The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-08 00:00:00

!ATION OF T.

THE RESEW
ST. MARTI,
TOWN.

TIE DEAD AT
217, CAMDEN

Yesterday, in consequence of the publicity
which had been given by the press to the re-
volting desecration of the dead in St. Martin's
Cemetery at Camden-town, during the earlier por-
tion of the preceding week, the scene of this
shameful violation of public decency was visited by
thousands, anxious to testify by ocular demonstra-
tion the truth or falsehood of the statements which

have been put forth upon the subject.
As early as eight o'clock in the morning, in ad-
dition to a large number of the S Division of police,
under the orders of Mr. Superintendent Loon and
Inspector Plage' a numerous detachment of the
reserve of the A Division also arrived, and was sta-

tioned in the vicinity and over various parts of the
ground. A communication, it is understood, had
been made by the Commissioners of Police to the
authorities of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, that in tho

present excited state of the public mind the only
security for the preservation of the peace and for
their property was in allowing free access to the
public, not only over that portion of the ground
where the excavations had been made, and the

.•
bodies and remains continue exposed, but over the
entire cemetery. The result proves that the course
adopted was the correct one, and it is the opinion
of the police authorities themselves that had any
attempt been made to prevent the public from wit-
nessing what they had come to see, and giving vent
to their feelings thereon, the railings of the ceme-
tery would have been forced, and a riot the con-
sequence. •
It is computed that at least from 30,000 to 40,000
persons visited the burial-ground throughout the
day, and whilst they might be h 'yard in every
direction and at every moment giving vent to their
feelings, disgust aud indignation at; the perpetra-
tion of such a wanton and shameful desecration of
the dead, and to the effect that it w: Ls much worse
than they expected to find it, no sin gle case of dis-
order or confusion occurred.

During Saturday night it apper trs that some of
the more offensive specimens of de Bayed mortality
had been removed from public gaz(2, and in other
parts the boards of the hoarding, , wh's'i had been
dashed into the ground by the in furiated populace
on Thursday evening, were cow :red over the re-
mains ; but they were soon remoN red, and the evi-
dences of the atrocious violation ,)1 public decency
which had been indulged in for fhe sake of filthy
lucre were exposed to view. It must not be sup-
posed either that the thousands who visited the
scene of desecration were mer'Ay the working and
humble classes of society. 149ien Divine service
was over at St. Stephen's, and adjacent places of
worship, elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen,
with their families, with fileir
prayer-
books in their hands, might bibles and ;
be seen wending their
way in hundreds to the spot, and leaving with ex-
pressions of sympathy anal horror depicted in their
faces at the sickening Might they had witnessed,
and the same feeling appeared topervade the minds
of every one, no matter to what class they belonged.
To add to the excitement, the walls of the cemetery
were covered with placards announcing a public
meeting of the inhabitants in the following terms :
" APPALLING DESECRATION OF THE GRAVE-
YARD IN CAMDEN-STREET, CAMDEN-TOWN.—A
public meeting, of the inhabitants of St. Pancras
will he held in the Vestry-hall, King's-road, on
Tuesday, November 9, to receive the opinions of
those interested in the matter, and to take such
measures as may by them be deemed expedient.
The Rev. J. Fitzgerald, incumbent of St. Stephen's,
Camden-town, will take the chair at seven o'clock
p.m. precisely.—By order of the committee, G.
Kingcombe, Hon. Sec."
The committee of inhabitants have prepared a
memorial, to be submitted to the meeting for adop-
tion, to the Bishop of London, praying him to
revoke the faculty, which, like the act of Parlia-
ment empowering them to build, they believe to
have been obtained by false representations: A
subscription has also been opened to carry the
matter, should such a course be necessary, into the
Ecclesiastical Court. In the meantime, the autho-
rities of St. Pancras are determined to protect the
public health, as well as decency, by pursuing
their summonses to the fullest extent under the
Public Health and Removal of Nuisances Act,
against the churchwardens, &c., of St. Martia's,
and to carry the case, by injunction, into the Court
Chancery.