(8.) The great extent of land that is now wasted in public burial grounds and cemeteries.*

There is no reason, even if cremation should take the place of burial, why the fees for clergymen and others should not remain as at present, and the unpleasant assistance of the British-ghoul, the undertaker, with his long face at the ceremony and still longer bill afterwards, could easily be dispensed with.

The opponents of cremation urge that it would be more expensive than burial, and consequently out of the reach of the poorer classes, and also that it would cause so much difficulty in detecting cases of poisoning, that it would tend to encourage persons to poison others who happened to be in their way, or objectionable to them, and thus crime would go unchecked.

If these are the only objections they are easily to be

overcome.

First, by constructing public crematories, where for a few shillings a day sufficient heat could be maintained to consume almost any number of bodies, whilst the present great expense of maintaining large cemeteries with their attendant guardians and other costs would be dispensed with; and

Secondly, by instituting a scientific and independent enquiry as to the cause of every death which occurs. This is so

* The metropolis alone has in addition to the numerous burying grounds near its parish churches, &c. (many of which have been, however, dug up and destroyed), the average of which it would be difficult to determine, the following cemeteries, which may be called extra mural :

much required at the present day for the sake of the public health, that even if cremation is never introduced it should be at once enforced, so that those who have charge of the public health could have exact and reliable knowledge of the causes of all the deaths throughout the United Kingdom, and thus obtain such valuable information as would greatly assist in the daily fight to subdue and overcome deaths from preventable causes.

CHAPTER XXXI.

MORTUARIES.

As the Public Health Act 1875 contains several clauses bearing upon mortuaries, a few words upon this subject will not be altogether inappropriate.

The great and terrible evils arising from the practice of keeping corpses in inhabited rooms by the poorer classes were pointed out by Mr. Chadwick in the year 1843* and the following clauses upon this subject and the necessity imposed upon the local authority to provide proper mortuaries are contained in the Public Health Act 1875:

"Any local authority may, and if required by the Local Government Board shall provide and fit up a proper place for the reception of dead bodies before interment (in this Act called a mortuary), and may make bye-laws with respect to the management and charges for use of the same; they may also provide for the decent and economical interment, at charges to be fixed by such bye-laws, of any dead body which may be received into a mortuary (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 141).

"Where the body of one who has died of any infectious disease is retained in a room in which persons live or sleep, or any dead body which is in such a state as to endanger the health of the inmates of the same house or room is retained in such house or room, any justice may, on a certificate signed by a legally qualified medical practitioner, order the body to be removed, at the cost of the local authority, to any mortuary provided by such authority, and direct the same to be buried

* Vide A Supplementary Report on the Results of a Special Enquiry into the Practice of Interments in Towns,' by Edwin Chadwick, 1843.

within a time to be limited in such order; and unless the friends or relations of the deceased undertake to bury the body within the time so limited, and do bury the same, it shall be the duty of the relieving officer to bury such body at the expense of the poor rate, but any expense so incurred may be recovered by the relieving officer in a summary manner from any person legally liable to pay the expense of such burial.

"Any person obstructing the execution of an order made by a justice under this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds" (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 142).

From these clauses it would appear that a mortuary or mortuaries are an absolute essential in every town, although it does not appear necessary to have a separate mortuary for any "body of one who has died of any infectious disease," but it may be taken to the mortuary which has been provided for the reception of dead bodies generally. It may also be assumed that bodies may be viewed by a coroner's jury in the mortuary, although a post-mortem examination cannot be made in it, as by the following section :

"Any local authority may provide and maintain a proper place (otherwise than at a workhouse or at a mortuary) for the reception of dead bodies during the time required to conduct any post-mortem examination ordered by a coroner or other constituted authority, and may make regulations with respect to the management of such place; and where any such place has been provided, a coroner or other constituted authority may order the removal of the body to and from such place for carrying out such post-mortem examination, such costs of removal to be paid in the same manner and out of the same fund as the costs and fees for post-mortem examinations when ordered by the coroner (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 143)."

It will be observed that the above clause apparently forbids a post-mortem room being provided at the mortuary, although

this would appear to be the most appropriate situation for it, and indeed such a room is frequently provided at or near the mortuary. The reason for this prohibition, especially as it is associated with a workhouse, is evidently to overcome the prejudice which would exist in the minds of the ignorant that the fact of taking a body to a mortuary necessitated dissection: a practice which is looked upon with much disfavour by such persons.

Mortuaries in this country generally consist of one of the following descriptions :

(1.) Elaborate groups of buildings, comprising mortuary chapel, coroner's room, post-mortem room, dead house, waiting rooms, &c., and the necessary care-taker's rooms, and offices.

(2.) Mortuaries in connection with infectious hospitals.
(3.) Mortuaries in connection with general hospitals.
(4.) Mortuaries at cemeteries or licensed burial grounds.
(5.) Dead-houses provided by the sanitary authority.

In arranging for the erection of a dead-house or mortuary in any town, the surveyor may find the following particulars and suggestions of some use to him:

A mortuary must be provided in the grounds or near all cemeteries that are in active operation, but in addition to these, others ought to be erected in central positions of the town, so that bodies can be easily conveyed there, not only with a view to meet the objections mentioned in the opening of this chapter, but also to avoid the unseemly practice at present so largely in vogue of taking any cases of sudden death, suicide, accidental drowning, violence or accident, &c., that may occur, to the nearest public house, there to await identification and the coroner's inquest.*

It has been computed that for every 50,000 of the population of any town, a mortuary should be provided.

* There is no law that can compel any one to receive a dead body into his house.