Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-29
INCARNATION.

Clinical Surgery in University College,
London, has contributed paper to the
Contemporary Revielo in regard to the
disposal of the dead in great cities, in
which he advocates the burning of the
bodies and saving their ashes IN urns,
il desired, as less revolving than con-
signing them to the grave to rot and
be devoured by worms. His premises
are: the horrible character of the
changes in the dead body after burial,
the decomposition of gases, and con-
tamination Of the atmosphere above and
water beneath; the impossibilIty OF m
tramural interment without ensuing
| sickness, and the fact that most ex-
tramural cemeteries viii in the course
of time come in contact with a grow
inc population. On the other hand, he
insists that incremation is perfect,
clean, not unhealthy, consonant to rea-
son and law, and preferablet to slow de-
composition in the ground. A body
weighing one hundred and seventy
pounds can be reduced TO ashes IN less
than an hour, the resultant being "a
fine sublimate, and not a portion of
refuse" In fact, in a Siemens furnace
a body weighing two hundred and
twenty-seven pounds a be burned in
So minutes, and the ashes, which VIII
weigh about five pounds, al be re-
moved with ease and leave no traces OF
noxious matter. A late London letter
states that this article created a great
deal of excitement and discussion, and
that a large party among the u%tilitari-
ans and scientists are In favor Of the
innovation, but that the great mass OF
the people are already on fire with IN
dignation at the insult offered to the
bones of their ancestors, or rather their
own bones, since we would be the first
victims sacrificed in case the GUS
tom should be established. One
of the most disagreeable fea-
lures of Sir Henry Thomp-
sons plan as he applies it to London, is
that instead of showing reverence for
the ashes of the departed, as did the
ancients whose rites he desires to re-
vive, he proposes to scatter them over
the fields. so as to increase the fer
tiIity Of the island" thus, in the lam
guage of Mr.. Holland who has replied to
his article, "using the bones of our an
cestors as a substitute for guano-tur-
nip dressing" This feature of the pro-
iect has given a bitterness to the dis
cussion that otherwise would not have
marked it. London journals state
that Sir Henry Thompson's paper IN
the Contemporary Rerje1g has attracted
much notice in Germany, having been
translated twice, besides obtaining
warm support from an eminent physi-
clan, DR.. KopL. Moreover, the practical
Austrians have taken the idea up as
one that has really now passed beyond
the stage Of discussion. The COmmu-
nal Councils of Vienna and Gratz have
adopted a proposal to establish IN their
cemeteries the necessary apparatus for
cremation, "the use of which will be
optional and open to all A "verita-
bic agitation" we r told, has arisen
in both places, though whether the ex-
element is all in favor of the fiery fur
mace innovation, or whether the at
tached supporters of their picturesque
~churchyards are indignant that these
venerable repositories of all that Is
mortal should be deprived of their
prescriptive rights, does not seem very
clear. This plan of disposing of the
dead was practiced by some of tie
great nations Of antiquity, and es-
pecially pagan nations, but it Will be a
long time beforedt can be made popular
with the English and American people.
Where the Gght-hearted Yiennes would
burn their progenitors or descendants
without a sigh or murmur, and after
ward TRANQUILITY contemplate the be-
loved remains in a jar neatly labelled
and inscribed with all the virtues of the
lamentad deceased, the mor practical
English and Americans will yet prefer
the old traditional Christian form of
burial. But when the furnace system
becomes fashionable on Continental
Europe it viii spread by degrees, and
the more advanced spirits among us
viii not be slow to defy prejudice by
nobly ~bequeathing their works to all
ages and their bodies to the consuming
fire." There are already indications
pointing in this direction. The NeV
York Tribune Of March 20 says:
1T Will probably surprise most read
ers TO know that there are a number of
persons in the city really and zealously
in earnest in the effort to introduce the
practice Of burning the dead instead of
burying them. These gentlemen, or
some Of them, held a meeting last night
at the Office of DR.. Sexton, in West
Thirty-ffth street, with a view of per-
fecting arrangements either for a large
meeting or for some other form of
demonstration upon the public. They
consider the subject solely from a
scientific and sanitary point of view,
and in that hight it is certainly a ques-
ton deserving the fairest hearing"
REGULATION.
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