The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-25 00:00:00

ON THE :.1:111/1EY SIDE.

1. As near as practicable to Vauxhall- bridge.
2. Near to St. Saviour's Dock, Bermondsey.
3. Dep. ford.
" A receptior.-house near Vauxhall-bridge on the
Surrey side, and one near Blackfriars-bridge on the Mid-
dlesex aid-, would probably prove convenient IR a cer-
tain portion of the district also on the opposite side
respectively, and be the a cans of saving the expense of
additional establisbmentr.

" Recepion-houses Blackwell and Deptford would,
it is conceived, be of greator importance than is indicated
by ttle mere au.° n't c.,f the population of those
neightourhoods ; for, as a considerable length
of the river transit through the Pool would be
raved if embarked from these points, it is most
I:kely that the inbabitaets of many districts would
avail themselves of them in preference, although situated
somewhat nearer to other stations. For instance Lime-
house, Mile-end, and portions of Bethnal-green, would
probably prer,, the Blackwell rcceptiot -house to the
e rer one of Shad well; and Peckham, Camberwell, a td
O'er t xtensive outlying districts in that neighbourhotd,
mght rather proceed to Deptford than to the less remote
btetten of Bermondsey.

"For these various reasons it is difficult to estimate
the extent of eocomesiodation which each particular
reception-house bh,,uld contain; but the total and daily
eumb...rs in the following list exhibit an aperoxima.e
c.lcuktion of what on the average may be probably ex-
it, cted. These numbers, however, form only a guiee to
the proportionate accommodation in each nceptiot,
house; the actual provision mutt be considerably
greater, in cyder to meet the contingencies of epidem'ca,
the variable seasons a sickness, and conveniences of time
of burials."

Io fixing the ( xtcnt of accommodation of each recap.
ion house, tle rapid increase of the outlying districts
and the stationary character of the older portions will
have also t be considered.

ESTIMATE OF THE AVERAGE DAILY NUMBER OF CORPSES
TO BE PROVIDED FOR ♦T EACH RECEPTION-HOUSE.
Reception-houses ou the Mid- Average
dlesex-side. daily number.
1. Between Westminster and Wa-
terloo-bridges
2. Hackfriars
4. Tham .s Tunnel • •
5. Blackwell .. •••
On the Surrey Sid".
1. Vauxhall-bridge
F. St. Saviour's Deck
3. Deptford

8
)4

•.. •

But," continue the Cemmissioners, " we have now
t., state tht,t these houses f reception, which are teces•
nary as affording convenient intermediate stations at
which the corpses may be received, and feorn which at
regu!ar acrd pre-appointed times they tray be conveyed
to the boats, are in- carded t) answer a further and much
more inapontint purpose."
This purpose is the removal of the remains of
the dead, from that immediate and fatal contact—fatal,
morally as well DS physically—which is compulsory
among the poorer class( s of the population under the
existwg system f social arrant': merits as r. garde
a• pul-
tore. It apposts that of the deaths which take place in
the metropolis, upwards f ono-hale are of the labouring
chsases, and that of these fair out of five occur in f4milics

nut. hate only one living rind sleeping-room; that is to
say, in upwards t f 20,000 instances the corpse must be
kept. during the interval between Vie death and the it:-
torment, in the SHIM. room in which the surviving In' tu-
bers of the family live an sleep; while of the B,ODO
deaths that occur in the metropolis every 3 ear from opi.
demic diseases, by tar the gre..,ter part take place am ng
this class of the pnpulatior, and under the circute,,t,nces
just tiet.cribed.

" The corm, xior," adds the report, " between the ex-
tinction of the feeling of respect for the dead and the
growth of that callousness which readers the brutalised
witAl insensible to the sacredness of life, and which thus
prepares it fur the perr etration t f crimes of
violence c f the greatest enormity, has been often
triv:ed by those who have had the best opportunity of
witnessing the process; and they concur in stating that
it is in these filthy, unwholesome, and crowe's I rooms,
where none of the ob:.ervances of decency are regarded,
aid where the living, without emotion or concern, eat
and drink and sleep in the presence of the dead, not
only that the deg' s, led and profligate who constitute the
ordinary pests of society are trained, but also that it is
out of those same abodes that our great criminals gent-
rally come, brutal and reckless men, who every now and
then pt-rp.trate in cold blood, with a savage callousness,
deeds which fill the whole country with disgust and
horror."

It is to provide egainq Ouse evils that reception-
houses are proposed; and though the desire to reiain the
',mains of a btdoved relative as near and as long as pos
sible is as natural, and may be as strong, in the bosom
of the poor man as in that of the mere educated and
refined, there are circumstances affecting both rich and
poor strong enough to overcome ties it-cling, and which
ought to overcome it. When the dwelling-house is
small and ill-ventilated, and situ-ited in a close and
cr ,weed neighbourhood; when the inmates of such a
dwellitig are numerous, and particula ly when the death
has occurred from an epidemic or contagious disease;
but above all, when the whole of a family occupy only a
single room in such a house, it is absolutely indispensa-
ble to the safety of the survivors that the corpse should
be at once reccoied from such a dwelling-place; and
there there ate few indeed who would object to thedremotvaakent
the b ,dy under such circumstances, be
to
oasep place fitw ofuirldits
takereception,resp ec t andrespectful
confided
the Commissioners, " the
Considering, tl_e'‘," sayk!•7l ilocclfoutizi the care of
i classes that live in
tow hich
large proportion
cal-
culatesv
ugyll eta rbureep°os°l, unilhasje'eoncaetnod'i hthh:ehei s,he•eni gPwheyrar provision°t
edgt of°
o fb mortality
necessaryua e s o f to
reception
thisTipotteoar ptbehiye
perceive
add, that
he sutpheeri
superior
rre caresat i stlealt
fu
than that which can be
thertbtahteiwrhuerne.
hg iavveen
freetofi
rtsecienceeptshtsieotilori ot
;aobproprdseejeFu, le
we ahi
trincrhethmtahatei
remains
emyi
na my
theeay
house t
firsttaov, against its removal there would disappear."
They are right. The %act of houses of reception is,
bowev,r, not confined to the very poor. To shopkeepers
(who of en occupy only the basement story of the house
fur the purposes of business, and let off the upper room
to lodgers), lodging-house keepers, innkeepers, the
oorwsnienrgsleocosommasllthoosuinsegsie pwheortslhoeetnsnsi(enctgbee lsealiratoytotefmrors
being,t ot
hef aa i
03 plmieeers,..
haps, strangers in London),
dirt e removal of the dead is often so urgent that they
are compelled to resort to some expedient, however un-
satisfactory. The usual practice under such circum-
stances iv fur the undertaker who conducts the funeral to
te.;eive the body, and he either keeps it on his own pre-
mises, often in a shed, or on the premises of his work-
mu. 11 ace receiving-houses become an indispensable
adjunct to a large and comprehensive system of extra-
mural interment.

BURIAL OFFICERS.
"In carrying into effect a general system of extra-
mural ii.tmnent for the metropolis," observes the re-
port," it is obvious that a staff of persons of superior
information information and intelligence will to required to make
at range meats for fun( rals; to superintend the removal
of the bodes; to visit the houses of the poor when death
curs in single living and sleeping rooms; to give
necessary instructions to the survivors for their own
sare'y; to obvibt?, a; far as may be practicable, the
danger to ln• oppreher dei from the pteience of the corpse
until it can Le removed; to examine into the existence
of any local causes calculated to promote the extension
of disease, more especially if the death has arion Erna

any form of epidemic, endemic, or contagious disease,
and to take without delay whet measures may be neces-
sary for the removal or mitigation of such cases as far
may be possible. Of the value of the services which
night be rendrel both to the bereaved family and to
neighbcuring families by a medical man, a public officer,
charged with the execution of such duties, and the full
appreciation of that service on the part of those far whom
it may be provided, the strongest conviction is enter-
tained :by those who are best acquainted with the
wants and feelings of the poor.
" The chief duties of such an officer, besides those
which have been already stated, would be to make him-
self acquainted with the sanitary condition of the
individual family in which the death has occurred; to
give advice and assistatce with reference to the funeral
and other matters which the occasion may require; to
direct the removal of the corpse from single rooms oc-
cupied as living and sleeping rooms, by one family or
more; to see that this removal is effected in a respectful
manner, with all due attention to the wishes and feel-
ings of: the friends; to verify the cause as well as the
fact of the death, where there has been no medical at-
tendant; to ascertain the cause of death from the medi-
cal attendant, where there has been one; to grant, when
required, a certificate of the fact of death, whenever ap-
prehension ie entertained of premature interment ; to
see that due care is taken of the bodies in the houses of
reception; to make arrangements with the friends of
the deceased, and with the officers of the cemeteries, as
to the time and the mode of the removal of the dead,
for the preservation c f regularity, quiet, and order; and
to superintend and carry into effect the regulations of
the authority charged with the execution of this branch
of the public service. It is estimated that for the per-
formance of these duties, one chief officer of health,
with eleven assistants, would suffice for the whole of the
metropolis."

EXPENSE OF FUNERALS.
" We are now," says the Commissioners, "to consider
the compara ive expense at which it is possible to carry
in'o effect the proposed scheme of sepulture.
"In the Westminster, Marylebene, Finsbury, the
Tower Hamlets, and the City of London districts of the
metropolis, there are upwards of 200 burial clubs, com-
posed chiefly of the labouring classes, comprising from
100 to 200 members each, and possessing aggregate
amounts of deposits from 90/. to 1,0001. each, raised in
contributions uf from 10. to 24. per wefk. These
clubs pay as funeral expenses on the death of a member
from 51. t) 10/.
"From extensive inviries it appears tbat 5/. may be
tsken as a low average rate of expense for the funeral of
a working-man.
"The present actual total charges to families for the
funerals of adults, as ascertained from an examination
of undertakers' bills, compared with what may be accom-
plished on the intended plan, is as fillows:—
" The cost t) the gentry fur each funeral of an adult
is 1001, the estimated cost under the proposed system of
interments is 381. 10s., being a saving of nearly two-
thirds. First-cla:s tradesmen under the present system
50/., under the proposed system 16/. 10s , being a saving
of more than two. thirds. Second-class tradesmen under
the present system 291. 103., under the proposed system
91. 95., being a saving of more than two-thirds. Arti-
sans under the present system 5/., under the improved
system 21. 10s., being a saving of one-half. The total
annual saving upon the whole of the interments of the
metropolis may be estimated in round numbers a'
350,0001

COST OF CEMETERIES.
" We regard it as an essential principle of the pro-
posed system thet the expenses of elch interment shall
Le comprised in one sum, fixed upon according to a series
of pre-appointed and graduated scales. The determina-
tion and regalation of the charges under each scale wilt,
of course, devolve on the authority appointed to carry
this service into effect. Tim immediate outlay required
for carrying the scheme into eff.?ct viii be:—
For the construction of one large eastern
water-side cemetery, reception-houses, 5z0....X250,000
For the extension of the Kensal-Green Ceme-
tery to constitute one large western cemetery 50,000
For the purchase of the whole of the existing
metropolitan cemeteries and other burial
grounds •••

This sum, borrowed en the security cf the dues,
say at 5 per cent. interest, would be an an-
nual charge e f ••• ••• ... ...
The estimated establishment charges on ceme-
teries, inclusive of the clergy, funeral rites,
and officers of he a'th, and compensation for
lass of fees, would be about ... ...