The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-23 00:00:00

„et b Pt .0
-A-aurtt t lUO

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Cloe,

ATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING
Six O'CLOCK

DERBY.
5 to 1 agst Bolingbroke—taken
5 to 1 agst Clincher
8 to 1 agst Mildew
8 to 1 agst The Nigger
10 to 1 agst Pitsford
12 to 1 agst Voßigour
20 to 1 agst The Italian
30 to 1 agst Ghillie Callum
33 to 1 agst Deicoon
33 to 1 agst Mayors
The others as before.

OAKS.

No betting.

THE GOVERNMENT INTERMENTS
BILL.—(THIS DAY.)
A public meeting was held this afternoon, at the
Freemasdns'.Tavern, to consider the Government In-
termeats Bill. .

It was generally understood that the meeting had
been convened, by the undertakers of London, who
were opposed to the. Bill.
On the motion of Mr. STEVENS, seconded by Mr.
C. COCHRANE, it was unanimously agreed that Mr.
Mackinnon, M.P., should take the chair.

Mr. MACKINNON said as he was a Member of
Parliament, and anxious that the Bill should pass—
(Loud cheers)—he did not think it would be prudent
to take the chair, and therefore, though conscious of
the honour they had done him, he would respectfully
decline presiding over the meeting.
Mr. NICHOLAT, of Oxford-street, was then called
to the chair, and, in opening the proceedings, said
that though he was a friend to sanitary measures,
vet he was anxious they should take care that the
Legislature should not, under the colour of public
benefit, thrust additional abuses upon them.—
(Cheers.) It had been said that all who opposed the
Bill were undertakers, but he was not an undertaker,
nor had any interest whatever in the trade, and simply
made his appearance at that meeting on public grounds.
Many clauses of the Bill were of a very arbitrary na-
ture, and it had been hinted, with perhaps equal
justice, that the originators of the Bill were parsons
and jobbers.—(Cheers, and cries of " Oh.") Ise
trusted that no disturbance would take place at the
meeting, but that an impartial hearing would be
given to every speaker, whatever opinion he
might take with respect to the Bill.—(Hear, hear.)
Could any measure be considered impartial which
overlooked a most important class of the community ?
—(Oh, oh.) People might entertain a different
opinion, but he looked upon the Bill of • the Govern-
ment 'as nothing but a huge job.—(Cheers.) Ac-
cording to it the Government were to have the right
of buying up all the grave-yards and cemeteries in
London, and to have one universal place of sepulture
for the benefit of all classes in the metropolis.—
(Hear, hear.) This was interfering in a most un-
warrantable way with the rights and privileges of a
community, and he hoped such a measure would not
receive the public sanction. The Chairman concluded
by reading letters of apology from Lord Dudley
Coutts Stuart, M.P., and T. Duncombe, Esq., M.P.,
and several .other persons who had promised to attend.
The following is a copy of Mr. Duncombe's letter :
" 5, Palt.ca Chambers, St. James's, May 22.
" Sir,—l regret that it will not be in my power to at •
tend the meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern to-morrow,
having previous engagements at the hour for which that
mi eting is fixed. But as I have' for some time past en-
tertained very strong objections to the Metropolitan In•
ferments I3ijl, I purpose giving notice, to-morrow or on
F..iday, of my intension of moving in Committee the
omission of the greate,t portion cf the Government Bill,
and of the insertion of new clauses, which will, in my
opinion, render the measure more efficient in its opera-
tion, without being injurious to any party. My amend-
ments will of course be printed previously with the votes,
and I trust will nocet with the viers of those whom you
represent.—l have, Sce.,

" THOS. S. DUNCO3II3E.

" D. B. S!otw, &c."
Mr. J. Coox Evaias proposed the first resolution
" That this meeting is de( ply sensible of the necessity
for a general legislative enactment, providing effectual
control over the interment of the dead, and preventing
the abuses at present connected with intramural sepul-
ture; but is of opinion that the Metropolitan Interments
Bill cow before Parliament is throughout fundamentally
objectionable, and wholly fails to secure the object for
• which it has been professedly introduced."
He said he was in no way interested in the Bill, ex-
cept as one of the public, and, being one of the public,
he thought it his duty to oppose the measure of the
Government. It was said that enormous charges
were made by undertakers for the burial of the dead.
(Hear.) He was not there to defend them, but no
doubt they liked to get as much as they could out of
a good job.—(Laughter.) But that was not peculiar
to undertakers; it, was equally applicable to paid
members, secretaries, and commissioners of public
boards.--(Loud cheers.) The Bill, as the chairman
had observed, was nothing but a Government job.—
(Caeeis.) There was no more respectable class
than the undertakers ; and having had the misfor-
tire to employ them, he would, so far from
complaining of them, say that he was much
obliged to them for the services they had ren-
dered. No case had been shown for Go.
rnment interference in the burial of the dead.
—(hear.) Government might undertake to bury
them cheap,but they had much abetter try:totkeep them
cheap.—(Cheers.) Why it did not cost more to take
a person out of the world than to bring him into it.
The fees charged for an accouchernent, together
with the visits after the delivery, and
the powders, pills, and draughts which were
supplied to the patient for no earthly purpose,
amounted to a large sum, and what reason was there
why Government should not pass a legislative enact-
ment to regulat' accouchementsl?— (Laughter.)
Malt was now much cheaper than it had been, yet
the price of beer was not less, and why should Go-
vernment, on the same principle of interference, not
establish a largo andigigantic metropolitan brewery?
—(Loud cheers.) The Bill involved a system
of centralizatioa or bureauocracy which, though it
might suit some countries less tree than ours, yet
was quite unsuited to the spirit and habits 'of the
English people.—(Cheers.) No doubt the bishops
and parsons had taken an important part in framing
the Bill, for on looking over the clauses, he found that
they had taken good care of themselves. The speaker
then referred to various parts of the Bill, and expressed
.a
hope that the public feeling against the Bill would be
to strongly expressed as to prevent its passing into
1 a w —(Cheers.)
Mr. Roamts, of St. Anne's parish, briefly seconded
the motion, observing that ;with the exception of
doing away with intramural interments, he was
wholly opposed to the principle of the Bill.
Sir l) LACY EVANS said there could be no doubt that
this was a question of great practical and personal
importance to every individual in the metropolis, but
he would abstain from entering into the details of the
Bill, and confine himself to stating the general view
which he took of the measure. He was certainly op-
posed to the Government becoming a great under-
taking company, because he thought that local
management was preferable to centralization or Go-
vernment management..--(gear, hear.) The. Go-
veamsent had no right to interferef with private
enterprise, but, independently
enot that, he could not
see the propriety of Governmme undertaking what
they proposed by this Bill,—
Much abuse
had been heaped upon the undertakaerrs.), buti thet clergy
for years past had opposed extramural
and that was not he only instance in wahiecrlriaetahets'
retarded great measures of improvement, for theyy
had set their face against the
the people.—
education of
(Hear.) The public were determined
that intramural interments should henceforth cease,
but the present Bill was extremely objectionable, and
he should feel it his duty to oppose it in the House of
Commons in anything like its present shape.
Mr. MACKINNON, M.P., said the question seam
one of great difficulty, and he found it so when
he introduced a Bill into Parliament on the sub-
ject five years ago. He was the chairman
of a Parliamentary Committe which was
appointed to consider the subject, and he drew up the
report of that Committee, which was to the effect that
intramural interments should cease altogether ira large
towns and populous places.—(Cheers.) In conse-
quence of that report he brought a Bill into the House,
in which he proposed that the object should
.be ca.
car-
ried out by parishes and unions of parishes, in-
stead of by a system of centralization, which he
thought was extremely objectionable.—(Cbeers)
That Bill, however, was thrown out in consequence
of its not meeting with the approbation of the various
conflicting interests represented in the House of Com-
mons. Sir George Grey, in bringing in the present
Bill, be believed was actuated by honest and upright
principles, and he should be sorry if any opposition
to its details should endanger its passage through
the House.—(Hear, hear, and cheers) The Bill had
been read a second time and the principle of it was,
therefore, adopted by the Legislature, so that the
details had only now to be considered in Committee.
He was afraid if much opposition was offered to the
Bill in the House that the Government would, like
Pontius Pilate, wash their hands of the matter alto-
gether, and thus a most important measure
for the sanitary improvement of the metropolis
would be delayed to an indefinite period,
He was told by a well-known professional man that
there was a great probability of the cholera visiting
this country again, and the dreadful scourge would
be aggravated if the Bill were lost.—(Cheers.)
Under these circumstances no other course could be
adopted than to sanction the principle of the measure,
and to allow the clauses to be modified in Commit-