Court of Common Council on the subject of the burial
of the Dead in the Churchyards, &c., of the Me-
tropolis, contains, after a description of the revolting
condition of seine of the burying grounds, the following
observations, which were made by a medical man of con-
siderable practice, and will be read with much interest.
DISGUSTING PRACTICES IN BURYING GROUNDS.
From the preceding description of a few (and but a
few) of the metropolitan buryinc, grounds; it will be
seen that by far the greater number are crowded even to
excess. This certainly ought not to have been per-
mitted. The moment it appeared that the space al-
lotted for interment was occupied, that moment the
ground should have been closed, and other asylums set
apart for the interment of the dead : an infringement
upon the occupancy of the unresisting tenant violates
the property of survivors, and desecrates the sanctity of
the sepulchre. Men .pay funeral dues under an im-
plied assurance that the " dead" shall be " respected."
It is well known, that formerly considerable alarm
was manifested that the grave would be robbed of its de-
posits by the intrusion of the " resurrectionist." An
Act of the Legislature had the effect of destroying the
temptation to purloin the dead, but the grave is still in-
secure. Grounds accustomed to be held sacred are un-
ceremoniously cleared, under official superintendence;
and that too with such ruthless indifference and. wanton
plblicity, that even passers-by complain of the indecent
profanation. _ _

I shall now show by what arrangements the superfluity
is reduced, and room made for subsequent interments;
and in doing this, I shall restrict myself to a brief enu-
meration of some of the particulars.
The means employed to effect the purposes contem-
plated, consist in what, by the grave-diggers, is called
"management."
In this " management" of the ground, former occu-
pancy is disregarded. Coffins are remorselessly broken
through, and their contents heaped together in wild con-
fusion, or scattered carelessly over the surface, exposed
to " insult lewd and wantonness.

Great expense is frequently incurred in funerals.
The encasement is often strongly made, and highly or-
namented ; and yet (perhaps, therefore) second-hand
`• coffin furniture," (nails, more especially,) may be
found by the hundred weight at many of' the " dealers
in marine stores :" nor can we wonder that coffin wood
has been extensively used as an ordinary fuel in low
neighbourhoods, The gases produced by the decompo-
sition of the dead are partially soluble in water ; and
a fatty pellicle is instantly formed in a large quantity.
The wood, saturated with these dissolved gases, and used
as fuel, must diffuse, in addition to the exhalations con-
stantly given off from bodies in vaults and on the earth's
surface, vast volumes of gaseous poison.

z,
A poor widow, to evidence her affection for her de-
parted husband, had seriously diminished her resources
to defray the funeral expenses. The coffin was covered
with black cloth, and was some time after identified
by the maker of it,—it was nearly covered with lime.
An undertaker, who had the charge of a funeral, went
with a friend into the vault of a chapel. A coffin, re-
cently deposited, was taken under his arm with the
greatest ease; his friend, doubting, poised the coffin, and
was affected to tears, from the conviction that the body.
had been removed. Several other coffins were in the
same condition.

The workman, • in digging a grave in th© burying
ground of a chapel much frequented, broke in upon a
common-sewer, and deposited the cofhn there. The
brother of the deceased insisted upon its removal ; he
compelled the man to place the body in the vault until
another grave was dug; then dared him to remove it,
and cautioned him not again to dig a grave for a human
being entering the common sewer.
The following extract from a weekly paper of June
14th,
ice 1840, cliscloses the existence of a very revolting
pract :---
!` A ' Constant Subscriber' informs us, that a few days
since, he was passing in the rear of the Tabernacle, in
Tottenham-court-road, to which is attached a public

burial ground, when his attention was arrested by a
strong senae of something burning, and which from its
character he had no doubt was animal matter: Curiosity
led him to the immediate spot, when, upon inquiry, he
found that some of the bones of the dead were being
COhjw u 4 and the. dense exhalation from the chimney
Was the product of the doristirription. We have only to
observe that, it this disgraceful practice is to be conti-
nued, the line of houses in St. John-street, which is in
'the immediate vicinity of the chapel, will soon be unte-
nanted. It is the duty of the lnpdlords to look to the
matter, and indict the parties ; or the police may sum-
mon them before a Magistrate, who is empowered to in-
flict a fine of la"
I have already adverted to the fact of bodies being
placed within a few inches of the surface of the earth,
and shown that many thousands of bodies, or rather
shells, piled one upon the other, are to be found in the
vaults of churches and of chapels. It would appear, in-
deed, that mourners, after they have seen
" The deep grave receive the important trust .
And heard the inipressive sentence—dust to dust,"
imagine that they have performed the last duty to their
deceased friendi have they ever reflected that they have
deposited a centre of infection to the living ?
But what shall we propose upon thi.subject of Private
Burying Ground ? Unquestionably, that they be im-
mediately and for ever closed ; and that the proprietors,
presuming that they have not acted illegally, receive a.
just compensation for their interest in the land only; and
that the dead there deposited remain undisturbed until a
general cemetery or cemeteries be appointed to receive
them, after a decent exhumation, and a solemn and ap-.
proprinte transmission. It is true, that a correct registry
of burials may now be anticipated ; why not a registry
of the burial grounds (not one of which should be pH-
vate)—the situation—the extent of ground—the numbers
buried--arid the
.perio(“latayilayaaareMabael.:aopllll ?
particular space can only receive a limited' number ;
that number having been deposited, the ground should be
closed, and no disturbance should on any account be per-
mitted but under the direction of an approved and re-
sponsible superintendent.
The floor of Enon Chapel, Clements-lane, measures in
length 59 feet three inches or thereabouts, and in width
about 28 feet eight inches, so that its superficial con-
tents do not exceed 1,700 square feet. Now allowing,
for an adult body only twelve feet, Aid for theayoung,
upon an average, six ti!et, and supposing an equal num-
ber of each to be there deposited, the medium space occu-
pied by each would be nine feet; if, then, every inch of
ground were occupied, not more than 189 (say 200 in
round numbers) would he placed upon the surface; and
admitting (an extravagant admission most certainly)
that it were possible to place six tiers of coffins upon each
other, the whole space could net contain more than
1,200; and yet it is stated with confidence, and by
credible authority, that from 10,000 to 12, 000 bodies
have been deposited in this very apace within the last
sixteen years!
Mr. Tumbleton, a highly. respectable undertaker, of
No. 4, Warwick-street, Golden-square, informed me
that about eleven years ago he attended the funeral of
an " Odd Fellow," on a Sunday, at Enon Chapel (parti-
cularly mentioned in the preceding pages); he smelled
a disgusting stench; he - was seized, within forty hours,
with a violent pain in the back of the left hand, con-
tinuing about an hour; had "cold chills" within half an
hour afterwards; took a glass of rum and water, and
went to bed; he arose in the morning very ill, and con-
sulted Dr. Burnett, of Golden-square, who ordered him
home, and told him that he would "give him three
weeks before he got up again." This prognostic was
true to a certain extent, for the patient kept his bed nine
weeks with a malignant typhus, and all its concomitan
evils.

On the 10th of July last, I was called to attend a
widow, named Adams, house-keeper to a gentleman re-
siding in Gray's Inn-square. Some days before my
arrival she had been attacked with pain, which she re-
ferred to the region of the liver. The pulse, on my first
visit, was weak and easily compressible, ranging between
one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty ;
she complained of no pain; her heart beat tumultu-
ously; the tongue was brown and dry, and protruded
with difficulty—her general symptoms were those of ac-
tion without power. I carefully watched the case; • but,
notwithstanding all my efforts, my patient sunk on the
22d of the same month. She had been a regular at-
tendant at Eton Chapel. She died of typhus, accom-
panied with symptoms of extreme putresceney. Can the
cause be problematical?
Four bodiets had been placed in a tomb in the Eastern
Cemetery, into which it was found water had penetrated :
the first body had been interred in February, 1836, the
last in April, 1839. Two grave-diggers employed in the
removal of the water and the dead bodies were from the
commencement of their labour -struck with the fetid
odour given off, yet they continued their work. They
had removed a large quantity of water and two coffins,
when. in attempting to seize the third, their feet slipped,
and the water remainingin the tone?) -Was 'Violently agi-
tated by their fall. One of the men fell instantly life-
less. His comrade made several efforts to raise him ; at
the third attempt he fell deprived of consciousness upon
the body of his unfortunate 'companion ; assistance
being quickly rendered, the men were withdraikn from
the tomb. The grave-digger who first fell was dead ; the
other, notwithstanding the extreme attentions of two
Medical men, remained unconscious during six hours—
for the space of a month afterwards he suffered greatly
from difficulty of breathing, and weakness of the-legs,
which in the coarse of the same month were affected
with a general desquamation.—(Annales d'Hygiene,
January, 1840.)
My remarks, published upwards of twelve months
since, have unfortunately had too solemn a verification.
At p. 183 of the " Gatherings from Grave Yards," • will
he found the following description of the abominable and
dangerous condition of the burying-grounds of St. Mar-
garet's, Westminster : " There are two burying-
grounds belonging to this parish, one near the Abbey,
adjoining the church, and the other in the Broadway,
Westminster. The ground is excessively crowded; fune-
rals are very frequent ; the ground behind the church is
too full to ,admit of increase, with propriety or safety."
Confirmatory of the above description, made from re-
peated personal observation, I quote the following re-
marks from high authority :—" The Commissioners for
the Improvements in Westminster reported to Parlia-
ment, in-1814, that St. Margaret's churchyard could not,
consistently with the health of the neighbourhood, be
used much longer as a burying-ground, ' for that it was
with the greatest difficulty a vacant place could, at any
time, be found for strangers ; the family graves, gene-
rally, would not admit of more than one interment, and
many of them were then (in the year one thousand eight
hundred and fourteen ! !) too full for the reception of
any member of the family to which they belonged.' "
Quarteilfßeview, September, 1840, p. 380.
" William Green, a grave-digger, while employed in
his vocation in the churchyard of St. Margaret's, West,
minster, was suddenly seized with faintness, excessive
chilliness, giddiness, and inability to move his limbs.
He was seen to fall, removed home, and his usual medical
attendant was sent for. The poor fellow's impression
was, that " he should never leave his bed alive ; he was
struck with death." lie was, subsequently, removed to
the hospital, where he died in a few days. No hope
was entertained, from the first, of his recovery.
" Mr. 8., the medical attendant, was seized with pre-
cisely the same symptoms. He was attended by me. I
apprehended from the first a fatal result : he died four
days after the decease of the grave-digger.
" The fatal effects of this miasm did not end here.
The servant was seized on the day after the death of her
master, and she sank in a few days.
" There can be -no doubt of the fact, that the effluvium
from the grave was the cause of the death of these three
individuals.

" The total inefficiency in the three cases, of all re-
medial means, showed the great power of the virus or
miasm over the animal economy from the commencement
of the attack. "J. C. ATKINSON, Surgeon,
" Romney Terrace,,Westminster."
—Extracted from the Lancet, June 13, 1840.
Mr. Leese "had lately attended a lady Whom was
obliged to prohibit from going to church in the west part
of Loudon, in consequence of the injury she had sus-
tained .repeatedly from the effluvia, proceeding from the
vaults beneath the building. These vaults were nearly
full of coffins, piled one above another, some of them
having given way from the weight imposed on them"—
Extracted from the Lancet of May 1, 1841.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.
I have now detailed some of the particulars of a long
and laborious inquiry, and have placed before my readers
a statement of the gross abuses and immoral:tendencies
arising from the practices now prevalent in the burial
places of the metropolis, and with the full conviction
that I have fearlessly, and to the best of my ability, per-
formed an. important public duty, in submitting the re-
sult of my investigations to the judgment of my coun-
trymen. I look forward with confident anticipation to
the cordial co-operation of my fellow-citizens, and also
to the assistance of the Legislature, in annihilating or
effectually reforming the present system of burial—a
system fraught as much with insult to the dead as with
extreme danger and affliction to the living. _

If I have entered upon a repulsive and disgusting
detail, it has been from a profound conviction of its ne-
cessity. Tho profits of private speculators have not as
yet been compelled to defer to the vast, the enormous,
the invaluable, yet utterly neglected interests of the pub-
lic health and public morality, yet are they too insepara-
bly connected to be dissevered. " Immorality and disease
are multiplied by practices which should only teach the
resurrection and the life.' Jam much gratified to be able
to add, that the Legislators, who regulate the criminal,
the fiscal code of the country, are at length convinced of
the necessity that exists for their interference with the
practices of selfish, unprincipled, or ignorant men,_ who
have forgotten, or will not understand, that death, like
life, propagates itself." I venture to hope that the health
of the metropolis will form a prominent feature in the
measures of the Administration, and the attention of Par-
liament be early directed to inquire into and to adopt such
measures as may avert threatening calamities, and secure
future sanatory improvements.
It must be remembered that, although my attention
was originally directed to the condition of the burial-
places in my own immediate neighbourhood ; and that,
although I have been prompted to extend my inquiries
into the condition of those in other districts ; yet that,
taking into consideration the magnitude of the metro-
polis, the abuses here exposed (and many others that
might be mentioned), however repulsive, disgusting, and
immoral, would not amount to a tithe of the detail, were