The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-28 00:00:00

BURIALS IN TOWNS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

merit.
I hope the thirst for patronage will not delay the
working out of this sanitary measure fur good to the
public, a measure which has been wrung from the
Government when the proofs were undeniable, and
only when disease, caused by neglected sanitary
measures, had reached a point little short of a general
plague. Let not, then,those Commissioners vt ho have the
carrying into operation the provisions of this Act leave
undone the business for which they have been ap-
pointed. Let them not for any interested motive
allow of the graveyards beitig kept open, as there are
those looking on who are both willing and able to ap-
preciate their powers, whether justly or unjustly ad-
ministered, and according to their merits will the
Board be judged.
Before the passing of the Act, and during the ex-
citement caused by the extraordinary powers given by
the clauses inserted in the Bill, and the tricks resorted
to by the Government to pass the Bill without dis-
cussion, the following remark was called forth from a
heading paper of the day :—" Pass this Bill, and the
Board of Health will instantly become the most des-
potic authority in London." And I fear the predic-
tion will be but too true ; for the Board are carelessly
dilatory in their movements and not inclined at all to
don the present graveyards or burial-pits, and
negligent to a fault in the duties imposed upon them,
and tor which they are largely remunerated.
Hoping that this Commission will not be like
others from which " much was expected," and under
similar management fell to the ground,
1 retnain,Sir, &c., W. H.

BISHOP PHILLPOTTS AT WE.
The old gentleman sometimes gets an ugly back-
handed hit, when he happens to forget the rate at
shich he has been retrograding of late years. He
was confirming at Ide the ocher day, and on going
from the vestry to the church, he sprang back as if
be had euddenly got Mr. Gorham before him.
What is it that I see !—where am I !—am I in a Me-
thodist chapel? Be rubbed his eyes. Poor Mr.
Erle (a very excellent, amiable, and good man, as all
the villagers avouch) WAS much distressed. Some
thought the old gentleman was not only " cracked,"
but that the crack was visible.
What is it, my Lord ?
What !—where am I?Is it a Methodist meeting ?
Alas, my Lord, no Do not alarm yourself—
you're in a church.
A church ! Impossible—with that thing shutting
out the view of the altar of the Lord from the
faithful.
What thing, my Lord ?
That thing—the pulpit—how came it there—when
was it placed there ?
Alas ! my Lord, it has never been removed since
you consecrated the church, fifteen years ago !
My Lord the old gentleman, bolttd.—Western
Times.

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.
At the Mayor's Court, Limerick, on fu-aday
the following case came on for trial before his wor-

ship :
The complainant, named James Lynch, a widower,
and the father of three grown children, stated that
Margaret Loftus, defendant, a widow, and the mother
of five children, had violated a promise of marriage
which she had made to complainant, after he had pur-
chased the licence and certificate, on the faith of the
assurance she had solemly pledged.
Mayor—Tell me, my good woman, why don't you
stick to your promit,a ? Defendant—l only half
consented; I never gave my consent entirely, your

worship.
Complainant—Ah, indeed, you did now, and only
for that I would not have purchased the licence.
Delendant—Nc, your worship, he was continually
hanging after me, tied to my apron-strings, and I
could not get rid of him. I never, oh no, I never did
entirely promise him.
Mayor—You were a foolish man to purchase the
licence and certificate, as this woman had not agreed
to marry you.
Complainant—She did most faithfully, your wor-
ship. It is true I was anxious to marry her, because
she appeared to me to be a clean, industrious woman.
But oh, what will become of me now ?
Defendant—l might have married him, your wor-
ship, only I found out he had not the marriage money.
Complainant—Oh! do you hear that, your wor-
ship ? If I had not the money, how could I purchase
the licence and certificate ? Ab, you cruel woman, I
did not think you would treat me that way.
The Mayor good-naturedly advised both parties to
be reconciled.
Defendant—l had a good opinion of him formerly,
your worship; but from what I have since heard of
that man, I never will consent to marry him. Oh,
no; never, never. Besides, his big three stumps of
daughters, who are as old as myself, threatened to tear
the throat out of me if I married their father. What
was I to do then, your worship ?
The Mayor said that an action for breach of pro-
mise could not be entertained, but he would order the
defendant to pay half the cost of the certificate.
The defendant said she would be guided by his
worship's decision ; but, turning to the complainant,
she exclaimed, " Whatever chance you had at all be-
fore, d—l a bit you have now, at any rate."

SINGULAR AFFAIR.
In August, 1837, at Aquabogue, Long Islard, one
John Cameron, a native or Scotland, after t,king his
tea, fell into convulsions, and died very suddenly. A
doctor, named Wright, was sent for, but was informed
that the man was dead, and he immediately went away.
The body soon swelled up very much, and by some
strange idea the hands were tied across the stomach.
The body was interred the day after death, but presented
none of the appearances of a corpse, being quite limber.
Mrs. Cameron was at the time absent in this city, and
did not return for a fortnight. After some years young
Cameron entered the en reoyment of N. Currier, litho-
grapher, corner of Spruce and Nassau streets, and the
mother married a man named Falls, a ropemaker, and
now resides with him at Yorkville. Lately, young Ca-
meron having prospered in his business, ;Melting it his
duty to have his father's remains more decently interred,
and some sort of a monument erected to his memory,
had the body disinterred by a man named Aldridge.
To the great astonishment of this man and his assistant;
it was with the greatest difficulty that they could raise
the coffin, and on removing the lid they found the re-
mains fresh and undecayed, though a little blackened,
and the hand behind the head in a strauge positioe, as -if
the deceased ha I awakened from a trance, and struggled
for freedom. This is the more strange as the hands
were tied. The coffin was pretty well decayed, and gave
way in some parts. This di:covery led to a great deal.
of discussion in the neighbourhood, and to many strange
suspicions .and surmise. There ewers to be a desire
that an inquest should be held, or some investigation
that would elicit the facts of ties mysterious case. The
deceased was thirty-five years of age, and aneared to
be in perfect health the day before be was interred. He
was fend of stuff, g birds, and usd a large quantity of
arsnic for the purpese. It is expicted tha a legl in-
vesteigation will take place in a few days.—t Newa York
Tribune.

DEATH OF THE REV. WILLIAM ATHERTON.—The
Wesleyan Methodist society in Wakefield has just sustained
a severe loss in the death of their highly esteemed superin-
tendent the Rev. Wm Atherton, who departed this life on
Thursday the 26th inst., at eleven o'clock in the morning.
This ye•.erable minister commenced his itinerant labours in
the Wesleyan connexion in the year 1797 ; and had laboured
with uninterrupted fidelity during the period of fifty-three
years in a manner that comm,:nded general admiration, and
with great usefulness. Daring his ministerial career he held
some of the highest offices in the connexion, having been
president of the Conference in the year 1846. Ills valuable
labours were brought to a close by a painful 'and
_protracted
illness, but his end was tranquillity and peace.— Leeds Mer-
cury.

SlR,—The evils of graveyard burial are not yet
done away with, as interments take place daly in
London in defiance of tl:e Act of Parliament and of the
promises held out by Ministers who, whilst anxious to
prevent opposition in the House, and in order to in-
sure the pe..sing of the Interments B. 1!, stated to the
depu:ations " that the evils complained of would be
remedied as soon rs the Bill was passed into a law,
and that clauses should be inserted empowering the
closing of the.graveyards and vaults of the metropolis
by the order of the Commissioners, inserted in the
Gazette, and to empower them to make use of the
eight suburban cemeteries now in existence until a
cemetery of sufficient magnitude is provided for the
burial cf the dead ;" and to render the powers of the
Commissioners more absolute, it is provided " that
after the publication in the London Gazette of the
discontinuance of interments, it shall not be lawful to
bury the dead in the graveyards of the metropolis ;"
and the Act also provides that there shall be a penalty
attached to any disobedience of the order of the
C ;rrinkis,,iooere.

Now, Sir, since the passing of the Metropolitan In-
terments Act, not one stir has been made by the
Board to allay the evils of the old system ; but such
pest-holes as S. Giles's, or the graveyard in the
Blackfriar's-road, et hoc genus omne, are now per..
muted to bury the dead in the midst of the most
crowded localities; and many of the suburban parishes,
conceiving that they are exempt from the powers of
the Act, have begun a system of graveyard jobbing !
To prevent this evil, and to prove that those parishes
which come within the meaning of, arid which are
named in, the Interments Act cannot traffic in future
in burials, let the Commisioners give notice in the
Gazette, stating clearly and distinctly the names of
the parishes over which they have jurisdiction, and
let them exert the powers given them by the Act to
prevent the spread of disease. As all places of burial
without the me: ropolitan district do not come within the
meaning Gf this Act, therefore are not under the
powers of the felony lause, it is the more necessary
that the notice in the Gazette shall be explicit, and
written so plain that there shall be no misunderstand-
jug its tenor,and be they lord or beggar, bishopor priest,
I hope the person who infringes on their order will
be visited with the full penalty their delinquency will