The Sun. — 1832-06-19 (London, England)

ANATOMY BILL.  Lord MINTO moved the second reading of the Anatomy Bill. In doing so, his Lordship spoke in so very low a tone of voice, that notwithstanding there were only few Members present, it was almost impossible to hear a single sentence he uttered. He desired to draw their Lordships' attention to the present state of the law as it regarded anatomy. Nobody could be legally dissected except the body of a murderer. From this circumstance the Schools of Anatomy were deprived of the most important sources of information, and this itself was an ample cause why there should be an alteration made in the law. The supply to the dissecting rooms at present in London was very limited indeed, and almost the whole was procured by the robbery of graves, and by the breaking oven of houses and carrying off the dead bodies before they could be interred. It had even been supposed that the high prices which had been given for the dead bodies have for a long time past led to the commission of the most dreadful crimes. Whether the present measure was exactly that which ought to be passed, he would not undertake to say, but undoubtedly something upon the principle of this Bill ought to be carried into a law ; and whether the details came before the Committee it would be for their Lordships to consider what would be the best mode of supplying the schools, and of i.ffording the students of this metropolis the necessary supply of dead bodies at the cheapest possible rate. In every part of Europe where dissection was carried on, except in England, where there was dissection to a very great extent the legality of dissection was recognised for the sake of science. There could be no doubt that it ought to be rendered legal here also, and, for his part, he wished to have the price of bodies to students so reduced, as to remove any inducement on that ground to theft, or to an abuse yf the law. Lord MALMESBURY said that he was sorry to differ with his Noble Relative upon this important subject. He wished to encourage science, but the feelings of Englishmen prevented there being a supply of subjects furnished 'in such abundance as they were in foreign countries. He thought the Bill would expose persons taken insensib'e to a hospital to be anatomized even contrary to his wishes, for the Bill required dissent to be expressed to it, and not assent to be given. He did not see much security in the inspectors ; such inspectors ought not to be medical men, for it is only medical men who could be concerned in what required the check of inspectors. He doubted whether the Act would prevent burking. The Bill once legalizing the sale of dead bodies would establish an open mart for their sale. He thought there ought to be persons superintending the sepulture of the remains of sfreueasbrpjeeedcettst h, teoi n Bill the order to i ewo would d bodies !ue su nodfr ei t murdererso btaruttalaki zing e being hepielcnagpe. eogpi ivefe.lne onulvipictthloi dissection, he thought it no additional punishment to the criminal, but only to his relatives, who were often respectable people. He should not oppose the second reading, in hopes that when the Bill got into Committee some material amendments might be made in it. The Earl of ROSEBERY supported the Bill, and said that all the evidence upon the subject sheaved that there was a great deficiency of subjects in all the medical schools of the kingdom, but more especially in of Edinburgh, which had hitherto been thought the greatest in the world. Lord WYNFORD said that his objections rose so strong against the principle of the Bill that he should divide against the Bill if he stood.—(Hear.) alone. He would rather have the bodies of the people than their minds contaminated by the effects of this Bill. The sentence of dissection on a criminal he bad withperooldounceel Dteshepagrdreawtehstilbteffhecet. H was under sentence seenotehnvceersedof death for high treason, and although fearless of death itself, he had manifested the greatest horror at disseclaulpvplywohuflderipmriondaulsce exaecsouffitedeiebnyt• ttheion (sentencelle ar . ) off the The supply, and if that were not sufficient, he would take the bodies of convicts who died whilst in prison, and if that were not sufficient, persons who committed suicide. (