The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-10 00:00:00

eVielthl (1 :111L

LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1851.

Elsewhere, in our impression of this evening, will
be found a most interesting report of a vestry meet-
ing at St. James's, Piccadilly. To this important
meeting we would direct the especial attention, not
only of the public generally, but, above all and be-
yond all, of the inhabitants of the metropolis. As will
be observed from the very opening of the report, the
discussion of the vestrymen of St. James's had' re-
ference particularly to the evil consequences of that
most unfortunate enactment relating to the subject of
extramural interment, against which we have so re-
peatedly had occasion to inveigh. From the various
observations made in the course of yesterday's
inquiry in the neighbourhood of Piccadilly,
it will be remarked that the sentiments of
dissatisfaction we ourselves have from the first ex-
pr aed respecting. the Act passed last session through
the Imperial Parliament, are beginning to force
themselves upon the conviction of the more reflective
members of the community. Insomuch have these
feelings of discontent increased that one of the
speakers at the St. James's meeting insisted that the
Metropolitan Interment t Bill of last year:bad proved
most fruitful in ill-consequences instead of turning
out beneficial for the population. October, 1849,
was the period when the General Board of Health
issued peereaiptary regulations for the closing cf
the over-crowded graveyards of the metro-
polis. October, 1850, witnN...,,01 the dissipation
of the few good effects of that parthl movement to-
wards the desired reform ; for no sooner was the
measure of last session ripened into an enactment

than it was intimated to the local authorities at the
different places of interment throughout the capital
that they might go on burying in their churchyards
as fast as possible. "As might be anticipated," said
the gentleman to whose remarks 'we are directing at-
tention, "the graveyards which l'aad been closed [few
enough, GOD knows, at any time] were again opened,
and all the horrors of the deep grave system were
revived." Those horrors are now being at this very
time momentarily multiplying. Fresh corpses are being
hourly committed to their unhonoured graves within the
walls of the English capital, in the very thick of its
swarming population, a few inches from the loosened
surface of the earth—forming dense masses of cor-
ruption, the putrescent and pestilential influences of
which are accumulating together at this instant the
germs of an increasing mortality. In the foulest
localities, namely, the grounds surrounding the
sacred edifices of religion, grounds reeking with
malaria and rotten to very loathsomeness, the atro-
cious practices of intramural interment are still being
developed—even, be it observed, in those horrible
dens of abomination which were long since held up to
public abhorrence by Mr. GEORGE ALFRED WALKER,
the first and the most formidable antagonist of
the system, and, for that reason, entitled to the glory
of being regarded as the originator of the entire agi-
tation in behalf of sanitary improvement. It is
against the continuance of these detestable proceed-
ings in our metropolitan graveyards that the vestry of
St. James's, Piccadilly, has raised its voice in tones
of earnest indignation ; and eager shall we be to
find that those tones are again and again re echoed
from most, if not all, of the parochial districts of
London and Westininster.

A circumstance which imparted a peculiar interest
to the meeting convened yesterday, near Piccadilly,
was the presence of the distinguished advocate for
extramural interment, whose name we have already
pronounced. If we recollect rightly, the meeting
of the St. James's Vestry is the first public occa-
sion which Mr. G. A. WALKER has availed himself
of, since the passing of the Act of last session, the
first public occasion on which be has pro-
nounced his opinions upon that pretended ef-
fort of amelioration. We have turngtd, consequently,
to the examination of the remarks uttered by him
yesterday with especial eagerness—sanguine that i
we should discover in them sound emphatic condem-
nation of the course recently pursued by the Legisla-
ture. Nor, in thin, have we been any way disap-
pointed. At the very outiet of }xis observations
Mr. WALKER disoLimed any connetxjon whatever
with the Metrepolitan Interments Bill, and at the
same time intimated that, according to his view of
tile matter, several of its clauses ware in the very
highest degree ohjpctionable. Indeed the reality ()f
this has become latterly sndici. tly weds demonstrated
by the re-ival in all its atrocity of the very system
against which the Act was said to he raised in
opposition. "As things stand now," said Mr.
_ _

\\-7.ALKER., es if in terrible illustration. of this, " the
livißg population qf London are everg day walking
over 5,000,000 dead bodies!' Yet, w aile these hor-
rible evils are b,i3g thus lainentaNy perpetuated,
the means for their prevention are easi.'y within reach
of the Legislature. The truth o► tieis WAS shown
fully two years ago by the distinguiqxtd sanitary re-
former above mentioned, in a pamphlet published by
the Messrs. LONGMAN. From that pamphlet Mr.
GEORGE ALFRED WALKER bitnail made yes-

terday a somewhat lengthened quotation, -jet
one so pregnant with practical suggestion,
that we gladly reproduce it in. our leading
columns. "A general Act," said Mr. WALKER, in
1849, in his pamphlet (and remember he reiterates
his views by their quotation in 1850), "A general
Act fir the establishment of cemetf,ries should at
once be passed." Already it wi.ll hive been
observed that the Act of last session upon
this matter, relating alone to the metropolis,
even as a partial boon, is in his estimation anything
but satisfactory. " Every city," he continues,
" every town, and I may add, very many villages, in
the United Kingdcm, require suburban cemeteries.
Any inquiry as to effects, viz , deteriorated health,
premature death, and the poisoning of water from
graveyards, which I have proved follow as a matter of
course, is not only unnecessary, but a waste of time
and money. All that is required is, to determine
as to the condition of the soil, and the site of the
projected cemetery. Every facility ought to be
afforded by the Legislature, and every unnecessary
obstruction removed. Separate Acts of Parliament,
more especially when opposition is offered, involve
often a great outlay of money, and an expenditure of
time, which might be much better employed.
Cemeteries ought not to be in the hands of
joint-stock companies. They ought to be na-

Tonal institutions, or vested in. corporate or

town authorities, or managed by committees
elected by the ratepayers, subject tc, the supervision
of a general authority, free from local feelings and
prejudices. Private speculations in burials, or any
such ownership, ought never to have been permitted.
I am aware that there are persons who approve of
joint-stock cemeteries, and who disapprove of a com-
pulsory Act for the prevention of intramural burial.
Yet, only three Acts for the formation of joint-stock
cemeteries were obtained in the year 1846. It seems
to me highly improper to leave a reform like this to
local efforts, and then to saddle such efforts with im-
mense fees, extracted, it is true, in the first instance

"roca the pockets of public•spirited individuals, who,

in one instance, to my knowledge, belie--7.d that they
had given rather than invested. Besides, the money
so unnecessarily expended must be repaid (principal
and interest) in the shape of increased
by the friends of the deceased who may be
buried in such cemeteries. The different ceme-
teries in the hands of companies shcuid be pur-
chased from the shareholders, who would be equitably
and even liberaliy treated with, and as they are
situated in localities towards which dwellings have
already approached, or may be expected to approach,
they should he stringently regulated, with a view to
their being closed before they, in turn, become
nuisances. For the above paramount reasons lam
decidedly of opinion that Government, under the
change contemplated, should take on itself the charge
of organizing and administering, or,rigidly supervising,
a general plan for the interment of the dead
throughout Great Britain." Such were the senti-
ments entertained with reference to the most effec-

tual means of carrying out a general system of ex-
tramurAl interments by the man whose energy first
dragged to light the abominations of in-
tramural burials. Such are still his views,
in 1851, as to the most desirable manner
of carrying into effect the long-looked for improve-
ment. He still proclaims the burial of the dead in
towns to be "the most prolific source of disease." He
still maintains that by the system hitherto pursued
we have been "manufacturing disease and paying for

it in the shape of poor-rates." And, at the mame

time, he insists, as he has done throughout, that the
remedy of the evil may be grasped with facility.
" All that is requisite," says he, " is to get land and a
cheap mode of transit." Both these requisites are
easily attainable. At such a spot as Woking-
common the land may be found in abun-
dance, and dead bodies might be conveyed
thither for sixpence a piece along the line of the
South-Western Railway. The facts here given can
speak for themselves ; and from their consideration
the public may at once recognize the yet vast neces-
sity for improvement.

In another column will be found a report of the
proceedings which took place atGloucesterontle
presentation to P. B. PURNELr, Esq., the respected
and philanthropic Chairman of the Gloucestershire
Quarter Sessions, of a testimonial of public respect
and gratitude for his unwearied perseverance in in-
vestigating and discovering numerous cases of appal:
ling oppression, cruelty, and injustice, perpetrated
by the keepers of private lunatic asylums on the un-
fortunate persons placed under their superintendence.
Netter was testimonial more richly deserved, and it
is delightful to fiLd that the public is not always
altcgether ungrateful to its greatest benefactors. In
the face of the most unscrupultu,, because the meat
interested opposition, Mr. PURNELL persevered and
succeeded in releasing from torture the persons, and
from plunder the property, of many an unhappy
lunatic, and in restoring to liberty, or partial liberty,
many an unfortunate who but for his prc.vering
efforts would have been still k' pt chaine I to a cold
stone floor, with only dirty s`raw to lie on, and left
to wallow and roll in filth, like ill-tended swine, or

TRE SUN,

kept perpetually strapped down to a bed, and there
tortured by brutal keepers, or neglected by idle at-
tendants. Lord Chancellor COTTENHAM, in giving
judgment in a case which was brought before him by
the perseverance of Mr.Puareeet, and of the Alleged
Lunatics Friend Society, bore testimony to the high
merits of the Chairman of the Gloucestershire
Quarter Sessions, whose untiring patience and perse-
verance, in endeavouring to alleviate the sufferings,
the appalling sufferings, of those unfortunate persons
who are confined in private lunatic asylums, have
won for him the gratitude of every friend of hu-
manity. But, be it remembered, that this, the praise,
the just praise of Mr. PURNELL, is the utter condem-
nation of the Commissioners of Lunacy. How
comes it that they discovered none of the atrocities
which have been brought to light by the persevering
efforts of Mr. PURNELL ? That they were aware
of their existence, and from some unexplained senti-
ment of regard for the interests of the keeper
of the asylum, passed them over, we cannot bring
ourselves to believe. How comes it, then, that in their
report for 1847, at the very time that the atrocities
brought to light by Mr. PURNELL were in the course
of daily and hourly perpetration, the Commissioners
should thus describe to the Lord Chancellor the state
of the lunatic asylums throughout the country ?
" The dwellings for the insane are no longer the
gloomy prisons in which they were formerly confined;
cleanliness, warmth, and ventilation have been provided;
personal rests aint is diminished, and even where still em-
ployed, its severity is greatly mitigated, and its application
strictly watched ; the health and mental condition of the i
lunatic are more carefully considered, occupation and
amusement are more generally afforded to him; and in all
respects better treatment is secured; whilst an opportu-
nity is teriedically given to him of representing any
hardship to which he may have been subjected, an ad-
vantage which it is found by experience many patients
fully appreciate."
The cases brought to light by Mr. PURNELL con-
tradict this statement in every particular, and we
now ask the Commissioners—Did you, or did you
not, during your visits to the various asylums in the
county of Gloucester, see and converse with the un-
fortunate persons who, through Mr. PURNELL'S efforts,
have been released from a life of torture? If the
answer is in the affirmative, then we ask—How they
could venture to make such a statement as that con-
tained in the above extract from their report for the
year 1847 ? If in the negative, then they have been
guilty of a neglect of duty of so gross a character as
to show that the Commission, as at present
constituted, is worse than useless. Indeed,
the Commissioners themselves are now pretty well
aware that their days are numbered, and, in common
with the keepers of private lunatic asylums, look for-
ward with fear and trembling to the approaching
session of Parliament, w hen a measure for the regu-
lation of private lunatic asylums will be introduced
under such auspices as will, we hope, ensure its suc-
cess. Above all things the proprietors of private,
lun:stic asylums dread any such alteration in the pre-
sent law as should render the verdict of a jury neces-
sary to legalise the incarceration of an alleged lunatic
in an asylum. A writer on this subject in the Jour-
nal of Psychological Medicine says :
It was certainly proposed by the Amendments Law
Society th-st the verdict of a jury should be substituted
for the present ardor of admission and the two medical
certificates; but we are satisfied that such a plan would
be lolled wholly impracticable. We do not believe that
any faueil) suffering under mat a calamity would will-
ingly eennit a relative so afflicted to pisA through the
exposure of such an ordeal. It eh )uld be remembered
that for many cogent reaLons the sanctity of the do-
mestic circle should, under such distressing circum-
stances, be held inviolate."

The writer forgets that " this wholly im-
practicable plan" is invariably practised in
every case in which it is sought to ad-
minister the lunatic's property, and that the only dif-
ference between the investigation proposed by the
Amendments Law Society and that at present
pursued before a Master in Lunacy, under a com-
mission de lunatico inquirendo, that iu the latter case
the investigation does not take place until those
interested in proving the lunacy have had every
chance of driving a man mad by shutting him up
among lunatics for six months, whereas the society
proposes that the incarceration shall not take place
until after public inquiry. As to the " exposure to
such an ordeal," we have never found that where
the management of the relative's property was
to be obtained the " domestic circle" have
.ever shrunk from the exposure, and as the liberty of
the subject is of more value than his property, so
ought it to be more strictly guarded. It is no
more a violation of the sanctity of the domestic circle
to require the verdict of a jury to authories the in-
carceration of an individual as a lunatic, than it is
to require such a verdict to *ithorise his incarcera-
tion under any other circumstances. The inhabi-
tants of the United States guard the sanctity of the
domestic circle as sacredly as we do ourselves, and yet
we find in this very Journal of Psychological -Medi-
cine the following description of the law of lunacy in
the State of Ohio :

" The laws in force, at present, in regard to idiots and
lunatics, like all the preceding Acts, require the fact of
insanity to be establi!,hed by the verdict of a jury. The
jury is required to bet forth whether the person com-
plaaned against an idiot, that is to say, a person na-
turally without mind;' or lunatic;' whether, in their
opinion, he is so furiously mad as to render it dangerous
to the race and safety of the community that he should
be permitted to go at large;'—' whether he is a pauper,
or ha:, any estate, and the supposed value and annual
income of such estate'—and, also, whether the pauper
has been a resident citizen of the state a year."
This we take to be a sufficient answer to all the
twaddle about exposure ; the system which we
advocate has been in existence in the State of Ohio
for years, and is admitted by this very writer to have
worked well ; and we think we cannot do better than
adopt his recommendation to the medical officers of
British asylums, and " follow the exempla of our
American brethren."

SERIOUS ACCIDENT TO SIR ROBERT PEEL.-Our
Birmingham correspondent writes:—" Intelligence was re-
ceived here this (Thursday) afternoon, that an accident of a
very alarming character had occurred to Sir Robert Peel. It
seems that the Hon. Bironet was out hunting yesterday in
the neighbourhood of Fzzeley ; the horse stumbled, threw
his rider, and fell on him in such a way as to seriously injure
Sir Robert's heap'. He was taken up senseless, and this
(Thursday) morning was in a very precarious state."—Daily

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—GLASGOW, JAN. B.
A fatal accident occurred here yesterday, which has excited
a general feeling of regret. Lieutenant E. Clemison, of the
21st 11egiment, was in the act of mounting his horse, in the
Infantry Barrack-square, Gallowgate, when the animal,
hich was young and high...spirited, shied and threw the
officer violently to the ground on his Wadi. As Mr. Clemi-
son's foot remained in the stirrup, the horde became still more
restive; and in the coarse of its plunging struck the unfortu-
nate gentleman more than once with its feet, and with
great severity, on the chest and right side. Two sergeants,
who were at hand, immediately rushed forward to the rescue,
and the; surgeon of the regiment, who had witnessed the
accident from one of the barrack windows, was also in in-
stant attendance, but Mr. Clemison had suffered such severe
internal injuries that he was almost insensible when disen-
gaged from the stirrup, and died in a quarter of an hour
afterwards. The deceased was about thirty yerrs of age, un-
married, and joined the 21st about twelve years ago, when
on foreign gorvice, in the upper province of Madras. He was
highly respected and beloved. The relations of the deceased
officer reside in the neighbourhood of London, and were ap-
prised of the melancholy event the same night, by telegraph.

ME.. MATHESON'S, OF THE Laws, ELETATION TO
THE BARONETCW.—We have learned that this honour has
been conferred by her Majesty on account of Mr. Matheson's
distinguished merits, and the noble assistance which he gave
to the inhabitants of Lews in a year of famine—a flattering
mark of royal favour founded on the just and proper appli-
cation of public and private acts of enlightened philanthropy,
DEPARTURE OF THE BRAzILIAN MAlL.—Yester-
day being the day for the commencement of the running of
the Brazilian steamers under the new contract between the
West India Company and the Government, the Royal Mail
Steam Packet Company's steamer Teviot, Captain Rerett,
left Southampton, with the mails for Lisbon, Madeira, To-
neriffe, Pernambuco, Bahia, Brazil, Monte Video, and Buenos
Ayres. The mails were much larger than were expected.
The Teviot took out also forty-four passengers for the vari-
ous places on the route; amongst whom were Lord and
Lady Eastnor, for Madeira, and Admiral Grenfell, for Rio.
Her cargo consisted principally of specie, in gold and silver
to the amount of 67,035/., chiefly for the Brazils.
GALLANT CONDUCT.— SHIELDS, JAN. S.—James
Hari (or Hedy), one of the crew of the Queen, 'Watson, of
Dundee, arrived here from Taganrog, reports that on New
Year's-day, during a severe gale at W.S.W., in Ist. 53 40 N.,
long. 3 l 0 E, when in the act of furling the foretopsail, fell
off the ttarboard yard-arm into the water, but through the
kind aad humane conduct of Mr. Watson he was saved.
Mr. Watson was in the act of springing overboard, with the
deep sea lead-line fast to him, when the man got hold of a
rope at the forerigging ; Mr. Watson then sprang over the
side, and held on the pcor man, at the risk of his own life,
for some time, by which aid he was got safe on board ; and
the seaman, overflowing with gratitude, declares, but for the
master's conduct, his children now would have been orphans.
Conduct such as Mr. Watson's is honourable to him as a man
and a seaman, and not less honourable is the desire of the
seaman to record his gratitude.—Shipping Gazette.
HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY.—The High Court
met. on Monday and Tuesday. Mary Finnon, or Murphy,
charged with child murder, in having cast her newly-boru
child into the River Nith, at R. Irkconnell, Dumfries-:hire,
pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, and was sentenced to
transportation for life. Mr. Robert Graham, from Dunblane„
was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation for having
forged and uttered two bi:l2 for ay. 10.. at the branch of the
Bank of Scotland in Callender. The other cases were for
thefts,
robberies, and amulte.—Edinburgh Witness,