, 1880-06-13
THE ENGLISH BURIAIS BILL.

The advent Of the Liberal party in England
to power is already sfKnalized by the agita-
ton of the Burials bill in Parliament, intro
duced by the Lord Chancellor himself, Lord
Selborne- The Liberals are making strong
assault upon that antiquated and bigoted
| practice which forbids any service but that
Of the Church within the churchyards. Year
after year this assault has been made only to
end in defeat, but now the Liberal majority
insures its passage, and religious caste will
be banished from the graveyard and all the
dead will sleep on terms Of equality, so far as
mans puny efforts can secure it. The dead
would probably rest just as well with or
without service, In consecrated or unconse-
Grated ground, and they In the Potter's Field
are just as comfortable as they In marble
mausoleums. But some regard should be
paid to the feelings Of the living who do not
belong to the Church of England who believe
there may be entrance into Heaven without
its Endorsement aud who think that st. Peter
will not demand Of the newly-hedged soul at
the gate that it shall present Tory certificate
of burial as condition Of admission
The Burials bill establishes absolute free
trade in bu1ia1s, and extends to cemeteries Us
~
homo are thrown wide open, and the dead
Dissenter enjoys equal privilege with the
dead Churchman. There may be church
service, or non-church service, or no service
at all, whether ground be consecrated or TN
consecrated. The relatives of the deceased
may employ any person they please to read
the funeral service, provided it be Christian
and orderly and the service is not di-
rected against some other form Of service
1t furthermore allows the established minis
ter to vary his own forms to suit particular
cases. For instance, if Dissenter OF per-
son not q member OF the Church, sh ou1d ap-
ply to an established minister tn pronounce
service over friend who was not in the odor
of sanctity, the clergyman can arrange a
form suitable to such an unfortunate person.
As the Spectator says: 1.-THE bill makes
great step In the direction Of liberty
on two distinct sides. BY enabling
the friends Of the deceased to dispense with
the services Of the official Clergyman, if they
choose, it renders it possible, without any
injustice, to enable the official clergyman to
dispense with forms which he thinks in-
appropriate, if they do not so choose. Thus
1t sets him free from any duty he regards as
oppressive to his own conscience in the case
of those Dissenters or Church people who
think tit to require him to perform the duty
nevertheless"
The organs Of the union Of Church and
State are discussing the question with great
bitterness, and with no love or charity for
Dissenters, who from their standpoint ought |
to be satisfied if they receive burial on the
highway or at the crossroads. The Saturday |
Reuie'U sneers at almost every feature Of the |
bill, and declares that its triumph would be- |
z triumph of the anti Church section Of the /
dominant party. and that the Dissenters |
might claim to occupy part Of the I
churches with just as much propriety as
a part of the graveyards. To Ameri- |
cans such discussion is almost incompre-
hensible. It shows a tenacity OF sectarian
intolerance and narrow-minded bigotry that
has never been witnessed in this country,
and never can be. There have not been
wanting displays Of bigotry In our own
country, but they are usually individual In !
tneir manifestation, and pertain to the living.
they may be found sometimes in the home |
md in the church, but they stop short Of the
graveyard. The dead of all sects rest peace
IDLY side by side. Even Mr.. Ingersoll, at
var with all sects and denying God Himself,
las the satisfaction Of knowing that he NAV
leep by the side of the most deyout Chris
ian in any Protestant graveyard. Such q
question Of posthumous ostracism could not
tand In this country an hour. The Ameri-
an sense of liberty and equality would never
llow prejudice to invade the churchyard or
listurb the dead 1t shows the weakness.
tupidity, and folly Of the union of Church
nd State, and If, as the Tories claim, this Is
be first step towards dlsestablishment bv
be Liberals, the people of this country viii
ope for the speedy passage Of the bill. and
or further steps in the same direction.
SCIENTISTS have begun to explain thu fail
re OF the RfittSh Crfrus Tho |