The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-28 00:00:00

sand human bodies must have been displaced, mutilated.
and mixed with the moist soil of this grave-yard, long
before the process of natural decay can have taken plaice.
That it is a common practice in this ground to displace
the stones marking the graves of deceased persons
whose relatives have purchased the ground in perpetuity.
That thus a fraud is perpetrated on the living, and gross
indecencies inflicted on the dead, whose bodies are fre-
quently mutilated and displaced to make room for fresh-
comers.

"That your petitioners desire to express their un-
feigned satisfaction and gratitude that the practices re-
sulting from the interment of the dead in towns have
been the subject of a long, searching, impartial, and
patient inquiry of a Committee of your Honourable
House ; and that your petitioners venture to express a
hope that the labours of your Committee-will cause the
immediate introduction of such alterations in the pre-
sent system of interment as 'your Honourable House, in
its wisdom, may deem necessary.
" And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."
Having passed in review the scenes of the terrible
drama that has been constantly and systematically
enacted in Spa-fields burying-ground, I reserve to my-
self the choice of time for a further unmasking of hy-
pocrisy of a most disgusting description. I will prove
that " grave-yard management," even in its minutest de-
tail, is so perfect in its scheming, so determined in its
execution, so terrible and dreadful in its results, that the
well-constituted :mind must indignantly recoil from its
imaginings, much more from its realities.
GEORGE ALFRED WALKER.
St. James's-place, St. James's-street, March 22, I Cl 5.

BURIAL-GROUND OF ST. SA-
VIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK.

A Vestry :meeting of the parishioners of St. Saviour's,
Southwark, was held on Easter Tuesday in the Vestry-
room, at which the following resolutions were moved by
Mr. H. B. Clark:—

" Resolved,—That it is the opinion'of this Vestry that
the present state of the grave-yard of this parish is such
that the burial of the dead ought to be discontinued
therein.

" That the churchwardens be empowered to call for
such information us will enable them to investigate the
subject, and to make arrangements, if necessary, with
one of the metropolitan cemeteries, or for any eligible
plot of ground, subject to the approval of a subsequent
Vestry, for the interment of the dead of this parish."
In the course of some observations addressed to the
meeting in support of these resolutions, he stated that,
allowing the shortest time for the decomposition of the
dead which he thought possible, twenty years, according
to the size of the ground and the number of interments,
they must lay five bodies deep all over it ; numbers of
which were decomposing close to its surface, and spread-
ing an effluvia round, the evil effects of which could not
be calculated. He considered that it was high time
something should be done to put an end to what to him.
and he doubted not to them, appeared a most dangerous
and most repulsive system of burying the dead.
The resolutions were seconded, and carried unani-
mously by the Vestry, who have appointed a committee,
consisting of the churchwardens and three inhabitants,
to investigate the subject, with a view to its alteration
in accordance with the terms of the resolutions.

The grave-yard in question is a narrow strip of ground,
about 160 feet by 50, including a footpath, bounded on
one side by the thickly-populated Clink, and by London-
bridge and the Borough-market on the other sides. It
has been used as a burying-place for many hundreds of
years, and has become a complete Golgotha. This
resolution of the Vestry will, therefore, be hailed by the
inhabitants at large, as the first step towards the removal
of what has long been a nuisance and an eyesore. It is
to be hoped that other parishes will imitate their
example, and that soon these predisposing causes to
disease and death will be banished from amongst us,
and a more decent and healthy system of interment
substituted in its place.

DEFENSIVE ASSOCIATION OF
SURGEONS.
A meeting of a few members of this body was held at
the Literary and Scientific Institution, Leicester-square,
onWednesday, for the purpose, as the advertisement stated
of " taking steps to defend the body from the wrong in-
flicted by the recent charter, and the further aggression
to be inflicted by the proposed Government Bill." Th•
meeting was called for seven o'clock, but it was long
after that hour before the proceedings commenced.
Thomas Wyse, Esq., M.P., having taken the chair,
The Secretary read several letters from eminent me
dical gentlemen, expressing their approval of the objects
of the meeting, which were stated to be in substance the
correction of certain evils, viz.:—
" The irresponsible management of the surgical

colleges.
" The varieties of grade recently introduced amongst
the members of the College of Surgeons of England.
" The Association is impressed with the conviction
that at a moment when wealth is so superabundant, and
the candidates for the learned professions so numerous,
a wise Government should take advantage of such cir-
cumstances to raise the whole body of medical practi-
tioners to so high a point of science as would preclude
the existence of inferiorly educated grades. Its mem-
bers have observed, however, with deep regret, that her
Majesty's Home Secretary has provided in his recent
charter to the College of Surgeons, for the creation of a
low class of practitioners unknown before to that Col-
lege. This forcible and uncalled-for creation of a de-
graded class of medical men, is not only confirmed by
that measure, but that the large body of British surgeons
are distinctly stripped of their titles as surgeons,' and
that equality of position with them is, for the future,
offered to any youth who may spend two years of medi-
cal studies in any of the 'British universities.
" The Defensive Association of Surgeons are con-
vinced that the new charter, and proposed Government.
Bill, thus menacing the interests of British surgeons, will
re-act on the prosperity of the colleges to which they
belong, and thus doubly urged to action, respectfully and
earnestly invite their surgical brethren to unite with
them in one great effort to repair the wrongs already
inflicted, to ward off those that are now but too clearly
menaced, and introduce among all classes of surgeons
that good fellowship and contentment so necessary to the
happy and successful cultivation of their science."
The CHAIRMAN said, in consenting to take the chair
at this meeting, he was actuated solely by a desire to
forward the general interests, and to promote the condi-
tion of the honourable profession to which those whom
he now addressed belonged ; but not being a member of
that profession himself, he could not of course be ex-
pected to possess an intimate knowledge of the detail of
the differences which at present divided that body, but
no one could lament them more than he did. That they
were matter of regret there could be no doubt, because
he felt convinced that, by the union and co-operation of
the profession, the benefits they individually derived
from experience could be applied with greater effect to
the well-being of humanity.—(Hear.) But at the same
time it could not be supposed that a learned profession.
like that of medicine, should be suffered by its professors
to permit an opportunity to pass without bringing its
grievances before the public, and stating what they con-
ceived to be the most fitting remedy for their removal.
—(Hear.) However, while he wished to be understood
as holding himself disengaged from the differences and
divisions of the body, yet he could not refuse lending his
humble aid towards the furtherance of this, as well as
every other branch of education in this country.—
(Hear.) The Legislature, in dealing with a question so
important as this, at least a Legislature constituted as
that of England was, should afford the highest possible
range to its full and free action, consistent with the
public tranquillity and safety ; and in order to
do this, there were two courses pointed out:—the one,
that any man should be allowed to adopt that branch of
the profession which he should deem the best suited to
his capacity, and most likely to serve his private in-
terests; while the other was to point out certain limits
beyond which it would not be safe to permit him to
pass.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member then drew a
comparison between the legal an medical profession.
and showed how much more important it was to the in-
terests of humanity to have a greater degree of care be-
stowed upon the education of the members of the latter than
of the former. The lawyer, he conceived, was a man whose
abilities and capabilities would soon be discovered and
appreciated by the public, without the use of those tests
applied in other countries, and even the worst results
that would attend an incompetent lawyer's efforts would
be a loss of property, results which he did not mean to
underrate; but then how much more serious would be the
results attending an inefficient, or incompetent, or badly
educated medical man?—(Hear, hear.) It was upon
these grounds that the Parliament should feel justified
in interfering with this profession to the extent of taking
care that a guarantee should be given to the public that
life and health were not to be trifled with by the incom-
petence of persons, arising from their not having
gone through the necessary ordeal. (Hear,
hear.) Indeed he did not think that in point
of scientific knowledge, intellectual attainment, or moral
culture, the test could not be carried too high.—(Hear.
hear.) As a practitioner, the surgeon and the medical
man should bring to bear extensive reading and practical
knowledge, in which, in amoral point of view, he could not
be too particular. as he invariably became acquainted
with the most private affairs of a family, and, therefore.
lie should be a man of high morals, honour, and prin-
ciple.—(Hear, hear.) He next alluded to the society of
apothecaries, amongst whom, he said, were to be found
men of as high attainments as in any other profession,
and who would be an honour and an ornament to any ;
and, therefore, the proposed Bill ought not to contain
any proposition tending to place them in a humiliating
. position.—(Bear,Cos hoar.)
rELLo proposed the first resolution.
which was B.
this effect : " That the present state of
ihmicrh.W
society is highly favourable to the requirement from all
future candidates for the medical profession, of high
proofs of scientific attainments." In so doing, he drew
attention to the state of the profession in France a few
years ago, when a class of medical men, of inferior grade.
called " Officers de Sante, or officers of health," existed ;
but the Minister of public Instruction having ascertained,
through the report of a commission issued for the pur-
pose, from the profession generally, that the abolition of
this grade would not be attended with any danger or
disadvantage to the public, he did abolish them, and the
results were most beneficial to the public, because me-
dical men were then obliged to be better educated ;
and therefore he woied ask why not pursue the same
course in this ?—(Hear, hear.) He regretted
thativhat
wascalled
countrye Warburton Committee had not
been attended with results such as this ; but unfor-
tunately the opportunity it afforded of doing good had
been converted into a plan for the advancement of a few
at the expense of the degradation of the body.
Mr. Moenis seconded the resolution, which the meet-
ing, consisting of about twenty persons, declared to be
adopted unanimously.
Mr. lIEALY, in proposing the next resolution, which
was in substance that the maintenance of the medical
profession in the highest possible position, is of to high
concern to the general public as to tin medical corn-