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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Report on the sanitary conditions of the labouring population of Great Britain. - A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry - into the practice of interment in towns. - -Author: Edwin Chadwick - -Release Date: May 2, 2017 [EBook #54646] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REPORT ON THE SANITARY *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - REPORT ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF THE LABOURING POPULATION OF GREAT - BRITAIN. - - - - - A - SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT - - ON THE RESULTS OF A SPECIAL INQUIRY INTO - - THE - - PRACTICE OF INTERMENT IN TOWNS. - - MADE - - AT THE REQUEST OF HER MAJESTY’S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE - HOME DEPARTMENT, - - - BY - - EDWIN CHADWICK, ESQ. - BARRISTER AT LAW. - - - _Presented to both Houses of Parliament, by Command of Her Majesty._ - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, - FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE. - - 1843. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - Sources of information on which the Report is founded, § 1 1 - - Grounds of exception to the admitted necessities of the abolition - of intra-mural interment examined, § 1 2 - - The evidence as to the innocuousness of emanations from human - remains: negative evidence, § 2 4 - - The facts in respect to such alleged innocuousness incompletely - stated, § 3 7 - - Positive evidence of the propagation of acute disease from putrid - emanations, §§ 5 and 6 10 - - Specific disease communicated from human remains—positive - instances of, §§ 8 and 10 14 - - Distinct effects produced by emanations from bodies in a state of - decay and from bodies in a state of putrefaction, § 10 21 - - Summary of the evidence in respect to the sanitary question as to - the essentially injurious nature of such emanations, &c., § 11 23 - - Difficulty of tracing distinctly the specific effects of - emanations from burial-grounds in crowded towns, amidst - complications of other emanations, § 13 23 - - Tainting of wells by emanations from burial-grounds, § 14 24 - - Danger of injurious escapes of putrid emanations not obviated by - deep burial, § 21 28 - - General conclusions that all interments in churches or in towns - are essentially of an injurious and dangerous tendency, § 23 30 - - - _Injuries to the Health of Survivors occasioned by the delay of - Interments._ - - The greatest proportion of deaths occur in the single rooms in - which families live and sleep, § 25 31 - - Instances of the common circumstances of their deaths; and of the - deleterious effects of the prolonged retention of the body in - the living and sleeping room, from the western districts of the - metropolis, § 26—from the eastern districts, §§ 27 and 28—from - Leeds, § 34 31 - - Numbers of deaths from epidemic, endemic, and contagious disease; - and consequent extent of dangers from the undue retention of the - body amidst the living, § 38 43 - - Moral evils produced by the practice, §§ 41 and 42 45 - - The delay of Interments amongst the Labouring Classes in part - ascribable to the difficulty of raising excessive Funeral - Expenses, § 40 45 - - Evidence of undertakers on the funeral expenses and modes of - conducting the funerals of different classes of society, §§ 43 - and 44 46 - - - _Specific effects of excessive Funeral Expenses on the economy of - the Labouring Classes._ - - Extent of pecuniary provision made in savings’ banks and benefit - societies for funeral expenses, §§ 53 and 55—Abuse of the - popular feeling of anxiety in respect to interments; and waste - and distress occasioned to them, §§ 56 and 57 55 - - Demoralizing effect of multiplied insurances for large payments - for funeral expenses on the occurrence of deaths, §§ 60 and - 61—Illegality of the practice. § 66—Case for interference for - the prevention of crime, and measures for the reduction of the - excessive expenses, §§ 69 and 71 63 - - - _Aggregate Expenses of Funerals to the Public._ - - Small proportion of clerical burial dues to the undertaker’s - expenses, § 74 69 - - Heavy proportion of funeral expenses in unhealthy districts, § - 75—Efficient sanitary measures the most efficient means of - diminishing the miseries of frequent interments, § 81 71 - - Failure of the objects of excessive expenditure on - funerals—solemnity or proportionate impressiveness not obtained, - § 84—and unattainable in crowded and busy districts, § - 85—Increasing desertion of intra-mural burial-grounds, § 89 79 - - - _Means of diminishing the evil of the prolonged retention of the - Dead amidst the Living._ - - Obstacles to the early removal of the dead examined, § 89—Grounds - for the apprehension of interment before life is extinct. § - 90—Institution for the reception and care of the dead previous - to interment formed in Germany, § 96—Success of, in abating the - apprehensions of survivors, § 97—Practical evidence of the - necessity of some such institution, and increasing use of - inferior places for the same purpose in this country, §§ 101 and - 10 84 - - - _Proposed Remedies by the extension of separate Parochial - Establishments in Suburban Districts examined._ - - Claims of the suburbs to protection from the undue multiplication - of inferior burial-places in them, § 105 97 - - Instance of the trial of suburban parochial burial-grounds for the - parishes of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. James, Westminster, - §§ 166 and 108 97 - - Objections to the management of parochial boards stated by the - Rev. William Stone, of Spitalfields, and others, § 109 100 - - Increased expense from numerous small and inefficient - establishments, § 110 104 - - Unavoidable inefficiency of management by, § 111 105 - - Grounds for the conclusion that such establishments would - ultimately rather extend than abate the evil, § 112 106 - - - _Practicability of ensuring for the Public superior Interments at - reduced Expenses._ - - Evidence of undertakers as to the practicable reductions in the - expenses of funerals without any reduction in proper solemnity, - §§ 113 and 115 to 120 107 - - Necessity of the provision of trustworthy responsible information - to the survivors at the time of deaths as to what is necessary - and proper, §§ 121, 122, 123, and 124 113 - - Objections to the abandonment of the necessities of the population - in respect to burial as a source of profit to private and - irresponsible trading associations, § 126 114 - - - _Examples of successful Legislation for the improvement of the - practice of Interment._ - - In America, § 127—in Germany, § 128—Mode of protecting the public - from extortionate charges in Prussia, § 129—Regulations of - funerals and application of the proceeds to public purposes, § - 131—Excessive numbers of deaths and funerals consequent on the - low sanitary condition of the Parisian population, § 133 119 - - Agency of superior officers of public health employed to - superintend interments in America, § 135—in Germany, § - 136—Example of the inefficiency of the agency employed at Paris, - § 137—Consequences of mixing up private practice with public - duties, § 138 125 - - - _Experience in respect to the Sites of Places of Burial and - Sanitary Precautions necessary in respect to them._ - - In regard to sites, § 140—to the time of the natural decay of - bodies, § 143—to the depth of graves, § 144—to the space for - graves; and the greater extent of space requisite for the same - numbers of a depressed town population than for a healthy rural - population, § 145—Data for the spaces requisite for the burials - arising from the deaths in the metropolis, § 146 to § 150 127 - - Why careful planting requisite for cemeteries, §§ 151 and 152 131 - - - _Extent of Burial-grounds existing in the Metropolis._ - - Summary of the extent of the burials by the chief religious - communities, § 155—Disclaimer of private burial-grounds, § - 156—Extent of cemetery companies’ estimates for burials, §§ 157 - and 158—Diminution of public demand for burials in lead and in - catacombs, § 160—Dangers to the living of ill-regulated burials, - and legislation on, § 162—Improvements in all existing material - arrangements for burials practicable. § 164—Defective - arrangements in private cemeteries, §§ 165 and 166—Examples of - improved ceremonial arrangements, §§ 169 and 171 133 - - - _Moral influence of seclusion from thronged places, and of - Decorative Improvements in National Cemeteries._ - - Statement by Mr. Wordsworth of the loss of salutary influence by - burial in towns, § 172—Effects of careful visible arrangements - on the mental associations of the population stated, § - 173—Examples of the influence of cemeteries on the continent, §§ - 174 and 175—Sir Christopher Wren’s plan for the exclusion of - intra-mural burying places on the rebuilding of the City of - London, § 176—Practice of the primitive Christians to bury - outside cities, § 177 172 - - Superior agency of the _clerici_ employed in burial: and a special - agency of public officers of health instituted in the east, § - 177 148 - - Opinion of the Rev. H. H. Milman on the means of the re-investment - of the funeral services with religious influences 150 - - Dispositions manifested in this respect amongst the lower classes, - § 178 to 181 153 - - The duties in respect to honouring the dead, as stated by Jeremy - Taylor 157 - - - _Necessity and nature of the superior Agency requisite for private - and public protection in respect to Interments._ - - Functions of an officer of health exemplified in respect to the - verification of the fact and cause of death, §§ 184 to - 190—Nature of his intervention and aid to the survivors, and the - reduction of the expenses of funerals, § 191—For the protection - of the survivors on the occurrence of deaths from infectious or - contagious disease, §§ 193 to 200—Evidence of the acceptability - of the visits of such officers to the houses of the labouring - classes for the purpose of mortuary registration, § 201 163 - - Jurisprudential value of the appointment of officers of health in - the prevention of murders and secret deaths, §§ 202 to 204 171 - - Service in supplying the want of coroners’ inquests in Scotland, 174 - - Advantages to science from the improvement of the mortuary - registration, § 209—to medical science from bringing classes of - cases, or common effects from common causes, under one view, §§ - 212 to 215 179 - - - _Proximate Estimate of the Reductions in Funeral Expenses - practicable under National arrangements._ - - Total expenses of funerals in the metropolis, § 219—Economy of few - large and inefficient as compared with many small and efficient - establishments, §§ 221 and 222—Expenses of an adequate staff’ of - officers of health, §223 185 - - Daily number of deaths and funerals in the metropolis and in - provincial towns, § 224 189 - - Claims of existing interests to compensation, §§ 228, 229, and 230 191 - - Why payment of fees and expenses at the time of the funerals - proposed to be retained, §§ 233 and 234 193 - - Applicability of conclusions from the metropolis to the provincial - towns, § 235 195 - - Summary of conclusions:— - - 1. As to the evils which require remedies, § 237 197 - - 2. As to the means available for the prevention or - mitigation of these evils, § 248 199 - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - PAGE - - 1. Regulations for the establishment of officers for the care - of the dead and for conducting funerals at Franckfort, - with plans of the houses of reception 205 - - 2. Regulations for the examination and care of the dead at - Munich 218 - - 3. Examination of Mr. Abrahams, surgeon, registrar of deaths, - on the defective arrangements for the verification, and - on the effects produced on the physical and moral - condition of children by the undue pressure of the - causes of disease and death 223 - - 4. Examination of Mr. Blencarne, medical officer of the City - of London Union, on the extent to which the proportions - of deaths are preventive by sanitary measures 226 - - 5, 6, Extracts from the testimony of Dr. Wray, Mr. Porter, and - & 7. Mr. Paul, medical officers of the city of London, on the - same subjects 229–32 - - 8. Extract from Dr. La Chaise’s account of population in the - badly lighted and ventilated and badly cleansed - districts of Paris 233 - - 9. Note on the probable effects producible on the - proportionate mortality and numbers of burials, of - structural arrangements, such as those designed for the - City of London by Sir Christopher Wren 234 - - 10. Letter from the superintendent registrar of Stockport on - cases of infanticides committed partly for the sake of - burial money 235 - - 11. Returns of the proportion of deaths to the population in - each registrar’s district in the metropolis in the year - 1839, the excess in number of deaths and funerals beyond - a healthy standard, the average age of death of gentry, - tradesmen, and artisans, and average years of life lost - by premature deaths in each district, according to the - Carlisle table of life insurance, and the proportion of - deaths from epidemics, and the registrars’ returns of - the chief causes of death in the lower districts 239 - - 12. Examples of ordinary undertakers’ bills in the metropolis 267 - - Lord Stowell’s exposition of the law of England in respect - to perpetuities in burial-grounds 269 - - 13. View of the extent of intra-mural burial-ground provided - as compared with the extent of extra-mural burial-ground - required for the metropolis; and the comparative - proportions of space occupied for the burial of persons - of different religious denominations, and as trading - burial-grounds 272 - - Return of the amount of burial fees received in some of - the larger parishes in the metropolis 273 - - Returns of the number of burials in each of the - burial-grounds in the metropolis 274 - - - - - SANITARY REPORT.—SUPPLEMENT. - - - - - INTERMENTS IN TOWNS. - - - _To the Right Honourable Sir James Graham, Bart., - &c., &c., &c._ - - SIR, - -In compliance with the request which I have had the honour to receive -from you, that I would examine the evidence on the practice of -interment, and the means of its improvement, and prepare for -consideration a Report thereon, I now submit the facts and conclusions -following:— - -It has been remarked, as a defect in the General Report on the evidence -as to the sanitary condition of the labouring population, that it did -not comprise any examination of the evidence as to the effects produced -on the public health, by the practice of interring the dead amidst the -habitations of the town population. I wish here to explain that the -omission arose from the subject being too great in its extent, and too -special in its nature, to allow of the completion at that time, of any -satisfactory investigation in relation to it even if it had not then -been under examination by a Committee of the House of Commons, whose -Report is now before the public. - - * * * * * - -To obtain the information on which the following report is founded, I -have consulted, as extensively as the time allowed and my opportunities -would permit, ministers of religion who are called upon to perform -funereal rites in the poorer districts: I have made inquiries of persons -of the labouring classes, and of secretaries and officers of benefit -societies and burial clubs, in the metropolis and in several provincial -towns in the United Kingdom, on the practice of interments in relation -to those classes, and on the alterations and improvements that would be -most in accordance with their feelings: I have questioned persons -following the occupation of undertaker, and more especially those who -are chiefly engaged in the interment of the dead of the labouring -classes, on the improvements which they deem practicable in the modes of -performing that service: I have consulted foreigners resident in the -metropolis, on the various modes of interment in their own countries: I -have examined the chief administrative regulations thereon in Germany, -France, and the United States: and I have consulted several eminent -physiologists as to the effects produced on the health of the living, by -emanations from human remains in a state of decomposition. I need -scarcely premise that the moral as well as the physical facts developed -in the course of this inquiry are often exceedingly loathsome; but -general conclusions can only be distinctly made out from the various -classes of particular facts, and the object being the suggestion of -remedies and preventives, it were obviously as unbecoming to yield to -disgusts or to evade the examination and calm consideration of those -facts, as it would be in the physician or the surgeon, in the -performance of his duty with the like object, to shrink from the -investigation of the most offensive manifestations of disease. - -§ 1. It appears that the necessity of removing interments from the midst -of towns is very generally admitted on various considerations, -independently of those founded on the presumed injurious effects arising -from the practice to the public health. I believe an alteration of the -practice is strongly desired by many clergymen of the established -church, whose incomes, even with the probable compensation for the loss -of burial dues, might be expected to be diminished by the discontinuance -of _intra-mural_ interments. Exemptions from a general prohibition of -such interments are, however, claimed in favour of particular -burial-grounds, situate within populous districts, of which grounds it -is stated that they are not over-crowded with bodies, and of which it is -further alleged that they have not been known, and cannot be proved, to -be injurious to the public health. - -The statements as to the innocuousness of particular graveyards are -supported by reference to the general testimony of a number of medical -witnesses of high professional position, by whom it is alleged that the -emanations from decomposing human remains do not produce specific -disease, and, further, that they are not generally injurious. The -practical consequences of these doctrines extend beyond the present -question, and are so important in their effects on the sanitary economy -of all towns, as apparently to require that no opportunity should be -lost of examining the statements of facts on which they are founded. - -The medical evidence of this class has generally been given in answer to -complaints made by the public, of the offensiveness, and the danger to -health which arises from the practice of dissection in schools of -anatomy amidst crowded populations. The chief fact alleged to prove the -innocuousness of emanations from the dead is that professors of anatomy -experience no injury from them. Thus, Dr. Warren, of Boston, in a paper -cited by M. Parent Duchâtelet, states, that he has been accustomed all -his life to dissecting-rooms, in which he has been engaged night and -day. “It has sometimes happened to me,” he observes, “after having -dissected bodies in a state of putrefaction, to have experienced a sort -of weakness and the loss of appetite; but the phenomena were never -otherwise than transient. During the year 1829, the weather being -excessively hot, decomposition advanced with a degree of rapidity such -as I have rarely witnessed: at that season the emanations became so -irritating, that they paralyzed the hands, producing small pustules and -an excessive itching, and yet my general health was in nowise affected.” - -Again, whilst it is stated by M. Duchâtelet that students who attend the -dissecting-rooms are sometimes seriously injured, and even killed by -pricks and cuts with the instruments of dissection, yet it is denied -that they are subject to any illness from the emanations from the -remains “other than a nausea and a dysentery for two or three days at -the commencement of their studies.” Fevers the students of medicine are -confessedly liable to, but he says it is only when they are in -attendance on the living patients in the fever wards. - -Sir Benjamin Brodie pointed out to me, that from the precautions taken, -by the removal of such portions of the viscera as might be in an -advanced state of decomposition, and from the ventilation of -dissecting-rooms being much improved, the emanations from the bodies -dissected are not so great as might be supposed; nevertheless, he -observes:— - - There is no doubt that there are few persons who during the - anatomical season are engaged for many hours daily in a - dissecting-room for a considerable time, whose health is not - affected in a greater or less degree; and there are some whose - health suffers considerably. I have known several young men who have - not been able to prosecute their studies in the dissecting-room for - more than three or four weeks at a time, without being compelled to - leave them and go into the country. The great majority, however, do - not suffer to that extent, nor in such a way as to cause - interruption to their studies; and, altogether, the evil is not on a - sufficiently large scale to attract much notice, even among the - students themselves. - -A writer on public health, Dr. Dunglison, maintains that “we have no -satisfactory proof that malaria ever arises from animal putrefaction -singly;” and as evidence of this position he adduces the alleged fact of -the numbers of students who pass through their education without injury; -yet he admits— - - In stating the opinion that putrefaction singly does not occasion - malarious disease, we do not mean to affirm that air highly charged - with putrid miasmata may not, in some cases, powerfully impress the - nervous system so as to induce syncope and high nervous disorder; or - that, when such miasmata are absorbed by the lungs in a concentrated - state, they may not excite putrid disorders, or dispose the frame to - unhealthy erysipelatous affections. On the contrary, experiment - seems to have shown that they are deleterious when injected; and - cases are detailed in which, when exhaled from the dead body, they - have excited serious mischief in those exposed to their action. - According to Percy, a Dr. Chambon was required by the Dean of the - Faculté de Médecine of Paris to demonstrate the liver and its - appendages before the faculty on applying for his licence. The - decomposition of the subject given him for the demonstration was so - far advanced, that Chambon drew the attention of the Dean to it, but - he was required to go on. One of the four candidates, Corion, struck - by the putrid emanations which escaped from the body as soon as it - was opened, fainted, was carried home, and died in seventy hours; - another, the celebrated Fourcroy, was attacked with a burning - exanthematous eruption; and two others, Laguerenne and Dufresnoy, - remained a long time feeble, and the latter never completely - recovered. “As for Chambon,” says M. Londe, “indignant at the - obstinacy of the Dean, he remained firm in his place, finished his - lecture in the midst of the Commissioners, who inundated their - handkerchiefs with essences, and, doubtless, owed his safety to his - cerebral excitement, which during the night, after a slight febrile - attack, gave occasion to a profuse cutaneous exhalation.” - -An eminent surgeon, who expressed to me his belief that no injury -resulted from emanations from decomposing remains, for he had suffered -none, mentioned an instance where he had conducted the post mortem -examination of the corpse of a person of celebrity which was in a -dreadful state of decomposition, without sustaining any injury; yet he -admitted, as a casual incident which did not strike him as militating -against the conclusion, that his assistant was immediately after taken -ill, and had an exanthematous eruption, and had been compelled to go to -the sea side, but had not yet recovered. Another surgeon who had lived -for many years near a churchyard in the metropolis, and had never -observed any effluvia from it, neither did _he_ perceive any effects of -such emanations at church or anywhere else; yet he admitted that his -wife perceived the openings of vaults when she went to the church to -which the graveyard belonged, and after respiring the air there, would -say, “they have opened a vault,” and on inquiry, the fact proved to be -so. He admitted also, that formerly in the school of anatomy which he -attended, pupils were sometimes attacked with fever, which was called -“the dissecting-room fever,” which, since better regulations were -adopted, was now unknown. - -§ 2. In proof of the position that the emanations from decomposing -remains are not injurious to health at any time, reference is commonly -made to the statements in the papers of Parent Duchâtelet, wherein he -cites instances of the exhumation of bodies in an advanced stage of -decomposition without any injurious consequences being experienced by -the persons engaged in conducting them. - -At the conclusion of this inquiry, and whilst engaged in the preparation -of the report, I was favoured by Dr. Forbes with the copy of a report by -Dr. V. A. Riecke, of Stuttgart. “On the Influence of Putrefactive -Emanations on the Health of Man,” &c., in which the medical evidence of -this class is closely investigated. In reference to the statements of -Parent Duchâtelet on this question, Dr. Riecke observes— - - When Parent Duchâtelet appeals to and gives such prominence to the - instance of the disinterments from the churchyard of St. Innocens, - and states that they took place without any injurious consequences, - although at last all precautions in the mode of disinterring were - thrown aside, and that it occurred during the hottest season of the - year, and therefore that the putrid emanations might be believed to - be in their most powerful and injurious state, I would reply to this - by asking the simple question, what occasion was there for the - disinterment? Parent Duchâtelet maintains complete silence on this - point; but to me the following notices appear worthy of attention. - In the year 1554, Houlier and Fernel, and in the year 1738, Lemery, - Geoffroy, and Hunaud, raised many complaints of this churchyard; and - the two first had asserted that, during the plague, the disease had - lingered longest in the neighbourhood of the Cimetière de la - Trinité, and that there the greatest number had fallen a sacrifice. - In the years 1737 and 1746 the inhabitants of the houses round the - churchyard of St. Innocens complained loudly of the revolting stench - to which they were exposed. In the year 1755 the matter again came - into notice: the inspector who was intrusted with the inquiry, - himself saw the vapour rising from a large common grave, and - convinced himself of the injurious effects of this vapour on the - inhabitants of the neighbouring house.[1] “Often,” says the author - of a paper which we have before often alluded to, “the complexions - of the young people who remain in this neighbourhood grow pale. Meat - sooner becomes putrid there than elsewhere, and many persons cannot - get accustomed to these houses.” In the year 1779, in a cemetery - which yearly received from 2000 to 3000 corpses, they dug an immense - common grave near to that part of the cemetery which touches upon - the Rue de la Lingerie. The grave was 50 feet deep, and made to - receive from 1500 to 1600 bodies. But in February, 1780, the whole - of the cellars in the street were no longer fit to use. Candles were - extinguished by the air in these cellars; and those who only - approached the apertures were immediately seized with the most - alarming attacks. The evil was only diminished on the bodies being - covered with half a foot of lime, and all further interments - forbidden. But even that must have been found insufficient, as, - after some years, the great work of disinterring the bodies from - this churchyard was determined upon. This undertaking, according to - Thouret’s report, was carried on from December, 1785, to May, 1786; - from December, 1786, to February, 1787; and in August and October of - the same year: and it is not unimportant to quote this passage, as - it clearly shows how little correct Parent Duchâtelet was in his - general statement, that those disinterments took place in the - hottest seasons of the year. It is very clear that it was exactly - the coldest seasons of the year which were chosen for the work; and - though in the year 1787 there occurs the exception of the work - having been again begun in August, I think it may be assumed that - the weather of this month was unusually cold, and it was therefore - thought the work might be carried on without injurious effects. It - does not, however, appear to have been considered safe to continue - the work at that season, since the report goes on to state that the - operations were again discontinued in September. - - Against those statements of Parent Duchâtelet, as to the - innocuousness of the frequent disinterments in Père La Chaise, - statements which are supported by the testimony of Orfila and - Ollivier, in regard to their experience of disinterments, I would - here place positive facts, which are not to be rejected. “I,” also - remarks Duvergie, “have undertaken judicial disinterments, and must - declare that, during one of these disinterments at which M. - Piedagnel was present with me, we were attacked with an illness, - although it was conducted under the shade of a tent, through which - there was passing a strong current of wind, and although we used - chloride of lime in abundance, M. Piedagnel was confined to his room - for six weeks.” Apparently, Duvergie is not far wrong when he states - his opinion that Orfila had allowed himself to be misled by his - praiseworthy zeal for the more general recognition of the use of - disinterments for judicial purposes, to understate the dangers - attending them, as doubtless he had used all the precautions during - the disinterments which such researches demand: and to these - precautions (which Orfila himself recommended) may be attributed the - few injurious effects of these disinterments. It, however, deserves - mentioning, that, if Orfila did undertake disinterments during the - heat of summer, it must have been only very rarely; at least, - amongst the numerous special cases which he gives, we find only two - which took place in July or August, most of the cases occurred in - the coldest season of the year. I cannot refrain from giving, also, - the information which Fourcroy gained from the grave-diggers of the - churchyard of St. Innocens. Generally they did not seem to rate the - danger of displacing the corpses very high: they remarked, however, - that some days after the disinterment of the corpses the abdomen - would swell, owing to the great development of gas; and that if an - opening forced itself at the navel, or anywhere in the region of the - belly, there issued forth the most horribly smelling liquid and a - mephitic gas; and of the latter they had the greatest fear, as it - produced sudden insensibility and faintings. Fourcroy wished much to - make further researches into the nature of this gas, but he could - not find any grave-digger who could be induced by an offered reward - to assist him by finding a body which was in a fit state to produce - the gas. They stated, that, at a certain distance, this gas only - produced a slight giddiness, a feeling of nausea, languor, and - debility. These attacks lasted several hours, and were followed by - loss of appetite, weakness, and trembling. “Is it not very - probable,” says Fourcroy, “that a poison so terrible that when in a - concentrated state, it produced sudden death, should, even when - diluted and diffused through the atmosphere, still possess a power - sufficient to produce depression of the nervous energy and an entire - disorder of their functions? Let any one witness the terror of these - grave-diggers, and also see the cadaverous appearance of the - greatest number, and all the other signs of the influence of a slow - poison, and they will no longer doubt of the dangerous effects of - the air from churchyards on the inmates of neighbouring houses.” - -After having strenuously asserted the general innocuousness of such -emanations, and the absence of foundation for the complaints against the -anatomical schools, Parent Duchâtelet concludes by an admission of their -offensiveness, and a recommendation in the following terms:— - - “Instead of retaining the ‘debris’ of dissection near the theatres - of anatomy, it would certainly be better to remove them every day: - but as that is often impracticable, there ought, on a good system of - ‘assainissement,’ to be considered the mode of retaining them - without incurring the risk of suffering from their infection.” - -After describing the mode of removing the “debris,” he concludes— - - “Thus will this part of the work be freed from the inconveniences - which accompanied and formed one of the widest sources of - ‘infection,’ and of the disgust which were complained of in the - theatres of anatomy.” - -§ 3. The statements of M. Duchâtelet respecting the innocuousness of -emanations from decomposing animal and vegetable remains, observed by -him at the _chantiers d’équarrissage_, or receptacle for dead horses, -and the _dépôts de vidange_, or receptacle of night soil, &c., at -Montfaucon, near Paris, are cited in this country, and on the continent, -as leading evidence to sustain the general doctrine; but as it is with -his statements of the direct effects of the emanations from the -grave-yards, so it is with relation to his statements as to the effects -of similar emanations on the health of the population; the facts appear -to have been imperfectly observed by him even in his own field of -observation. In the Medical Review, conducted by Dr. Forbes, reference -is made to the accounts given by Caillard of the epidemic which occurred -in the vicinity of the Canal de l'Ourcq near Paris in 1810 and -subsequent years:— - - In the route from Paris to Pantin (says he), exposed on the one side - to the miasmatic emanations of the canal, and on the other, to the - putrid effluvia of the _voiries_, the diseases were numerous, almost - all serious and obstinate. This disastrous effect of the union of - putrid effluvia with marsh miasmata, was especially evident in one - part of this route, termed the Petit Pont hamlet, inhabited by a - currier and a gut-spinner, the putrid waters from whose operations - are prevented from escaping by the banks of the canal, and exposed - before the draining to the emanations of a large marsh. This hamlet - was so unhealthy, that of five-and-twenty or thirty inhabitants I - visited about twenty were seriously affected, of whom five died. - -In the carefully prepared report on the progress of cholera at Paris, -made by the commission of medical men, of which Parent Duchâtelet was a -member, it is mentioned, as a singular incident, that in those places -where putrid emanations prevailed, “le cholera ne s'est montré ni plus -redoutable ni plus meurtrier que dans autres localities.” Yet the -testimony cited as to this point is that of the Maire, “whose zeal -equalled his intelligence,” and he alleges the occurrence of the fact of -the liability to fevers which M. Duchâtelet elsewhere denies. - - “I have also made some observations which seem to destroy the - opinions received at this time, as to the sanitary effect of these - kinds of receptacles; for, - - “1st. The inhabitants of the houses situated the nearest to the - depôt, and which are sometimes _tormented_ with fevers, have never - felt any indisposition.” - -§ 4. To prove the innocuousness of emanations from human remains on the -general health, evidence of another class is adduced, consisting of -instances of persons acting as keepers of dissecting rooms, and -grave-diggers, and the undertakers’ men, who it is stated have pursued -their occupations for long periods, and have nevertheless maintained -robust health. - -The examination of persons engaged in processes exposed to miasma from -decomposing animal remains in general only shows that habit combined -with associations of profit often prevents or blunts the perceptions of -the most offensive remains. Men with shrunken figures, and the -appearance of premature age, and a peculiar cadaverous aspect, have -attended as witnesses to attest their own perfectly sound condition, as -evidence of the salubrity of their particular occupations. Generally, -however, men with robust figures and the hue of health are singled out -and presented as examples of the general innocuousness of the offensive -miasma generated in the process in which they are engaged. Professor -Owen mentions an instance of a witness of this class, a very robust man, -the keeper of a dissecting room, who appeared to be in florid health -(which however proved not to be so sound as he himself conceived), who -professed perfect unconsciousness of having sustained any injury from -the occupation, and there was no reason to doubt that he really was -unconscious of having sustained or observed any; but it turned out, on -inquiry, that he had always had the most offensive and dangerous work -done by an inferior assistant; and that within his time he had had no -less than eight assistants, and that every one had died, and some of -these had been dissected in the theatre where they had served. So, -frequently, the sextons of grave-yards, who are robust men, attest the -salubrity of the place; but on examining the inferiors, the -grave-diggers, it appears, where there is much to do, and even in some -of the new cemeteries, that as a class they are unhealthy and -cadaverous, and, notwithstanding precautions, often suffer severely on -re-opening graves, and that their lives are frequently cut short by the -work.[2] There are very florid and robust undertakers; but, as a class, -and with all the precautions they use, they are unhealthy; and a master -undertaker, of considerable business in the metropolis, states, that “in -nine cases out of ten the undertaker who has much to do with the corpse -is a person of cadaverous hue, and you may almost always tell him -whenever you see him.” Fellmongers, tanners, or the workmen employed in -the preparation of hides, have been instanced by several medical writers -as a class who, being exposed to emanations from the skins when in a -state of putrefaction, enjoy good health; but it appears that all the -workmen are not engaged in the process when the skins are in that state, -and that those of them who are, as a class, do experience the common -consequences. The whole class of butchers, who are much in the open air -and have very active exercise, and who are generally robust and have -florid health, are commonly mentioned as instances in proof of the -innocuousness of the emanations from the remains in slaughter-houses; -but master butchers admit that the men exclusively engaged in the -slaughter-houses, in which perfect cleanliness and due ventilation are -neglected, are of a cadaverous aspect, and suffer proportionately in -their health. - -Medical papers have been written in this country and on the continent to -show that the exposure of workmen to putrid emanations in the employment -of sewer cleansing has no effect on the general health; and when the -employers of the labourers engaged in such occupations are questioned on -the subject, their general reply is, that their men “have nothing the -matter with them:” yet when the _class_ of men who have been engaged in -the work during any length of time are assembled; when they are compared -with classes of men of the same age and country, and of the like periods -of service in other employments free from such emanations, or still more -when they are compared with men of the same age coming from the purer -atmosphere of a rural district, the fallacy is visible in the class, in -their more pallid and shrunken aspect—the evidence of languid -circulation and reduced “tone,” and even of vitality—and there is then -little doubt of the approximation given me by an engineer who has -observed different classes of workmen being correct, that employment -under such a mephitic influence as that in question ordinarily entails a -loss of at least one-third of the natural duration of life and working -ability. - -The usual comment of the employers on the admitted facts of the -ill-health and general brevity of life of the inferior workmen engaged -in such occupations is, “But they drink—they are a drunken set;” and -such appears frequently, yet by no means invariably, to be the case. On -further examination it appears that the exposure to the emanations is -productive of nervous depression, which is constantly urged by the -workmen as necessitating the stimulus of spirituous or fermented -liquors. The inference that the whole of the effects are ascribable to -the habitual indulgence in such stimuli is rebutted by the facts -elicited on examination of other classes of workmen who indulge as much -or more, but who nevertheless enjoy better health, and a much greater -average duration of life. It is apt to be overlooked that the weakly -rarely engage in such occupations, or soon quit them; and that, in -general, the men are of the most robust classes, and have high wages and -rather short hours of work, as well as stimulating food. A French -physician, M. Labarraque, states in respect to the tanners, that, -notwithstanding the constant exposure to the emanations from putrid -fermentations, it has not been “remarked” of the workmen of this class -that they are more subject to illness than others. A tanner, in a manual -written for the use of the trade, without admitting the correctness of -this statement, observes: “Whatever may be the opinion of M. Labarraque -on this point, we do not hesitate to declare the fact that this species -of labour cannot be borne by weakly, scrofulous, or lymphatic -subjects.”[3] - -§ 5. So far as observations have been made on the point (and the more -those reported upon it are scrutinized, the less trustworthy they appear -to be), workmen so exposed do not appear to be peculiarly subject to -epidemics; many, indeed, appear to be exempted from them to such an -extent as to raise a presumption that such emanations have on those -“acclimated” to them an unexplained preservative effect analogous to -vaccination. That one miasma may exclude, or neutralize, or modify the -influence of another, would appear to be _primâ facie_ probable. But it -is now becoming more extensively apparent that the same cause is -productive of very different effects on different persons, and on the -same persons at different times; as in the case mentioned by Dr. Arnott -of the school badly drained at Clarendon Square, Somers’ Town, where -every year, while the nuisance was at its height, and until it was -removed by drainage, the malaria caused some remarkable form of disease; -one year, extraordinary nervous affection, exhibiting rigid spasms, and -then convulsions of the limbs, such as occur on taking various poisons -into the stomach; another year, typhoid fever; in another, ophthalmia; -in another, extraordinary constipation of the bowels, affecting similar -numbers of the pupils. Such cases as the one before cited with respect -to the depôt for animal matter in Paris, where the workmen suffered very -little, whilst the people living near the depôt were “tormented with -fevers,” are common. The effects of such miasma are manifested -immediately on all surrounding human life (and there is evidence to -believe they are manifest in their degree on animal life[4]), in -proportion to the relative strength of the destructive agents and the -relative strength or weakness of the beings exposed to them; the effects -are seen first on infants; then on children in the order of their age -and strength; then on females, or on the sickly, the aged, and feeble; -last of all, on the robust workmen, and on them it appears on those -parts of the body that have been previously weakened by excess or by -illness. Whilst M. Parent Duchâtelet was looking for immediate -appearances of acute disease on the robust workmen living amidst the -decomposing animal effluvium of the Montfaucon, I have the authority of -Dr. Henry Bennett for stating that he might have found that the -influence of that effluvium was observable on the sick at half a mile -distant. “When I was house surgeon at St. Louis,” says Dr. Bennett, “I -several times remarked, that whenever the wind was from the direction of -the Montfaucon, the wounds and sores under my care assumed a foul -aspect. M. Jobert, the surgeon of the hospital, has told me that he has -repeatedly seen hospital gangrene manifest itself in the wards -apparently under the same influence. It is a fact known to all who are -acquainted with St. Louis, that the above malady is more frequent at -that hospital than at any other in Paris, although it is the most airy -and least crowded of any. This, I think, can only be attributed to the -proximity of the Montfaucon. Indeed, when the wind blows from that -direction, which it often does for several months in the year, the -effluvium is most odious.” As an instance of a similar influence of -another species of effluvium, not observed by the healthy inhabitants of -a district, it is stated that at a large infirmary in this country, when -the piece of ornamental water, which was formerly stagnant in front of -the edifice, had a greenish scum upon it, some descriptions of surgical -operations were not so successful as at other times, and a flow of fresh -water has been introduced into the reservoir to prevent the miasma. - -The immediate contrasts of the apparent immunity of adults to -conspicuous attacks of epidemics, may perhaps account for the persuasion -which masters and workmen sometimes express, that they owe an immunity -from epidemics to their occupation, and that the stenches to which they -are exposed actually “purify” the atmosphere. Numbers of such witnesses -have heretofore been ready to attest their conviction of the -preservative effect, and even the positive advantages to health, of the -effluvia generated by the decomposition of animal or of vegetable -matter, or of the fumes of minerals, of smoke, soot, and coal gas. But -though they do not peculiarly suffer from epidemics, it is usually found -that they are not exempted. In a recent return of the state of health of -some workmen engaged in cleansing sewers, whilst it appeared that very -few had suffered any attack from fever, nearly all suffered bowel -attacks and violent intestinal derangement. If the effects of such -emanations invariably appeared in the form of acute disease, large -masses of the population who have lived under their influence must have -been exterminated. In general the poison appears only to be generated in -a sufficient degree of intensity to create acute disease under such a -conjunction of circumstances, as a degree of moisture sufficient to -facilitate decomposition, a hot sun, a stagnant atmosphere, and a -languid population. The injurious effects of diluted emanations are -constantly traceable, not in constitutional disturbance at any one time; -they have their effect even on the strong, perceptible over a space of -time in a general depression of health and a shortened period of -existence. This or that individual may have the florid hue of health, -and may live under constant exposure to noxious influences to his -sixtieth or his seventieth year; but had he not been so exposed he might -have lived in equal or greater vigour to his eightieth or his ninetieth -year. A cause common to a whole class is often, however, not manifest in -particular individuals, but is yet visible in the pallor and the reduced -sum of vitality of the whole class, or in the average duration of life -in that class, as compared with the average duration of life of another -class similarly situated, in all respects except in the exposure to that -one cause.[5] The effects of a cause of depression on a class are -sometimes visible in the greater fatality of common accidents. An excess -of mortality to a class is almost always found, on examination, to be -traceable to an adequate cause. From the external circumstances of a -class of the population, a confident expectation may be formed of the -sum of vitality of the class, though nothing could be separately -predicated of a single individual of it. If the former vulgar notions -were correct as to the salubrity of the stenches which prevail in towns, -the separate as well as the combined results of these several supposed -causes of salubrity must be to expel fevers and epidemics from the most -crowded manufacturing districts, and to advance the general health of -the inhabitants above that of the poorer rural population; but all such -fallacies are dissipated by the dreadful facts on the face of the -mortuary records showing a frequency of deaths, and a reduction of the -mean duration of life, in proportion to the constancy and the intensity -of the combined operation of these same causes.[6] - -§ 6. The observations of the effects of such emanations on the general -health of classes of human beings have been corroborated by experiments -on animals. - -§ 7. Another doctrine more extensively entertained than that above -noticed, is, that although putrid emanations are productive of injury, -they are not productive of specific disease, such as typhus. The medical -witnesses say, that they were exposed to such emanations in -dissecting-rooms, where bodies of persons who have died of small-pox, -typhus, scarlatina, and every species of disease, are brought; that they -pursued their studies in such places, and were unaware of typhus or -other disease having been taken by the students in them, though that -disease was frequently caught by students whilst attending the living in -the fever wards.[7] - -The strongest of this class of negative evidence appears to be that of -undertakers, all of whom that I have seen state that neither specific -disease nor the propagation of any disease was known to occur amongst -them, from their employment. Neither the men who handle, or who -“coffin,” the remains; nor the barbers who are called in to shave[8] the -corpses of the adult males; nor the bearers of the coffins, although, -when the remains are in an advanced state of decomposition, the liquid -matter from the corpse frequently escapes from the coffin, and runs down -over their clothes, are observed to catch any specific disease from it, -either in their noviciate, or at any other time. When decomposition is -very far advanced, and the smell is very offensive, the men engaged in -putting the corpse into the coffin smoke tobacco; and all have recourse -to the stimulus of spirituous liquor. But it is not known that, by their -infected clothes they ever propagate specific disease in their families, -or elsewhere. Neither does this appear to be observed amongst the -medical men themselves.[9] - -§ 8. On the other hand, the undertakers observe such instances, as will -be stated in their own words in a subsequent part of the report, where -others have caught fever and small-pox, apparently from the remains of -the dead, and they mention instances of persons coming from a distance -to attend funerals, who have shortly afterwards become affected with the -disease of which the person buried had died. Of the undertakers it is -observed, that being adults, they were likely to have had small-pox. Dr. -Williams, in a work stated to be of good authority, on the effects of -morbid poisons, relates the case of four students infected with -small-pox by the dead body of a man who had died of this disease, that -was brought into the Windmill-street Theatre, in London, for dissection. -One of them saw the body, but did not approach it; another was near it, -but did not touch it; a third, accustomed to make sketches from dead -bodies, saw this subject, but did not touch it; the fourth alone touched -it with both his hands; yet all the four caught the disease. Sir -Benjamin Brodie mentions cases which occurred within his own knowledge, -of pupils who caught small-pox after exposure to the emanations in the -dissecting-room from the bodies of persons who had died of that disease. - -Dr. Copeland, in his evidence before the Committee of the House of -Commons, adduced the following remarkable case, stated to be of fever -communicated after death:— - - About two years ago (says he) I was called, in the course of my - profession, to see a gentleman, advanced in life, well known to many - members in this house and intimately known to the Speaker. This - gentleman one Sunday went into a dissenting chapel, where the - principal part of the hearers, as they died, were buried in the - ground or vaults underneath. I was called to him on Tuesday evening, - and I found him labouring under symptoms of malignant fever; either - on that visit or the visit immediately following, on questioning him - on the circumstances which could have given rise to this very - malignant form of fever, for it was then so malignant that its fatal - issue was evident, he said that he had gone on the Sunday before - (this being on the Tuesday afternoon) to this dissenting chapel, and - on going up the steps to the chapel he felt a rush of foul air - issuing from the grated openings existing on each side of the steps; - the effect upon him was instantaneous; it produced a feeling of - sinking, with nausea, and so great debility, that he scarcely could - get into the chapel. He remained a short time, and finding this - feeling increase he went out, went home, was obliged to go to bed, - and there he remained. When I saw him he had, up to the time of my - ascertaining the origin of his complaint, slept with his wife; he - died eight days afterwards; his wife caught the disease and died in - eight days also, having experienced the same symptoms. These two - instances illustrated the form of fever arising from those - particular causes. Means of counteraction were used, and the fever - did not extend to any other members of the family. - - Assuming that that individual had gone into a crowded hospital with - that fever, it probably would have become a contagious fever. The - disease would have propagated itself most likely to others, provided - those others exposed to the infection were predisposed to the - infection, or if the apartments where they were confined were not - fully ventilated, but in most cases where the emanations from the - sick are duly diluted by fresh air, they are rendered innocuous. It - is rarely that I have found the effects from dead animal matter so - very decisive as in this case, because in the usual circumstances of - burying in towns the fetid or foul air exhaled from the dead is - generally so diluted and scattered by the wind, as to produce only a - general ill effect upon those predisposed; it affects the health of - the community by lowering the vital powers, weakening the digestive - processes, but without producing any prominent or specific disease. - -Mr. Barnett, surgeon, one of the medical officers of the Stepney Union, -who has observed the symptoms observable in those persons who are -exposed to the emanations from a crowded grave-yard, thus describes -them:— - - They are characterized by more or less disturbance of the whole - system, with evident depression of the vital force, as evinced - throughout the vascular and nervous systems, by the feeble action of - the heart and arteries, and lowness of the spirits, &c. These - maladies, I doubt not, if surrounded by other causes, would - terminate in fever of the worst description. The cleanliness, &c., - of the surrounding neighbourhood, perhaps, prevents this actually - taking place. - - Some years since a vault was opened in the church-yard (Stepney), - and shortly after one of the coffins contained therein burst with so - loud a report that hundreds flocked to the place to ascertain the - cause. So intense was the poisonous nature of the effluvia arising - therefrom, that a great number were attacked with sudden sickness - and fainting, many of whom were a considerable period before they - recovered their health. - - The vaults and burial ground attached to Brunswick chapel, - Limehouse, are much crowded with dead, and from the accounts of - individuals residing in the adjoining houses, it would appear that - the stench arising therefrom, particularly when a grave happens to - be opened during the summer months, is most noxious. In one case it - is described to have produced instant nausea and vomiting, and - attacks of illness are frequently imputed to it. Some say they have - never had a day’s good health since they have resided so near the - chapel-ground, which, I may remark, is about five feet above the - level of the surrounding yards, and very muddy—so much so, that - pumps are frequently used to expel the water from the vaults into - the streets. - -The bursting of leaden coffins in the vaults of cemeteries, unless they -are watched and “tapped” to allow the mephitic vapour to escape, appears -to be not unfrequent. In cases of rapid decomposition, such instances -occur in private houses before the entombment. An undertaker of -considerable experience states:— - - “I have known coffins to explode, like the report of a small gun, in - the house. I was once called up at midnight by the people, who were - in great alarm, and who stated that the coffin had burst in the - night, as they described it, with ‘a report like the report of a - cannon.’ On proceeding to the house I found in that case, which was - one of dropsy, very rapid decomposition had occurred, and the lead - was forced up. Two other cases have occurred within my experience of - coffins bursting in this manner. I have heard of similar cases from - other undertakers. The bursting of lead coffins without noise is - more frequent. Of course it is never told to the family unless they - have heard it, as they would attribute the bursting to some - defective construction of the coffins.” - -The occurrence of cases of instant death to grave-diggers, from -accidentally inhaling the concentrated miasma which escapes from -coffins, is undeniable. Slower deaths from exposure to such miasma are -designated as “low fevers,” and whether or not the constitutional -disturbances attendant on the exposure to the influence of such miasma -be or not the true typhus, it suffices as a case requiring a remedy, -that the exposure to that influence is apt to produce grievous and fatal -injuries amongst the public. - -§ 9. Undertakers state that they sometimes experience, in particularly -crowded grave-yards, a sensation of faintness and nausea without -perceiving any offensive smell. Dr. Riecke appears to conclude, from -various instances which are given, that emanations from putrid remains -operate in two ways,—one set of effects being produced through the lungs -by impurity of the air from the mixture of irrespirable gases; the other -set, through the olfactory nerves by powerful, penetrating, and -offensive smells. On the whole, the evidence tends to establish the -general conclusion that offensive smells are true warnings of sanitary -evils to the population. The fact of the general offensiveness of such -emanations is adduced by Dr. Riecke also as evidence of their injurious -quality. - - Another circumstance which must awaken in us distrust of putrid - emanations, is the powerful impression they make on the sense of - smell. It certainly cannot be far from the truth to call the organ - of smell the truest sentinel of the human frame. “Many animals,” - observes Rudolphi, “are entirely dependent on their sense of smell - for finding out food that is not injurious; where their smell is - injured they are easily deceived, and have often fallen a sacrifice - to the consequent mistakes.” Amongst all known smells, there is, - perhaps, no one which is so universally, and to such a degree - revolting to man, as the smell of animal decomposition. The roughest - savage, as well as the most civilized European, fly with equal - disgust from a place where the air is infected by it. If an instinct - ever can be traced in man, certainly it is in the present case: and - is instinct a superfluous monitor exactly in this one case? Can - instinct mislead just in this one circumstance? Can it ever be, that - the air which fills us with the greatest disgust, is the finest - elixir of life, as Dumoulins had the boldness to maintain in one of - his official reports. Hippolyte Cloquet, in his Osphrestologie has - attempted to throw some light on the effect of smell on the human - frame, and though we must entirely disregard many of the anecdotes - which he has blended into his inquiry, yet the result remains firmly - proved that odours in general exert a very powerful influence on the - health of men, and that all very acutely impressing smells are - highly to be suspected of possessing injurious properties. - -§ 10. I beg leave on this particular topic to submit the facts and -opinions contained in communications from two gentlemen who have paid -close and comprehensive attention to the subject. - -Dr. Southwood Smith, who, as physician to the London Fever Hospital, and -from having been engaged in several investigations as to the effects of -putrid emanations on the public health, must have had extensive means of -observation, states as follows:— - - 1. That the introduction of dead animal matter under certain - conditions into the living body is capable of producing disease, and - even death, is universally known and admitted. This morbific animal - matter may be the product either of secretion during life or of - decomposition after death. Familiar instances of morbific animal - matter, the result of secretion during life, are the poisons of - small-pox and cow-pox, and the vitiated fluids formed in certain - acute diseases, such as acute inflammations, and particularly of the - membranes that line the chest and abdomen. On the examination of the - body a short time after death from such inflammations, the fluids - are found so extremely acrid, that even when the skin is entirely - sound, they make the hands of the examiner smart; and if there - should happen to be the slightest scratch on the finger, or the - minutest point not covered by cuticle, violent inflammation is often - produced, ending, sometimes within forty-eight hours, in death. It - is remarkable, and it is a proof that in these cases the poison - absorbed is not putrid matter, that the most dangerous period for - the examination of the bodies of persons who die of such diseases is - from four to five hours after the fatal event, and while the body is - yet warm. - - That the direct introduction into the system of decomposing and - putrescent animal matter is capable of producing fevers and - inflammations, the intensity and malignity of which may be varied at - will, according to the putrescency of the matter and the quantity of - it that is introduced, is proved by numerous experiments on animals; - while the instances in which human beings are seized with severe and - fatal affections from the application of the fluids of a dead animal - body to a wounded, punctured, or abraded surface, sometimes when the - aperture is so minute as to be invisible without the aid of a lens, - are of daily occurrence. Though this fact is now well known, and is - among the few that are disputed by no one, it may be worth while to - cite a few examples of it, as specimens of the manner in which the - poison of animal matter, when absorbed in this way, acts; a volume - might be filled with similar instances. - - The following case is recorded by Sir Astley Cooper:—Mr. Elcock, - student of anatomy, slightly punctured his finger in opening the - body of a hospital patient about twelve o’clock at noon, and in the - evening of the same day, finding the wound painful, showed it to Sir - Astley Cooper after his surgical lecture. During the night the pain - increased to extremity, and symptoms of high constitutional - irritation presented themselves on the ensuing morning. No trace of - inflammation was apparent beyond a slight redness of the spot at - which the wound had been inflicted, which was a mere puncture. In - the evening he was visited by Dr. Babington, in conjunction with Dr. - Haighton and Sir Astley Cooper; still no local change was to be - discovered, but the nervous system was agitated in a most violent - and alarming degree, the symptoms nearly resembling the universal - excitation of hydrophobia, and in this state he expired within the - period of forty-eight hours from the injury. - - The late Dr. Pett, of Hackney, being present at the examination of - the body of a lady who had died of peritoneal inflammation after her - confinement, handled the diseased parts. In the evening of the same - day, while at a party, he felt some pain in one of his fingers, on - which there was a slight blush, but no wound was visible at that - time. The pain increasing, the finger was examined in a stronger - light, when, by the aid of a lens, a minute opening in the cuticle - was observed. During the night the pain increased to agony, and in - the morning his appearance was extremely altered; his countenance - was suffused with redness, his eyes were hollow and ferrety; there - was a peculiarity in his breathing, which never left him during his - illness; his manner, usually gay and playful, was now torpid, like - that of a person who had taken an excessive dose of opium, he - described himself as having suffered intensely, and said that he was - completely knocked down and had not the strength of a child, and he - sunk exhausted on the fifth day from the examination of the body. - - George Higinbottom, an undertaker, was employed to remove in a shell - the corpse of a woman who had died of typhus fever in the London - Fever Hospital. In conveying the body from the shell into the - coffin, he observed that his left hand was besmeared with a moisture - which had oozed from it. He had a recent scratch on his thumb. The - following morning this scratch was inflamed; in the evening of the - same day he was attacked with a cold shivering and pain in his head - and limbs, followed the next by other symptoms of severe fever; on - the fourth day there was soreness in the top of the shoulder and - fulness in the axilla; on the fifth the breast became swollen and - efflorescent; on the seventh delirium supervened, succeeded by - extreme prostration and coma, and death took place on the tenth day. - - A lady in the country received a basket of fish from London which - had become putrid on the road. In opening the basket she pricked her - finger, and she slightly handled the fish. On the evening of this - day inflammation came on in the finger, followed by such severe - constitutional symptoms as to endanger life, and it was six months - before the effects of this wound subsided and her health was - restored. - - Among many other cases, Mr. Travers gives the following, as - displaying well the minor degrees of irritation, local and - constitutional, to which cooks and others, in handling putrid animal - matter with chapped and scratched fingers, are exposed:—A cook-maid - practised herself on a stale hare, for the purpose of learning the - mode of boning them, in spite of being strongly cautioned against - it. A few days afterwards two slight scratches, which she remembered - to have received at the time, began to inflame; one was situated on - the fore-finger and the other on the ring-finger. This inflammation - was accompanied with a dull pain and feeling of numbness, and an - occasional darting pain along the inside of the fore-arm. The next - day she was attacked with excruciating pain at the point of the - fore-finger, which throbbed so violently as to give her the - sensation of its being about to burst at every pulsation. The - following morning constitutional symptoms came on; her tongue was - white and dry; she had no appetite; there was great dejection of - spirits and languor, and a weak and unsteady pulse. After suffering - greatly from severe pain in the finger, hand, and arm, and great - constitutional derangement and debility, the local inflammation - disappeared in about three weeks, and she then began to recover her - appetite and strength. - - 2. It is proved by indubitable evidence that this morbific matter is - as capable of entering the system when minute particles of it are - diffused in the atmosphere as when it is directly introduced into - the blood-vessels by a wound. When diffused in the air, these - noxious particles are conveyed into the system through the thin and - delicate walls of the air vesicles of the lungs in the act of - respiration. The mode in which the air vesicles are formed and - disposed is such as to give to the human lungs an almost incredible - extent of absorbing surface, while at every point of this surface - there is a vascular tube ready to receive any substance imbibed by - it and to carry it at once into the current of the circulation. - Hence the instantaneousness and the dreadful energy with which - certain poisons act upon the system when brought into contact with - the pulmonary surface. A single inspiration of the concentrated - prussic acid, for example, is capable of killing with the rapidity - of a stroke of lightning. So rapidly does this poison affect the - system, and so deadly is its nature, that more than one physiologist - has lost his life by incautiously inhaling it while using it for the - purpose of experiment. If the nose of an animal be slowly passed - over a bottle containing this poison, and the animal happen to - inspire during the moment of the passage, it drops down dead - instantaneously, just as when the poison is applied in the form of a - liquid to the tongue or the stomach. On the other hand, the vapour - of chlorine possesses the property of arresting the poisonous - effects of prussic acid; and hence when an animal is all but dead - from the effects of this acid, it is sometimes suddenly restored to - life by holding its mouth over the vapour of chlorine. - - During every moment of life in natural respiration a portion of the - air of the atmosphere passes through the air vesicles of the lungs - into the blood, while a quantity of carbonic acid gas is given off - from the blood, and is transmitted through the walls of these - vesicles into the atmosphere. Now that substances mixed with or - suspended in atmospheric air may be conveyed with it to the lungs - and immediately enter into the circulating mass, any one may satisfy - himself merely by passing through a recently painted chamber. The - vapour of turpentine diffused through the chamber is transmitted to - the lungs with the air which is breathed, and passing into the - current of the circulation through the walls of the air vesicles, - exhibits its effects in some of the fluid excretions of the body, - even more rapidly than if it had been taken into the stomach. - - Facts such as these help us to understand the production and - propagation of disease through the medium of an infected atmosphere, - whether on a large scale, as in the case of an epidemic which - rapidly extends over a nation or a continent, or on a small scale, - in the sick chamber, the dissecting room, the church, and the - church-yard. - - Thus it is universally known that, when the atmosphere is infected - with the matter of small-pox, this disease is produced with the same - and even with greater certainty than when the matter of small-pox is - introduced by the lancet directly into a blood-vessel in - inoculation. - - It is equally well known that, when the air is infected by particles - of decomposing vegetable and animal matter, fevers are produced of - various types and different degrees of intensity; that the - exhalations arising from marshes, bogs, and other uncultivated and - undrained places, constitute a poison chiefly of a vegetable nature, - which produces principally fevers of an intermittent or remittent - type; and that exhalations accumulated in close, ill-ventilated, and - crowded apartments in the confined situations of densely-populated - cities, where little attention is paid to the removal of putrefying - and excrementitious matters, constitute a poison chiefly of an - animal nature, which produces continued fever of the typhoid - character. There are situations in which these putrefying matters, - aided by heat and other peculiarities of climate, generate a poison - so intense and deadly, that a single inspiration of the air in which - they are diffused is capable of producing almost instantaneous - death; and there are other situations in which a less highly - concentrated poison accumulates, the inspiration of which for a few - minutes produces a fever capable of destroying life in from two to - twelve hours. In dirty and neglected ships, in damp, crowded, and - filthy gaols, in the crowded wards of ill-ventilated hospitals - filled with persons labouring under malignant surgical diseases or - bad forms of fever, an atmosphere is generated which cannot be - breathed long, even by the most healthy and robust, without - producing highly dangerous fever. - - 3. The evidence is just as indubitable that exhalations arise from - the bodies of the dead, which are capable of producing disease and - death. Many instances are recorded of the communication of small-pox - from the corpse of a person who has died of small-pox. This has - happened not only in the dwelling-house before interment, but even - in the dissecting room. Some years ago five students of anatomy, at - the Webb-street school, Southwark, who were pursuing their studies - under Mr. Grainger, were seized with small-pox, communicated from a - subject on the dissecting-table, though it does not appear that all - who were attacked were actually engaged in dissecting this body. One - of these young men died. There is reason to believe that emanations - from the bodies of persons who have died of other forms of fever - have proved injurious and even fatal to individuals who have been - much in the same room with the corpse. - - The exhalations arising from dead bodies in the dissecting room are - in general so much diluted by admixture with atmospheric air, - through the ventilation which is kept up, that they do not commonly - affect the health in a very striking or marked manner; and by great - attention to ventilation, it is no doubt possible to pursue the - study of anatomy with tolerable impunity. Yet few teachers of - anatomy deny that without this precaution this pursuit is very apt - to injure the health, and that, with all the precaution that can be - taken, it sometimes produces such a degree of diarrhœa, and at other - times such a general derangement of the digestive organs, as - imperatively to require an absence for a time from the dissecting - room and a residence in the pure air of the country. The same - statements are uniformly made by the professors of Veterinary - anatomy in this country. The result of inquiries which I have - personally made into the state of the health of persons licensed to - slaughter horses, called knackers, is, that though they maintain - their health apparently unimpaired for some time, yet that after a - time the functions of the nutritive organs become impaired, they - begin to emaciate, and present a cadaverous appearance, slight - wounds fester and become difficult to heal, and that upon the whole - they are a short-lived race. - - The exhalations arising from dead bodies interred in the vaults of - churches, and in church-yards, are also so much diluted with the air - of the atmosphere, that they do not commonly affect the health in so - immediate and direct a manner as plainly to indicate the source of - these noxious influences. It is only when some accidental - circumstances have favoured their accumulation or concentration in - an unusual degree, that the effects become so sensible as obviously - to declare their cause. Every now and then, however, such a - concurrence of circumstances does happen, of which there are many - instances on record; but it may suffice for the present to mention - one, the particulars of which I have received from a gentleman who - is known to me, and on the accuracy of whose statements I can rely. - - Mr. Hutchinson, surgeon, Farringdon-street, was called on Monday - morning, the 15th March, 1841, to attend a girl, aged 14, who was - labouring under typhus fever of a highly malignant character. This - girl was the daughter of a pew-opener in one of the large city - churches, situated in the centre of a small burial ground, which had - been used for the interment of the dead for centuries, the ground of - which was raised much above its natural level, and was saturated - with the remains of the bodies of the dead. There were vaults - beneath the church, in which it was still the custom, as it had long - been, to bury the dead. The girl in question had recently returned - from the country, where she had been at school. On the preceding - Friday, that is, on the fourth day before Mr. Hutchinson saw her, - she had assisted her mother during three hours and on the Saturday - during one hour, in shaking and cleansing the matting of the aisles - and pews of the church. The mother stated, that this work was - generally done once in six weeks; that the dust and effluvia which - arose, always had a peculiarly fœtid and offensive odour, very - unlike the dust which collects in private houses; that it invariably - made her (the mother) ill for at least a day afterwards; and that it - used to make the grandmother of the present patient so unwell, that - she was compelled to hire a person to perform this part of her duty. - On the afternoon of the same day on which the young person now ill - had been engaged in her employment, she was seized with shivering, - severe pain in the head, back, and limbs, and other symptoms of - commencing fever. On the following day all these symptoms were - aggravated, and in two days afterwards, when Mr. Hutchinson first - saw her, malignant fever was fully developed, the skin being burning - hot, the tongue dry and covered with a dark brown fur, the thirst - urgent, the pain of the head, back, and extremities severe, attended - with hurried and oppressed breathing, great restlessness and - prostration, anxiety of countenance, low muttering delirium, and a - pulse of 130 in the minute. - - In this case it is probable that particles of noxious animal matter - progressively accumulated in the matting during the intervals - between the cleansing of it; and that being set free by this - operation and diffused in the atmosphere, while they were powerful - enough always sensibly to affect even those who were accustomed to - inhale them, were sufficiently concentrated to produce actual fever - in one wholly unaccustomed to them, and rendered increasingly - susceptible to their influence by recent residence in the pure air - of the country; for it is remarkable that miasms sometimes act with - the greatest intensity on those who habitually breathe the purest - air. - - The miasms arising from church-yards are in general too much diluted - by the surrounding air to strike the neighbouring inhabitants with - sudden and severe disease, yet they may materially injure the - health, and the evidence appears to me to be decisive that they - often do so. Among others who sometimes obviously suffer from this - cause, are the families of clergymen, when, as occasionally happens, - the vicarage or rectory is situated very close to a full - church-yard. I myself know one such clergyman’s family, whose - dwelling-house is so close to an extremely full churchyard, that a - very disagreeable smell from the graves is always perceptible in - some of the sitting and sleeping rooms. The mother of this family - states that she has never had a day’s health since she has resided - in this house, and that her children are always ailing; and their - ill health is attributed, both by the family and their medical - friends, to the offensive exhalations from the church-yard. - -Dr. Lyon Playfair states as follows in his communication— - - There are two kinds of changes which animal and vegetable matters - undergo, when exposed to certain influences. These are known by the - terms of “decay” and “putrefaction.” Decay, properly so called, is a - union of the elements of organic matter with the oxygen of the air; - while putrefaction, although generally commencing with decay, is a - change or transformation of the elements of the organic body itself, - without any necessary union with the oxygen of the air. When decay - proceeds in a body without putrefaction, offensive smells are not - generated; but if the air in contact with the decaying matter be in - any way deficient, the decay passes into putrefaction, and putrid - smells arise. Putrid smells are rarely if ever evolved from - substances destitute of the element nitrogen. - - Both decaying and putrefying matters are capable of communicating - their own state of putrefaction or of decay to any organic matter - with which they may come in contact. To take the simplest case, a - piece of decayed wood, a decaying orange, or a piece of tainted - flesh is capable of causing similar decay or putrefaction in another - piece of wood, orange, or flesh. In a similar manner the decaying - gases evolved from sewers occasion the putrescence of meat or of - vegetables hung in the vicinity of the place from which they escape. - But this communication of putrefaction is not confined to dead - matter. When tainted meat or putrescent blood-puddings are taken as - food, their state of putrefaction is frequently communicated to the - bodies of the persons who have used them as food. A disease - analogous to rot ensues, and generally terminates fatally. Happily - this disease is little known among us, but it is of very frequent - occurrence in Germany. - - The decay or putrefaction communicated by putrid gases or by - decaying matters does not always assume one form, but varies - according to the organs to which their peculiar state is imparted. - If communicated to the blood it might possibly happen that fever may - arise; if to the intestines, dysentery or diarrhœa might result; and - I think it might even be a question worthy of consideration, whether - consumption may not arise from such exposure. Certainly it seems to - do so among cattle. The men who are employed in cleaning out drains - are very liable to the attacks of dysentery and of diarrhœa; and I - recollect instances of similar diseases occurring among some - fellow-students, when I attended the dissecting-rooms. - - The effects produced by decaying emanations will vary according to - the state of putrefaction or decay in which these emanations are, as - well as according to their intensity and concentration. Thus it - occurs frequently that persons susceptible to contagion may be in - the vicinity of a fever patient without acquiring the disease. I - know one celebrated medical man who attends his own patients in - fever without danger, but who has never been able to take charge of - the fever-wards in an infirmary, from the circumstance of his being - unable to resist the influence of the contagion under such - circumstances. This gentleman has had fever several times. This - shows that the contagion of fever requires a certain degree of - _concentration_ before it is able to produce its immediate effects. - A knowledge of this circumstance has induced several infirmaries - (the Bristol infirmary, for example) to abolish altogether - fever-wards and to scatter the fever cases indiscriminately through - the medical wards. Owing to this distribution, cases in which fever - is communicated to other patients or nurses in the infirmary are - very unfrequent, although they are far from being so in those - hospitals where the fever cases are grouped together. - - I consider that the want of attention to the circumstance of the - concentration of decaying emanations is a great reason that the - effects of miasmata in producing fever is still a _questio vexata_. - Thus there may be many church-yards and sewers evolving decaying - matter, and yet no fever may occur in the locality. Some other more - modified effect may be produced, according to the degree of - concentration of the decaying matter, such as diarrhœa or even - dysentery; or there may be no perceptible effects produced, although - the blood may still be thrown into a diseased state which will - render it susceptible to any specific contagion that approaches. It - must be remembered that decaying exhalations will not always produce - similar effects, but that these will vary not only according to the - concentration, but also according to the state of decomposition in - which the decaying matters are. - - The rennet for making cheese is in a peculiar state of decay, or - rather is capable of a series of states of decay, and the flavour of - the cheese manufactured by means of it varies also according to the - state of the rennet. Just so with the diseases produced by the - peculiar state or concentration of decaying matters or of specific - contagions. When the Asiatic cholera visited this country many of - the towns were afflicted with dysentery before the cholera appeared - in an unquestionable form. In like manner the miasmata evolved from - church-yards may produce injurious effects which may not be - sufficiently marked to call attention until they assume a more - serious form by becoming more concentrated. But notwithstanding the - absence of marked effects, it is extremely probable that constant - exposure to miasmata may produce a diseased state of the blood. Thus - I had occasion to visit and report upon, amongst other matters, the - state of slaughter-houses in Bristol. These are generally situated - in courts, very inefficiently ventilated, as all courts are. I - remarked that the men employed in the slaughter-houses had a - remarkably cadaverous hue, and this was participated in a greater or - less degree by the inhabitants of the court. So much was this the - case, that in a court where the smells from the slaughter-house were - so offensive that my companion had immediately to retire from - sickness, I immediately singled out one person as not belonging to - the court from a number of people who ran out of their houses to - inquire the object of my visit. The person who attracted my - attention from her healthy appearance compared with the others, had - entered this court to pay a visit to a neighbour. - -§ 11. That conclusions respecting such immensely important effects can -only be established by reasonings on facts frequently so scattered over -distant times and places as to require much research to bring them -together; that those conclusions are still open to controversy, and have -hitherto been maintained only by references to statements of distant -observations, whilst regularly sustained examinations of the events -occurring daily in our large towns might have placed them beyond a -doubt; may be submitted as showing the necessity of some public -arrangements to ensure constant attention, and complete information on -these subjects, as the basis of complete measures of prevention. - -§ 12. The conclusions, however, which appear to be firmly established by -the evidence, and the preponderant medical testimony, are on every -point, as to the essential character of the physical evils connected -with the practice of interment, so closely coincident with the -conclusions deduced from observation on the continent, that from Dr. -Riecke’s report (and to which a prize was awarded by an eminent medical -association), in which the preponderant medical opinions are set forth, -they may be stated in the following terms:— - -“The general conclusions from the foregoing report may be given as -follows: - -“The injurious effect of the exhalations from the decomposition in -question upon the health and life of man is proved by a sufficient -number of trustworthy facts; - -“That this injurious influence is by no means constant, and depends on -varying and not yet sufficiently explained circumstances; - -“That this injurious influence is manifest in proportion to the degree -of concentration of putrid emanations, especially in confined spaces; -and in such cases of concentration the injurious influence is manifest -in the production of asphyxia and the sudden and entire extinction of -life; - -“That, in a state less concentrated, putrid emanations produce various -effects on the nerves of less importance, as fainting, nausea, -head-ache, languor; - -“These emanations, however, if their effect is often repeated, or if the -emanations be long applied, produce nervous and putrid fevers; or impart -to fevers, which have arisen from other causes, a typhoid or putrid -character; - -“Apparently they furnish the principal cause of the most developed form -of typhus, that is to say, the plague (_Der Bubonenpest_). Besides the -products of decomposition, the contagious material may also be active in -the emanations arising from dead bodies.” - -§ 13. Such being the nature of the emanations from human remains in a -state of decomposition, or in a state of corruption, the obtainment of -any definite or proximate evidence of the extent of the operation of -those emanations on the health of the population nevertheless appears to -be hopeless in crowded districts. In such districts the effects of an -invisible fluid have not been observed, amidst a complication of other -causes, each of a nature ascertained to produce an injurious effect upon -the public health, but undistinguished, except when it accidentally -becomes predominant. The sense of smell in the majority of inhabitants -seems to be destroyed, and having no perception even of stenches which -are insupportable to strangers, they must be unable to note the -excessive escapes of miasma as antecedents to disease. Occasionally, -however, some medical witnesses, who have been accustomed to the smell -of the dissecting-room, detect the smell of human remains from the -grave-yards, in crowded districts; and other witnesses have stated that -they can distinguish what is called the “dead man’s smell,” when no one -else can, and can distinguish it from the miasma of the sewers. - -In the case of the predominance of the smell from the grave-yard, the -immediate consequence ordinarily noted is a head-ache. A military -officer stated to me that when his men occupied as a barrack a building -which opened over a crowded burial-ground in Liverpool, the smell from -the ground was at times exceedingly offensive, and that he and his men -suffered from dysentery. A gentleman who had resided near that same -ground, stated to me that he was convinced that his own health, and the -health of his children had suffered from it, and that he had removed, to -avoid further injury. The following testimony of a lady, respecting the -miasma which escaped from one burial-ground at Manchester, is adduced as -an example of the more specific testimony as to the perception of its -effects. This testimony also brings to view the circumstance that in the -towns it is not only in surface emanations from the grave-yards alone -that the morbific matter escapes. - - You resided formerly in the house immediately contiguous to the - burying-ground of —— chapel, did you not?—Yes I did, but I was - obliged to leave it. - - Why were you so obliged?—When the wind was west, the smell was - dreadful. There is a main sewer runs through the burying-ground, and - the smell of the dead bodies came through this sewer up our drain, - and until we got that trapped, it was quite unbearable. - - Do you not think the smell arose from the emanations of the sewer, - and not from the burying-ground?—I am sure they came from the - burying-ground; the smell coming from the drain was exactly the same - as that which reached us when the wind was west, and blew upon us - from the burying-ground. The smell was very peculiar; it exactly - resembled the smell which clothes have when they are removed from a - dead body. My servants would not remain in the house on account of - it, and I had several cooks who removed on this account. - - Did you observe any effects on your health when the smells were - bad?—Yes, I am liable to head-aches, and these were always bad when - the smells were so also. They were often accompanied by diarrhœa in - this house. Before I went there, and since I left, my head-aches - have been very trifling. - - Were any of the other inmates of the house afflicted with illness?—I - had often to send for the surgeon to my servants, who were liable to - ulcerated sore throats. - - And your children, were they also affected?—My youngest child was - very delicate, and we thought he could not have survived; since he - came here he has become quite strong and healthy, but I have no - right to say the burying-ground had any connexion with his health. - -§ 14. In the course of an examination of the Chairman and Surveyor of -the Holborn and Finsbury Division of Sewers, on the general management -of sewers in London, the following passage occurs:— - - “You do not believe that the nuisance arises in all cases from the - main sewers? (Mr. Roe)—Not always from the main sewers. (Mr. - Mills)—Connected with this point, I would mention, that where the - sewers came in contact with church-yards, the exudation is most - offensive. - - “Have you noticed that in more than one case?—Yes. - - “In those cases have you had any opportunities of tracing in what - manner the exudation from the church-yards passed to the sewer?—It - must have been through the sides of the sewers. - - “Then, if that be the case, the sewer itself must have given - way?—No; I apprehend even if you use concrete, it is impossible but - that the adjacent waters would find their way even through cement; - it is the natural consequence. The wells of the houses adjacent to - the sewers all get dry whenever the sewers are lowered. - - “You are perfectly satisfied that in the course of time - exudations very often do, to a certain extent, pass through the - brick-work?—Yes; it is impossible to prevent it. - - “Have you ever happened to notice whether there was putrid matter in - all cases where the sewer passed through a burial-ground?—The last - church-yard I passed by was in the parish of St. Pancras, when the - sewer was constructing. I observed that the exudation from it into - the sewer was peculiarly offensive, and was known to arise from the - decomposition of the bodies. - - “At what distance was the sewer from the church-yard where you found - that?—Thirty feet.” - -Mr. Roe subsequently stated— - - “Mr. Jacob Post, living at the corner of Church-street, Lower Road, - Islington, stated to our clerk of the works, when we were building a - sewer opposite Mr. Post’s house, that he had a pump, the water from - the well attached to which had been very good, and used for domestic - purposes; but that, since a burying-ground was formed above his - house, the water in his well had become of so disagreeable a flavour - as to prevent its being used as heretofore: and he was in hopes that - the extra depth of our sewer would relieve him from the drainage of - the burying-ground, to which he attributed the spoiling of his - water.” - -Professor Brande states that he has “frequently found the well-water of -London contaminated by organic matters and ammoniacal salts,” and refers -to an instance of one well near a church-yard, “the water of which had -not only acquired odour but colour from the soil;” and mentions other -instances of which he has heard, as justifying the opinion, that as -“very many of these wells are adjacent to church-yards, the accumulating -soil of which has been so heaped up by the succession of dead bodies and -coffins, and the products of their decomposition, as to form a filtering -apparatus, by which all _superficial_ springs must of course be more or -less affected.” Some of the best springs in the metropolis are, -fortunately, of a depth not likely to be considerably affected by such -filtration. In Leicester, and other places, I have been informed of the -disuse of wells near church-yards, on account of the perception of a -taint in them. The difficulty of distinguishing by any analysis the -qualities of the morbific matter when held in solution or suspension in -water, in combination with other matters in towns, and the consequent -importance of the separate examination already given to those qualities, -may be appreciated from such cases as the following, which are by no -means unfrequent. In the instance of the water of one well in the -metropolis, which had ceased to be used, in consequence of an offensive -taste (contracted, as was suspected, from the drainage of an adjacent -church-yard), it was doubted whether it could be determined by analysis -what portion of the pollution arose from that source, what from the -leakage of adjacent cesspools, and what from the leakage of coal-gas -from adjacent gas-pipes. In most cases of such complications, the -parties responsible for any one contributing source of injury are apt to -challenge, as they may safely do, distinct proof of the separate effect -produced by that one. Popular perceptions, as well as chemical analysis, -are at present equally baffled by the combination, and complaints of -separate injuries are rarely made. If, therefore, the combined evil is -to remain until complaints are made of the separate causes, and their -specific effects on the health, and until they can be supported by -demonstration, perpetual immunity would be ensured to the most noxious -combinations. - -The effects of unguarded interments have, however, as will subsequently -be noticed, been observed with greater care on the continent, and the -proximity of wells to burial-grounds has been reported to be injurious. -Thus it is stated in a collection of reports concerning the cemeteries -of the town of Versailles, that the water of the wells which lie _below_ -the church-yard of St. Louis could not be used on account of its stench. -In consequence of various investigations in France, a law was passed, -prohibiting the opening of wells within 100 metres of any place of -burial; but this distance is now stated to be insufficient for deep -wells, which have been found on examination to be polluted at a distance -of from 150 to 200 metres. In some parts of Germany, the opening of -wells nearer than 300 feet has been prohibited. - -§ 15. Where the one deleterious cause is less complicated with others, -as in open plains after the burial of the dead in fields of battle, the -effects are perceived in the offensiveness of the surface emanations, -and also in the pollution of the water, followed by disease, which -compels the survivors to change their encampments. - -The fact is thus adduced in the evidence of Dr. Copeland:— - -“It is fully ascertained and well recognized that the alluvial soil, or -whatever soil that receives the exuviæ of animal matter, or the bodies -of dead animals, will become rich in general; it will abound in animal -matter; and the water that percolates through the soil thus enriched -will thus become injurious to the health of the individuals using it: -that has been proved on many occasions, and especially in warm climates, -and several remarkable facts illustrative of it occurred in the -peninsular campaigns. It was found, for instance, at Ciudad Rodrigo, -where, as Sir J. Macgregor states in his account of the health of the -army, there were 20,000 dead bodies put into the ground within the space -of two or three months, that this circumstance appeared to influence the -health of the troops, inasmuch as for some months afterwards all those -exposed to the emanations from the soil, as well as obliged to drink the -water from the sunk wells, were affected by malignant and low fevers and -dysentery, or fevers frequently putting on a dysenteric character.” - -§ 16. In the metropolis, on spaces of ground which do not exceed 203 -acres, closely surrounded by the abodes of the living, layer upon layer, -each consisting of a population numerically equivalent to a large army -of 20,000 adults, and nearly 30,000 youths and children, is every year -imperfectly interred. Within the period of the existence of the present -generation, upwards of a million of dead must have been interred in -those same spaces. - -§ 17. A layer of bodies is stated to be about seven years in decaying in -the metropolis: to the extent that this is so, the decay must be by the -conversion of the remains into a gas, and its escape, as a miasma, of -many times the bulk of the body that has disappeared. - -§ 18. In some of the populous parishes, where, from the nature of the -soil, the decomposition has not been so rapid as the interments, the -place of burial has risen in height; and the height of many of them must -have greatly increased but for surreptitious modes of diminishing it by -removal, which, it must be confessed, has diminished the sanitary evil, -though by the creation of another and most serious evil, in the mental -pain and apprehensions of the survivors and feelings of abhorrence of -the population, caused by the suspicion and knowledge of the disrespect -and desecration of the remains of the persons interred. - -§ 19. The claims to exemption in favour of burial-grounds which it is -stated are not overcrowded would perhaps be most favourably considered -by the examination of the practice of interment in the new cemeteries, -where the proportion of interments to the space is much less. - -§ 20. I have visited and questioned persons connected with several of -these cemeteries in town and country, and I have caused the practice of -interments in others of them to be examined by more competent persons. -The inquiry brought forward instances of the bursting of some leaden -coffins and the escape of mephitic vapour in the catacombs; the tapping -of others to prevent similar casualties; injuries sustained by -grave-diggers from the escapes of miasma on the re-opening of graves, -and an instance was stated to me by the architect of one cemetery, of -two labourers having been injured, apparently by digging amidst some -impure water which drained from some graves. No precedent examination of -the evils affecting the public health, that are incident to the practice -of interment, appears to have been made, no precedent scientific or -impartial investigation appears to have been thought necessary by the -joint-stock companies, or by the Committees of the House of Commons, at -whose instance privileges were conferred upon the shareholders: no new -precautionary measures or improvements, such as are in use abroad, -appear consequently to have been introduced in them; the practice of -burial has in general been simply removed to better looking, and in -general, better situated places. The conclusion, however, from the -examination of these places (which will subsequently be reverted to) is, -that if most of the cemeteries themselves were in the midst of the -population, they would, even in their present state, often contribute to -the combination of causes of ill health in the metropolis, and several -of the larger towns. - -§ 21. It has been considered that all danger from interments in towns -would be obviated if no burials were allowed except at a depth of five -feet. But bodies buried much deeper are found to decay; and so certain -as a body has wasted or disappeared is the fact that a deleterious gas -has escaped. In the towns where the grave-yards and streets are paved, -the morbific matter must be diffused more widely through the subsoil, -and escape with the drainage. If the interments be so deep as to impede -escapes at the surface, there is only the greater danger of escape by -deep drainage and the pollution of springs. - -Dr. Reid detected the escape of deleterious miasma from graves of more -than 20 feet deep. He states— - - In some churchyards I have noticed the ground to be absolutely - saturated with carbonic acid gas, so that whenever a deep grave was - dug it was filled in some hours afterwards with such an amount of - carbonic acid gas that the workmen could not descend without danger. - Deaths have, indeed, occurred occasionally in some churchyards from - this cause, and in a series of experiments made in one of the - churchyards at Manchester, where deep graves are made, each capable - of receiving from 20 to 30 bodies, I found in general that a grave - covered on the top at night was more or less loaded with carbonic - acid in the morning, and that it was essential, accordingly, to - ventilate these grave-pits before it was safe to descend. - - This I effected on some occasions by means of a small chauffer - placed at the top, and at one end of the grave a tube or hose being - let down from it to the bottom of the grave. The fire was sustained - by the admission of a small portion of fresh air at the top, and the - air from the bottom of the grave was gradually removed as the upper - stratum was heated by the fire around which it was conveyed; and - when it had been once emptied in this manner a small fire was found - sufficient to sustain a perpetual renewal of air, and prevent the - men at work in the grave-pits from being subject to the extreme - oppression to which they are otherwise liable, even when there may - be no immediate danger. A mechanical power might be used for the - same purpose; and chemical agents, as a quantity of newly slaked - lime, are frequently employed, as they absorb the carbonic acid. - From different circumstances that have since occurred, it appears to - me probable that numerous examples of strata or superficial soil - containing carbonic acid may be more frequently met with than is - generally suspected, and that while in churchyards the presence of - large quantities of carbonic acid may be frequently anticipated, its - presence must not always be attributed solely to the result of the - decomposition of the human body. - - The amount of carbonic acid that collects within a given time in a - deep grave-pit intended to receive 20 or 30 bodies, is much - influenced by the nature of the ground in which it is dug. In the - case referred to, the porous texture of the earth allowed a - comparatively free aerial communication below the surface of the - ground throughout its whole extent. It was, in reality, loaded with - carbonic acid in the same manner as other places are loaded with - water; it was only necessary to sink a pit, and a well of carbonic - acid was formed, into which a constant stream of the same gas - continued perpetually to filter from the adjacent earth, according - to the extent to which it was removed. From whatever source, - however, the carbonic acid may arise, it is not the less prone to - mingle with the surrounding air, and where the level of the floor of - the church is below the level of the churchyard, there the carbonic - acid is prone to accumulate, as, though it may be ultimately - dispersed by diffusion, it may be considered as flowing in the same - manner in the first instance as water, where the quantity is - considerable. - - Again, where the drainage of the district in which the church may be - placed is of an inferior description, and liable to be impeded - periodically by the state of the tide, as in the vicinity of the - Houses of Parliament, where all the drains are closed at high water, - the atmosphere is frequently of the most inferior quality. I am - fully satisfied, for instance, not only from my own observation, but - from different statements that have reached me, and also from the - observations of parties who have repeatedly examined the subject at - my request, that the state of the burying-ground around St. - Margaret’s church is prejudicial to the air supplied at the Houses - of Parliament, and also to the whole neighbourhood. One of them, - indeed, stated to me lately that he had avoided the churchyard for - the last six months, in consequence of the effects he experienced - the last time he visited it. These offensive emanations have been - noticed at all hours of the night and morning; and even during the - day the smell of the churchyard has been considered to have reached - the vaults in the House of Commons, and traced to sewers in its - immediate vicinity. When the barometer is low, the surface of the - ground slightly moist, the tide full, and the temperature - considerable—all which circumstances tend to favour the evolution of - effluvia both from the grave-pits and the drains—the most injurious - influence upon the air is observed. In some places not far from this - churchyard fresh meat is frequently tainted in a single night, on - the ground-floor, in situations where at a higher level it may be - kept without injury for a much longer period. In some cases, in - private houses as well as at the Houses of Parliament, I have had to - make use of ventilating shafts, or of preparations of chlorine, to - neutralize the offensive and deleterious effects which the - exhalations produced, while, on other occasions, their injurious - influence has been abundantly manifested by the change induced in - individuals subjected to their influence on removing to another - atmosphere. No grievance, perhaps, entails greater physical evils - upon any district than the conjoined influence of bad drainage and - crowded churchyards; and until the drainage of air from drains shall - be secured by the process adverted to in another part of this work, - or some equivalent measures, they cannot be regarded as free from a - very important defect. - - The drainage of air from drains is, indeed, desirable under any - circumstances; but when the usual contaminations of the drain are - increased by the emanations from a loaded churchyard, it becomes - doubly imperative to introduce such measures; and if any one should - desire to trace the progress of reaction by which the grave-yards - are continually tending to free themselves of their contents, a very - brief inquiry will give him abundant evidence on this point. My - attention was first directed to this matter in London ten years ago, - when a glass of water handed to me at an hotel, in another district, - presented a peculiar film on its surface, which led me to set it - aside; and after numerous inquiries, I was fully satisfied that the - appearance which had attracted my attention arose from the coffins - in a churchyard immediately adjoining the well where the water had - been drawn. Defective as our information is as to the precise - qualities of the various products from drains, church-yards, and - other similar places, I think I have seen enough to satisfy me that - in all such situations the fluids of the living system imbibe - materials which, though they do not always produce great severity of - disease, speedily induce a morbid condition, which, while it renders - the body more prone to attacks of fever, is more especially - indicated by the facility with which all the fluids pass to a state - of putrefaction, and the rapidity with which the slightest wound or - cut is apt to pass into a sore. - -Mr. Leigh, surgeon and lecturer of chemistry at Manchester, confirms the -researches made by Dr. Reid in that town, and observes on this subject— - - But the decomposition of animal bodies is remarkably modified by - external circumstances where the bodies are immersed in or - surrounded by water, and particularly, if the water undergo frequent - change, the solid tissues become converted into adipocire, a fatty - spermaceti-like substance, not very prone to decomposition, and this - change is effected without much gaseous exhalation. Under such - circumstances nothing injurious could arise, but under ordinary - conditions slow decomposition would take place, with the usual - products of the decomposition of animal matters, and here the nature - of the soil becomes of much interest. If the burial-ground be in - damp dense compact clay, with much water, the water will collect - round the body, and there will be a disposition to the formation of - adipocire, whilst the clay will effectually prevent the escape of - gaseous matter. If on the other hand the bodies be laid in sand or - gravel, decomposition will readily take place, the gases will easily - permeate the superjacent soil and escape into the atmosphere, and - this with a facility which may be judged of when the fact is stated, - that under a pressure of only three-fourths of an inch of water, - coal gas will escape by any leakage in the conduit pipes through a - stratum of sand or gravel of three feet in thickness in an - exceedingly short space of time. The three feet of soil seems to - oppose scarcely any resistance to its passage to the surface; but if - the joints of the pipes be enveloped by a thin layer of clay, the - escape is effectually prevented. - - If bodies were interred eight or ten feet deep in sandy or gravelly - soils, I am convinced little would be gained by it; the gases would - find a ready exit from almost any practicable depth. - -§ 22. He also expresses an opinion concurrent with that of other -physiologists, that the effects of these escapes in an otherwise -salubrious locality, soon attract notice, but their influence in -obedience to the laws of gaseous diffusion, developed by Dalton and -Graham, is not the less when scattered over a town, because in a -multitude of scents they escape observation. In open rural districts -these gases soon intermix with the circumambient air, and become so -vastly diluted that their injurious tendency is less potent. - -Other physical facts which it is necessary to develope in respect to the -practice of interment may be the most conveniently considered in a -subsequent portion of this report, where it is necessary to adduce the -information possessed, as to the sites of places of burial, and the -sanitary precautions necessary in respect to them. - -§ 23. From what has already been adduced, it may here be stated as a -conclusion, - -That inasmuch as there appear to be no cases in which the emanations -from human remains in an advanced stage of decomposition are not of a -deleterious nature, so there is no case in which the liability to danger -should be incurred either by interment (or by entombment in vaults, -which is the most dangerous) amidst the dwellings of the living, it -being established as a general conclusion in respect to the physical -circumstances of interment, from which no adequate grounds of exception -have been established;— - -That all interments in towns, where bodies decompose, contribute to the -mass of atmospheric impurity which is injurious to the public health. - - - _Injuries to the Health of Survivors occasioned by the delay of - Interments._ - -In order to understand the state of feeling of the labouring classes, -and the general influence upon them, and even the effects on their -health, of the practice of interment, it will be necessary to submit for -consideration those circumstances which immediately precede the -interment, namely, the most common circumstances of the death. - -§ 24. In a large proportion of cases in the metropolis, and in some of -the manufacturing districts, one room serves for one family of the -labouring classes: it is their bed-room, their kitchen, their washhouse, -their sitting room, their dining room; and, when they do not follow any -out-door occupation, it is frequently their work room and their shop. In -this one room they are born, and live, and sleep, and die amidst, the -other inmates. - -§ 25. Their common condition in large towns has been developed by -various inquiries, more completely than by the census. As an instance, -the results may be given of an inquiry lately made, at the instance and -expense of Lord Sandon, by Mr. Weld, the secretary of the Statistical -Society, as to the condition of the working classes resident in the -inner ward of St. George’s, Hanover Square, and in the immediate -vicinity of some of the most opulent residences in the metropolis. It -appeared that 1465 families of the labouring classes had for their -residence 2175 rooms, and 2510 beds. The distribution of rooms and beds -was as follows:— - - ─────────────────────────┬─────────╥─────────────────────────┬───────── - DWELLINGS. │Number of║ BEDS. │Number of - │Families.║ │Families. - ─────────────────────────┼─────────╫─────────────────────────┼───────── - Single rooms for each │ 929║One bed to each family │ 623 - family │ ║ │ - Two rooms for each family│ 408║Two beds to each family │ 638 - Three rooms for each │ 94║Three beds to each family│ 154 - family │ ║ │ - Four rooms for each │ 17║Four beds to each family │ 21 - family │ ║ │ - Five rooms for each │ 8║Five beds to each family │ 8 - family │ ║ │ - Six rooms for each family│ 4║Six beds to each family │ 3 - Seven rooms for each │ 1║Seven beds to each family│ 1 - family │ ║ │ - Eight rooms for each │ 1║Dwellings without a bed │ 7 - family │ ║ │ - Not ascertained │ 3║Not ascertained │ 10 - │ —————║ │ ————— - Total │ 1,465║ Total │ 1,465 - ─────────────────────────┴─────────╨─────────────────────────┴───────── - -Out of 5945 persons 839 were found to be ill, and yet the season was not -unhealthy. One family in 11 had a third room (and that not unoccupied) -in which to place a corpse. This, however, appears to be a favourable -specimen. From an examination made by a committee of the Statistical -Society into the condition of the poorer classes in the borough of -Marylebone, it appeared that the distribution of rooms amongst the -portion of population examined showed that not more than one family in a -hundred had a third room. - - No. occupying part of a room, 159 families, and 196 single persons. - No. occupying one room 382 families, and 56 single persons. - No. occupying two rooms 61 families, and 2 single persons. - No. occupying three rooms 5 families, and 7 single persons. - No. occupying four rooms 1 families, and 0 single persons. - -§ 26. Mr. Leonard, surgeon and medical officer of the parish of St. -Martin’s-in-the-Fields, gives the following instances of the -circumstances in which the poorest class of inhabitants die, which may -be adduced as exemplifications of the dreadful state of circumstances in -which the survivors are placed for the want of adequate accommodation -for the remains immediately after death, and previous to the interment:— - - There are some houses in my district that have from 45 to 60 persons - of all ages under one roof, and in the event of death, the body - often occupies the only bed till they raise money to pay for a - coffin, which is often several days. They are crowded together in - houses situate in Off-alley, the courts and alleys opening from - Bedfordbury, Rose-street, Angel-court, courts and alleys opening - from Drury-lane and the Strand, and even in places fitted up under - the Adelphi arches; even the unventilated and damp underground - kitchens are tenanted. Of course the tenants are never free from - fevers and diarrhœa, and the mortality is great. The last class - live, for the most part, in lodging-rooms, where shelter is - obtained, with a bed or straw, for from 2_d._ to 4_d._ per night, - and where this is not obtainable, the arches under the Adelphi - afford a shelter. In the lodging-rooms I have seen the beds placed - so close together as not to allow room to pass between them, and - occupied by both sexes indiscriminately. I have known six people - sleep in a room about nine feet square, with only one small window, - about fifteen inches by twelve inches; and there are some - sleeping-rooms in this district in which you cannot scarcely see - your hand at noon-day. - - How long is the dead body retained in the room beside the living?—If - the person has subscribed to a club, or the friends are in - circumstances to afford the expense of the funeral, it takes place, - generally, on the following Sunday, if the death has occurred early - in the week; but if towards the end of the week, then it is - sometimes postponed till the Sunday week after, if the weather - permit; in one case it was twelve days. In the other cases I have - known much opposition to removal till after a subscription had been - collected from the affluent neighbours; and in some instances, after - keeping the body several days, I have been applied to to present the - case to the relieving officer, that it might be buried by the - parish. Amongst the Irish it is retained till after the wake, which - “_is open to all comers_” as long as there is anything _dacent to - drink or smoke_; but I must bear witness, also, to the frequent - exhibition, in a large majority of the poor, of those affectionate - attentions to the mortal remains of their relatives, which all are - anxious to bestow, and which, notwithstanding the danger and want of - accommodation, make them loth to part with them. - - In what condition is the corpse usually, or frequently, - retained?—Amongst the Irish, it does not signify of what disease the - person may have died, it is retained often for many days, laid out - upon the only bed, perhaps, and adorned with the best they can - bestow upon it, until the _coronach_ has been performed. Thus fevers - and other contagious diseases are fearfully propagated. I remember a - case of a body being brought from the Fever Hospital to - Bullin-court, and the consequences were dreadful; and this spring I - removed a girl, named Wilson, to the infirmary of the workhouse, - from a room in the same court. I could not remain two minutes in it; - the horrible stench arose from a corpse which had died of phthisis - twelve days before, and the coffin stood across the foot of the bed, - within eighteen inches of it. This was in a small room not above ten - feet by twelve feet square, and a fire always in it, being (as in - most cases of a like kind) the only one for sleeping, living, and - cooking in. I mention these as being particular cases, from which - most marked consequences followed; but I have very many others, in - which the retention of the body has been fraught with serious - results to the survivors. - - Will you describe the consequences of such retention?—Upon the 9th - of March, 1840, M—— was taken to the Fever Hospital. He died there, - and without my knowledge the body was brought back to his own room. - The usual practice, in such cases, is to receive them into a - lock-up-room, set apart for that purpose in the workhouse. I find - that upon the 12th his step-son was taken ill. He was removed - immediately to the Fever Hospital. Upon the 18th the barber who - shaved the corpse was taken ill, and died in the Fever Hospital, and - upon the 27th another step-son was taken ill, and removed also. - - Upon the 18th of December, 1840, I—— and her infant were brought, - ill with fever, to her father’s room in Eagle-court, which was ten - feet square, with a small window of four panes; the infant soon - died. Upon the 15th of January, 1841, the grandmother was taken ill; - upon the 2nd of February the grandfather also. There was but one - bedstead in the room. They resisted every offer to remove them, and - I had no power to compel removal. The corpse of the grandmother lay - beside her husband upon the same bed, and it was only when he became - delirious and incapable of resistance that I ordered the removal of - the body to the dead-room, and him to the Fever Hospital. He died - there, but the evil did not stop here: two children, who followed - their father’s body to the grave, were, the one within a week and - the other within ten days, also victims to the same disease. In - short, five out of six died. - - In October, 1841, a fine girl, C——, died of cynanche maligna: her - body was retained in a small back room. Upon the 1st of November - another child was taken ill, and upon the 4th two others were also - seized with the same disease. - - Upon the 2nd of February, 1843, H——, in Heathcock-court, died of - fever. I recommended the immediate removal of the body from the - attic room of small dimensions, but it was retained about ten days, - the widow not consenting to have it buried by the parish, and not - being able to collect funds sooner: their only child was seized with - fever, and was several weeks ill. - - Upon the 3rd of March, 1843, B—— died of a fever in Lemontree-yard; - the body was retained some days, in expectation of friends burying - it, but in the mean time a child of B——, and one of a lodger in the - same house, were infected. - - Upon the 13th March, 1843, I saw a family in Hervey’s-buildings, - which is more open, and the rooms of a better class than those in - some other situations. I found there the corpse of a person who had - died of a fever; the father and mother were just taken ill, and a - child was taken ill soon after. The foot of the coffin was within - ten inches of the father’s head as he lay upon his pillow. I caused - it to be removed as soon as possible, and the three cases terminated - favourably. In the case in Bullin-court, mentioned before, the girl - Wilson was affected with nausea vertigo, general prostration of - strength, and trembling, the usual symptoms in these cases. Soon - after her removal, the mother of the deceased was seized with - typhus, and is now only so far recovered as scarcely to be able to - go about and attend to another son, who is at present ill of the - same disease. These are a few cases only in which serious evils - followed on retention of the body. I could multiply them, if - necessary; but they will suffice to show that there should be power - of removal to some recognized place of safety given to the district - medical officer for the benefit of the individuals concerned and the - public at large. The rooms are often most wretched in which these - cases occur; the neighbourhood is badly ventilated and drained, or - often not drained at all, and if the medical officer were - responsible for his acts, and bound to report regularly, there would - be a sufficient guarantee that no unnecessary harshness would be - exercised in the performance of a duty absolutely required for the - preservation of the public health, and the safety of those dearest - to the sufferers themselves. - - Comparing the effects of the practice of retaining the bodies before - interment, with the effects of emanations from the dead after - interment, when buried in crowded districts, which appears to you to - be the most pernicious practice?—When a body is retained in a small - room, badly ventilated, and often with a fire in it, the noxious - gases evolved in the process of decomposition are presented to - persons exposed to them in a highly concentrated form, and if their - health is in a certain state favourable to receive the contagion, - the effect is immediate. In crowded burial-grounds in which I have - never seen a body at a less depth than three feet from the surface - (allowing for the artificial building up of the ground to give - apparent depth to the grave), the gases having this thickness of - earth to penetrate, arrive at the surface in a divided state, and by - small quantities at a time mix so gradually with the atmosphere, - that it becomes comparatively harmless by dilution, and is scarcely - perceptible. In confined situations, where the ground is limited in - extent, the long continuance of gradual evolutions of noxious matter - would, doubtless, be a cause of debility to surrounding inhabitants; - but such instances, I think, are rare. I have made inquiry in the - immediate neighbourhood of grave-yards, and I form my opinion from - the result. There can be no doubt whatever as to the propriety of - burial beyond the limits of towns, and if the corpse of the poor man - could be deposited at a distance, without entailing a greater - expense upon him, I think it would improve the health of our large - towns very much; but I believe the retention of the corpse in the - room with the living is fraught with greater danger than that - produced by the emanations from even crowded grave-yards. - -§ 27. The condition in which the remains are often found on the -occurrence of a death at the eastern part of the metropolis are thus -described by Mr. John Liddle, the medical officer of the Whitechapel -district of the Whitechapel Union. - - What is the class of poor persons whom you, as medical officer, are - called upon to attend to?—The dock labourers, navigators, - bricklayers’ labourers, and the general description of labourers - inhabiting Whitechapel and lower Aldgate. - - On the occurrence of a death amongst this description of labourers, - what do you find to be the general condition of the family, in - relation to the remains. How is the corpse dealt with?—Nearly the - whole of the labouring population there have only one room. The - corpse is therefore kept in that room where the inmates sleep and - have their meals. Sometimes the corpse is stretched on the bed, and - the bed and bed-clothes are taken off, and the wife and family lie - on the floor. Sometimes a board is got on which the corpse is - stretched, and that is sustained on tressels or on chairs. Sometimes - it is stretched out on chairs. When children die, they are - frequently laid out on the table. The poor Irish, if they can afford - it, form a canopy of white calico over the corpse, and buy candles - to burn by it, and place a black cross at the head of the corpse. - They commonly raise the money to do this by subscriptions amongst - themselves and at the public-houses which they frequent. - - What is the usual length of time that the corpse is so kept?—The - time varies according to the day of the death. Sunday is the day - usually chosen for the day of burial. But if a man die on the - Wednesday, the burial will not take place till the Sunday week - following. Bodies are almost always kept for a full week, frequently - longer. - - What proportion of these cases may be positively contagious?—It - appears from the Registrar-General’s Report (which, however, cannot - be depended on for perfect accuracy, as the registrar’s returns are - very incorrect,—I do not think I have been required to give a - certificate of death upon more than three occasions), that in the - year 1839, there were 747 deaths from epidemic diseases which formed - about one-fifth of the whole of the deaths in the Whitechapel Union. - - Have you had occasion to represent as injurious this practice of - retaining the corpse amidst the living?—I have represented in - several communications in answer to sanitary inquiries from the Poor - Law Commission Office, that it must be and is highly injurious. It - was only three or four days ago that an instance of this occurred in - my own practice, which I will mention. A widow’s son, who was about - 15 years of age, was taken ill of fever. Finding the room small, in - which there was a family of five persons living, I advised his - immediate removal. This was not done, and the two other sons were - shortly afterwards attacked, and both died. When fever was epidemic, - deaths following the first death in the same family were of frequent - occurrence. In cases where the survivors escape, their general - health must be deteriorated by the practice of keeping the dead in - the same room. - - Do you observe any peculiarity of habit amongst the lower classes - accompanying this familiarity with the remains of the dead?—What I - observe when I first visit the room is a degree of indifference to - the presence of the corpse: the family is found eating or drinking - or pursuing their usual callings, and the children playing. Amongst - the middle classes, where there is an opportunity of putting the - corpse by itself, there are greater marks of respect and decency. - Amongst that class no one would think of doing anything in the room - where the corpse was lying, still less of allowing children there. - -Mr. Byles, surgeon, of Spitalfields, states, that the above description -is generally applicable to the condition of the dwellings of the -labouring classes, and to the circumstances under which the survivors -are placed on the occurrence of a death in that district. He observes, -moreover— - - In the more malignant form of fever, especially scarlatina, the - instances of death following the first case of death are frequent. - The same holds good in respect to measles, and in respect to - small-pox in families where vaccination has been neglected. I have - also known instances of children who had been vaccinated becoming - the subject of fever apparently from the effluvia of the body of a - child who had died of the small-pox. I have often had occasion - urgently to represent to the parish and union officers the necessity - of a forcible interference to remove bodies. Coffins have been sent - and the bodies removed and placed in a vault under the church until - interment, and the rooms limewashed at the expense of the parish. - - Were such removals resisted?—Not generally; they were in some few - instances. - -§ 28. Mr. Bestow, a relieving officer of the adjacent district of -Bethnal Green, who is called upon to visit the abodes of those persons -of the labouring classes, who on the occurrence of death fall into a -state of destitution, thus exemplifies the common consequences of the -retention of the corpse in the living and working rooms of the family:— - - Is the corpse generally kept in the living or in the working - room?—In the majority of cases the weavers live and work in the same - room; the children generally sleep on a bed pushed under the loom. - Before a coffin is obtained, the corpse is generally stretched on - the bed where the adults have slept. It is a very serious evil in - our district, the length of time during which bodies have been kept - under such circumstances. I have frequently had to make complaint of - it. We are very often complained to by neighbours of the length of - time during which the bodies are kept. We have very often had - disease occasioned by it. I have known, in one case, as many as - eight deaths, from typhus fever, follow one death; there were five - children and two or three visitors whose illness and deaths were - ascribed to the circumstance. - - In January, 1837, a man named Clark, in George Gardens, in this - parish, having been kept a considerable length of time unburied (I - was informed beyond a fortnight), I was directed to visit the case, - and I found the house consisted of two small rooms, wherein resided - his wife and seven children. I remonstrated with them upon the - impropriety of keeping the body so long, and offered either to bury, - or to remove it, as it was then becoming very offensive. I was - informed it would be buried on the following Sunday, as it would not - be convenient for the whole of the relatives to attend the funeral - earlier, and I understood a very great number did attend. I find - that on the 30th of the same month (January) I was called again to - visit Ann Clark, one of the family, in the same miserable abode, who - was lying upon some rags, very ill of fever. I had her removed, but - she ultimately died; and I again remonstrated with the family - remaining in the same house, and offered to take them into the - workhouse, which was declined, stating, it was their intention to - remove in a few days to another house. And on the 20th of February, - my attention was called to the same family, who had then removed to - No. 3, Granby Row, not far from their former abode, and here I found - the mother and the whole of the children (as I had predicted to - them, if they persisted in their habits), all ill of fever without - much hopes of their recovery. I had five removed to the London Fever - Hospital immediately; but out of seven who were affected, two died. - My attention was shortly afterwards directed to Henry Clark, of - Barnet Street, who was a relative, and had taken fever (it was - stated) by having attended the funeral of his friend; he, it seems, - communicated it to his wife and two children, one of whom died; next - followed Stephen Clark, of Edward Street, who, having visited the - above-named relative, and attended the funeral of their infant - shortly afterwards, had fever; also his wife and three children, one - of whom died also. In August, 1837, I was called to visit the case - of Sarah Masterton, No. 11, Suffolk Street, whose husband lay dead - of fever; she was with two children in the same room, and the corpse - not in a coffin. They were in the most deplorable condition, and so - bad with fever that none of the neighbours would venture to enter - the room with me. I had the dead body removed in a shell to our - dead-house, and the woman and children to the infirmary in the - workhouse. Two of them ultimately recovered; one died. In the same - house, and in the upper room, I next found Robert Crisp, with a wife - and child, upon whom I could not prevail to leave the place, and my - urgent entreaties were treated with contempt and bad language. - Ultimately, however, his child died, and not until then could I - persuade him to get another place, neither would he have the infant - removed, or come into the workhouse himself. - - William Procktor, residing in a miserable hut in Camden’s Gardens, - of only one room, with a wife and two children, when visited, was - found badly affected with fever, of which the wife died, and the - body was kept in the same place wherein all the family resided and - slept, for more than a week. The man was next attacked, and then the - children; and for a considerable time they were attended by our - medical officer, but I believe they all ultimately recovered. - -His report book contained frequent instances of cases of the like -description. - -§ 29. Mr. T. Abraham, surgeon, one of the Registrars for the City of -London, who has had much practice as a parochial medical officer, was -asked upon this subject— - - In the course of your practice, have you had occasion to believe - that evil effects are produced by the retention of the corpse in the - house?—Yes; I can give an instance of a man, his wife, and six - children, living in one room in Draper’s Buildings. The mother and - all the children successively fell ill of typhus fever: the mother - died; the body remained in the room. I wished it to be removed the - next day, and I also wished the children to be removed, being afraid - that the fever would extend. The children were apparently well at - the time of the death of the mother. The recommendation was not - attended to: the body was kept five days in the only room which this - family of eight had to live and sleep in. The eldest daughter was - attacked about a week after the mother had been removed, and, after - three days’ illness, that daughter died. The corpse of this child - was only kept three days, as we determined that it should positively - be removed. In about nine days after the death of the girl, the - youngest child was attacked, and it died in about nine days. Then - the second one was taken ill; he lay twenty-three days, and died. - Then another boy died. The two other children recovered. - - By the immediate removal of the corpse, and the use of proper - preventive means, how many deaths do you believe might have been - prevented?—I think it probable that the one took it from the other, - and that, if the corpse of the first had been removed, the rest - would have escaped, although I, of course, admit that the same cause - which produced the disease in the mother might also have produced it - in the children. I believe that, in cases of typhus, scarlatina, and - other infectious diseases, it frequently happens that the living are - attacked by the same disease from the retention of the body. - -Mr. Blencarn, surgeon, one of the medical officers of the City of London -Union, was asked— - - Have you observed any evil effects following the practice of the - long retention of the corpse in the house amidst the living?—Yes; I - have observed effects follow, but I cannot say produced by them, - though they were perhaps increased by them. In those cases which I - have had, where there has been a succession of cases of fever in the - same family, after a death it has generally occurred that the - parties affected have complained two or three days before that they - felt very unwell. Generally this has been the case. I have in such - instances ordered them medicine immediately. Since the Union has - been established, we have immediately removed all fever cases to the - fever hospital. - - The retention of the corpse amidst the living, under such - circumstances, must aggravate the mortality, must it not?—There - cannot be a moment’s doubt about it. - -§ 30. Mr. Barnett, surgeon, one of the medical officers of the Stepney -Union, thus exemplifies the effects of the practice in his own district. -After speaking of the prevalence of nervous depression, ascribable to -the contiguity to a crowded grave-yard, he says:— - - Similar symptoms are observable when the dead are kept any length of - time in crowded apartments. I well recollect a child dying, during - the summer months, of scarlet fever, and the parents persisted in - keeping the corpse for a considerable period, notwithstanding the - entreaties of the rest of the inmates to the contrary, all of whom - complained of being ill therefrom. The result was the production of - several cases of typhoid fever and much distress. A short time ago, - I was requested to attend a family consisting of five persons; they - resided in a room containing about 500 cubic feet, with but little - light and much less ventilation. One child was suffering from - small-pox, and died in a day or two: the corpse was allowed to - remain in the room. The two other children were soon attacked by the - disease, as well as a child belonging to a person residing in the - same house, who was imprudent enough to bring it into this - apartment, though cautioned not to do so. The stench arising from - the living and dead was so intolerable that it produced in myself - severe head-ache, and my friend, who accompanied me, complained of - sudden nervousness. The parents of these children (one of whom is - since dead) are suffering great debility. - - The similarity of symptoms produced in these cases might perhaps - lead us to the conclusion that the cause was probably the same in - all; consequently, whether this poison be diluted or concentrated, - it should, at all times, be carefully avoided. For this purpose, I - should recommend the early removal of the dead from such apartments, - and a check to be put to the baneful practice of burying the dead so - near the surface in crowded districts. - -§ 31. The accounts given by the medical practitioners and persons who -are chiefly in attendance on the parties before death, are corroborated -by the evidence of undertakers and others engaged in providing goods and -services for the performance of the last rites for artisans of a -condition to defray the funeral expenses. - -Mr. Wild, an undertaker, residing in the Blackfriars Road, London, who -inters between 500 and 600 bodies annually, of which about 350 are of -the working classes, states, that the time during which the corpse is -kept in the house varies from five to twelve days. - - The greater proportion of the working men in London live and sleep - in one room only, do they not?—Three-fourths of the rooms we have to - visit are single rooms; the one room is the only room the poor - people have. - - When you visit the room, in what condition do you find the corpse? - How is it laid out?—Generally speaking, we only find one bed in the - room, and that occupied by a corpse. It frequently happens that - there is no sacking to the bedding; when they borrow a board or a - shutter from a neighbour, in order to lay out the corpse upon it; - they have also to borrow other convenient articles necessary, such - us a sheet. The corpse of a child is usually laid out on the table. - The Irish poor have a peculiar mode of arranging the corpse; they - place candles around the bed, and they have a black cross placed at - the head of the bed. - - Is the practice of keeping bodies in the place of abode for a long - time much altered in cases where the death has occurred from fever - or any contagious disease?—Very seldom; they would keep them much - longer if it were not for the undertaker, who urges them to bury - them. In cases of rapid decomposition of persons dying in full habit - there is much liquid; and the coffin is tapped to let it out. I have - known them to keep the corpse after the coffin had been tapped - twice, which has, of course, produced a disagreeable effluvium. This - liquid generates animal life very rapidly; and within six hours - after a coffin has been tapped, if the liquid escapes, maggots, or a - sort of animalculæ, are seen crawling about. I have frequently seen - them crawling about the floor of a room inhabited by the labouring - classes, and about the tressels on which the tapped coffin is - sustained. In such rooms the children are frequently left whilst the - widow is out making arrangements connected with the funeral. And the - widow herself lives there with the children. I frequently find them - altogether in a small room with a large fire. - - Have you known instances of the spread of disease amongst the - members of the family residing in the same room where the corpse is - kept?—Some medical men have said that corpses of persons who have - contagious diseases are not dangerous; but my belief is, that in - cases of small-pox and scarlatina it is dangerous; and only the - other day a case of this nature occurred,—a little boy, who died of - the small-pox. Soon after he died, his sister, a little girl who had - been playing in the same room, was attacked with small-pox and died. - The medical attendant said, the child must have touched the corpse. - A poor woman, a neighbour, went over to see one of these bodies, and - was much afflicted and frightened, and I believe touched the body. - She was certainly attacked with the small-pox, and, after lingering - some time, died a few days since. The other day at Lambeth, the - eldest child of a person died of scarlet fever. The child was about - four years old; it had been ill a week. There were two other - children, one was three years old and the other sixteen months. When - the first child died there were no symptoms of illness for three - days afterwards, the corpse of the eldest was kept in the house; - here it was in a separate room, but the medical man recommended - early interment, and it was buried on the fourth day. The youngest - child had been taken by the servant into the room where the corpse - was, to see it, and this child was taken ill just before the burial - and died in about a week. The corpse of this child was retained in - the house three weeks. It is supposed that the other child had also - been taken into the room to see the corpse and touch it, and at the - end of the three weeks it also died. The medical attendant was - clearly of opinion that had the first child been early removed, it - would have been saved. The undertaker’s men who have to put into - coffins the corpses of persons who have died from any contagious - disease, are sometimes sick and compelled to take instantly gin or - brandy; and they will feel sickly for some hours after, but they are - not known to catch the disease. I have often heard the men say on - the morning following, “I have been able to take no breakfast - to-day,” and have complained of want of appetite for some time - after. - -Mr. Jeffereys, an undertaker, residing in Whitechapel, gives a similar -account of the dreadful effects of this practice. - - It is stated that the practice of keeping the body in the house is a - very great evil; how long have you known bodies to be kept in the - house before interment?—I have known them to be kept three weeks: we - every week see them kept until the bodies are nearly putrid: - sometimes they have run away almost through the coffin, and the poor - people, women and children, are living and sleeping in the same room - at the same time. In some cases there is superstition about the - interments, but it is not very frequent. Then when the corpse is - uncovered, or the coffin is open, females will hang over it. A widow - who hung over the body of her husband, caught the disease of which - he died. The doctor told her he knew she must have kissed or touched - the body: she died, leaving seven orphans, of whom four are now in - an orphan asylum. A young man died not long since, and his body - rapidly decomposed. His sister, a fine healthy girl, hung over the - corpse and kissed it; in three weeks after she died also. - -§ 32. The descriptions given by the labouring classes themselves of the -circumstances precedent to the removal of the body for interment, are -similar to those in the instances above cited. They are thus described -by John Downing, one of several respectable mechanics examined:— - - You, as secretary [of a burial society] are called upon to attend - the funeral; are you not?—Yes, I am. It is part of our rules, also, - that the secretary shall see the body and identify it. When old - members, whom I have known, have been sick, I have visited them, - although I am not obliged to do it. - - What in the case of death is the condition in which you generally - find the corpse?—It is generally stretched out on a shutter, with a - sheet over it. Children are generally laid out on the table. - - In how many cases do you find that those whom you visit, who may - perhaps be considered to be of the class of respectable mechanics, - do you find them occupying more than one room?—About one case in - six. - - Have you observed any effects from the long retention of the body in - the same room as the family?—Yes, I have known children to have - taken the disease and die; I have also known the widow who has hung - over the body and kissed it, become ill and die through it. I have - known other cases where there has been severe illness. I have myself - been made ill by visiting them; I have felt giddy in the head and - very sick, and have gone to the nearest house of refreshment to get - some brandy. I have felt the effects for two or three days. - -§ 33. The next class of witnesses, who receive the remains at the place -of burial, attest the fact that the smell from the coffin is frequently -powerfully offensive, and that it is by no means an uncommon occurrence -that the decomposing matter escapes from it, and in the streets, and in -the church, and in the church-yard, runs down over the shoulders of the -bearers. - -§ 34. So far as the inquiry has proceeded in the provincial towns, it -appears that the practice of keeping the corpse in the crowded living -rooms does not differ essentially from the practice in the metropolis. -Mr. R. Craven, a surgeon residing at Leeds, who has had great experience -amongst that population, states— - - The Irish almost universally live huddled together in great numbers - in a small space. I have often known as many as twenty human beings - lodged and fed in a dirty filthy cottage with only two rooms. Great - many live in cellar dwellings. I have frequently seen a cellar - dwelling lodge a family of seven to ten persons, and that in close - confined yards. I have seen a cellar dwelling in one of the most - densely-populated districts of Leeds in which were living seven - persons, with one corner fenced off and a pig in it; a ridge of clay - being placed round the fence to prevent the wet from the pigsty - running all over the floor, and to this cellar there was no - drainage. - - I believe that a much larger proportion of the Irish attacked by - fever, die, than of English. Children they do not make so much - parade of, as here is greater difficulty of obtaining the funds for - their burial. It is no uncommon thing to see a corpse laid out in a - room where eight to twelve persons have to sleep, and sometimes even - both sleep and eat. - -He also states also that— - - Amongst the hand-loom weavers there is some difference. They - generally live in cottages consisting of two small rooms or cellar - dwellings; these have always a large space occupied by the loom; and - in cottages of two rooms I have frequently seen two families - residing having in the upper room two looms. When deaths occur in - this class the corpse cannot be laid out without occupying the space - where the family have to work (the father or mother weaving, and - children winding or rendering other assistance), or in the room - where they live and eat. This, I am of opinion, has a very debasing - effect on the morals of this class of the community, making - especially the rising generation so familiar with death that their - feelings are not hurt by it: it has also a very injurious physical - effect, frequently propagating disease in a rapid manner and to an - immense extent. - -§ 35. Mr. Christopher Fountaine Browne, one of the parochial surgeons of -Leeds, whose district comprehends a population of 45,000 persons, -chiefly of the working classes, states that:— - - The people amongst whom I practise generally occupy one room where - they live in, and a bed-room above; but I have known many instances - of a family, say a man, his wife, and from three to six children, - having only one bed and one apartment for all purposes. But a great - many dwellings there consist of only one room, and in many of the - lodging-houses I have seen five or six beds in one small room, in - which it has been acknowledged that from 12 to 14 persons have - passed the night, and the air has been so bad that I have been - compelled to stand at the window whilst visiting the patient. - -He also states, that— - - He has seen many deaths take place in such houses when the body - remains in the bed where it died; and I have known it remain two or - three nights before interment. In Irish cases they keep them longer. - I have seen a child lie in a down-stairs room in a corner, dead of - small-pox, and another dying, and the house full of lodgers eating - their meals. The length of time that a corpse is kept varies very - much according to the disposition of the relatives and the means of - procuring a burial, as there are no restrictions as to the length of - time bodies are to be kept. - - I have observed, that in cases of small-pox disease frequently - follows in rapid succession on different members of the same family. - I have frequently known cases of a low typhoid character arise where - many persons sleep in the same room: the addition of a death from - any such cause of course increases the danger to the living. - -In Manchester and in several northern districts, it appears that by -custom the corpse seldom remains unburied more than three or four days, -but during that time it remains in the crowded rooms of the living of -the labouring classes. Every day’s retention of the corpse is to be -considered an aggravation of the evil; but the evidence is to be borne -in mind that the miasma from the dead is more dangerous immediately -after death, or during the first and second day, than towards the end of -the week. In a proportion of cases decomposition has commenced before -the vital functions have ceased; immediately after death decomposition -often proceeds with excessive rapidity in the crowded rooms, which have -then commonly larger fires than usual. - -§ 36. It is observed by some of the witnesses that usually, and except -by accident, and in few cases, the miasma from the remains of the dead -in grave-yards can only reach the living in a state of diffusion and -dilution; and that large proportions of it probably escape without -producing any immediately appreciable evil. The practice, however, of -the retention of the remains in the one room of the living brings the -effluvium to bear directly upon the survivors when it is most dangerous, -when they are usually exhausted bodily by watching, and depressed -mentally by anxiety and grief—circumstances which it is well known -greatly increase the danger of contagion. The males of the -working-classes in general die earlier than the females, and in the -greater number of cases the last duties fall to the widow; and the -prevalence of fatal disease chiefly amongst the children is frequently -attributed to the circumstance, that she is aroused from the stunning -effect of the bereavement by the necessity of going abroad and seeking -pecuniary aid, and making arrangements for the funeral, whilst the -children are left at home in the house with the corpse. - -In Scotland, from an aversion to sleeping in the presence of the corpse, -it is the practice to sit up with it, and there is then much drinking of -ardent spirits. Mr. W. Dyce Guthrie speaks strongly of the evils -attendant upon the practice of the unguarded retention of the body under -such circumstances, and of the instances known by himself where persons -have come from a distance to attend the funeral of a departed friend, -and have returned infected with a disease similar to that which -terminated the friend’s existence. The concurrent and decided opinion of -himself and a number of other medical witnesses is, that the public -health is much more affected by the pestiferous influence of the corpse -during the interval of time that occurs from the moment of death, up to -the hour of the funeral, than it commonly is or can be after interment. - -§ 37. Of the deaths which take place in the metropolis, it will be seen -that more than one-half are the deaths of the labouring classes. The -following table, taken from the Mortuary Registries during the year -1839, shows the numbers of deaths amongst the chief classes of society, -and the proportions of deaths from epidemic diseases. At least four out -of five of the deaths of the labouring classes, it will be remembered, -are stated to occur in the single living and sleeping room, that is to -say, upwards of 20,000 annually. - - ───────────┬─────────────────────┬───────┬─────────┬─────────┬───────── - │ │ │ │Ratio of │ - │ │ Ratio │Number of│ Deaths │ Average - │ │ of │ Deaths │ from │ Age at - │ │Deaths │ from │Epidemic,│Death of - │ Number of Deaths of │ of │Epidemic,│Endemic, │the whole - │ each Class. │ Chil- │Endemic, │ and │ Class, - │ │dren to│ and │ Conta- │including - │ │ Total │ Conta- │ gious │ Chil- - │ │Deaths.│ gious │ Disease │ dren. - │ │ │Diseases.│to Total │ - │ │ │ │ Deaths. │ - ───────────┼───────┬──────┬──────┼───────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── - │ │Chil- │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ dren │ │ │ │ │ - │Adults.│under │Total.│ │ │ │ - │ │ 10 │ │ │ │ │ - │ │Years.│ │ │ │ │ - ───────────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── - Gentry, │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Profes- │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - sional │ 1,724│ 529│ 2,253│ 1 in│ 210│ 1 in│ 44 - Persons, │ │ │ │ 4–3/10│ │ 10–7/10│ - & their │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Families │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Tradesmen, │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Clerks, &│ 3,979│ 3,703│ 7,682│ 1 in│ 1,428│ 1 in│ 25 - their │ │ │ │ 2–1/10│ │ 5–4/10│ - Families │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Undescribed│ 2,996│ 2,761│ 5,757│ 1 in│ 1,051│ 1 in│ 28 - │ │ │ │ 2–1/10│ │ 5–5/10│ - Labourers │ │ │ │ 1 in│ │ 1 in│ - and their│ 12,045│13,885│25,930│ 1–9/10│ 5,469│ 4–8/10│ 22 - Families │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Paupers │ 3,062│ 593│ 3,655│ 1 in│ 557│ 1 in│ 49 - │ │ │ │ 6–2/10│ │ 6–6/10│ - ───────────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── - Total │ 23,806│21,471│45,277│ 1 in│ 8,715│ 1 in│ 27 - │ │ │ │ 2–1/10│ │ 5–2/10│ - ───────────┴───────┴──────┴──────┴───────┴─────────┴─────────┴───────── - -In making up this table, all who were not distinguished as master -tradesmen were entered as mechanics. This circumstance would give to the -labouring classes an appearance of a higher average age of death than is -gained by them. On the other hand, some of the labouring classes will be -found to have died in the workhouse, which would perhaps keep the -average where it now stands, whilst if the registration were more -accurate, the average age of death of the middle classes might be found -to be about 27. The average age of death of 27 given for the whole -metropolis is not made as an average of the averages, but from the -average of the whole. The apparent high average of the age of death of -paupers arises from the smaller proportion of children amongst them: and -the larger proportion of aged adults who seek refuge in the -workhouse.[10] - -§ 38. The deaths registered from epidemic, endemic, and contagious -diseases during the year 1839, which was by no means an unhealthy year, -were as follows in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham:— - - ─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┬───────────────── - │ │ Deaths from │ Ratio of Deaths - │ Total Number of │ Epidemic, │ from Epidemic - │ Deaths. │ Endemic, and │ Disease to the - │ │ Contagious │ Total Number of - │ │ Diseases. │ Deaths. - ─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼───────────────── - Liverpool │ 7,435│ 1,844│1 in 4 - Manchester │ 6,774│ 2,006│1 in 3–4/10 - Leeds │ 4,388│ 965│1 in 4–5/10 - Birmingham │ 3,639│ 747│1 in 4–9/10 - ─────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┴───────────────── - -The numbers of deaths which occurred during that year amongst the -labouring classes are not distinguished, but they were for the next year -as follows. And in the three first-named towns, I conceive that the -proportion of cases of deaths amongst those classes where the corpse is -kept in the living room, is in all probability as great as in the -metropolis. - - Liverpool 5,597 - Manchester 4,629 - Leeds 3,395 - Birmingham 2,715 - -I am unaware of any data existing in the towns in Scotland from which -any estimate can be made of the extent to which the evils in question -are prevalent there. In the recent Report on the Census, sufficient is -shown of the condition of the labouring population in the towns in -Ireland to prove, that in them, the evils must fall with at least as -great severity as they are described to occur in the worst, conditioned -districts in England.[11] - -§ 39. If the returns and the statements of witnesses acquainted with the -crowded districts be correct, that four out of five families of the -labouring classes have each but one room, then every unit of upwards of -20,000 deaths per annum which occur in the metropolis, every unit of -4600 deaths of the labouring classes which occur annually at Liverpool, -must be taken as representing a horrible scene of the retention of the -corpse amidst the family in the manner described in the testimony of -those who have witnessed it;—and every unit of some 4000 deaths from -epidemics in the metropolis, and every third or fourth recorded death in -other towns, and even in crowded villages, represents a distressing -scene, and moreover a case of peculiar danger and probable permanent -injury to the survivors amongst whom it takes place. Great, however, as -may be the physical evils to them, the evidence of the mental pain and -moral evil generally attendant on the practice of the long retention of -the body in the rooms in use and amidst the living, though only noticed -incidentally, is yet more deplorable. - -§ 40. The duty which attaches to male relations, or which a benevolent -pastor, if there were the accommodation, would exercise on the -occurrence of the calamity of death to any member of a family, is to -remove the sensitive and the weakly from the spectacle, which is a -perpetual stimulus to excessive grief, and commonly a source of painful -associations and visible images of the changes wrought in death, to -haunt the imagination in after-life. When the dissolution has taken -place under circumstances such as those described, it is not a few -minutes’ look after the last duties are performed and the body is -composed in death and left in repose, that is given to this class of -survivors, but the spectacle is protracted hour after hour through the -day and night, and day after day, and night after night, thus -aggravating the mental pains under varied circumstances, and increasing -the dangers of permanent bodily injury. The sufferings of the survivors, -especially of the widow of the labouring classes, are often protracted -to a fatal extent. To the very young children, the greatest danger is of -infection in cases of deaths from contagious and infectious disease. To -the elder children and members of the family and inmates, the moral evil -created by the retention of the body in their presence beyond the short -term during which sorrow and depression of spirits may be said to be -natural to them is, that familiarity soon succeeds, and respect -disappears. These consequences are revealed by the frequency of the -statements of witnesses, that the deaths of children immediately -following, of the same disease of which the parent had died, had been -accounted for by “the doctor,” or the neighbours, in the probability -that the child had caught the disease by touching the corpse or the -coffin, whilst playing about the room in the absence of the mother. Dr. -Reicke, in the course of his dissertation on the physical dangers from -exposure to emanations from the remains, mentions an instance where a -little child having struck the body of the parent which had died of a -malignant disease, the hand and arm of the child was dangerously -inflamed with malignant pustules in consequence. The mental effects on -the elder children or members of the family of the retention of the body -in the living room, day after day, and during meal times, until -familiarity is induced,—retained, as the body commonly is, during all -this time in the _sordes_ of disease, the progress of change and -decomposition disfiguring the remains and adding disgust to -familiarity,—are attested to be of the most demoralizing character. Such -deaths occur sooner or later in various forms in every poor family; and -in neighbourhoods where there are no sanitary regulations, where they -are ravaged by epidemics, such scenes are doubly familiar to the whole -population. - -§ 41. Astonishment is frequently excited by the cases which abound in -our penal records indicative of the prevalence of habits of savage -brutality and carelessness of life amongst the labouring population; but -crimes, like sores, will commonly be found to be the result of wider -influences than are externally manifest; and the reasons for such -astonishment, will be diminished in proportion as those circumstances -are examined, which influence the minds and habits of the population -more powerfully than precepts or book education. Among these -demoralizing circumstances, which appear to be preventible or removable, -are those which the present inquiry brings to light. Disrespect for the -human form under suffering, indifference or carelessness at death,—or at -that destruction which follows as an effect of suffering—is rarely found -amongst the uneducated, unconnected with a callousness to others’ pain, -and a recklessness about life itself. A known effect on uneducated -survivors of the frequency of death amongst youth or persons in the -vigour of life, is to create a reckless avidity for immediate enjoyment. -Some examples of the demoralization attendant on such circumstances -cannot but be apparent in the evidence arising in the course of this -inquiry into other practices connected with interments. - -§ 42. On submitting the above to a friend, a clergyman, whose -benevolence has carried him to alleviate the sufferings in several -hundred death-bed scenes in the abodes of the labouring classes, and who -has been present, perhaps, at every death in his own flock, in a -wretchedly crowded parish, he writes in the following terms his -confirmation:— - -“The whole of this I can testify, from personal knowledge, to be just. -With the upper classes, a corpse excites feelings of awe and respect; -with the lower orders, in these districts, it is often treated with as -little ceremony as the carcase in a butcher’s shop. Nothing can exceed -their desire for an imposing funeral; nothing can surpass their efforts -to obtain it; but the deceased’s remains share none of the reverence -which this anxiety for their becoming burial would seem to indicate. The -inconsistency is entirely, or at least in great part, to be attributed -to a single circumstance—that the body is never absent from their -sight—eating, drinking, or sleeping, it is still by their side; mixed up -with all the ordinary functions of daily life, till it becomes as -familiar to them as when it lived and moved in the family circle. From -familiarity it is a short step to desecration. The body, stretched out -upon two chairs, is pulled about by the children, made to serve as a -resting-place for any article that is in the way, and is not seldom the -hiding-place for the beer-bottle or the gin if any visitor arrives -inopportunely. Viewed as an outrage upon human feeling, this is bad -enough; but who does not see that when the respect for the dead, that -is, for the human form in its most awful stage, is gone, the whole mass -of social sympathies must be weakened—perhaps blighted and destroyed? At -any rate, it removes that wholesome fear of death which is the last hold -upon a hardened conscience. They have gazed upon it so perpetually, they -have grown so intimate with its terrors, that they no longer dread it, -even when it attacks themselves, and the heart which vice has deadened -to every appeal of religion is at last rendered callous to the natural -instinct of fear.” - -That it is possible by legislative means to stay the progress of this -dreadful demoralization, which must, if no further heed be taken of it, -go on with the increased crowding of an increasing population; that it -is possible to abate the mental and physical suffering; to extend to the -depressed urban districts an acceptable and benign and elevating -influence on such impressive occasions; may be confidently affirmed, and -will in a subsequent stage of this Report be endeavoured to be shown by -reference to actual examples of successful measures. - - - _Expenses of Funerals and their effects on the Living._ - -§ 43. The practice of the long retention of the dead before burial being -the one from which the greatest evil accrues, the circumstances by which -the practice is chiefly influenced are the first submitted for -consideration. - -The causes which influence this practice amongst the greatest number of -the population appear to be, first, the expense of funerals—next, the -delay in making arrangements for the funeral,—the natural reluctance to -part with the remains of the deceased, and occasionally a feeling of -apprehension, sometimes expressed on the part of the survivors, against -premature interment. - -The expense of interments, though it falls with the greatest severity on -the poorest classes, acts as a most severe infliction on the middle -classes of society, and governs so powerfully the questions in respect -to the present and future administrative arrangements, and involves so -many other evils, as to require as complete an exposition as possible of -its extent and operation. - -The testimony of witnesses of the most extensive experience is of the -following tenor in London and the crowded town districts of England. Mr. -Byles, the surgeon, of Spitalfields, in reference to the delay of -interments, states— - - The difficulty of raising the subscription to bury the dead, is I - apprehend one chief cause of the delay. When, in the instance of the - death of a child, I ask why it cannot be interred earlier, the usual - reply is, we cannot raise the money earlier. - -Mr. Wild, the undertaker, states— - - The time varies from five to twelve days. This arises from the - difficulty of procuring the means of making arrangements with the - undertaker, and the difficulty of getting mourners to attend the - funeral. They have a great number to attend, neighbours, - fellow-workmen, as well as relations. The mourners with them vary - from five to eight couple; it is always an agreement for five couple - at the least. - -One of the witnesses of the labouring classes, who had acted as -secretary to an extensive burial society, gives the following account of -the causes which operate to produce the delay. - - What is the average length of time they remain unburied?—Never less - than a week. If they die in the middle of the week they are - generally kept until the Sunday week. I have known instances, - however, where they have been kept as long as a fortnight. - - What have been the causes of this retention of the body?—In general - it has been the want of money to defray the dues. In some cases, - however, the widow has been reluctant to part with the corpse. - - In what proportion of cases has this occurred?—It may have been in - one case in thirty, as far as I can recollect. - -§ 44. Mr. Baker, the coroner, stated to me that he has met with some -cases where inquests have been promoted in consequence of suspicions -excited amongst neighbours on account of the delay of interments; it -turned out that the deaths had been natural, and that the delay had -arisen from the difficulty of procuring money to defray the funeral -expenses. Mr. Bell, who for several years acted as clerk to Mr. -Stirling, the late coroner for Middlesex, even cites several dreadful -cases of children found dead in the metropolis, in which, on inquiry, it -was proved that the deaths were natural, but that the bodies had been -actually abandoned in consequence of the difficulty of raising the money -for interment, and the reluctance to apply for parochial aid. - -§ 45. The nature of the expenses of interments in London, and their -operation on the whole practice, are most fully developed in the -examination of Mr. Wild. - - Supposing the expenses of interment reduced, and the conveniences - increased, do you think that there would be much or any reluctance - to early interment, on account of any general feeling of dislike on - the part of the survivors to earlier removals or interments?—No, I - do not think there would be any reluctance. - - In cases where the obstacles arising from the expense and the - inconvenience preventing the attendance of friends do not exist, is - there a frequent reluctance expressed to early interment?—It is not - frequent. Sometimes, but very seldom, the deceased may have - expressed a wish not to be hurried out of the house soon after he - was dead. - - Do you find that there is less delay amongst the higher and middle - classes?—There is certainly much less delay amongst them; but with - them the corpses are early placed either in lead or in double - coffins, and the delay is of less consequence. - - Amongst the poorer classes, is not the widow often made ill during - the protracted delay of the burial?—Yes, very often. They have come - to me in tears, and begged for accommodation, which I have given - them. On observing to them, you seem very ill: a common reply is, - “Yes, I feel very ill. I am very much harassed, and I have no one to - assist me.” I infer from such expressions that the mental anxiety - occasioned by the expense, and want of means to obtain the money, is - the frequent cause of their illness. My opinion is, that unless the - undertaker gave two-thirds of them time or accommodation for - payment, they would not be able to bury the dead at all. - - Do you consider that funerals in general are made unnecessarily - expensive?—Yes, they are, even under their present system - unnecessarily expensive. The average price of funerals amongst the - working classes for adults will be about 4_l._ This sum generally - provides a good strong elm coffin, bearers to carry the corpse to - the grave, pall and fittings for mourners. For children the average - cost is 30_s._, but these charges do not include ground and burial - fees. - - Are they so even when the funerals are provided by burial societies, - and made the subject of special attention?—In benefit societies and - burial clubs there is generally a certain sum set aside for the - burial, which sum is, I consider, frequently most extravagantly - expended. This arises from the secretary, or some other officer of - the club being an undertaker. When a death takes place the club - money is not paid directly: it is usually paid on the club or - quarterly night following. The member dying seldom leaves any money - beyond the provision in his club to bury him, consequently the widow - or nominee makes application to the secretary, who tells her that he - cannot give any money to purchase mourning for herself and family - until the committee meets; this may be three months after the death; - but, says the secretary, “give me the funeral, I will advance you a - few pounds upon my own account;” so that the widow is obliged to - submit to any charge he may think fit to make. I do not mean to be - understood that this is always the case—I am sorry to say it is of - frequent occurrence. - - In general, are not the expenses of burial in the Dissenters’ - burial-grounds less than those of burial in the grounds belonging to - the Established Church?—On the average one-third less. - - On the occasion of burial in Dissenters’ burial-grounds, is any - question ever raised as to whether the deceased was a subscribing - member of the community to which the grounds belong?—No question is - ever asked. - - Of corpses of the labouring classes whom you yourself have buried in - the burial-grounds of Dissenters, how many will have been of - subscribing members of the community to which the grounds - belong?—Not one in twenty. - - Then the preference arises from the greater cheapness of the burial - in those grounds?—Yes, and the greater convenience. The burial, - instead of being fixed at one particular hour, as in cases of - burials in the Church, may be had within a range of three hours. - This convenience has a great influence on the choice of places of - burial. - - Have burials in the Dissenters’ grounds been increasing of - late?—Very much: their places of burial are in general no better; - they are, indeed, in some instances worse than the grounds belonging - to the parish churches, but they would, probably, have enlarged and - improved them, and, at the rate at which they have proceeded, they - would soon have three-fourths of all the burials;—chiefly on account - of the increased cheapness and accommodation attendant on their - burials. - - Are the ordinary expenses and inconveniences of funerals generally - severely oppressive to persons of the middle classes?—Very - generally: it often occurs that a poor widow is crippled in her - means through life by the expense of a funeral. An ordinary funeral, - burial fees and all, will cost from 50_l._ to 70_l._, which will - deprive her of 5_l._ a year from ten to fourteen years, besides the - interest. - - Without any deductions of the solemnity, for how much less might - such a funeral be performed?—For about 50 per cent. less. Indeed, I - have proved that practically for some time past. - - Is not much of the accompaniments of funerals which, as at present - conducted, are deemed part of the solemnity, questionable in its - effect as well as appropriateness? Is it not the effect of custom, - rather than any choice or wish of the parties?—Merely customary: the - term used in giving orders is, “provide what is customary.” - - Are you aware that the array of funerals, commonly made by - undertakers, is strictly the heraldic array of a baronial funeral, - the two men who stand at the doors being supposed to be the two - porters of the castle, with their staves, in black; the man who - heads the procession, wearing a scarf, being a representative of a - herald-at-arms; the man who carries a plume of feathers on his head - being an esquire, who bears the shield and casque, with its plume of - feathers; the pall-bearers, with batons, being representatives of - knights-companions-at-arms; the men walking with wands being - supposed to represent gentlemen-ushers, with their wands:—are you - aware that this is said to be the origin and type of the common - array usually provided by those who undertake to perform - funerals?—No; I am not aware of it. - - It may be presumed that those who order funerals are equally unaware - of the incongruity for which such expense is incurred?—Undoubtedly - they are. - - What is the cost of porters, the men who bear staves covered with - black?—The cost of the mutes varies from 18_s._ to 30_s._ In some - cases of respectable persons, where silk scarfs or fittings, - including hat-bands and gloves, are used, 5_l._ 5_s._ is charged to - families for those fittings. To parties in moderate circumstances, - two guineas would be charged for the fittings and the pay. - - What is the charge for the person who walks with a scarf?—The usual - charge to a respectable family would be a guinea, besides fittings, - scarfs, gloves, and hat-bands, which would altogether amount to - about two guineas and a half for this man. - - What is the charge for the plume of feathers borne on the head - before the hearse?—The charge for the feathers would be about two - guineas; then there is the man’s gloves, scarf, and fittings, which - make it about three guineas and a-half. - - What is the charge per man bearing batons?—The charge, including - silk fittings, will be about 22_s._ each man. - - What is the charge for each man bearing a wand?—About the same - price. - - How many men of this description would be required for what is - deemed a respectable funeral?—About twenty men; for if the coffin be - a leaden one it would require about eight men to bear it. - - What other charges are there of the same kind?—There are velvets - attached to the hearse, including feathers, and feathers to the - horses, which makes from ten to fifteen guineas more. - - What is charged for the pall?—From one to four guineas would be - charged for the use of the pall. - - What is it usual to give to the clergyman?—A silk scarf of three - yards and a half, a silk hatband, and black kid gloves. - - What may be the expense of this?—About two guineas to the parties. - - Is anything usually given to the clerk?—Yes, the same as to the - minister. - - Is anything given to the sexton?—Yes, they do in respectable - families, or rather the undertaker does so, for his own gain. The - cost of the whole,—minister, sexton, and undertaker, will be about - seven guineas to a respectable family, but it is usual to compound - the matter by giving them money; I generally give the minister - 18_s._, and the clerk 15_s._, and the sexton, perhaps, 15_s._ - - Is such an array as that described adopted in the case of the - funerals of tradesmen as well as of other classes?—They have - frequently the same number of men. - - A clergyman’s widow, who has solicited aid for her sons, whom she - has found it difficult to educate, states that the expenses of her - husband’s funeral were upwards of 110_l._ On being asked how she - could incur such an expense, she states that she considered it her - duty to have a respectable funeral, and ordered the undertaker to - provide what was respectable; that she knew not what she ordered in - that condition, and merely gave general orders. Now is not this a - frequent case, and is not the undertaker’s usual interpretation of - respectability that which is expensive, the parties knowing little - about it?—Yes, that is frequently so. - - In the case of funerals of persons of moderate respectability - costing, say about 60_l._, how many of such men as those described - would there be attending it?—About fourteen. - - For a curate, or person of that condition, would there be that - number and array?—Yes. - - What would be the expense of the funeral of a person of the - condition of an attorney?—From 60_l._ to 100_l._; but this would not - include the expense of tomb or monument, or burial-fees. - - If a person of such a condition were buried, would it be of about - twenty attendants, with such an array as that described?—Yes; for - such a person the cost would be about 100 guineas, exclusive of the - burial-fees. - - There would then be the same number of attendants as those - mentioned, about twenty men?—Yes, about twenty men. - - The funeral being ordered of an upholsterer, is it not usually - provided by an undertaker?—Yes. - - In how many cases of funerals will there be “the second profit?”—In - nearly two-thirds of the cases of burial in the upper classes. - - Is the same observation applicable to the funerals amongst the - middle classes?—Yes; I think in nearly the same proportion. - - How much of the profit will be the profit of the upholsterer?—Nearly - half: if the funeral costs 50_l._ to the upholsterer from the - undertaker, it will cost about 100_l._ from the undertaker to the - family. - - Is there much credit given in the business to respectable - families?—Not much; for as soon as letters of administration are - taken out the funeral expenses are discharged. - - The average expense of the funeral of an adult of the labouring - class being about 4_l._, exclusive of the burial fees, and that of a - child about 30_s._, what may be stated to be the ordinary expense of - the funeral of a tradesman of the lowest class, as ordinarily - conducted?—Of the very lowest class—of a class in condition not much - beyond that of a mechanic, the funeral expenses might be from 10_l._ - to 12_l._ - - What would be the ordinary expense for the funeral of a child of a - person of this class?—The ordinary expense would be about 5_l._ - - What would be the ordinary expense of the funeral of a tradesman of - a better class?—From 70_l._ to 100_l._ - - What do you consider would be a low average for the ordinary expense - of the whole class of tradesmen’s funerals?—About 50_l._ would, I - consider, be a low average for the whole class. - - What may be considered the average of ordinary expenses of the - funerals of children of the class dying below 10 years of age?—About - 14_l._ - - Might 100_l._ be taken as the average expense of the funeral of a - person of the condition of a gentleman?—No; they range from 200_l._ - to 1,000_l._ I think that 150_l._ would be a low average. - - What may be considered the ordinary expense of the funeral of a - child of this class?—About 30_l._ would be the average. - - What may be the ordinary expense of the funerals of persons of rank - or title?—The expense varies from 500_l._ to 1500_l._ A large part - of this expense has, however, commonly been for the removal of the - remains from town to the family vault by a long cavalcade moving by - very slow stages; but the conveyance by railway makes as much as - 500_l._ difference in the expense of a funeral of this class. - - What may be the average expense of the funeral of a child of this - class?—About 50_l._ - - Do you believe it to be practicable, by proper regulations, greatly - to reduce the existing charges of interments?—Yes; a very great - reduction indeed may be made, at least 50 per cent. - - May it be confidently stated that under such reductions, whatever of - respectability in exterior is now attached to the trappings, or to - the mode of the ceremony, might be preserved?—Oh, yes; I should say - it might, and that they could scarcely fail to be increased. - -§ 46. Mr. Dix, an undertaker, who inters from 800 to 1000 persons -annually, of whom about 300 are of the class of independent labourers, -being questioned on this topic, stated as follows:— - - The lowest average expense of a poor man’s burial, from extensive - evidence, is stated to be about 5_l._; but that is where it is done, - as it usually is, second or third hand. I frequently perform - funerals three deep: that is, I do it for one person, who does it - for another who does it for the relatives of the deceased, he being - the first person applied to. - - The people then generally apply to the nearest person?—Yes, they do. - Everybody calls himself an undertaker. The numerous men employed as - bearers become undertakers, although they have never done anything - until they have got the job. I have known one of these men get a new - suit of clothes out of the funeral of one decent mechanic. - -§ 47. The conclusions in respect to the unnecessary expense of funerals -appear to be applicable, with little variation, to the most populous -provincial towns. In the rural districts the expense of funerals of the -class of gentry appears to be even more expensive. In most of the -provincial towns the expense of the funerals of the more respectable -class of tradesmen does not appear to be much less than in London. In -Scotland, the expenses of the funerals of persons of the middle classes -appear, from a communication from Mr. Chambers, to vary from 12_l._ to -25_l._ In Glasgow the expenses of funerals of persons of the middle -class appear to vary from 12_l._ to 50_l._ - -§ 48. To persons of the condition of the widows of officers in the army -or navy, or of the legal profession, or of persons of the rank of gentry -who have but limited incomes, the expenses of the funerals often subject -them to severe privations during the remainder of their lives. The widow -is frequently compelled to beg pecuniary assistance for the education of -her children, which the superfluous expenses of the funerals of the -adult members of the family would have supplied; and these expenses are -incurred often in utter disregard of express requests of the dying, that -the funerals should be plain, and divested of unnecessary expense. The -expenses are often incurred equally against the wishes of the survivors. -The cause of this appears to be that the funeral arrangements, and the -determination of what is proper, and what customs shall be maintained, -fall, as shown by the evidence, to those who have a direct interest,—and -when the nature of their separate establishments are considered, are -commonly acting under a strong necessity,—in maintaining a system of -profuse expenditure. The circumstances of the death do not admit of any -effective competition or any precedent examination of the charges of -different undertakers, or any comparison and consideration of their -supplies; there is no time to change them for others that are less -expensive, and more in conformity to the taste and circumstances of the -parties. An executor who had ordered a coffin and service of the “most -simple description,” conformably to the intentions of the deceased, -expecting the coffin to cost not more than five pounds, having, under -peculiar circumstances, occasion to call for the bill previously to the -interment, found, to his surprise, that instead of five the charge for -the coffin amounted to nearly twenty pounds. “What,” he says, “could be -done? we could not turn the body out of the coffin: I would have paid -double rather than have disturbed the peace of the house on that solemn -occasion, by a dispute, or by an objection either to that charge, or to -the disgusting frippery with which those who attended the dead were -covered against their tastes.” The survivors, however, are seldom in a -state to perform any office of every-day life; and they are at the mercy -of the first comer. The supplies of the funeral goods and services, are, -therefore, a multiform monopoly, not apparently on the parts of the -chief undertakers, or original and real preparers of the funeral -materials and services, but of second or third parties living in the -immediate neighbourhood,—persons who assume the business of an -undertaker, and who obtain the first orders. The reason why the charges -are seldom or ever disputed after interment is that, however severe or -extortionate they may be, it would be more severe for the widow, or -survivor, or friends, to scrutinise the items, or resist the payment of -the total amount. Nor can it be expected of any individual to break -through such customs, however generally they may be disliked. All -isolated efforts to simplify the supplies and use of the goods and -_materiel_,—all objections to the demands for them are exposed to the -calumny that proper respect to the deceased is begrudged. A late right -reverend bishop, who thought it a moral duty to resist an extortionate -charge for such service, and he did so even in a court of law,—the -well-intended, but isolated effort, was fruitless. Another reason for -the impunity of the extortion is, that much of the funeral expenses are -from trust-funds of the higher and middle classes, who influence the -practice of the lower classes; and the trustees have but weak motives -and means to defend them. In so far as the funeral expenses are -concerned, such funds, as will appear in respect to the funds raised for -burial amongst the labouring classes, are an exposed prey. - -§ 49. If there be any sort of service, which principles of civic polity, -and motives of ordinary benevolence and charity, require to be placed -under public regulation, for the protection of the private individual -who is helpless, it is surely this, at the time of extreme misery and -helplessness of the means of decent interment. On inspecting the -condition of the whole class of persons engaged in the performance of -the service of undertakers, it may be confidently stated that the class -who only act as agents, could not suffer, and must gain morally and -socially, and ultimately pecuniarily by a change that would be -beneficial to the public. No class can be otherwise than benefited by -change, from an occupation in which they are kept waiting and dependent -on profits which fall to them at wide and irregular intervals. -Notwithstanding the immensely disproportionate profits of these persons -in some cases, and the immense aggregate expenditure to the public, -there appear to be very few wealthy undertakers. They are described by -one of them, “as being some few of them very respectable, but the great -majority as men mostly in a small grubbing way of business.” In this -trade we have now the means of knowing to an unit, from the mortuary -registration, the amount of service required; and we have some means of -obtaining a proximate estimate of the number of persons engaged in its -performance. - -§ 50. The number of deaths per diem in the metropolis (inclusive of the -death of those who die in the workhouses, whose interment being provided -for by the parish and union officers, are not cases for every-day -competition) is on an average of three years 114. The number of persons -whose sole business is that of undertakers, whose names are enumerated -in the Post-office Directory for the year 1843 for the metropolis is -275. Besides these there are 258 “undertakers and carpenters,” 34 -“undertakers and upholsterers,” 56 “undertakers and cabinet-makers,” 51 -“undertakers and builders,” 25 “undertakers and appraisers,” 19 -“undertakers and auctioneers,” 7 “undertakers and house-agents,” 3 -“undertakers and fancy cabinet-makers,” 2 “undertakers and packing-case -makers;” making in all no less than 730 persons for the 114 deaths, or -between six and seven undertakers waiting for the chance of every -private funeral. But these are masters who, whether they act as agents -or principals, have shops and establishments, and the list does not -include the whole of them, as the Directory is not understood to include -all the masters residing in bye-streets and places. Some have two and -three funerals per diem, and some eight or ten; and it is apparent, even -under the existing imperfect arrangements, the undertaker’s service -might be better performed by forty or fifty than by the 275 principals, -who have no other occupation, and whose establishments and expenses, as -well as the cost of their own maintenance, must, if the business be -equally distributed, be charged on little more than two funerals a-week. -If the business be not equally distributed, and a minority have (as will -have been perceived) a much larger share of the funerals than the rest, -the majority will be the more severely driven, as they are in fact, to -charge their expenses on a much smaller number of funerals. When the -additional number of tradesmen of mixed occupations are brought as -waiters for the chances of employment, the number of burials distributed -amongst them all is reduced to 10 funerals to every master in 11 weeks, -or less than one a-week each. It is stated, that much larger numbers -than are named in the Directory retain the insignia of undertakers in -their shop-windows, for the sake of the profits of one or two funerals -a-year. They merely transmit the orders to the furnishing undertaker, -who supplies materials and men at a comparatively low rate; and it is -stated that the real service is rendered by about sixty tradesmen of -this class, who compete with each other in furnishing the supplies to a -multitude of inferior tradesmen, probably exceeding 1000, amongst whom -the excessive profits arising from extortionate charges are thus -irregularly distributed. The profits of these agents or second parties -are often, however, divided with others by the system (which pursues the -head of the family to the last) of corrupting servants for their “good -word” or influence by bribes or allowances, against which the only -effectual defence is care to secure purchases at prices so low as to -preclude them. Physicians of great eminence have expressed their horror -at the facts of which they have been informed, of large sums of money -having been promised and given to head servants to secure to the -particular tradesman the performance of the funeral. The undertakers who -were questioned on the subject admitted explicitly that such is “an -occasional but not an universal practice,” and that such sums as 10_l._, -20_l._, and even 50_l._, have been known to have been given for such -orders, according to the scale of expense and profit of the funeral. One -undertaker stated that whenever a medical man took the trouble to bring -him an order for a funeral, he always, as a matter of course, paid him a -fee; and he believed it was a common practice. It was, however, only the -inferior practitioners who brought these orders. Physicians usually -carefully abstain from giving any recommendations of tradesmen in such -cases. - -§ 51. Such being the state of the service as respects the multitude of -principals; the state of the service as respects the inferior dependents -is, that as at present conducted it is, as far as it goes, demoralizing. -The journeymen, who form the superfluous retinue of attendants for whom -so much expense is incurred, gain very little by their extravagant pay. -“They are,” says one master undertaker, “kept long waiting, and are -taken away to a distance from their homes, and are put to great expense -in drinking at public-houses, and acquiring very bad habits.” The -accounts given by undertakers themselves of the conduct of the men -composing the hired retinue of funerals, as at present conducted, are -corroborative of the following instance given by a gentleman who was a -witness of the scene described:— - - “If the relatives of one who has been honoured with what is called a - respectable funeral could witness the scenes which commonly ensue, - even at the very place where the last ceremony has been performed, - they would be scandalized at the mockery of solemnity which has - preceded the disgusting indecency exhibited at the instant when the - mourners are removed. An empty hearse, returning at a quick pace - from a funeral, with half a dozen red-faced fellows sitting with - their legs across the pegs which held the feathers, is a common - exhibition. But let the relatives see what has preceded the ride - home of the undertaker’s men. In the spring of 1842, two friends - walked into a village inn about twelve miles from London, for the - purpose of dining. One had recently sustained a severe domestic - calamity. The inn is generally distinguished for its neatness and - quiet. All now seemed confusion. The travellers were shown up-stairs - to a comfortable room. But the shouts, the laughing, the rapping the - tables, the ringing the bells, in an adjoining room were beyond - endurance; and when the landlady appeared with her bill of fare, she - apologized for what was so different from the ordinary habit of her - guests. “Is it a club feast?” “Oh, no, gentlemen; they are the - undertaker’s men—blackguards I should say. They have been burying - poor Lord——; he was much beloved here. Shame on them. But they will - soon go back to town, for they are nearly drunk.” The travellers - left the house till it was cleared of these harpies.” - -§ 52. Men of the class who are every day to be seen stopping in parties -at public houses on their return from the places of burial, are -intrusted without care or selection to perform what may be shown to be -important sanitary and civil ministrations of enshrouding and preparing -the body for burial. The impressions created by the bearing of these -coarse, unknown, unrespected, irresponsible hands, add to the revolting -popular associations with death. - -The extent of the public interests affected by so much of the practice -of interment, as the undertaker’s service embraces, will be better -appreciated in a subsequent stage of this report, and after the -consideration of the facts unfolded in the course of an examination of -the influence of the expenses of funerals specifically on the states of -mind, social habits and economy of the labouring classes in towns of -England. - - - _Specific Effects of the Expenses of Funerals, and Associations to - defray them amongst the Labouring Classes._ - -§ 53. The desire to secure respectful interment of themselves and their -relations is, perhaps, the strongest and most widely-diffused feeling -amongst the labouring classes of the population. Subscriptions may be -obtained from large classes of them for their burial when it can be -obtained neither for their own relief in sickness, nor for the education -of their children, nor for any other object. The amount of the -twenty-four millions of deposits in the savings’ banks of the United -Kingdom is 29_l._ each depositor. Judging from particular -investigations, it would appear that upwards of 5_l._ of each deposit -may be considered a sum devoted to defray the expenses of burial, and -about as much more to provide mourning and other expenses. From six to -eight millions of savings may be considered as devoted to these objects. - -§ 54. The following is an answer to some inquiries on the subject from -the secretary of the St. Martin’s Lane Provident Institution, an -institution in which the deposits amount to 1,168,850_l._, and the -depositors, amounting to upwards of 32,000, comprehend some of the most -frugal and respectable of the labouring classes:— - - As you wished me to mention any facts within my knowledge, arising - out of this institution and its concerns, bearing upon the question - of _sepulture_, I would first state, that the average _annual - number_ of deaths occurring amongst our depositors (now about 32,000 - in number) in the course of the last nine years, has been 231; - these, taking the last of such years for an example, are divisible - under the classes shown by the subjoined statement. By reference to - this statement it will be seen how large a class of our depositors - consists of individuals of the poorer or labouring population; and - amongst that class, in regard to the question of _sepulture_, from - the opportunity afforded me of inspecting the charges made for - funerals, I should say that the expenses incurred for the funeral - and interment alone are seldom so little as 4_l._, generally amount - to 5_l._ and upwards, and not unfrequently exceed 6_l._ - - It is, I may observe, no uncommon practice for parties to leave - deposits in their names, about the amount I have stated, for the - very purpose of providing for the expenses of their interment, so as - to ensure for themselves, under any change of circumstances, a - decent burial; this feeling has prevailed so strongly in instances - within my own knowledge, that, upon the happening of the death, the - party has been found to have died at last an inmate of a poor house, - and destitute of every kind of property, save only the little fund - appropriated for the purpose I have stated. This feeling is not - confined solely to the poorest class of our depositors: an instance - lately occurred in which a depositor to the amount of 32_l._, made a - special request that 20_l._ of this money might, in the event of her - death, be paid only to _her undertaker_ on production of his account - and of _her burial certificate_, and the balance to be paid to her - relatives. The depositor died in the following year, and her wishes - were accordingly carried into effect, with the concurrence of a - relative, to whom it appeared she had communicated the arrangement - she had thus made in regard to her money deposited with this - institution. - - ──────────────╥──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - Total Number ║ - of Deaths in ║Total Effects of such deceased Depositions, certified as - the Year ║ under the following Amounts, viz:— - ending 31st of║ - March, 1842. ║ - ──────────────╫─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬──────── - ║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Amount - ║ £50 │£100 │£200 │£300 │£400 │£450 │£600 │£800 │to £1000 - ║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ and - ║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │upwards. - ──────────────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────── - 232 ║ 133 │ 32 │ 23 │ 10 │ 1 │ 5 │ 6 │ 6 │ 16 - ──────────────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────── - -Occurrences such as those above alluded to are not unfrequent. Those -who, as paupers, have led a life of dissipation, and have saved nothing -for other objects, have yet reserved and concealed a small hoard to -provide interment in a mode agreeable to their feelings. Besides the -immense amount of money reserved for this purpose in the savings’ banks, -it forms the great object of the benefit clubs: in most large towns -there are burial clubs instituted for no other purpose. In the town of -Preston nearly 30,000 persons, men, women, and children, are associated -in six large societies for the purpose of burial; the chief of these -clubs comprehends 15,164 members, and has since its commencement -expended upwards of 1,000_l._ per annum, raised in weekly contributions, -from a halfpenny and a penny to three-halfpence and two-pence per week. -A benevolent officer, in giving an account of this club, expresses a -hope that it may be practicable, in connexion with it, to get up some -provision for the living, in the shape of medical attendance for the -sick, an object which appears to have been entirely lost sight of in -these societies. Besides the burial societies, of which the funds are -deposited in the savings’ banks, there are others in which the funds are -placed out in the hands of private persons, traders, who pay interest -upon them. - -§ 55. As an example of the allowances in the provincial clubs, it may be -mentioned, that on an examination of the rules of 90 friendly societies -at present existing in the borough and town of Walsall, comprising -upwards of 5000 members, it appeared that the allowances insured for -funerals were as follows:—that - - For the Funeral │ For the Funeral - of the Husband. │ of the Wife. - 22 societies pay £10│36 societies pay £3 - 12 8│16 5 - 8 7│14 4 - 3 16│9 8 - │3 6 - │3 7 - -The burial allowances in the others were not specified. - -§ 56. It must be premised, that it appears to be a serious error to -regard the arrangements of all of this class of clubs as the -arrangements of the poor people themselves; the arrangements are -evidence only of the intensity of their feelings on the subject of -interment, of their ignorance and their extensive need of information -and trustworthy guidance. - -There are, for example, in Westminster, Marylebone, Finsbury, the City, -and the Tower Hamlets, districts of the metropolis, about 200 of such -societies, composed chiefly of the labouring classes, comprising from -100 to 800 members each, possessing aggregate amounts of deposits of -from 90_l._ to 1000_l._ each; raised in contributions of from -three-halfpence to two-pence per week, and paying on the death of a -member from 5_l._ to 10_l._ Besides these, there are clubs of a higher -description, mostly amongst the smallest class of tradesmen, where the -sums insured extend to sums as high as 200_l._, payable at the member’s -death, and are understood to be chiefly devoted to the payment of the -funeral expenses. The burial clubs for the labouring classes are -generally got up by an undertaker and by the publican at whose house the -club is held. The state of feeling addressed in the formation of these -societies is denoted by the terms of the placards issued at the joint -expense of the publican or of the undertaker, or rather of some mechanic -or person of another trade, who gets the business done by an undertaker. -These placards are frequently headed “In the midst of life we are in -death;” and the addresses are in such terms as the following, which is -taken from “The United Brothers’ and Sisters’ Burial Society,” held at -the Old Duke William public house, Ratcliffe Highway:— - - “In contemplating the many vicissitudes and changes incident to all - persons of every station in life, and the many anxieties that crowd - about our advancing years, more particularly the labouring class, - through the uncertainty of employment, by long illness, or for want - of friends reduced to extreme distress, and after a long and - miserable life, and in expectation of that awful change which we - must one time or other undergo, without ever providing for a decent - interment, it will be some alleviation to our sufferings to remember - that we bring no pecuniary burthen on our commiserating friends and - relations, that at least we have divested our suffering families of - that anxiety respecting our mortal remains which would add another - pang to their already lacerated hearts: it too frequently occurs to - the sorrow of many a feeling heart, who mourns over the deplorable - loss of a beloved husband, wife, or friend; to obtain this desirable - object, this society offers to the public, on easy terms, advantages - worthy the consideration of persons in all stations of life.” - -The terms of insurance are— - - “That to defray the necessary expenses of printing books, bills, - &c., that members of the first class, if under the age of 55 years, - shall pay 1_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ per month to the box - and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary; and members of the second - class, under the age of 55 years, shall pay 6_d._ entrance, and - 6_d._ per month to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary; - and every person above the age of 55 years, and members of the first - class, to pay 2_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ 6_d._ per month - to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary; and every member - of the second class to pay 1_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ per - month to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary. No more - than 20 members will be admitted above the age of 60 years. They to - be free in 12 months; nor shall any article that may be hereafter - made exclude them.” - -The benefits insured are to be— - - “That at the death of a free member, immediate notice shall be given - to T. Scotcher, undertaker, who shall perform the funeral, and he - shall inform one of the committee, and the first meeting night after - the burial, his or her relation, next of kin, or nominee, on - producing satisfactory evidence, will be entitled (if a member of - the first class) to the sum of 10_l._; if a member of the second - class, and above seven years, to 5_l._; if under the age of seven - years, to 3_l._; but when the stock of this society amounts to - 150_l._ in the public funds, if a member in the first class admitted - ten years, 12_l._ will be allowed; and if a member admitted ten - years in the second class, 6_l._ will be allowed, deducting all - arrears on the books; and for the credit of the society, the - committee shall see the undertaker’s bill discharged.” - -The publican is secured by a provision that the box shall not be removed -to any other public house; and the office of “J. Scotcher, undertaker -and founder of the Society,” is made permanent. An arbitrary rule, in -such terms as the following, is so couched (the officers being judges) -as to suppress complaint. This rule is common to other societies:— - - That if any member charge the committee, or any member thereof, or - trustees, or secretary, with any improper practice in the management - of the society, and cannot make it appear just, he or she shall be - fined 5_s._, or be excluded. - -It is to be observed that the high and exclusive spirit of some of the -rules would seem to show how little the body of the members are -consulted in the preparation of them. Thus, in the “Ancient Friendly -Society,” it is provided that “if any man sits down to drink with the -stewards to pay sixpence, whether a member or not.” It is provided in -the rules of the “Loyal United Friends,” that “if any person sit down to -drink with the committee he is to pay sixpence;” and it is the same with -a large proportion of the others. - -In what is called an “improved burial society,” of the date of 1841, -called the East London Burial Society, held at the Swan public house, -Bethnal Green, the terms are:— - - That the members of this society shall pay their contributions - weekly or monthly, and shall pay 1_d._ per quarter extra, to defray - other expenses attending the society. Every member shall pay 1_d._ - per week for the first class, from two to fifty-five years; the - second class, from ten to fifty-five years, 2_d._ per week; the - third class, from ten to fifty-five years, shall pay 3_d._ per week. - -Richard Crafer appears to be the president, and William Duggan -secretary; then Richard Crafer afterwards appears as the undertaker. -With respect to him the following is inserted as a fundamental rule of -the society:— - - That Richard Crafer, being the founder of this Society, shall be the - undertaker, and no future articles shall remove him, so long as he - gives general satisfaction to the society, and in case of his death, - his eldest son shall claim the same for the benefit of the widow, - and at her decease the same shall devolve on the eldest son living. - - Mr. William Duggan is appointed secretary, and for his attendance - and services he shall be allowed the sum of 1_d._ per quarter, for - as many members as there are on the society’s books: he will assist - the society with his best advice, and register good and healthy - members, and post the books. He shall be allowed 3_d._ each for all - notices he may deliver on the society’s business, but not obliged to - go more than two miles from the club-house. - -This is preceded by the usual rule, that— - - Any member _coming_ to the society’s meeting-house in liquor, so as - to disturb the proceedings, shall be fined 1_s._, and ordered to - leave the room; and should any member charge the committee, - secretary, president, trustees, or landlord with any unjust - proceedings relative to the society, and cannot substantiate the - same, he or she shall pay a fine not exceeding 10_s._ to the stock, - or be excluded. - -In the society of “United Brewers and Draymen,” of which J. Guy is -secretary and undertaker, one of the fundamental rules is, that— - - At the funeral of a member, the secretary shall provide fittings for - porters and six pall bearers, for which he shall be allowed 1_l._, - whether they are used or not, provided such member dies and is - interred within three miles of any meeting-house. - -The particulars of the provision commonly held out, is stated in the -following rule of the General Burial Society:— - - That the landlord for the time being shall be treasurer, and when - there is sufficient cash, above what is necessary to supply the - exigencies of the society, the same shall be vested in the public - funds, in the names of the trustees appointed by the committee. The - landlord, as treasurer, &c., shall give proper security for the due - performance of his offices. - -An evil entailed beyond the excessive amount of subscriptions paid for -an object that is but poorly obtained, is the impulse given by it to the -vice of drinking; to the destruction of real friendly sympathy amongst -the working classes, by making the announcement of the death to be -received as the demoralizing announcement of a coming carousal. Such -expenses can only be incurred in the absence of proper feeling, in the -face of destitute orphan children. The secretary of one of the better -ordered burial clubs, a working man, thus speaks of the regulations -which tend to drinking. He was asked— - - What number of members have you?—Two hundred, who pay sixpence per - month. - - What is the publican’s advantage out of this?—The allowance is - sixpence spending-money from each committee-man. I do not like this, - and have wanted to change the place of meeting to a coffee-house, - for the members frequently add a shilling to the sixpence - spending-money, and are then not in a condition to begin business; - but I find it is part of the rules of this, as well as of the other - societies, that they shall be held at public houses. - - On the occasion of the funeral is there no drinking?—Yes, there is; - that is another great evil, and I wish there was a way of remedying - it. The family provide themselves with drink, and the friends coming - also drink. I have known this to be to such excess, that the - undertaker’s men, who always take whatever drink is given them, are - frequently unfit to perform their duty, and have reeled in carrying - the coffin. At these times it is very distressing. The men who stand - as mutes at the door, as they stand out in the cold, are supposed to - require most drink, and receive it most liberally. I have seen these - men reel about the road, and after the burial we have been obliged - to put these mutes and their staves into the interior of the hearse - and drive them home, as they were incapable of walking. After the - return from the funeral, the mourners commonly have drink again at - the house. This drinking at the funeral is a very great evil. - -Besides the regulations of meeting which lead to expenditure for -drinking, besides express regulations for allowances of drink, the -“funeral allowances” are sometimes read by the publican to mean -“expenditure” with him. The officers of a club in Liverpool having been -summoned before Mr. Rushton, the magistrate, for the non-payment of a -sum allowed by the rules, for funeral expenses, the steward of the club -attended, and in answer to the claim, stated that the complainant had -refused to take 4_s._ worth of whiskey at the house where the club -meetings were held, a quantity which had been used and allowed in that -and other clubs, as forming part of the “funeral expenses.” -Notwithstanding the usage, the magistrate refused to sanction the -steward’s reading of the term; and decided that the whole of the payment -of expenses must be in money and not in whiskey. - -It is difficult to ascertain the amount spent in drink, but it appears -from the amount cited of the expenditure in the 90 societies at Walsall, -that the required allowance was 2_d._ per month, in others 3_d._, and -the aggregate sum spent in those clubs (if it were only limited to the -rule), must have amounted to 981_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._; but besides these -prescribed portions of drink, there are prescribed annual feasts, at -from 2_s._ 3_d._ to 3_s._ 6_d._ per member, amounting to an annual sum -of 257_l._ 10_s._, making a total of 1239_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ per annum, -expended in such expenses. Besides these, there are decoration expenses, -in which one society alone expended between 70_l._ and 80_l._ Seventeen -of the societies had lost 1500_l._, and one of them 600_l._, through -various causes (such as the defalcations of secretaries), either -directly or indirectly, attributable to an inefficient system of -management. If the one year’s expenditure on drink, feast, and -decoration money, were placed out in the savings’ bank, at interest, -together with the amount of losses from mismanagement, the amount due to -the contributors, to this small group of societies, would, at the end of -10 years, have amounted to the sum of 5328_l._ 19_s._ 3_d._ - -§ 57. To prevent frauds, some of the rules provide that the secretary -shall see the body. For this service, in the society called the “Frugal -Society,” where 7_l._ is allowed for the interment, a fee of 2_s._ 6_d._ -is allowed to him, and 4_s._ if he have to go from two to five miles for -the purpose. It is to be observed, that this is the usual fee provided -by such societies for any inspection of the body. - -The publican is generally made the treasurer, and usually the money is -placed by him into the hands of his brewer, by whom from four to five -per cent. interest is paid for its use as capital. In other instances it -forms a capital for the publican himself; in some instances it is lent -to other tradesmen. Though failures of societies have occurred from the -failure of those to whom their funds have been lent, they do not appear -to have been so frequent as the failures from the erroneous bases in -respect to insurance on which they are generally founded. - -§ 58. Believing that if the sums insured for burial in most of the -burial clubs were received in money, the premiums paid by the members of -these clubs are excessive, as compared with the premiums paid in the -higher classes of insurance offices, I have submitted a number of their -regulations, which may be considered specimens of the common terms of -assurance, to Mr. Jenkin Jones, the actuary of the National Mercantile -Life Assurance Society. His conclusions, which are confirmed by Mr. -Griffith Davies, the actuary of the Guardian Office, show that for a -risk, for which, if the Northampton tables were taken as the basis of -the assurance, that in the large society at Preston, where an annual -premium of 3_s._ 9_d._ would be taken for one risk by an assurance -office, 7_s._ 10_d._ is taken from the contributors by the club. The -General Friendly Society, for a risk for which 3_s._ 9_d._ would suffice -on the Northampton table, receives 11_s._ 5_d._ Instead of an average -premium of 5_s._ 2_d._, the “Friendly Society” takes 11_s._ 1_d._ If we -add 25 per cent., to the premium that would be charged according to the -Northampton rate (which is supposed to represent a higher mortality than -the average) for expenses of management, including books, stationery, -&c., and to cover the loss of interest occasioned by weekly or monthly -contributions, instead of annual premiums payable at the beginning of -each year, in nearly all these clubs the poor man pays an excess for -burial of, at least, one-third,—besides the expense of liquor more than -he would otherwise drink, which he is induced to take at the time of his -multiplied attendances to pay his weekly subscriptions. There are -various causes (which it would require a long report to specify) for the -failure of these clubs, and for the loss of the savings devoted to their -objects. The chief manager, the undertaker, has commonly an immediate -interest in the admission of bad lives, which bring him quick funerals. -The younger members often begin to perceive that they are subjected to -unduly heavy charges, and when they are in the majority, they break up -the society and divide the stock among them equally, and the older -members who have contributed from the commencement are mercilessly -deprived of the consolation for which they have during a great part of -their lives made the most constant sacrifices. Independently of the -excessive rates charged by these societies, the principle upon which the -charges are made is a very unjust one, viz.—that of charging the same -rate to each member, without reference to age. - -§ 59. It will be seen from the following table that the “Friendly” -Society’s premium (11_s._ 1_d._) is rather more than double the average -of the Northampton (5_s._ 2_d._), and the premium by the Northampton -rates for ages 15 and 45 are 3_s._ 10_d._, and 7_s._ 9_d._; the premiums -of the “Friendly” Society, therefore, according to their own average, -ought not to be more for these ages than about twice these amounts, or -for age 15, 7_s._ 8_d._; age 45, 15_s._ 6_d._; but members between these -ages pay alike (11_s._ 1_d._), the younger member therefore pays 3_s._ -5_d._ _more_ than he ought, and the older member 4_s._ 5_d._ less than -he ought. - - ─────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── - │“Friendly” Society │ Average Premium │ Premium according - Age. │ Premium. │ according to the │to the Northampton - │ │ Northampton Rate. │ Rate. - ─────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── - │ _s._ _d._ │ _s._ _d._ │ _s._ _d._ - 7–45 │ 11 1 │ 5 2 │ - 15 │ │ │ 3 10 - 45 │ │ │ 7 9 - ─────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────── - -And by the Northampton rate (upon the principle adopted by the society), -the younger member would have to pay 1_s._ 4_d._ more and the elder -member 2_s._ 7_d._ less than he ought. As an exemplification of the -instability of such societies, Mr. Tidd Pratt mentioned to me that at a -recent election of a poor man to a vacancy in the Metropolitan Benefit -Societies’ Asylum, a condition of which is that the candidate must be -above sixty years of age, and have been a member of a benefit society -more than ten years, there were 32 candidates, from whose documents it -appeared that the societies of no less than 14 out of the 32 had been -dissolved, and that some of them had belonged to two societies, and that -both had failed them. Such societies are nevertheless constantly renewed -on the old and unsafe foundations; and so intense is the prevalent -feeling on the subject of respectful interment, that to secure it, a -large proportion of the working population pay the same extravagant -premiums to several of these clubs, in the hope that one, at least, may -at the last avail them. On the death of a mechanic, the first business -of an experienced undertaker is to ascertain of how many societies the -deceased was a member, and to arrange the funeral accordingly. I am -informed that it is not unfrequent that such sums as fifteen, twenty, -thirty, and even forty pounds’ expenses are incurred for a mechanic’s -funeral under these circumstances. When two or three of the undertakers -of different clubs meet on the same search, and when they cannot agree -to “settle” between them their shares in the performance of the -funerals, very complex questions arise, which, it is stated, the -magistrates have great difficulty in settling. - -§ 60. The exercise, on the parts of the lowest classes, of the feeling, -in itself so laudable and apparently susceptible of great moral good, -under proper guidance, has, in those districts where the burial -societies are conspicuous and numerous, led to dreadful incidental -consequences, displaying, amongst other things, the dangers of -disturbing natural responsibilities, and allowing interests to be placed -in operation against moral duties. - -§ 61. The insecurity of the burial societies has, under the anxiety of -feeling of the working classes, lest they might fail of their object -from the failure of the club, led to multiplied insurances for adults, -thence for families, and for children; and thence has arisen high gains -on the death of each child,—in other words, a bounty on neglect and -infanticide. Those who are aware of the moral condition of a large -proportion of the population, will expect that such an interest would, -sooner or later, have its operation on some depraved minds to be found -in every class. - -§ 62. Mr. Robert Hawksworth, the Visitor to the Manchester and Salford -District Provident Society, recently stated to me,—“Here, the mode of -conducting the funerals—the habits of drinking at the time of assemblage -at the house, before the corpse is removed, renewed on the return from -the funeral, when they drink to excess, the long retention of the body -in the one room, are all exceedingly demoralizing. The occasion of a -funeral is commonly looked to, amongst the lowest grade, as the occasion -of ‘a stir;’ the occasion of the drinking is viewed at the least with -complacency.” A minister in the neighbourhood of Manchester expressed -his sorrow on observing a great want of natural feeling, and great -apathy at the funerals. The sight of a free flow of tears was a -refreshment which he seldom received. He was, moreover, often shocked by -a common phrase amongst women of the lowest class—“Aye, aye, that child -will not live; it is in the burial club.” - -The actual _cost_ of the funeral of a child varies from 1_l._ to 30_s._ -The allowances from the clubs in that town on the occurrence of the -death of a child are usually 3_l._, and extend to 4_l._ and 5_l._ But -insurances for such payments on the deaths of children are made in four -or five of these burial societies; and an officer mentioned to me an -instance where one man had insured such payments in no less than -nineteen different burial-clubs in Manchester. Officers of these -societies, relieving officers, and others whose administrative duties -put them in communication with the lowest classes in those districts, -express their moral conviction of the operation of such bounties to -produce instances of the visible neglect of children, of which they are -witnesses. They often say—“You are not treating that child properly; it -will not live; is it in the club?” and the answer corresponds with the -impression produced by the sight. Mr. Gardiner, the clerk to the -Manchester Union, in the course of his exercise of the important -functions of registering the causes of death, deemed the cause assigned -by a labouring man for the death of a child unsatisfactory, and on -staying to inquire found that popular rumour assigned the death to -wilful starvation:— - - The child (according to a statement of the case) had been entered in - at least ten burial clubs; and its parents had six other children, - who only lived from nine to eighteen months respectively. They had - received 20_l._ from several burial clubs for one of these children, - and they expected to receive at least us much on account of this - child. An inquest was held at Mr. Gardiner’s insistence when several - persons, who had known the deceased, stated that she was a fine fat - child shortly after her birth, but that she soon became quite thin, - was badly clothed, and seemed as if she did not get a sufficiency of - food. She was mostly in the care of a girl six or seven years of - age: her father bore the character of a drunken man. He had another - child, which was in several burial clubs, and was a year old when it - died; the child’s mother stated that the child was more than ten - months old, but she could not recollect the day of her birth; she - thought its complaint was convulsions, in which it died. It had been - ill about seven weeks; when it took ill, she had given it some oil - of aniseeds and squills, which she had procured from Mr. Smith, a - druggist. Since then she had given it nothing in the way of - medicine, except some wine and water, which she gave it during the - last few days of its life, when it could not suck or take gruel. It - was in three burial clubs; her husband told her that they had - received upwards of 20_l._ from burial clubs in which the other - child had been entered; none of her children who had died were more - than eighteen months old. - - A surgeon stated, that he made a _post-mortem_ examination of the - body of deceased; it was then in an advanced state of decomposition, - but not so far gone as to interfere with the examination. There was - no appearance of external violence on the body, but there was an - extreme degree of emaciation. The brain was healthy, and gave no - indication of convulsions having been the cause of death; the - process of teething had not commenced; had such been the case, it - might have led to the supposition that fits might have occurred; the - lungs, heart, stomach, and intestines were in a natural and healthy - state. - - The jury having expressed it as their opinion that the evidence of - the parents was made up for the occasion, and entitled to no credit, - returned the following verdict:—“Died through want of nourishment; - but whether occasioned by a deficiency of food, or by disease of the - liver and spine, brought on by improper food and drink, or - otherwise, does not appear.” - -No further steps were taken upon this verdict; and the man enforced -payments upon his insurances from ten burial clubs, and obtained from -them a total sum of 34_l._ 3_s._ for the burial of this one child. Two -similar cases came under the notice of Mr. Coppock, the Clerk and -Superintendent-Registrar of the Stockport Union, in both of which he -prosecuted the parties for murder. In one case, where three children had -been poisoned with arsenic, the father was tried, with the mother, and -convicted at Chester, and sentenced to be transported for life, but the -mother was acquitted. In the other case, where the judge summed up for a -conviction, the accused, the father, was, to the astonishment of every -one, acquitted. In this case the body was exhumed after interment, and -arsenic was detected in the stomach. In consequence of the suspicion -raised upon the death, on which the accusation was made in the first -case, the bodies of two other children were taken up and examined, when -arsenic was found in the stomach. In all these cases payments on the -deaths of the children were insured from the burial clubs: the cost of -the coffin and burial dues would not be more than about 1_l._, and the -allowance from the club is 3_l._ - -§ 63. It is remarked, on these dreadful cases, by the Superintendent -Registrar, that the children who were boys, and therefore likely to be -useful to the parents, were not poisoned; the female children were the -victims. It was the clear opinion of the medical officers that -infanticides have been committed in Stockport to obtain the burial -money.[12] Cases of the culpable neglect of children who were insured in -several clubs had been observed at Preston. The collector of a burial -society, one of the most respectable in Manchester, stated to me strong -grounds for believing that it had become a practice to neglect children -for the sake of the money allowed. The practice of insuring in a number -of these clubs was increasing. He gave the following description of the -frauds to which the clubs were exposed:— - - A great number of individuals have themselves and family in two or - more societies, and by that means realize a great sum of money at - the death of any one of them; and I have no doubt at all in saying - that a great many deaths are occasioned through neglect, when there - is a great sum to be obtained at their decease. Such cases as these - generally happen amongst the lower orders of society. - - In reference to cases of undoubted imposition, I will just name a - few out of a great many. A person residing in Manchester wished to - enter herself and grandchild into our society. We went to the house, - and there were from ten to twelve individuals present, the greater - part of them children,—two of them somewhere about three months old. - I asked who it was that was going to enter? The mistress of the - house spoke up, and said it was herself and her grandchild. I asked - which was her grandchild? She took a very fine child in her arms and - said that was it, and asked me would it do?—to which I answered, - yes. The other was a very thin ghastly-looking child. I asked what - was the matter with it? She said they could not tell; it had been so - from the time it was born. I assure you, sir, it was an awful sight - to look at. A thought struck me when I came out, that if that child - died they might say it was the child I entered, so I determined to - keep my eye on it every time I called, which was once a fortnight. - In four months afterwards this thin child died, and according to my - anticipations they brought a notice of death for the child I had not - entered. I went down to visit, and on looking at it, and examining - it, I pronounced it not the child I had entered. She said it was, - and a great contest arose for about an hour, during which time I - asked her were there not two children about the same age when first - I came into her house? which she denied at first, but afterwards - admitted it. I then asked her was not one of them a very fine and - the other a very thin child? to which she answered, yes. I then - asked her whether it was the finest or the thin one I entered? She - answered, the finest one. I then asked her was that the fine one? - She said, yes. I then asked her where was the thin child? She - pointed to one that was sleeping in a bed, and said that was it. I - looked at it, and said this was the child I entered. I then asked - her how it was that this child which was sleeping had become so fat - and the other so thin? to which she said she could not tell. Now I - said to her, it is clear enough how you have done this; you showed - me that living child, and gave me the name of the one that is dead, - which she denied having done; and so we were compelled to give her - the money because we had no means of finding it out but by some one - in the house telling of her. But since, a little light has been - thrown on it by her husband uttering a saying when he was drunk one - day when I was there. This was the saying:—“A bright set of boys you - are, burying the living for the dead!”—meaning that we gave burial - money for a living child; but he was immediately stopped by his - wife. - - Another case, a woman in Salford, entered herself and two sons, and - one of them was far gone in consumption; this we discovered and on - asking, why she did it, she said she thought she could get a few - pounds to bury him. Another, a man entered his wife, and she lay - dying at the same time. When we asked him where his wife was, he - pointed to a woman that was sitting by the fireside, and said that - was her; but his wife died before she became a member. Another - person, in order to obtain the funeral money, kept his child three - weeks, until it was in a state of decomposition. The last case, out - of many more that might be named, is rather ludicrous. - - A man and his wife, residing in Cotton-street, agreed that one of - them, namely, the husband, should pretend to be dead, in order that - the wife might receive his funeral money; accordingly the wife - proceeds in due form to give notice of his death; the visiting - officer on behalf of the society, whose duty it was to see the - corpse, repairs to the house, enters the chamber, and inquires for - the deceased; the should-be disconsolate widow points him to the - body of her late husband, whose chin was tied up with a handkerchief - in the attitude of death; he surveys the corpse—the eyelids seem to - move; he feels the pulse, the certain signs of life are there: the - officer pronounceth him not dead; she in return says, _he is dead_, - for there has not been a _breath_ in _him_ since 12 o’clock last - night. The neighbours are called in; a discussion ensues between the - wife and the officer: some declare they saw the husband at the door - that morning giving a light. He (the officer) requires her to bring - a doctor; she goes, and says she can’t get one to come; the officer - goes and brings one, who ordered him to be raised up in the bed, and - having obtained some water, the doctor, while the man was sitting - up, dashed it in his face. - -The man was apprehended and taken before the magistrates for the fraud. -Sir Charles Shaw, the Commissioner of Police, directed that he should be -produced in court in the same dress in which he had been laid out and -was apprehended, which produced a very salutary effect. - -§ 64. The evidence in respect to the crimes committed under such -circumstances may be carried into wider ramifications. Some of the -better constituted societies have perceived the evil of insurances, -carried to the extent of entirely removing responsibilities, or creating -bounties, to the promotion of the event insured against, and have -endeavoured to abate the evil, as far as they could, by the adoption of -a condition, that no payment should be made where a party was found to -have been a member or to have insured in another club. - -§ 65. The collector of the society, whose exemplification of one class -of frauds is above cited, stated, that they were about to adopt the -common rule of the insurance societies, that all claims should be -forfeited for an act of suicide; for they had even instances which -showed that men held their own lives on so loose a tenure as to throw -them away on apparently slight motives. In one instance a man went to -the secretary, and asked whether, if he were to commit suicide, his -widow would be entitled to the burial money? The secretary stated that, -there being no rule against it, he thought, the survivor would be -entitled. The man, having fully satisfied himself on this point, went -away and took poison. The amount of burial money gained was supposed to -be 50_l._ In another case, the letter announcing to the widow the -benefit he had secured, grew indistinct from the working of the poison -and the sinking of life whilst the man was writing it, until it was -nearly illegible. But the occurrence of such facts, showing a -recklessness of life, with a degree of strength of domestic affections -which induces them to encounter violent deaths for the sake of the -survivors, is not confined to one class of society. Soon after the -practice of insuring from insurance companies, the payment of large sums -on the deaths of parties began to extend as a mode of providing for -families, instances occurred where tradesmen and persons of the higher -and middle classes, having effected insurances on their own lives, -committed suicide with the view apparently of securing to their families -the benefit of the sums insured. It is understood that the experience of -such cases, and the obvious inducement which persons having in view to -commit suicide to effect insurances on their lives, and thus defraud the -offices, led to the precaution, now almost universal, of inserting the -condition, which, however, is confined to insurance by persons on their -own lives; that “if the assured shall die by his own act, whether sane -or insane,” the policy shall be void. Yet frauds are occasionally -committed by persons who must know that they have not long to live. - -§ 66. Multiplied payments on one death are contrary to the spirit, at -the least, of the law. A payment of a sum certain to parish officers, to -be relieved from any future payments in respect to an illegitimate -child, has been declared to be illegal. “One of the principles on which -that decision is founded is, that the payment of a large sum for the -support of a child gives the parish a degree of interest in the child’s -death, and might have a tendency to induce the officers to relax in -their duty towards it.”[13] - -§ 67. In the higher order of life insurances, the legislature has -endeavoured to arrest the dangerous tendency of insuring beyond the -interest, by providing, by statute 14 Geo. III., c. 48, that persons -insuring the lives of others shall have an interest in such lives; and -it is a principle of insurance law that where a risk paid for has not -been run, the premiums shall be returned; and it would seem to be a -principle of common law that insurances beyond the actual interest are -void. In the case of Fauntleroy, the banker, who insured his life in the -Amicable Office for 6000_l._, the claim was resisted on the fact that he -had been attainted, convicted, and executed for forgeries committed -since the insurance, and the House of Lords held the insurance to be -void on the plainest principles of public policy. The Lord Chancellor, -in delivering the judgment of the house, said—“Is it possible that such -a contract could be sustained? Is it not void upon the plainest -principles of public policy? Would not such a contract (if available) -take away one of those restraints operating on the minds of men against -the commission of crimes,—namely, the interest we have in the welfare -and prosperity of our connexions? Now, if a policy of that description, -with such a form of condition inserted in it in express terms, cannot, -on grounds of public policy, be sustained, how is it to be contended -that in a policy expressed in such terms as the present, and after the -events which have happened, that we can sustain such a claim?”[14] - -§ 68. The Benefit clubs in large towns cannot easily take effectual -measures against the multiplication of insurances, which indeed their -own instability to some extent justifies, and they may find their -account, in paying sums beyond the legal authority, as the higher -insurance offices avowedly do, in paying on policies to parties who have -had no legal interest in the life insured. An officer of one of these -large insurance establishments declared, that if they had acted upon the -decision of the courts in the case of Godson _v._ Boldero, “they might -as well have shut their doors.” - -§ 69. Although the practice referred to, of multiplied insurances of -sums payable on the death of children, appears happily to have broken -out into infanticides only in the districts mentioned, yet as the means -and the temptation are left equally open in all, the necessity of -preventing them, as far as a direct legislative act may, is submitted, -by a short provision prohibiting payments beyond the actual cost of -interment, and directing the return of the premiums or subscriptions -where they have been given to more than one club. - -§ 70. The means for the most direct protection of infantile life, and -for giving additional security for life in general, will be subsequently -submitted for consideration, with the evidence as to the means and the -necessity of the appointment of medical officers for the protection of -the public health. - -§ 71. A collateral means of security, and of the abatement of other -evils incidental to the practice of interments, will be found in the -practicable administrative measures for reducing the unnecessary expense -of interments, and, by consequence, of the temptations to crime -constituted by the apparent expediency of the insurance of the payment -of large sums to meet that expense. - -It will, moreover, on further examination, become apparent, in this as -in some other branches of public expenditure, that a course which -attains increased efficiency with the popular desiderata in respect to -interments is a course of economy. - - - _Total Expenses of Funerals to different Classes of Society._ - -§ 72. In the following table is given a proximate estimate of the total -expenses of funerals of the persons of each class in the metropolis:— - - ────────────┬────────┬────────┬──────────────────┬─────────┬─────────── - │ │ │ │ │ Annual - │ │ │ │ │Expenses of - │ Total │ │ │ │Funerals in - │ Number │ │ │ │England and - │ of │ │ │ Total │ Wales: - │Funerals│ │ │Expenses │estimating - │of each │ │ │ of the │ the - │ Class │ Number │ │Funerals │proportions - │ that │ of │ Expenses of Each │ of all │ of Deaths - Class. │ have │Children│ Funeral of Each │ the │ of each - │ taken │under 10│ Class, Inclusive │ Persons │Class to be - │place in│Years of│ of Burial Dues. │ of each │the same as - │ the │ Age. │ │ Class, │ in the - │Metrop- │ │ │inclusive│Metropolis, - │olis in │ │ │ of │ and the - │the Year│ │ │Children.│ Average - │ 1839. │ │ │ │Expenses of - │ │ │ │ │each Class - │ │ │ │ │ to be the - │ │ │ │ │ same. - ────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┬─────────┼─────────┼─────────── - │ │ │Adults. │Children.│ │ - ────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────── - │ │ │£. _s._│ £. _s._│ £. │ £. - Gentry, &c. │ 2,253│ 529│100 0│ 30 0│ 188,270│ 1,735,040 - Tradesmen, │ 5,757│ 2,761│ 50 0│ 14 0│ 250,792│ 2,370,379 - 1st cls. │ │ │ │ │ │ - Tradesmen, │ │ │ │ │ │ - 2nd cls. │ 7,682│ 3,703│ 27 10│ 7 15│ 103,728│ - and unde- │ │ │ │ │ │ - scribed │ │ │ │ │ │ - Artisans, │ 25,930│ 13,885│ 5 0│ 1 10│ 81,053│ 766,074 - &c. │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - Paupers │ 3,655│ 593│ 13_s._ │ 2,761│ - │ │ │ ———————│ - │ │ Total expense for the │ 626,604│ - │ │ Metropolis │ │ - │ │ │ ————————— - │ │Proximate Estimate of the Expense for│ - │ │ the Total Number of Funerals in one│ 4,871,493 - │ │ Year, England and Wales │ - ────────────┴────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┴─────────── - -The above, which can only be submitted as a proximate estimate, -certainly shows an amount of money annually thrown into the grave, at -the expense of the living, which exceeded all previous anticipations; -and yet, from the information derived from the inspection of collections -of undertakers’ bills for funerals, I cannot but consider it an under -rather than an over estimate, and that the actual expenses of interment -in the metropolis would be found, on a closer inquiry, to be nearly a -million per annum. Hypothetical estimates of the amount of money which -must be expended to maintain so large a body of men as that engaged in -the business and service of the undertaker are confirmatory of this -view. Even in Scotland the expense of the decent burial of a labouring -man is not less than 5_l._, exclusive of the expense of mourning. I have -been shown the payments on account of burials of an affiliated -association of a convivial and benevolent character called the “Odd -Fellows,” which has upwards of 150,000 affiliated members, chiefly of -the better class of artisans, in different parts of the country. With -them, the payments usually amount to 10_l._ per funeral. The expenses of -burial of some of the smaller descriptions of shopkeepers may not much -exceed the expense of the undescribed class, which is taken us an -average between the sum set down for labourers and that for tradesmen; -but the latter is certainly a low average for the metropolis. All the -information tends to show that the expenses of the funerals of persons -in the condition of gentry are, on the average (inclusive of burial -dues), much higher than the sum stated. From inquiries I have made as to -the practice in the offices of the Masters in Chancery, where executors’ -accounts are examined, I learn that if an undertaker’s bill is 60_l._ or -70_l._ (exclusive of burial dues), for a person whose rank in life was -that of the clergy, officers of the army or navy, or members of the -legal or medical professions, “it would, according to all usage, be -allowed as of course, and notwithstanding it should turn out that the -estate was insolvent.”[15] The cost of the funerals of persons of rank -and title, it will have been seen, varies from 1500_l._ to 1000_l._, or -800_l._, or less, as it is a town or country funeral. The expenses of -the funerals of gentry of the better condition, it will have been seen, -vary from 200_l._ to 400_l._, and are stated to be seldom so low as -150_l._ § 45. - -§ 73. The average cost of funerals of persons of every rank above -paupers in the metropolis may, therefore, be taken as 14_l._ 19_s._ -9_d._ per head. In some of the rural districts, and in the smaller -provincial towns, where the distinct business of an undertaker has not -arisen, coffins are made by carpenters, and services are supplied at a -very moderate cost; but the allowances from the benefit and burial clubs -throughout the country, of which instances have been given, may be -stated as instances of the general expense to the labouring classes. To -persons of the middle or higher classes, who give orders to undertakers -in the metropolis, for funerals to be performed in the country, the -expense is further enhanced by the extra expense of carriage; so that -there is ground for believing that the same average prevails throughout -Great Britain, and that the total annual expense of funerals cannot be -much less than between four and five millions per annum. - -§ 74. Out of 5_l._ expended for the common funeral of an adult artisan -in the metropolis, about 15_s._ will be the burial dues. Of this 15_s._ -about 3_s._ may be stated as the amount the clergyman will receive. The -surplice fees vary in different places from 2_s._ for the lowest class, -rising with the condition to 5_l._ 5_s._, or more; but taking the -average of all cases which occur in the metropolis, and on the -experience of the ministers of several parishes, the burial fees, which -form their chief emolument, that which was anciently denominated “Soul -Scot,” might perhaps be fairly taken as at 7_s._ 2_d._ per case, which -is the average of the burial fees in some of the principal parishes in -London.[16] - -_Different proportions of the Expenses of Burials to the Community in -healthy and unhealthy Districts._ - -§ 75. It is a prevalent popular error, not unsanctioned by doctrines -held by several eminent public writers, that “as one disease disappears -so another springs up,” that the positive “amount of mortality, the -common lot,” is the same to all classes. But death, besides differing in -the period to different individuals, differs widely in the numbers of -burials, and in the consequent expenses to different families, classes, -and districts. It is the _number_ as well as the separate expense of -each of the funerals which occur during the year to each _class_ of -persons, or to different districts, which determines the total expense -of burial to the class or district. Thus, to the poorer classes, living -in wretched habitations, as those comprised in Bethnal Green and -Whitechapel, there is one burial to every 31 of the inhabitants, whilst -in the contiguous district of Hackney there is only one burial to every -56 of the inhabitants yearly. In Liverpool there is one burial per annum -to every 30 of the inhabitants, whilst in the county of Hereford there -is one burial only to every 55 of the inhabitants. If the existing -charge of burial, at the above rates of expense to each class of -individuals, were commuted for an annual payment, commencing at birth, -as a premium for the payment of 100_l._, 50_l._, and 5_l._, payable at -the undermentioned periods respectively, it would in the metropolis and -the county of Hereford be nearly as follows:— - - ───────────────────────┬───────────────────────┬─────────────────────── - CLASS. │ METROPOLIS. │ HEREFORDSHIRE. - ───────────────────────┼──────────┬────────────┼──────────┬──────────── - │ │ Annual │ │ Annual - │ Average │Payment for │ Average │Payment for - │ Age at │ Burial to │ Age at │ Burial to - │ Death. │ every │ Death. │ every - │ │Individual. │ │Individual. - ───────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼──────────┼──────────── - │ Years. │£. _s._ _d._│ Years. │£. _s._ _d._ - Gentry │ 44 │1 1 10 │ 45 │1 1 0 - Tradesmen or Farmers │ 25 │1 6 8 │ 47 │0 9 9 - Labourers │ 22 │0 3 2 │ 39 │0 2 9 - │ —— │ │ —— │ - Average of all Classes │ 27 │ │ 39 │ - ───────────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴──────────┴──────────── - -Supposing each member of the family to have been assured at birth, a -labourer’s family in Herefordshire consisting of five persons would have -to pay yearly 13_s._ 9_d._, and there a farmer’s family of the same -number would have to pay 2_l._ 8_s._ 9_d._ yearly; whilst in London for -an artisan’s family of five, the yearly payment would be 15_s._ 10_d._ -and for a tradesman’s family it would be 6_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ per annum. -To insure the payment of the average cost of funerals, 14_l._ 7_s._ -5_d._ at the end of 27 years, on the metropolitan chances of life, the -annual payment would be 7_s._, whilst on the Herefordshire chances of -life of 39 years to all born high or low the sum would be only 4_s._ Or -to take another form of displaying the comparative burthen; the general -average cost of each burial being 14_l._ 7_s._ 5_d._, and the annual -_proportions_ of deaths being different from the average duration of -life—being 1 of every 40 in the metropolis, a poll-tax to defray the -burial expenses must there be 7_s._ 2¼_d._; whilst in Hereford the -proportions of deaths being one in every 55, the poll-tax on all of the -inhabitants to meet the charge would be 5_s._ 3_d._ per head. - -§ 76. It appears, therefore, that in considering the means of relief -from the evils connected with the number and expenses of burial, it -should at the same time be borne in mind that the primary means of -abatement and relief of the misery of frequent funerals will be found in -the means of the removal of the developed and removable causes of -premature mortality. Had the annual mortality amongst the population in -the high, open, and naturally-drained district of Hackney been the same -proportionate amount of mortality as that in the contiguous, but low, -ill-drained, ill-cleansed, and ill-ventilated district of Bethnal Green -and Whitechapel, instead of 759 deaths per annum, Hackney would have -upwards of 1138 deaths, and an expense of 5448_l._ more for funerals -during the year than it has. So the county of Hereford, if it were -afflicted with the same amount of mortality as that which prevails in -Liverpool, would have 1488 more deaths annually and an additional -expenditure of 21,390_l._ per annum in burials. How directly, certainly, -and powerfully, defective sanitary measures in respect of drainage and -cleansing, bear upon health and life, and, by consequence, on the -frequency of burials, will be seen in the latter portions of the -examination of Mr. Blencarne, surgeon, one of the medical officers of -the City of London Union, and of Mr. Abraham, surgeon, one of the -Registrars of Deaths in the same Union; which I select as an instance, -because the City stands high in wealth, in endowed charities, and in -supposed immunity from the removable or preventible causes of -disease.[17] - -§ 77. Two individual cases which were narrated by the physician who -attended them, will serve to convey a conception of a large proportion -of the common cases denoted by the units of the statistical evidence -derived from towns, and will illustrate more clearly the economy of the -prevention of sickness and death, as a superior economy of the incidents -of sickness as well as of funerals. - -One case was that of an intelligent industrious man who had been foreman -to a tradesman, and having married and established himself as a master -tradesman, had a family of children. To diminish the expense of his -family he took a house which he let off to lodgers, retaining to himself -only the garrets and the underground or kitchen floor. He had five -children who became unhealthy and were attacked with cachectic diseases -and scald head; and the expense of an apothecary to the family during -one year was 59_l._: but still more serious disease afterwards -appearing, a physician was called in, who perceiving the impure air of -the apartments, pointed out the causes of the varied illness which had -prevailed, and the remedy—removal from the house. - -In another case the foreman of a brewery married a healthy wife, who -gave birth to seven children, of whom six died at various ages, while -young, from diseases evidently springing from impure air. The source of -this impure air was an ill-constructed cesspool in the lower part of the -house, the stench of which was pointed out by the physician, who -happened to have a perception of such causes, and advised the immediate -removal of the family. Since that time they have had two other children, -who with the third which escaped, are now living in their better lodging -in the enjoyment of good health; the last of the children who died, when -“ailing,” was sent to the purer atmosphere of a rural district, and -returned in robust health, but soon after his exposure to the impure -atmosphere was attacked with fever, of which he died within a fortnight. - -It was in the power of neither of these persons to obtain an amendment -of the general system of drainage, which occasioned the atmospheric -impurity under which they suffered; but the actual expenses of -structural measures of prevention would not, as an entire outlay, have -amounted to half the apothecary’s bill for drugs in the first case, or -of the expenses of the funerals (superadded to the expenses of drugs) in -the second case; but if the expenses of those structural arrangements -were defrayed by an annual payment of instalments of principal and -interest, spread over a period of 30 years, or a period coincident with -the benefit, the expense of the extended or combined measure of -prevention would not be more than 1_l._ 5_s._ 10_d._ per tenement, or -perhaps a small proportion of that sum, to the individual family.[18] - -§ 78. But to return to collective examples. Mr. Blencarne, on a view of -the sanitary condition of the population, and the causes of mortality -within his district, expresses a confident opinion that in that district -the average amount of mortality might be reduced one-third by efficient -sanitary measures. The saving by a reduction of 71 funerals yearly, or -one-third of the burials in that district, at the average expense of -funerals for the metropolis, would amount to nearly 1020_l._ per annum. -If, as appears to be practicable, there were a reduction of one-half of -the expenses of the other two-thirds of the average number of funerals, -the total saving from this source would be 2040_l._ per annum to the -population inhabiting, according to the last census, 1416 houses. Now -the annual share of the expense of the chief structural sanitary -arrangements, supposing every house in the district to be deficient, -would, on the proximate estimate, amount to a sum of 1829_l._, or less -than the amount saved by the reduction of the funeral expenditure, -giving the health and longevity, and all the moral and social savings, -_plus_ the mere pecuniary saving; these remoter savings being in -themselves unquestionably far greater than can be represented by the -pecuniary items directly economised. - -§ 79. Whosoever will carefully examine what has been done in scattered -and fortuitous instances amongst persons of the same class, following -the same occupation, living in the same neighbourhoods, and deriving the -same amount of incomes, and will from such examinations judge of the -inferences as to what may be done by the more systematised application -of the like means, will not deem the representation extravagant, that -the same duration of life may be given to the labouring classes that is -enjoyed by professional persons of the first class; or that it is -possible to attain for the whole of a town population such average -durations of life as are attained by portions of existing towns; or say, -such an average as is attained by the population of the old town of -Geneva, that is to say of 45 years, or six years higher than appears to -be attained by the whole population of the county of Hereford, which, as -we have seen, is 39 years. - -§ 80. To take another example. If the proportion of deaths to the -population in the Whitechapel Union were reduced to the proportion of -deaths to the population in Herefordshire, then, instead of 2307 -burials, there would only be 1305 burials per annum; and if the cost of -the remaining burials were reduced 50 per cent. of the average present -cost, then the saving of funeral expenses to the Whitechapel district -would be at the rate of more than 23,000_l._, or nearly 3_l._ per house -on the inhabited houses of the district; about half that sum being -deemed sufficient to defray the expense of the proposed structural -improvements. The funeral expenses in the parish of Hackney on the -proportion of burials amongst them, are at the rate of 5_s._ 2_d._ per -head on the living population. Were the burials in Liverpool reduced to -the same proportion, 1 in 56 instead of 1 in 30,[19] at the rate of -expenses for funerals in London, nearly 50,000_l._ per annum would be -saved to the population of Liverpool, being more than sufficient to -enable them to pay 30 years’ annual instalments, the principal and -interest, at five per cent., of a sum of 845,065_l._ sterling for -structural arrangements. - -§ 81. Strong barriers to the improvement of the sanitary condition of -the population are created by the common rule and practice of levying -the whole expense of permanent works, immediately or within short -periods, on persons who conceive they have no immediate interest in -them, or whose interest is really transient, and who under such -circumstances will see no _per contra_ of benefit to themselves to -compensate for the expenditure. It may be of use to exemplify the -_contra_ of advantage to the inhabitants at least, to make it a good -economy to them to pay the proportions of rates required for the -additional expenditure in efficient means of preventing sickness and -mortality. - -The following may be given as an instance of the superior economy of -prevention, by the appliance of vaccination, afforded by the experience -obtained under the partial operation of the Vaccination Act in the -metropolis as compared with the experience in Glasgow, to which the same -arrangements do not extend. In the metropolis, in the year 1837, the -deaths from small-pox were 1520. The deaths from small-pox in the -metropolis, and in Glasgow for the years after the Vaccination Act came -into operation are thus compared in a report by Dr. R. D. Thompson. - - - DEATHS FROM SMALL-POX. - - Glasgow. London. - - Population 282,134 Population 1,875,493 - - ——— ————— - - 1838 388 3,090 Epidemic. - - 1839 406 634 [20] - - 1840 413 1,233 - - 1841 347 1,053 - - 1842 334 350 - - ———— ————— - - Mean 377, or about one inhabitant daily dies of - small-pox in Glasgow. - -A confident opinion is expressed that the decrease of small-pox in the -metropolis is ascribable to the extension of vaccination. The rate of -reduced mortality from that disease has continued during the present -year; and the average of the present rate, as compared with the average -preceding the extension of vaccination, would give a reduction of 946 -deaths and funerals from 1652 annually. But as not one attack in ten of -small-pox usually proves fatal, the reduction of the number of deaths -may be taken as representing a reduction of some 9,460 cases of -sickness. The amount paid from the poor-rates for vaccination in the -metropolis was 1701_l._, which at the average fee gives 22,680 of the -worst conditioned and most susceptible cases out of about 56,000, in -which vaccination was successfully performed. The attention directed to -the subject has also promoted the extension of vaccination, by others -than the appointed vaccinators. The various expenses of each case of -sickness to the sufferers, inclusive of medicines, may perhaps, on a low -estimate, be represented at 1_l._ each case; and taking half the average -expenses of funerals for the 946 funerals saved, the total expense of -funerals and of sickness saved by the expenditure of the sum stated of -1701_l._ in well-directed measures of prevention, would exceed -16,000_l._ in the metropolis alone. Throughout the whole country, the -deaths from small-pox in 1840 were 10,434, as compared with 16,268 in -1838, on which, if the reduction may be ascribed to the extension of -vaccination solely, pounds of immediate expenses must have been saved by -the expenditure of half crowns,—in other words, upwards of 90,000_l._ in -money has been saved by the expenditure of about 12,000_l._ in -vaccination. - -The excess of deaths in the metropolis above the healthy standard of -Islington or Herefordshire, of 1 in 55, is 11,266 (vide returns, -Appendix); the expense of burial of this excessive number, at the -average cost, is 168,990_l._ per annum, which (without taking into -account the expenses of the corresponding excess of sickness) as an -instalment, would in 30 years liquidate the principal and interest, at 5 -per cent., of a loan of 2,856,168_l._ towards house drainings and the -structural improvements and arrangements, by which the excess might be -prevented. To the charge of the excessive deaths must be added the -charge of the births which take place to make up the ravages of the -mortality in the most depressed districts. Taking the proportion of the -births to the population in the Hackney Union, 1 in 42, as the standard -of proportion of births in a healthy district, the excess of births for -the whole metropolis during that year was upwards of 8000: or 52,609 -instead of 44,541.[21] - -§ 82. The grounds will hereafter be submitted which appear to sustain -the position that all the solemnity of sepulture may be increased, and -solemnity given where none is now obtained, concurrently with a great -reduction of expense to all classes.—Vide post, § 113 to § 120. - -In considering the expenses of funerals, the arrangements and consequent -expenses of the funerals of the wealthy are of importance, less perhaps -for themselves than as governing by example the arrangements and -expenses of the poorest classes, even to the adoption of such -arrangements, and consequently expensive outlay as to have hired bearers -and mutes with silk fittings even at the funerals of common labourers. -The expenditure by the wealthy, in compliance with supposed demands at -which their own taste revolts, for a transient effect which is not -gained,[22] would suffice to produce permanent effects of beneficence -and taste worthy of their position in society. A gentleman who recently, -in distaste of the ordinary undertaker’s arrangements, reduced them on -the occasion of the burial of his daughter, applied the money in -erecting to her memory, and partly endowing, a small school for 25 -children of a village, in which, as the tablet on the school recorded, -the deceased had, when alive, taken a kindly interest. Where no such -objects are offered for the surplus expenditure, that which would be -unsuccessfully thrown away for the transient effect would suffice for a -statue or some work of art that would ensure permanent admiration. The -aggregate waste on funerals in the metropolis would, in the course of a -short time, suffice for the endowment of educational or other -institutions, that would go far to retrieve the condition of the poorer -classes. The waste of two years in the metropolis would suffice for the -erection of a magnificent cathedral, and of a third year for its -endowment for ever. - -§ 83. In justification of the funeral exactions from the labouring -classes, it is sometimes alleged that if they did not expend the money -in the funereal decorations, they would expend it in drink. But this -would only occur in a minority of cases, and in those only for a time. -The reduction would be an immediate and most important relief in an -immense number of cases of widowhood, and especially in those cases -where there has been no insurance, where the widow incurs debts which -often reduce her to destitution and dependence on the poor’s rates, or -on charity. It forms a large part of the business of some of the -small-debt courts in the metropolis to enforce payments of the -undertakers’ bills, incurred under such circumstances. For all classes, -what is deemed by them respectful interment is to be considered a -necessity; and in general the expenditure beyond what is necessary to -ensure such interment competes not with extravagancy, but with high -moral obligations. By the arrangements which throw the savings of the -poor family into the grave, children are left destitute, and creditors -are often defrauded, and heavy taxes levied on the sympathies of -neighbours and friends.[23] - - - _Failure of the objects of the common Expenditure on Funerals._ - -§ 84. Notwithstanding the immense sacrifices made by the labouring -classes for the purpose, neither they nor the middle classes obtain -solemn and respectful interment, nor does it appear practicable that -they should obtain it by any arrangement of the present parochial means -of interment in crowded districts. - -§ 85. Few persons can have witnessed funeral processions passing in -mid-day through the thronged and busy streets of the metropolis, without -being struck with the extreme inappropriateness of the times and places -chosen for such processions. This want of regulation as to appropriate -times is the subject of complaints, which must attach, even to a greater -extent, to numerous processions, without regulation, from the centre of -the populous town districts to the suburbs. - -Mr. Wild, the undertaker, was asked— - - What besides the expense, and the objection to the ground, do you - find is the objection entertained to the existing mode of burial in - the crowded districts of the metropolis?—One very common objection, - is the inconvenient time; the average time is about 3 o’clock, but - it varies from 2 to 4 o’clock. This is very inconvenient for persons - in business, who wish to attend as mourners. From this cause, - interments are frequently delayed; at this time, also, the streets - are very much crowded; sometimes boys crowd round the gates, and - shout as ill-educated boys usually do; sometimes there are mobs; I - have known the service interrupted more than once during the - ceremony; sometimes the adults of the mob will make rude remarks. I - have heard them call out to the clergyman, “Read out, old fellow;” - sometimes I have known them make rude remarks in the hearing of the - mourners; on the clergyman frequently; but this has been on the week - days, when, of course, the numbers attending are very great. At - times, the adults and mob at the gates have an idle and rude - curiosity to hear the service. I have known them rush in past the - mourners, and go in indiscriminately. It is part of my business to - see the mourners and corpse safe in, before I go in; and I have been - sometimes severely hustled, and have had great difficulty in getting - in myself. - - Are the crowds in the town, or districts, ever characterized by any - reverence for the dead?—Not the slightest: quite the contrary, and - it makes part of the annoyance of interments in town to have to - encounter them. - - Are you not aware that on the Continent it is generally the custom - for passengers of every condition in the streets, to stop and take - off the hat, on the approach, and during the passage of the dead?—I - have met with several instances of persons stopping in our streets - in London, and taking off their hats. On looking at them, I had - reason to believe they were foreigners. - - Have you ever known carriages or common coaches, or carts or - waggons, stop in the streets on the approach of a funeral?—I have - seen gentlemen pull their check-strings, or tap at their windows, - and stop their coachmen in towns; but, if the carriage were empty, - there was no stoppage. But none of the common conveyances ever stop. - I have several times ran the risk of being knocked down by them. I - have known cabmen and omnibus men drive through the procession of a - walking funeral, and separate the mourners from the corpse. These - characters display complete indifference to such scenes. - -§ 86. In the rural districts the population appears to be so far better -instructed and more respectful; but, according to the testimony of -living persons, the same indifference has not always characterized -labouring classes in the town districts, even of the metropolis. It is -described as an unavoidable consequence of the increasing numbers of -funerals, and familiarity with them arising from the neglect of -appropriate general arrangements, a neglect from which not only the -relations and parties engaged in such services, but strangers have to -complain, that their feelings are not duly regarded. In a rural parish, -the deceased who is interred is generally known, and the single funeral -arrests attention and excites sympathy. In crowded districts -neighbourship diminishes; a vast portion of the population of the -metropolis pass their lives without knowing their next-door neighbours, -or even persons living in the same building; the great majority of -burials are, to the mass of the population, burials of strangers, for -whom no personal sympathies can be awakened; the inopportune and -unexpected passage of small funeral processions through busy and -unprepared crowds of the young and active, create a familiarity that -stifles all respectful or reverential feelings, whilst the numbers of -separate funerals make undue demands on the sympathies, and harass the -minds of the sickly and the solitary by their continued passage, and the -perpetual tollings of the passing bells. Examples in some of the German -cities might be cited of refined and successful arrangements by which -the feelings of all are consulted, by interments either in the quiet of -evening or of early morning, or by the selection of retired routes for -the processions. The funeral processions to the cemetery of Frankfort -are generally held at early morning for the labouring classes. - -§ 87. The celebration of religious ceremonies in a satisfactory manner -at some of the populous parishes, appear to be often extremely -difficult, if not impracticable. Mr. Wild further answers:— - - What are the matters objected to that are of common experience in - our burials, when the corpse and attendants have arrived within the - church-yard?—In certain seasons of the year, when the mortality is - greater than usual, a number of funerals, according to the present - regulation of the churchyards, are named for one hour. During last - Sunday, for example, there were fifteen funerals all fixed during - one hour at one church. Some of these will be funerals in the - church; those which have not an in-door service must wait outside. - At the church to which I refer, there were six parties of mourners - waiting outside. My man informed me, that all these parties of - mourners were kept nearly three-quarters of an hour waiting outside, - without any cover, and with no boards to stand upon. The weather - last Sunday was dreadfully inclement. I have seen ten funerals kept - waiting in the church-yard from twenty minutes to three-quarters of - an hour. I have known colds caught on the ground by parties kept - waiting, and more probably occurred than I could know of. It is the - practice on such occasions to say the service over the bodies of - children and over the bodies of the adults together, and sometimes - the whole are kept waiting until the number is completed. Even under - these circumstances, the ceremony is frequently very much hurried. - - How many are there in some parochial burial grounds to be buried at - one time?—Sometimes fifteen. - - With such a number to bury is it physically possible that the - separate service should be other than hurried, and in so far as it - is hurried unsatisfactory to the mourners?—According to the present - system I do not see that it is at all times practicable to be other - than hurried and unsatisfactory. - - Would not an in-door service be acceptable to the labouring - classes?—I conceive highly so. In some parishes, as at Camberwell, - the custom is to give an in-door service to all, whether rich or - poor. This is considered highly acceptable. Where the labouring - classes are excluded they not only feel the inconvenience of having - to wait, but they feel very much the exclusion on account of their - poverty. They frequently complain to me, and question me as to - whether it is right, and ask me the reason. - - What other inconveniences are experienced in the service in - church-yards?—It is a frequent thing that a grave-digger, who smells - strongly of liquor, will ask of the widow or mourners for something - to drink, and, if not given, he will follow them to the gates and - outside the gates, murmuring and uttering reproaches. - - Is that ordinarily the last thing met with before leaving the - church-yards?—Yes, that is the last thing. - - That closes the scene?—Yes, that closes the scene. - -Mr. Dix was asked— - - In the crowded districts is the funeral ceremony often - impeded?—Besides the state of the parochial burial grounds, the mode - of performing the ceremony is very objectionable, in consequence of - the crowd and noise and bustle in the neighbourhood. I have had - burials to perform in St. Clements Danes’ burial ground, when the - noise of the passing and the repassing of the vehicles has been such - that we have not heard a third of the service, except in broken - sentences. - -§ 88. On this very important subject it is observed, by the Reverend -William Stone, the rector of Spitalfields:— - - It must, I think, be admitted, that, in a crowded population, the - parochial system, as it generally stands at present, is utterly - inadequate to meet the demand for interment—the demand, I mean, - which would exist, if that system were universally acquiesced in, - and all our parishioners were brought for interment to our parochial - burial grounds. To say nothing of the inability of many parishes to - provide adequate grounds, there could not be an adequate supply of - clergymen or of churches. Indeed, it has always seemed to me, that, - in practice, this _has been_ admitted; for, in London, that - considerable and important part of the burial service which is - performed within the church, unless specially desired and paid for, - has, from time almost immemorial, been left out; and I think that - the highest ecclesiastical authorities could hardly have introduced - or sanctioned such an anti-rubrical omission, had it not served some - more popular or more necessary purpose than that of merely raising - the fees of the church. From this consideration, added to the - frequent inconvenience of my burial services, I have been led to - regard the fees for the in-church service, like the payments for the - erection of monuments and tablets in our churches, as a kind of - necessary preventive duty. And certain it is, that unless our burial - services were limited by some such restrictive system, they would be - not only overwhelmingly laborious, but absolutely impracticable and - incompatible with our other professional engagements. How, for - instance, could the densely-built parish of Christchurch, - Spitalfields, yielding a clerical income less than 380_l._ a-year, - possessing one burial-ground, and one church attached to that - burial-ground, accommodate, in any enlarged sense of the word, an - _interrable_ population of 23,642, with the addition of the many - proprietors of our vaults and graves, who must always be resident at - a distance? Even now, with our present very scanty demand for - interment, I sometimes find, as I have intimated, extreme - inconvenience from this part of my duties. For obvious reasons the - working classes make choice of Sunday for their burials; the very - day, above all others, when the clergy and the church are almost - wholly pre-engaged for other purposes. No wonder, then, that one - purpose should often clash with another—that burials _in_ church - should clash with burials _out_ of it—that clergymen should be - hurried, discomposed, and exhausted—and mourners kept waiting in a - cold, damp burial-ground, so as to verify the old objection urged by - the Puritans against our service there, that “in burying the dead we - kill the living.” On other days, too, the clergy have other - engagements, so as to render it necessary to appoint burials for a - particular hour—an appointment, however, often more necessary to the - clergy than agreeable to the undertakers and their employers. And - yet, with every precaution, the clergyman is most seriously - incommoded; for, however he may try to accommodate, by allowing - parties to fix their own hour of burial, his time and patience are - fearfully encroached upon. Burials are very seldom punctual. They - arrive from 20 minutes up to an hour and a half after the hour - fixed. Mourners linger at home over their cups. The undertaker - pleads that he “couldn’t get them to move.” Sometimes he has another - “job” in hand elsewhere—nay, an undertaker has had two “jobs” in my - own burial ground—he has fixed them for the same hour; yet, after - having, with my assistance, completed one of them, he has coolly - left me to wait till he could fetch the other; so that, what with - wasted time, exhausted patience, and trials of temper owing to - incivility and other annoyances from such persons as a clergyman is - thus brought into contact with, he has, to say the least, as much - inconvenience as the public have to complain of. - - Among the inconveniences which the necessities of our parochial - system impose upon the working-classes, may be mentioned the - practice just now alluded to, viz., the omission of the _in_-church - service in all cases where it is not specially paid for. Looking at - my parishioners in a religious light, and at a moment when all ranks - and conditions are literally levelled in the dust, I feel this to be - an invidious distinction between rich and poor; and I think it but - natural that the poor should prefer burial in places where such a - distinction is less strongly marked. - -In another part of his highly important communication, he observes— - - In the course of my remarks I have adverted to our inadequate - parochial provision for the burial of the dead in populous places, - and to the consequent inconvenience which has placed the churchyard - in unfavourable contrast with the dissenting ground. There is - another inconvenience, however, which attaches to both, and which is - inseparable from the burial of the dead in a crowded population: I - mean the impossibility of maintaining a due solemnity on such an - occasion. - - If the working-classes of a populous city are less awfully affected - by the sight of death, from an unavoidable familiarity with it in - their own homes, it is to be feared that they and others meet with - much to prevent or impair a wholesome sensibility upon it in public; - for there the touching associations of a burial, and the sublime - spirituality of our burial office are broken in upon by the - exhibition of the most vulgar and even ludicrous scenes of daily - life. - - The eastern end of my parish ground, for instance, abuts upon - Brick-lane, one of our most crowded and noisy thoroughfares, and at - one corner stands a public-house, which, of course, is not without - its attraction to all orders of street minstrels. In performing the - burial service, I have left the church, while the organ has been - playing a beautiful and impressive requiem movement, and proceeded - to the grave, where it was purely accidental if I did not hear the - very inappropriate tune mentioned by my medical friend. - - Indeed, as my church extends along one side of another crowded - street, I have had most inappropriate musical accompaniments, even - during that part of the burial service which is performed _within_ - the church. My burial ground is partially exposed to the street at - the west end also; and there, as at the east, it is liable to be - invaded by sounds and sights of the most incongruous description. - Boys clamber up the outside of the wall, hang upon the railing, and, - as if tempted by the effect of contrast, take a wanton delight in - the noisy utterance of the most familiar, disrespectful, and - offensive expressions;—of course, all attempts to put down this - nuisance from within the burial ground serve only to aggravate it, - and nothing _could_ put it down but a police force ordered to the - outside every time that a burial takes place. To this - wilful disturbance is added the usual uproar of a crowded - thoroughfare,—whistling, calling, shouting, street-cries, and the - creaking and rattling of every kind of vehicle—the whole forming - such a scene of noisy confusion as sometimes to make me inaudible. - On all these occasions, indeed, I labour under the indescribable - uneasiness of feeling myself out of place. Amidst such a reckless - din of secular traffic, I feel as if I were prostituting the - spirituality of prayer, and profaning even the symbolical sanctity - of my surplice. And yet, the exposure of my burial-ground is but - partial, and is little or nothing compared with that of many others. - The ground is hardly less desecrated by the scenes within it; on - Sundays, especially, it is the resort of the idle, who pass by the - church and its services to lounge and gaze in the churchyard. It is - made a play-ground by children of both sexes, who skip and scamper - about it, and, if checked by our officers, will often retort with - impertinence, abuse, obscenity, or profaneness. I generally have to - force my way to a grave through a crowd of gossips, and as often to - pause in the service, to intimate that the murmurs of some or the - loud talk of others will not allow me to proceed. I hardly ever - witness in any of these crowds any indication of a religious - sentiment. I may sometimes chance to observe a serious shake of the - head among them; but, with these rare exceptions, I see them - impressed with no better feeling than the desire to while away their - time in gratifying a vulgar curiosity. On the burial of any - notorious character,—of a suicide, of a man who has perished by - manslaughter, of a woman who has died in child-birth, or even of a - child who has been killed by being run over in the street, this - vulgar excitement rises to an insufferable height. If, in such a - case, the corpse is brought into my church, this sacred and - beautiful structure is desecrated and disfigured by the hurried - intrusion of a squalid and irreverent mob, and clergyman, corpse, - and mourners are jostled and mixed up with the confused mass, by the - uncontrollable pressure from without. I will not, indeed, venture to - say that, on these occasions, the mourners always feel and dislike - this uproar, for I believe that among the working classes they often - congratulate themselves upon it. There is an éclat about it which - ministers to the love of petty distinction before alluded to; but, - whether through the operation of this feeling or the many other - abominable mischiefs attending the burial of the dead in populous - places, there is much to counteract or impair the solemn and - impressive effect of religious obsequies. - -§ 89. The feeling of a large proportion of the population appears to be -dissatisfaction with the intra-mural parochial interments, less on -sanitary grounds than from an aversion to the profanation arising from -interment amidst the scenes of the crowd and bustle of every-day life. -This feeling is manifested in the increasing numbers who abandon the -interments, even in parishes where the places of burial are neatly kept, -where, if there be nothing to satisfy, there is nothing to offend the -eye, where the service is solemnly and attentively performed, and where -the amount of the burial fees cannot be supposed to influence the -choice. The increasing feeling of aversion is indeed manifested by acts -less liable to error than any verbal testimony, by the increasing -abandonment of parochial family-vaults by the gentry and middle classes -of the population, by payments from the labouring classes, even of -increased burial dues for interments in places apart from the -profanation of every-day life. The feeling manifested may be stated to -be a national one, and to call for measures of a corresponding extent -and character. - - - _Means of diminishing the evil of the retention of the Remains of the - Dead amidst the Living._ - -The most predominant of the physical, if not of the moral evils which -follow the train of death, to the labouring classes, being the long -retention of the corpse in their one room, the means of altering this -practice claims priority in the consideration of remedies. - -§ 90. The delay of interment, it has been shown, is greatly increased by -the expense of the funerals; but in a considerable proportion of cases, -where the expense is provided for, the delay still occurs, chiefly from -feelings which require to be consulted,—the fear of interment before -life is extinct. - -§ 91. It has been proposed by an arbitrary enactment, without -qualification or provision of securities, to forbid all delay of -interments beyond a certain number of hours. Such a provision would, in -the shape proposed, and without other securities, run counter to the -feelings of the population, and standing as a self-executing law it -would have but little operation. - -The proposed compulsory clause stood thus in the bill of the session of -1842 without any qualification:— - - “And be it enacted, That from and after the First day of October, - One thousand eight hundred and forty, if any dead body shall - continue unburied between the First day of May and the Thirty-first - day of October, both days inclusive, more than hours, or - between the First day of November and the Thirtieth day of April, - both days inclusive, more than hours, the executors or - administrators to the estate and effects of such deceased person, or - the friends or relatives of the same, or any one of such friends or - relatives present at the burial, or the occupier of the house from - which such dead body shall be removed to be buried, shall forfeit - the sum of Twenty shillings for every Twenty-four hours after the - expiration of such respective periods.” - -From the closeness of the rooms in which the poorer classes die, and -from large fires being on such occasions lighted in them, decomposition -often proceeds with as much rapidity in winter as in summer. The mental -sufferings from the prolonged retention of the body amidst the living, -§§ 26, 3, 39, and the moral objections to it also, § 42, would be as -intense in the winter as in the summer, or more so. - -§ 92. In several of the continental states, about half a century ago, -similar enactments were passed; but it was found necessary to accompany -them with various securities; and where these securities, such as the -medical inspection and certificate before interment, have been loose, -events have occurred which have convinced the public of the necessity of -strengthening them. In a recent report on the subject at Paris, by M. -Orfila, he adduces an instance. - - “In October, 1837, M. Deschamps, an inhabitant of la Guillotière, at - Lyons, died at the end of a short indisposition. His obsequies were - ordered for the next day. On the next day the priests and the - vergers, the corpse-bearers and conductors of funerals, attended. At - the moment when they were about to nail down the lid of the coffin, - the corpse rose in its shroud, sat upright, and asked for something - to eat. The persons present were about to run away in terror, as - from a phantom, but they were re-assured by M. Deschamps himself, - who happily recovered from a lethargic sleep, which had been - mistaken for death. Due cares were bestowed upon him, and he lived. - After his recovery he stated that in his state of lethargy he had - heard all that had passed around him, without being able to make any - movement, or to give any expression to his sensations. * * * It is - fortunate for M. Deschamps that the funeral, which was to have taken - place in the evening, was deferred until the morning, when the - lethargic access terminated, otherwise he would have been interred - alive.” * * - -In the last number of the Annales d’Hygiene, the following recent -instances are cited, as proving the necessity of a regular verification -throughout the kingdom of the fact of death:— - - A midwife of the commune of Paulhan (Hérault) was believed to be - dead and was put in a coffin. At the expiration of twenty-four hours - she was carried to the church and from thence to the cemetery. But - during its progress the bearers felt some movement in the coffin, - and were surprised and frightened. They stopped and opened the - coffin, when they found the unfortunate woman alive! she had merely - fallen into a lethargy. She was carried back to her home, but in - consequence of the shock she received she only survived a few days - the horrible accident. - -It is stated from Bergerac (Dordogne), of the date of the 27th of -December, 1842, that— - - An individual of the Commune d’Eymet, who suffered from the - continued want of sleep, having consulted a medical practitioner, - took on his prescription a potion which certainly caused sleep; but - the patient slept always, and the prolongation of the repose created - great anxiety, and occasioned his being bled. The blood flowed - feebly, drop by drop. Then he was declared to be dead. At the - expiration of a few days, however, the potion given to the patient - was remembered, and an uneasy sensation that it might have been the - cause of an apparent death, caused the exhumation of the body. When - the coffin was opened the horrible fact was apparent to all present - that the unfortunate man had really been buried alive; he had turned - round in the coffin! His distorted limbs showed that he had long - struggled against death. - -In the “Journal des Débats,” bearing date February 21, 1843, a letter is -given from Caen of the 17th February, informing us “that Madame * * * -dwelling in the Rue Saint-Jean, appeared, after a long sickness, to -expire on Tuesday evening. The sad functions of preparing her for the -tomb were performed during the night. On the Thursday morning the coffin -was brought, and as the two men were about to lay her in it, she moved -in their hands, and woke up from the profound lethargy in which she was -plunged. Madame * * * is in a state of health which leaves little hope. -We shudder to contemplate the horrible end which awaited her if the -trance had continued some hours longer.” - -§ 93. I am informed of one case, which occurred in a private family in -this country, of a disentombment, made under very similar circumstances -to those of the case related from Bergerac, which revealed a similarly -horrible event, the body being found turned in the coffin. The belief of -the occurrence of such cases in this country is sometimes founded on -statements of the bodies being found out of their proper position in the -coffins; but nothing is more probable than the discomposure of the body -from its recumbent position, by jolting at the time of its removal down -steep and narrow staircases. Sir Benjamin Brodie observes:—“Mistakes -such as these here alluded to must be very rare, and can be the result -only of the grossest neglect. The movements of respiration are always -perceptible to the eye, and cannot be overlooked by any one who does not -choose to overlook them, and there is no doubt that the heart never -continues to act more than four or five minutes after respiration has -entirely ceased. But it is not always easy to say what is the _exact -moment_ at which death hath taken place, as in some instances the -inspirations for some time previously are repeated at very long -intervals. Thus I have watched a dying person, and supposed that he was -dead, when, after a minute’s interval, there has been a fresh -inspiration; then one or two more presently afterwards; then another -long interval, and so on. I have no doubt that persons in this condition -are often sensible, and even hear and understand all that is said. - -“It may be doubtful whether sensibility is always immediately -extinguished when the heart has ceased to act. In persons who have died -of the Asiatic cholera convulsive movements of the body have been -observed even several hours after apparent death. If the nervous system -has remained in such a state as this implies, who can say that it did -not retain its sensibility? There is no account of persons in whom such -convulsions (after apparent death) have taken place having recovered; -but this occurrence, even without chance of recovery, forms a strong -argument against the immediate burial of persons who have died of the -cholera.”[24] - -§ 94. The extreme ignorance and terror of the lowest class of the -population on the occurrence of a death which they may never have -witnessed before, must be expected to stand in the place of gross -neglect. Of the lower class of officers in public establishments, when -unsuperintended by well qualified and responsible persons, the -occurrence of gross neglect must be anticipated. Cases have recently -occurred, and have at other times, though rarely, occurred, where the -sick are laid out for dead, who have afterwards recovered. “To the -skilful medical practitioner,” says Dr. Paris, (Paris and Fonblanque’s -Medical Jurisprudence, vol. ii., p. 44,) “we apprehend such signs must -ever be unequivocal, but we are not prepared to say that common -observers may not be deceived by them.” And he adduces instances where -they have been. He cites the testimony of Howard, who, in his work on -prisons, says, “I have known instances where persons supposed to be dead -of the gaol fever, and brought out for burial, on being washed with cold -water have shown signs of life, and have soon afterwards recovered.” - - * * * * * - -Dr. Paris also states that— - - At the period when the small-pox raged with such epidemic fury, and - physicians so greatly aggravated its violence by their stimulating - plan of cure, there can be no doubt but that many persons were - condemned as dead who afterwards recovered; amongst the numerous - cases that might be cited in support of this opinion, the following - may be considered as well authenticated:—the daughter of Henry - Lawrens, the first president of the American Congress, when an - infant was laid out as dead, in the small-pox; upon which the window - of the apartment, that had been carefully closed during the progress - of the disease, was thrown open to ventilate the chamber, when the - fresh air revived the supposed corpse, and restored her to her - family; this circumstance occasioned in the father so powerful a - dread of living interment, that he directed by will that his body - should be burnt, and enjoined on his children the performance of - this wish as a sacred duty. We can also imagine, that women after - the exhaustion consequent on severe and protracted labours may lie - for some time in a state so like that of death, as to deceive the - by-standers; a very extraordinary case of this kind is related in - the Journal de Savans, Janvier 1749. - - Dr. Gordon Smith, in his work on Forensic Medicine, has observed, - that in cases of precipitancy or confusion, as in times of public - sickness, the living have not unfrequently been mingled with the - dead, and that in warm climates, where speedy interment is more - necessary than in temperate and cold countries, persons have been - entombed alive. We feel no hesitation in believing that such an - event _may be possible_; but the very case with which the author - illustrates his position is sufficient to convince us that its - occurrence would be highly culpable, and could only arise from the - most unpardonable inattention: “I was,” says Dr. Smith, “an eye - witness of an instance in a celebrated city on the continent, where - a poor woman, yet alive, was solemnly ushered to the margin of the - grave in broad day, and whose interment would have deliberately - taken place, but for the interposition of the by-standers.” If the - casual observer was thus able to detect the signs of animation, the - case is hardly one that should have been adduced to show the - difficulty of deciding between real and apparent death. - -Although the chances may be as millions to one against such a horrible -occurrence, yet the existence of the painful feeling of the possibility -of such an event, even if the apprehended possibility were utterly -unreal, is as valid ground for the adoption of measures to prevent and -alleviate the painful feeling, as if the danger were real and frequent. -A large proportion of the population, especially in Scotland, are deeply -impressed with the horror of being buried alive. Amongst the -working-classes the feeling is sometimes manifested in a dying request -that they may not be “hurried at once to the grave.” - -One consequence of abandoning the rite of burial, as a trade and source -of emolument to persons without instruction or qualification, who employ -for important ministrations agents of the lowest class, § 51, is, that -only the superficial, ceremonial, and profitable portions of the service -are usually attended to, and that important private and public -securities are lost. One of the proper ministrations after death, a -purification or ablution of the body, is generally omitted. On -inquiring, as to the effects produced amongst the lower class of Irish -by the retention of the body amidst the survivors under circumstances of -imminent danger, a comparative immunity has been ascribed to the -practice which they maintain of washing the corpse immediately after -death. Amongst the lower class of the English and Scotch population of -the towns, this important sanitary rite is extensively neglected, and -the corpse is generally kept (except the face) with the _sordes_ of -disease upon it. The occurrence of such cases as have already been -mentioned, § 31 and § 40, of the propagation by contact of diseases of a -malignant character, may probably be sometimes ascribed to this neglect. -The ablution, whether with tepid or cold water, as a general practice, -is a protection against cases of protracted syncope or suspended -animation. Besides these cases, there are others of a judicial nature -which cannot be termed extraordinary amidst a population where deaths -from accidents or one description of violence or other, a large -proportion of them involving criminality, amount in England and Wales -alone to between 11,000 and 12,000 per annum. Cases have occurred of -violent deaths discovered on exhumation, and on judicial examination -where marks of violence have been covered by the shroud, and where the -coffin has been closed on _primâ facie_ evidence of murder. - -Between the every-day dangers arising from the undue retention of the -dead amidst the living, and all real dangers and painful apprehensions, -a course of proceeding has been taken at Franckfort, and several cities -in Germany, which has hitherto been perfectly successful as a sanitary -measure, and highly satisfactory to the population. - -§ 95. A case is stated to have occurred at Franckfort, where, on taking -to the grave a child which had died immediately after its mother, who -had been just interred, on opening her coffin the eye of the supposed -corpse moved, and she was taken out and recovered. She stated that she -retained sensation, but had utterly lost all power of volition, even -when the coffin was closed, and she heard the earth fall upon it. - -§ 96. This case, and some others which have undoubtedly occurred in -Germany, led to the establishment of houses at Franckfort and Munich for -the reception and care of the dead until their interment; and similar -establishments have now been attached to a large proportion of the -German cities, under regulations substantially the same. The State -regulations of interments at Munich (translations of which, and of those -at Franckfort, together with plans showing the construction of the -houses of reception, I have given in the Appendix) have this recital:— - -“Whereas it is of importance to all men to be perfectly assured that the -beings who were dear to them in life are not torn from them so long as -any, the remotest, hope exists of preserving them,—so death itself -becomes less dreadful in its shape when one is convinced of its actual -occurrence, and that a danger no longer exists of premature interment. - -“To afford this satisfaction to mankind, and to preclude the possibility -of any one being treated as dead who is not actually so; to prevent the -spread of infectious disorders as much as possible; to suppress the -quackeries so highly injurious to the health of the people; to discover -murders committed by secret violence; and to deliver the perpetrators -over to the hands of justice;—is the imperative duty of every wise -government; and in order to accomplish these objects, every one of which -is of the greatest importance, recourse must be had to the safety, that -is to say the medical police, as the most efficient means, by a strict -medical examination into the deaths occurring, and by a conformable -inspection of the body.” - -The regulations provide that, on the occurrence of the death, immediate -notice shall be given to the authorities, who shall cause the body to be -removed to the house of reception provided (which at Munich is a chapel -where prayers are said) for its respectful care. At the edifice of the -institution at Franckfort, an appropriate apparatus is provided for the -requisite ablutions with warm or tepid water: the body is received, if -it be of a female, by properly appointed nurses, who perform, under -superior medical superintendence, the requisite duties. The spirit of -the regulations of these institutions (vide Appendix) may be commended -to attention; for if it be a high public duty, which is not questioned, -to treat the remains of the dead with respect and reverence, it follows -that public means should be taken in every stage of proceeding, to -protect individuals against the violation of that duty; where private -individuals are, as they almost always are and must be, especially in -populous districts, compelled to call in the aid of strangers for the -performance of such ministrations as those of purifying and enshrouding -the corpse, such securities as are exemplified in these regulations -should be taken that those duties are confided to hands invested with -responsibilities, and having a character of respectability, if not of -sanctity. At Munich, they are intrusted to a religious order of Nuns. At -Franckfort a private room is appropriated for the reception of each -corpse, where regular warmth and due ventilation and light, night and -day, are maintained. Here it may be visited by the relations or friends -properly entitled. On a finger of each corpse is placed a ring, attached -to which is the end of a string of a bell,[25] which on the slightest -motion will give an alarm to one of the watchmen in nightly and daily -attendance, by whom the resident physician will be called. Each body is -daily inspected by the responsible physician, by whom a certificate of -unequivocal symptoms of death must be given before any interment is -allowed to take place. The legislative provisions of the institution of -the house of reception at Franckfort are thus stated:— - - The following are the regulations regarding the use of the house for - the reception and care of the dead, which are here made known for - every one’s observance. - - (1.) The object of this institution is— - - _a._ To give perfect security against the danger of premature - interment. - - _b._ To offer a respectable place for the reception of the dead, - in order to remove the corpse from the confined dwellings of the - survivors. - - (2.) The use of the reception-house is quite voluntary, yet, in case - the physician may consider it necessary for the safety of the - survivors that the dead be removed, a notification to this effect - must be forwarded to the Younger Burgermeister to obtain the - necessary order. - - (3.) Even in case the house of reception is not used the dead cannot - be interred, until after the lapse of three nights, without the - proper certificate of the physician that the signs of decomposition - have commenced. In order to prevent the indecency which has formerly - occurred, of preparing too early the certificate of the death, the - physician shall in future sign a preliminary announcement of the - occurrence of death, for the sake of the previous arrangements - necessary for an interment, but the certificate of death is only to - be prepared when the corpse shows unequivocal signs of decomposition - having commenced. For the dead which it is wished to place in the - house of reception, the physician prepares a certificate of removal. - This certificate of removal can only be given after the lapse of the - different periods, of six hours; in sudden death, of twelve hours; - and in other cases, twenty-four hours. - -§ 97. A German merchant, now resident in London, who took great interest -in the institution, informs me that he visited it in company with his -friend, one of the inspecting physicians of this house of reception. His -attention was there attracted by the corpse of a beautiful child:—that -child turned out not to be dead, and he himself saw it alive and -recovered. No such event is known to have occurred at Munich. - -This gentleman, and Mr. Koch, our consul at Franckfort, who obtained for -this Report the plans of the house of reception and the regulations for -interment in that city, both attest from extensive knowledge of its -population, that the effect of this institution, of which all classes -avail themselves, is, on the part of the poorest and most susceptible -classes, to allay all feelings of reluctance to part with the remains, -and to create, on the contrary, a general desire for their removal from -the private house early after death, that they may be placed under the -care of skilful and responsible officers. The aggravation and extension -of disease to the living is thus prevented; the protraction of the pain -of the weaker and more susceptible of the survivors, arising from the -undue retention of the remains, and the demoralizing effect of -familiarity with them on the parts of the younger, and those of the -least susceptible of the survivors, are equally avoided. - -The following is an extract from an official report made for this -inquiry through the English Ambassador, on the operation of similar -regulations at Munich:— - -“The arrangements made for the speedy removal of the body after death -are considered highly beneficial in a sanative point of view, as tending -to check the spread of contagious and unclean disorders, more -particularly in the crowded parts of the town. - -“At the same time the great care and attention paid to the bodies in the -place where they are deposited, the precautions taken in cases of -re-animation, and the ascertaining beyond a doubt the actual occurrence -of death, are sufficiently satisfactory to the surviving relations. - -“The examinations also which take place immediately after death have -been found equally useful in detecting the employment of violent or -improper means in causing death, as well as in discovering the existence -of any contagious disease against which it is of importance to guard. - -“There is only one burial ground for the whole city of Munich, on a -scale sufficiently large for the population, and open to Protestants as -well as Catholics, without distinction.” - -§ 98. The practical means for the accomplishment of such an alteration -of custom in the mode of keeping the remains of the deceased, -preparatory to interment, in the towns of England, may be further -considered in connexion with the remedial measures, for the reduction of -the great and unnecessary expense of funerals. - -Mr. Hewitt states the practical need of some such accommodation of -survivors for the temporary reception of the dead in the crowded -districts, independently of the high considerations on which the -intermediate houses of reception at Franckfort and Munich and other -parts of Germany were established. - - The house in which my foreman lives is seldom unoccupied by a - corpse. During the last week there were three at one time. The poor - people speak of the inconvenience of having the corpse in their - house, where they have only one room for their family. It is - customary for me to say, “Very well, then, you may be accommodated; - the body may be brought to our house, and kept until the time of the - funeral, when you and your friends may come to the house and put on - your fittings and follow the body to the ground.” This is done: men - and women come to the house, put on hoods, scarves, coats, and - hatbands, and follow the body to the ground. The body is sometimes - removed under these circumstances from the room of the private house - where the death has taken place, but it is most frequently done when - the death of a poor person has occurred in an hospital, a workhouse, - or a prison, and it is wished to bury them respectably, but where it - would be inconvenient to remove them to the only room which the - family have to live in. I believe that all the undertakers receive - deceased persons in their houses and keep them for burial. - - Judging from the particular instances coming within your own - experience, do you believe that if arrangements of a superior order - were made for the reception of bodies and keeping them under medical - care previous to interment, the accommodation would be deemed a - boon?—Yes; it would be a boon to a great many classes, especially - the poorest. It would be a great accommodation also to many persons - of the middle classes—shopkeepers, who only keep the under part of - their houses and let off the upper parts. On the occurrence of a - death these classes are as much inconvenienced by the presence of a - corpse as are persons of the labouring classes. And yet there are - few who like to have a burial take place in less time than a week. - To such persons as these it would certainly be a very great - accommodation to have an intermediate house of reception for the due - care of the body until the proper time of interment. - -Mr. Thomas Tagg, jun., an undertaker of extensive business in the city -of London, states, that “besides the poorest classes who die at -hospitals and are buried by their friends, and are sometimes taken to -the undertaker’s premises, when more convenient to the relatives of the -deceased than to be removed to their own houses, that respectable -persons also from the country, who die at an hotel or inn, or in -apartments, are occasionally removed to the undertaker’s until the -coffins are made, and they can be conveyed to the residence of their -family, or their vaults in the country.” - -§ 99. Mr. Wild gives other examples of the practice; and states that -instances sometimes occur of persons of respectable condition in life -who cannot bear the painful impressions produced by the long continued -presence of the corpse in the house, and who quit it, and return to -attend the funeral. - -§ 100. Mr. P. H. Holland, surgeon and registrar of Chorlton-on-Medlock, -in Manchester, states an instance where a mother who had lost two of her -children from small-pox (as she conceived, from the retention in the -house of the corpse of a child belonging to another woman which had also -died of the small-pox) stated that it would be a great boon to the -poorer classes to provide proper places to receive bodies until the -convenient time of interment. The extent of benefit which such a -provision would confer, and which is attested by other witnesses of -extensive experience, will indeed be sufficiently manifest on -consideration of the circumstances under which they are placed. - -§ 101. It is only submitted that suitable accommodation should be -provided for the removal and care of bodies, and given, as it would be, -as a boon. Confident statements are frequently made that the removal of -the deceased from private houses to any public place of reception would -be resisted; but it appears on an examination of the cases in which -resistance was made, that in most of them the arrangements were really -offensive, coarse-minded, and vulgar, and such as to prove that the -feelings of the relations and survivors were little cared for by those -who ought to have understood and consulted them. In some cases of the -lowest paupers the retention of the body has been proved to have arisen -from a desire to raise money, on the pretext of applying it to defray -the expenses of the funeral long after it had been provided for; but the -objection of the respectable portions of the labouring classes are -objections not to the removal itself, but to the mode and sort of place -in which it is commonly performed on the occurrence of a death from -contagious disease, in a bare parish shell, by pauper bearers, to the -“bone-house” or other customary receptacle for suicides, deserted or -relationless, or, as they are sometimes termed, “God-forsaken people.” -On the occurrence of the cholera little difficulty was interposed by any -class to the immediate removal of the dead. The success of such a -measure would depend entirely on the mode in which it is conducted. - -§ 102. In reference to all such alterations, it may here be premised -that very serious practical errors are frequently created by taking -particular manifestations of feeling or prejudice, and assuming those -prejudices to be impregnable, and assuming, moreover, that any or every -prejudice pervades the entire population. - -Not only does the extent of the prejudices which are supposed to stand -in the way of regulations of the practice of interments, but the -difficulties of overcoming them, appear, from an examination of the -evidence, to be commonly much exaggerated; but it appears that the -nature of the objections themselves is much mistaken: it appears, for -example, that the prejudice against dissection often arises less from a -desire to preserve the remains in their living form than to preserve -them from profanation and disrespect. In no part of the country has a -more intense feeling been manifested to preserve the remains of the dead -from dissection than in Scotland, where the expense of safes made of -iron bars, strongly riveted down, and of a watchman to watch it, forms a -prominent item of the funeral charges. Yet when the studies of the -schools of anatomy were allowed to depend chiefly on the supplies of -subjects stolen from the graves, it is stated by practitioners who, -whilst students, were themselves driven to that mode of procuring -subjects, that their labours were frequently frustrated by the -precautions the survivors had taken to render the use of the remains for -dissection impossible, by putting quick lime into the coffin to destroy -them. The same precaution has been known to have been sometimes taken -for the same purpose in London; and yet by proper care and attention to -the feelings of the survivors, the practice of post-mortem examinations -has been extended, and the consent to the use of the remains even for -dissection in the schools has been frequently obtained from the -survivors. A witness of peculiar and extensive opportunities of -experience in several thousand cases was asked on this point— - - Have you had any reason to believe, that by careful and kind - treatment of the labouring classes, their prejudices may be - extensively overcome?—Yes, certainly. There was no prejudice - stronger or more general than that to post-mortem examinations, or - to any dissection; yet by care, and by the inducement of the - allowance of a better funeral, that prejudice has been extensively - overcome. The teachers of the medical schools, after dissection of a - body, and its use for the advancement of medical knowledge, have - made a liberal allowance for the interment of the remains; such sums - as three or four pounds have been allowed for that service. When the - relations of the poorest classes have expressed the common aversion - to a pauper funeral, and their pain at having to submit to it on - account of their necessity, I have told them if they would allow the - remains to be taken to a medical school, and be examined, the - teachers would allow them such a respectable funeral as they wish; I - have sometimes added, “It is for the advancement of science; persons - of the highest rank and condition in society have directed their - remains to be examined, and I do not see what sound objection there - can be to any of the poorest classes doing so.” Whenever I have made - the offer under such circumstances it has generally been accepted. - - Of course after the examination at the schools, the remains were - properly and respectfully interred?—Yes they were, wherever the - parties requested, whether in or out of the parish.—They frequently - chose places of interment out of the parish, and in some instances - places two or three miles distant, and almost always out of the - town. - - Why was the burial mostly chosen out of the parish?—Generally from a - dislike to the places and mode in which paupers were buried; to - their being put into a hole, where, perhaps, fifty others were, - instead of having a separate grave. They frequently made it a main - condition, that the remains should be buried out of the parish. - -The means to ensure voluntary compliance with all salutary regulations -for the better ordering of interments, are those which ensure real -respect to the remains of the interred, and thus to the feelings of the -survivors. The widows’ and the mothers’ feelings of reluctance to part -with the corpse would, from such measures, receive appropriate -alleviation. - - - _Proposed Remedies by means of separate Parochial Establishments in - Suburban Districts._ - -§ 103. A set of remedies, as proposed in the Committee of the House of -Commons, and agreed to, has been before the public, and the chief part -of them embodied in a bill proposed to the House at the close of the -Session of Parliament of 1842. All the evidence of disinterested persons -which I have met with, all paid and experienced officers connected with -parishes, whose interests would perhaps be the least disturbed by -parochial establishments, concur in the conclusion that the measures -proposed for creating such establishments would not diminish, but would -rather diffuse, and might even aggravate the evils intended to be -remedied. - -By the first clause it was proposed to enact— - - That the rector, vicar, or incumbent, and the church-wardens of - every parish, township, or place in every such city, town, borough, - or place respectively, shall form a parochial committee of health - for every such parish, township, or place. - -§ 104. The first observation which occurs on this proposal is, that it -involves the formation of “a committee of health,” for the execution of -a sanitary measure, requiring the application of a very high degree of -the science applicable to the protection of the public health, and omits -all provision of services of the nature of those which would be required -from a well-qualified medical officer. A provision on a parochial scale -would indeed preclude the regular application of such service, except at -a disproportionate expense. As a remedy against undue charges on the -smaller parishes, a power of forming unions for the purpose is provided -by the clause. - - Or it shall be lawful for the rectors, vicars, or incumbents and - church-wardens of any two or more parishes, townships, or places - therein, to form such parishes, townships, or places into a Union - for the purposes of this Act; and in such cases the rectors, vicars, - or incumbents, and church-wardens of each parish, township, or place - so united, shall form a parochial committee of health for such - Union; and all the powers hereinafter given to any such committee - may be executed by the majority of the members of any such committee - at any meeting. - -It is agreed by the most experienced public officers, that even a -compulsory power to form unions of two parishes, but leaving the union -beyond that number optional, would be equivalent to a provision, that -two and _no_ more shall unite; but that a merely permissive power to -unite would be nugatory, except perhaps in the case of the smallest -parishes: in other words, since there are in the district to which the -enactment would apply, in the metropolis, upwards of 170 parishes, it -would imply the establishment of upwards of 100 places of burial in such -places as the following clauses would enable the parishes to provide. - - And be it enacted, that every such committee may provide a - convenient site of land for the burial of the dead of the district - for which such committee shall be formed, which land shall not be in - or within the distance of two miles from the precincts or boundaries - of the city of London or Westminster, or the borough of Southwark, - or in or within one mile of any other city, town, borough, or place; - and no land which shall be purchased for such purpose shall be - within 300 yards of any house of the annual value of 50_l._, or - having a plantation or ornamental garden or pleasure-ground occupied - therewith (except with the consent in writing of the owner, lessee, - and occupier of such house). - -An undertaker who has an extensive business, states that he has for some -time been desirous of purchasing a piece of ground for interments in the -suburbs of the metropolis, as a private speculation of his own, and that -he had been three years in looking out for a plot that was suitable and -purchasable, but has hitherto been unable to procure one. Other -witnesses, on similar grounds, doubt the practicability of parishes -procuring land, unless at enormous prices. - -Supposing it were possible to procure separate plots for all the -parishes which will require them in the suburbs, there are preliminary -objections to the plan which relate to the suburbs themselves. - -§ 105. The suburbs, it may be submitted, not only require careful -protection on their own account, but on account of the population of the -crowded districts of the metropolis, which are relieved by the growth of -the suburbs. The progress of the new increments to towns is, therefore, -as a sanitary measure, entitled to favourable protection. But the -appropriation of vacant places, without reference to any general plan, -must create very frequent impediments to the regular or systematic -growth of the suburbs, and can scarcely fail ultimately to deteriorate -them. And by the proposed measure the place of interments being removed, -not only without any securities for the adoption of new measures of -precaution, such as will be shown to be requisite in the formation, and -also in the management, of places of burial for a large population, and -the proposed machinery being such as to render it very nearly certain -that no improved arrangements can be executed in such burial-grounds, -the measure would simply effect the transference of common grave-yards -from the old to the midst of new suburbs; and this transference must be -accompanied by the creation of a new and apparently economical, but -really extravagantly expensive and permanently inferior, agency, for the -management of the new ground. - -§ 106. These results admit of proof derived from the actual trial of a -system of parochial interments apparently differing in no essential -point, and especially in the nature of the agency and the scale of -establishments, from the plan proposed. - -In the parishes of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, St. George, Hanover-square, -St. James, Westminster, and St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, over-crowding of -the burial grounds within the parish, between forty and fifty years ago, -led the parish officers to obtain local acts for the establishment of -burial grounds in the suburbs. The spaces then obtained were apart from -any buildings. They are all now closely surrounded by them. The burial -grounds of the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields having been the subject -of an investigation before the Committee of the House of Commons, I have -not made any inquiries with relation to them. In the suburban burial -ground which belongs to the parish of St. George, Hanover-square, which -consists of two acres of land, the interments have been for many years -at the rate of about 1000 corpses per annum. It is now in the centre of -a dense town population. It has become the subject of complaints similar -to those made in respect to burial grounds in the ancient parts of the -metropolis; and it appears that there are equally good grounds for the -discontinuance of the practice of interment there, and for the selection -of a burial place at a greater distance, notwithstanding that the -payments from individuals produce to the collective funds of that parish -a surplus beyond the expenditure of the management of the ground. - -§ 107. The arrangements for burial in the parishes of St. -Martin-in-the-Fields, which has a population of 25,000, and of St. -James, Westminster, which has a population of 37,000, where the suburban -burial grounds have not been crowded to the same extent, may be adduced -as a high class of examples of a change of practice to extra-mural or -suburban burials, and of management by a parochial machinery. In the -parish of St. James, Westminster— - - The gross expenditure of the chapel and ground between the years - 1789 and 1835 (46 years) amounted to £73,879 1_s._ 11_d._, and it is - estimated that the cost of maintaining the chapel and ground during - that period over and above the receipts was not less than £50,000, - the whole of which was drawn from the churchwardens under authority - of the Act of Parliament. - -But the chapel attached to the burial ground of this parish has been -converted into a chapel of ease, for the accommodation of the -inhabitants of the parish where it is situate. The vestry clerk of the -parish states— - - The pew rents, which formerly averaged only £150, now amount to - upwards of £500 per annum, while the burial fees have decreased, and - are still decreasing in amount. - - The interments of the middle class and more wealthy among the - inhabitants of the parish of St. James, which do not take place - either in the vaults or grounds of or belonging to the parish, are - presumed to be made in the neighbouring cemeteries, while the - labouring class resort chiefly, as I am informed, to the burial - ground in Spa Fields, where the fees are less by 2_s._ 9_d._ than at - the Hampstead Road ground, the undertaker’s charges being the same - for each. - - Is the church to be considered part of the burial ground?—Yes; it - is. The Act apparently contemplated only a place for the performance - of a service over the dead, not for services to regular - congregations. The minister has a house on the ground, and derives a - portion of his emoluments from pew rents, derived from persons who - attend the chapel from the immediate neighbourhood—parishioners of - St. Pancras parish; very few, if any, of the parishioners of St. - James, have pews there. The minister, Dr. Stebbing, has a moiety of - the pew rents, which now amount to nearly £500 per annum. His - proportion of the burial fees may be about £70 per annum. - - Since the commencement, has the income defrayed the expenses of the - burial ground?—Since Dr. Stebbing has been the minister it has only - just paid the expenses; but I am apprehensive that it will not - continue to do so. By the Act for the regulation of the chapel, any - deficiency in the expenditure is directed to be made good out of the - moneys in the churchwardens’ hands. Since the establishment of the - chapel it has been a drag on the funds: a very severe one. - - When the chapel was established were there any houses round it?—Not - any. - - What is its condition in that respect now?—It is now in the midst of - houses which are increasing in numbers. - -When asked, what was the condition of the burial ground, notwithstanding -the expenditure made upon it, he states that— - - The ground, consisting of four acres, is in a very watery condition, - but is considered capable of being effectually drained, the expense - being the only obstacle. - - Is it considered that the ground will hold more than it does?—Many - more; and a much larger amount of burials for a number of years. - - What are the objections to the ground?—One objection among the - higher classes, and a very serious one, is that it is very wet. - After a grave has been dug, the water in it has risen, and the - coffin is lowered into the water. - - Has there been any expenditure upon it for rendering it attractive - by planting or ornamenting it?—In former years it was planted with - trees or shrubs; but as compared with the cemeteries it cannot - pretend to any attractions. - - Is there anything in the circumstances of the establishment of the - burial ground and chapel for St. James which do not render it a fair - example of any similar measure for an equivalent population in these - times?—There appear to be no circumstances to prevent it being - considered a fair example. - -§ 108. The following is the account of the St. Martin’s suburban burial -ground, given by Mr. Le Breton, the clerk to the guardians of the -parish:— - - What is the provision made for the burial of the poorer classes in - the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields?—The burial ground in - Drury-lane in 1804 was considered to be full, when four acres of - ground, situate at Camden-town, were purchased and used as a - cemetery. The plot was then in what was considered the country: the - distance of the spot is rather more than two miles from the - workhouse. Since its institution it has been completely surrounded - by houses, and they are now building close against the wall of the - burial ground. Originally it was designed as a better sort of burial - ground, but since loss has been incurred by it and it has not been - found to be attractive; two hundred pounds have recently been - expended upon it in planting it. Formerly it was so wet that when - persons went to funerals there they often found that the coffin was - let down several feet in water or mire. This created an unpleasant - sensation, and the ground was drained at a great expense into the - Fleet-ditch. The objection as to the wetness of the ground does not - now exist. - - What have been the expenses, and the numbers of interments and - charges of the burial ground?—(The following statement was given in - answer to this question.) - - The original cost of forming ground, &c., was about £2,000 - The price is a perpetual rent-charge of, for the 4 acres, £100 = £3,000 - per annum - Establishment Charges:— - Chaplain’s salary per annum £60 - Sexton’s salary per annum £50 - Keeping up ground by gardener £20 - Paving rate per annum £30 - Compensation to St. Pancras £5 - The chaplain and sexton have houses to dwell in, which - are kept in repair, insured, and the taxes paid by the £30 - parish at a considerable expense - - A private Act of Parliament was obtained, but at what cost does not - appear. - - The burial ground was formed in 1804, and the charges of it to this - date have exceeded £10,000 beyond the fees received. - - _From 20th March, 1806, to 1st December, 1842._ - - Total number of burials at Camden-town since the formation of 10,982 - the ground - Of these were non-parishioners 1,987 - Of these were paupers 4,624 - Of these were buried in the cheapest ground where 1,062 - monuments are not allowed - All burials for St. Martin in the Fields, 1841 522 - Registered deaths, 1841 589 - - Beyond the expense of the establishment, have any inconveniences - been the subject of complaint by the parishioners?—Yes; that the - hours appointed by the chaplain are not those most suited for - interments; that they are often driven off until late in the - evening, and in consequence of the time being limited the service is - performed in a hurried manner. In respect to position, the cemetery - appears to be convenient, and no one within the district complains - of any offence arising from it. My own view is that there ought to - be a central or some other supervision over cemeteries: if there be - not there will only be abuses and grounds of dissatisfaction. - - Do you conceive that the experience of the parish of St. Martin, of - a separate parochial cemetery, is applicable as an index to the - general charge upon the rate-payers in the other parishes of the - metropolis, resulting from the simple prohibition of interments in - the town, and the permission to any two or more parishes to provide - cemeteries for; in other words, to the transference of burial - grounds from the centre of the town to the midst of the - suburbs?—Yes, I do consider it applicable: moreover, that at the - present time, it would be still more difficult to obtain sites - within a reasonable distance than it was in 1804: the expenses of - separate parochial grounds must therefore be much more considerable. - -§ 109. The Rev. Wm. Stone, the rector of Spitalfields, whose position, -as the minister of a large and populous parish, possessing one of the -best managed places of burial in the metropolis, gives him peculiar -opportunities of judging of the most advantageous administrative -arrangements, and entitles his observations to peculiar weight, -concludes his testimony in the following terms:— - - 1. As the clergyman of a poor and populous parish, I should regret - the necessity of imposing any additional rate upon my parishioners, - especially any one which was likely to be regarded as a church rate; - and I feel certain, that a rate assessed for the burial of the dead, - and collected under the authority of the rector and churchwardens, - would be so regarded. Under our present system, the burial of the - dead is a source of profit; it yields an annual surplus towards - defraying the other expenses of the church; and it thus conspires - with other circumstances to make the church-rate fall light upon my - parishioners. But in a population like mine any additional impost - would be felt; and confounded, as in such a population it certainly - would be, with church-rate, it might operate mischievously or even - fatally against the church establishment of my parish. The same - objection would apply in principle to all poor and populous - parishes. As a clergyman, too, I might add more personal - considerations; for, though the incumbent, as the only permanent - member of the committee of health, might have some local prominence - and weight, more, perhaps, than might everywhere be satisfactory to - dissenters; yet, in imposing pecuniary charges on his parishioners, - and levying penalties for the non-payment of those charges, he would - have duties unpopular enough to outweigh the advantage of any - distinction conferred on him. - - 2. If it is said, that a rate of 1_d._ in the pound would be too - light to be felt; it may be said also that it would be too much so - to answer its purpose. It is commonly calculated, that, in my - parish, a rate of 6_d._ in the pound realizes barely 500_l._, yet - the population to be provided with interment is above 20,000. And as - all the parishes about us are in much the same circumstances this - objection would apply equally to a union of parishes. - - 3. There is much that is objectionable in the proposed local - committees of health. - - A local board would be less likely to possess the confidence of the - people. Indeed, it would be exposed to the influence of personal - interest and local partialities; and still more so, if the majority - of its members were in office for a year or two only. A board of - this kind may be said to exist already in my own parish, where a - local Act of Parliament places the burial ground in the hands of the - parish officers. And it is but a few years since my attention was - forcibly called to the insecurity of this local arrangement by one - of my parishioners. This parishioner, who was intimately and - practically acquainted with the working of our parochial system, - represented to me the necessity of adopting increased precautions - for the protection of our burial ground, “for,” said he, “a partial - or interested parish officer might do almost anything he pleased - with it;” and he proceeded to name an individual, who had even - intimated his intention to do so as soon as he should come into - office. There can be no doubt, indeed, that any individual might do - so. It is impossible to say, to what extent a tradesman so disposed - might oblige his friends and customers, and benefit himself; for as - senior officer of the year he would have the sole disposal of the - burial ground, and receive all payments for burials, private graves, - vaults, and the erection of monumental tablets, without any demand - upon those receipts, but a limited sum payable to the rector, and - without any inspective control over them but that of a board of - auditors chosen from his brother vestrymen. From my own observation, - I do not think that parish auditors are generally very accurate in - their investigations. But on a subject like the one in question, - they hardly could be so. Even supposing what is seldom, if ever, the - case, that they had a practical knowledge of the subject, and - conducted their investigations with the authorized table of fees - before them, they might in many instances be eluded. During the - first four years of my incumbency, the parish officers reported - their receipts for burials at the average amount of 215_l._ a-year, - which sum, after the deduction of 125_l._ secured to the rector, - left an annual surplus of 90_l._ At that time it was generally held - to be a point of official honour, that the amount of this surplus - should be kept secret out of doors. It was kept secret even from the - rector; and it may serve at once to show the impolicy of secrecy, - and the extent to which local authorities are distrusted, that my - predecessor always had his misgivings on the subject. Though - remarkable for the mildness and amiability of his disposition, he - could never surmise any more innocent misapplication of this - surplus, than that it was alienated from the church for the relief - of the poor rate. - - A constant change in the majority of a local board would be most - unfavourable to uniformity of system, efficiency, and economy. Upon - this ground I believe the church to be a great loser by the office - of churchwarden. An individual charged with raising and expending - the ecclesiastical finances of a parish for a year only is little - likely to perform those duties as well as if he had a more permanent - authority. To say nothing of his having more temptation to - indolence, and to an ostentatious or interested profusion, he - labours under the unavoidable disadvantage of inexperience. By the - time that he becomes efficient in his office, he is called upon to - retire from it. - - A local board would want many other advantages of a more publicly - constituted authority. Supplied with members by the casualties of - parochial office, it could not always command a high order of - intelligence. It would necessarily be limited in its opportunities - of observation; and, as it could not make its purchases and regulate - its current expenditure to the same advantage as if it acted on a - more extensive scale, it would, of course, prove less economical to - the public. - - In fact, from all my local observation, I am led to hope that, in - removing the interment of the dead from populous towns, the - Legislature will adopt not a parochial but a comprehensive national - plan for the purpose. - -Mr. Drew, the vestry clerk and superintendent registrar of Bermondsey, -makes similar objections to the proposed machinery; that “the persons -nominated to carry out such a measure in parishes would not be -satisfactory to the inhabitants, even if they were disposed to act.” - -Mr. Corder, the clerk to the Strand Union, was asked upon this subject— - - What do you believe to be the prevailing opinion in your Union on - the subject of town interments?—I believe there is a strong and - growing opinion against the practice of interring in London and its - immediate environs. I believe that public feeling generally is - opposed to that custom, as being prejudicial to health, and often - more distressing to the feelings of the survivors than interments - would be in a more distant and less familiar and frequented spot. - - Do you think the parishioners of London parishes would approve of - separate and distinct parochial cemeteries?—No, I think they would - prefer having one or more cemeteries on a very extensive scale to - having parochial cemeteries which, in the neighbourhood of the - metropolis, would, I think, be found almost impracticable. - - Do you think that parishes generally would object to the expense of - providing cemeteries?—I think that if separate parochial cemeteries - were established, the expense incurred would be so serious as to - induce parishes almost to submit to the evils resulting from town - interments rather than incur so heavy an expenditure. One of the - advantages of having one or more cemeteries on a large scale would - be that the expense would be thereby proportionably and very - considerably diminished. - -George Downing, a mechanic, and secretary to a burial society, it will -be found, represents sentiments extensively prevalent amongst persons of -his own class in the metropolis. - - Do you conceive that any arrangements for the improvement of - interments would be carried on more acceptably to the labouring - classes if they were conducted by officers connected with the - parish, or by a larger and superior agency?—The working people would - sell their beds from under them sooner than have any parish - funerals: it is heart-rending to them, and they would prefer any - other officers to the parish officers. - - Do you find that they are prepared to have interments in the towns - prohibited?—Yes, it has been very much debated upon since the scenes - in the churchyards are made known, and they wish the bill to be - carried. I am confident that every man in our club would petition to - have the bill carried, so that such scenes may be put a stop to. I - find the opinion of the working men on the subject is quite - universal about it. They expect that Government will provide the - grounds and some means of conveyance. - -Mr. Dix was asked— - - Is it the expectation of the labouring and poorer classes that large - public cemeteries will be provided?—Yes, that I think is the general - opinion. - - Do you conceive that large cemeteries, on a national scale, will be - more acceptable to the labouring classes than parochial burial - grounds, whether in the present grounds or in burial grounds in the - suburbs of the metropolis?—I think the national cemeteries will be - much more popular. - - If the burials of the working population could be performed in the - more ornamented and attractive cemeteries, such as those at Highgate - and Kensal Green, at the same expense as in any of the grounds - within the town, would there be any who would not be buried there?—I - think very few. - -Unequivocal proof is given of the dispositions of the labouring classes -in this respect by the fact that the number of interments of persons of -those classes in cemeteries is increasing, even under increased charges. -For example, on examining the mortuary registries of the Westminster -cemetery, to see what were the class of persons interred, it appeared -that the majority of the persons interred in that, which is the cemetery -most heavily charged with burial fees, was of the labouring classes from -St. George’s, Hanover-square. The fees for interment, in the suburban -burial ground in the Bayswater-road, belonging to their own parish, were -15_s._; and interments in the trading burial grounds might have been -obtained at lower rates: but the fees paid for interment at the more -distant cemetery are 30_s._ for each burial. The registries contained -similar evidence in an increasing number of interments of the labouring -classes from immediately adjacent suburban parishes, such as Chelsea, -Brompton, and Kensington, of a disposition to make sacrifices, to obtain -interments in places that are more free from offensive associations to -them than those which attach to the parochial burial grounds. - -Mr. Wild was asked— - - So far as your experience goes, does the practice of interment in - cemeteries result from motives of economy or from choice of - situation?—From choice of situation, or from dislike of the - parochial burial-grounds; in nine cases out of ten from preference - of the situation and mode of interment in cemeteries; the choice - would indeed be general, if it were not for the increased charges - made by undertakers. The undertakers have generally increased the - funeral charges at the cemeteries above one-third. The number of men - taken out, whose whole day is occupied, make up the increased - charge. - - You state, that but for the increased charge, the custom of - interment in cemeteries would be general; has the strength of the - attachments to the parochial churchyards diminished?—Yes, under the - recent inquiries and exposures of the state of the churchyards they - have almost vanished. But at no time was the attachment to the - parochial churchyards in town so strong as in the country. In the - country, even the poorer classes will pay the sexton a fee of from - 1_s._ 6_d._ to 2_s._ 6_d._, for “keeping up the grave.” This cannot - be the case in the towns for want of space; parties who appoint - their places of burial, generally select a place on account of its - quiet. - - Do you believe that the wish to be buried where kindred are buried, - is, or would continue to be stronger, than a desire to be buried in - well-provided cemeteries?—No; this is shewn by the increasing - frequency with which parties who have family vaults, desire to be - buried in the cemeteries. Very recently I performed the funeral of a - lady belonging to a family who had a vault in a church at - Westminster—her husband had been buried in it. By her will she - desired to be buried at Kensal Green, and she had requested that if - the churchyard at Westminster was closed, her husband’s remains - might be brought and placed next to hers in the cemetery. There were - other members of the family besides her husband buried in the family - vault. Such instances are now becoming very frequent. - - Inasmuch as interments in cemeteries have generally increased the - charges of interment, is it not to be apprehended that unless some - regulations on a larger scale than of small localities be adopted, - the inconvenience arising in towns will increase the charges of - these calamities to the poorest of the middle classes and to the - working classes, not to speak of the charges on the poor’s rates, - for the interments of paupers will also be increased by - districts?—Yes; it has occurred to me that it will be so. - -He expresses his conviction, however, that so strong is the feeling at -present against parochial interments, that if there should be no -legislative provision or interference for the public protection, the -parochial burial places being left open to the competition of private -and trading burial grounds, in a very short time not one-third of the -present number of burials would take place in the parochial grounds. - -§ 110. The expense to the rate-payers of parishes for the transference -of the interments to the suburbs would be necessarily very high; the -expense of numerous separate parochial establishments, if only on the -scale of the establishments for the performance of the funeral ceremony, -and for such imperfect care of the ground as that given in those -described would be, at the least, between 25 and 30,000_l._ per annum. -The proposed regulation of the distance of cemeteries from human -habitations—that they shall in every case be two miles, not from houses, -but from the metes and bounds of London and Westminster, and “of any -other city, town, or borough,” as defined by the Municipal Act, and -“which shall contain more than 500 houses, the occupiers of which shall -be rated to the relief of the poor more than 10_l._ or upwards,” appear -to be made without any local examination, or reference to proper -observations or experience.—Vide post, §§ 162, 163, and 164. The metes -and bounds of several towns and places include common lands and sites, -sufficiently distant from any collections of houses, to be the most -eligible sites, and suitable soils for cemeteries, which according to -the best ascertained rule, should be at distances proportioned to the -numbers of inhabitants and probable burials, varying according to these -numbers, from 150 to 500 paces. All unnecessary increase of distance -must be attended with proportionately increased charges of interment to -the poorer classes: arrangements for preventing an increase of the -expense of conveyance of the remains to distant places of interment, -though practicable under general regulations for large national -cemeteries, would be impracticable on the plan of numerous places of -interment with small separate establishments. Mr. Jeffryes, an -undertaker, who chiefly inters the poorest classes in the Whitechapel -district, where the _parochial_ interments are generally diminishing, -was more particularly questioned on this topic. - - What has been your experience in respect to the interment of people - of the working classes at cemeteries, and at a distance from their - residence, as compared with burials near their residence? At what - cemeteries have you interred persons?—At Mr. Barber Beaumont’s - cemetery, which is about a mile and a half from Whitechapel; and - also at the cemetery which is at the Cambridge Heath, Cambridge - Road. I have attended, but not on my own account, funerals at all - the other cemeteries—Highgate, Kensal Green, and others. - - Supposing that interments within towns be prohibited for all - classes, and that funerals for the future must be performed beyond - the gas lamps or the pavements; judging from the cases you have - already had, what must be the effect on the funerals of the - labouring classes;—supposing that no other arrangements are made - than that of allowing parishes, or any two of them, to provide - cemeteries at a distance from town?—It will certainly increase the - expenses to the labouring classes, and increase the expenses to the - parishes generally. I perform funerals for the working classes at - one-third less than most others; yet I find that the extra expense - of a funeral only a mile or a mile and a quarter distance, is about - one pound per funeral extra; this consists chiefly of the extra - expense of conveyance. - - Have you seen carriage conveyances or hearses for the conveyance of - bodies to the cemeteries without the use of bearers?—Yes, I have: - but to get a coffin out of the house, which sometimes has to be got - down stairs, and is very heavy, four men at the least will be - required, and then four men will be required to take it from the - hearse at the cemetery, so that men’s labour cannot be much less, - even if they provide bearers at the cemeteries, which is talked of: - there will still be the extra expense of the carriage, whatever that - is. - -§ 111. From the practical evidence already cited, §§ 87, 88, it will be -perceived, that notwithstanding this increase of expense, the chaplain -or curate, if unaided, cannot be expected to perform the service in a -manner that will be more satisfactory to the survivors than in those -parochial grounds which are now the subject of complaint. The numerous -successive services that may be expected to arrive on the Sunday must -often unavoidably have the appearance of being hurried over, and without -assistance and appropriate superintendence will sometimes really be so, -whilst the funeral of the person of better condition which takes place -separately, and at an appointed time, has its separate attention under -circumstances, giving rise to the appearance and creating the feeling of -an undue “acceptation of persons,” which it is said ought not to be, and -which the examination of practical examples will show, need not be. -Inasmuch as, in the present mode, the clergyman’s attention must be -absorbed with his own clerical duties, the grave-yard and the material -offices connected with it must be left to be managed, as it is now, by a -sexton and common gravedigger. No multiplication of the numbers of such -poor men in numerous extra-mural and parochial establishments will give -them education, or elevate their minds to act without superintendence, -up to the solemnity and delicacy of the duties to be performed in any -proposed alteration of custom. In such hands the institution and service -for the reception and care of the dead, (which, with all its appliances, -is one of the most elevated that can adorn the civic economy of a large -and civilized community,) would be impracticable, or would become a -common “dead-house,” or a revolting charnel. It may be confidently -affirmed, that to accomplish what is needed to satisfy the feelings of -the population, on the points on which they are so painfully -susceptible, and to gain the public confidence requisite to carry out -all the sanitary appliances and improvements that are requisite in -connexion with the practice of interment, would task the zeal and -ability, and unremitting attention of any, the best staff of educated -medical men that could be procured for such a service. The improvements -which appear to be practicable, may be perceived on a consideration of -the information hereafter submitted, as to what is already gained under -arrangements of a comprehensive character. - -§ 112. The chief conclusions in respect to the proposed suburban -parochial interments deducible from the present experience appear then -to be, - -1. That the change of the practice of interments on the plan of suburban -parochial or establishments of separate unions of parishes, while it -gave immediate relief to the centre of the town, would create -impediments to the regular growth of the suburbs, and, ultimately, as -the interments increase, diminish the salubrity of the suburbs. §§ 107, -108. - -2. That it would not _ultimately_ diminish any injurious effects arising -from the practice of interments amidst the abodes of the living; and -that its chief effect would be to transfer such evils from the districts -where they now prevail to the midst of the population of other -districts. §§ 105, 110. - -3. That these results would only be obtained at a considerable expense -to the rate-payers of the parishes from whence the practice of -interments is transferred. §§ 107, 108. - -4. That if burial in parochial grounds were transferred to such a -distance as not to interfere with the growth of the suburbs, the -increased distance of interments would occasion a proportionate increase -of the expense of interments to the labouring classes of the community. -§ 110. - -5. That inasmuch as the difficulty of obtaining the means of defraying -the expense of such classes of interments is frequently a powerful means -of increasing the evil of the long delay of the interments, the measures -proposed would tend to increase the most extensive and direct source of -injury to the health and morals of the survivors of the labouring -classes—the long retention of the corpse in their crowded and -ill-ventilated places of abode. §§ 43, 44. - -6. That interment by a parochial agency would aggravate or leave -untouched the other objections to the present practice of interments in -the metropolis. §§ 98, 99, 111. - - - _Practicability of ensuring for the Public superior Interments at - reduced Expenses._ - -The subject which may next be presented for consideration is how far the -pecuniary burthens may be reduced consistently with the sentiments -expressed by Jeremy Taylor, who deems it “a great act of piety, and -honourable, to inter our friends and relatives according to the -proportions of their condition, and so to give testimony of our hope of -their resurrection. So far is piety; beyond, it may be the ostentation -and bragging of grief to serve worse ends. In this, as in everything -else, as our piety must not pass into superstition or vain expense, so -neither must the excess be turned into parsimony, and chastised by -negligence and impiety to the memory of their dead.” - -§ 113. It appears, from detailed inquiries, made of tradesmen of -experience and respectability, who have answered explicitly the -questions put to them, that the expense of the materials at present -supplied for funerals admit of a reduction under general arrangements -of, at the least, 50 per cent. The practical experience of these -witnesses would justify a dependence on their testimony as to the -possible reduction of expenses, especially in case the public feeling -should be gained to change from the practice of having processions -through the town to the practice of processions nearer to the -cemeteries, by which the expenses of conveyance included in Mr. Wild’s -estimate would be diminished. It is stated by the latter that the -disposition evinced by the higher classes, is to reduce expensive -trappings. He states:— - - Is it not an occurrence of increasing frequency amongst the - respectable classes to express in their wills a wish to be buried - plainly, and at moderate expense?—Yes, it is; and they sometimes fix - sums. They fix such a sum as £150, where it has been usual to expend - such sums as £400 or £500. Parties of respectability now begin to - object to wearing cloaks and long hatbands. They are also beginning - to object to the use of feathers, and to the general display. The - system of performing funerals by written contract is also becoming - very prevalent. It is so frequent with me that I must have some - printed forms. - -Mr. J. Browning of Manchester, member of the large society alluded to, -as comprehending 150,000 members, states that they have evinced similar -tendencies. - - I have belonged to the Odd Fellows’ Society and to the Foresters’ - Society, and have served office in both in this town, Manchester. I - have belonged to them about 13 years. - - Do you find any alteration in the dispositions of the members of - those societies in respect to the ceremonies observed and the array - at funerals?—Yes, a very great alteration. - - In what respect?—In Manchester and Liverpool it used to be the - practice, when a member of either society died, that the members and - the officers attended decorated with their regalia, and followed the - corpse in procession. They used to assemble in bodies, as many as - two or three hundred, and there was a great deal of drinking. Now - these sort of processions are put a stop to by members, and there is - no regalia or processions used. Only a few members attend the - deceased member, and they attend only with black scarfs, white - gloves, and a black silk hatband, which is considered respectful. - But in some of the country places they still follow the practice, - and they will have the processions. - - But the general tendency is to render the ceremony more simple?—Yes, - and there is much less drinking in the towns. - -§ 114. These manifestations are ascribable to a consciousness of the -incompatibility of funereal displays through the crowded streets of -populous districts, and are consistent with the desire to obtain proper -respect for the deceased, shown in the objections to brief, meagre, and -hurried services, and in the selection of secluded and decorated places -of burial; it is shown, indeed, by the removal of the meretricious -trappings, which have lost their effect, and the preference of a more -quiet simplicity which, under such circumstances, forms a better means -of ensuring that respect. - -§ 115. Assuming the practicability of the accomplishment in this country -of administrative arrangements such as have been accomplished, and are -in habitual execution, abroad, to the great satisfaction of every class -of society, a primary regulation, which would be practicable, would be -to obtain for the public the opportunity of obtaining, at various -scales, supplies of goods and services for funerals. To Mr. Wild the -following questions were put:— - - Do you believe it to be practicable, by proper regulations, greatly - to reduce the existing charges of interments?—Yes, a very great - reduction indeed may be made—at least 50 per cent. - - May it be confidently stated that under such reductions, whatever of - respectability in exterior is now attached to the trapping, or to - the mode of the ceremony, might be preserved?—Oh, yes; I should say - it might, and that they could scarcely fail to be increased. - - Might not the expenses of the funerals of _the labouring classes_ be - greatly reduced without any reduction of the solemnity, or display - of proper and satisfactory respect?—Very considerable reductions may - be made, and attention to propriety very greatly increased. One - large item of expense is the expense of bearers: they cost, for a - walking funeral of an adult, 12_s._ Nine shillings of this expense - would be dispensed with if the burial were at a cemetery. This would - go towards the expense of conveyance, and contribute to the - compensation: besides, it would avoid for the mourners the - inconvenience and annoyance of walking through the crowded streets, - often in wet weather. One circumstance attending burial in - cemeteries would be, a diminution of the number of mourners: this - would occasion a diminution of the expense of funeral fittings. - - What is the lowest price for which a coffin is made?—The lowest - priced coffin at this time, is the adult pauper’s coffin, with a - shroud, but with no cloth or nails, or name-plate or handles, and - costs 3_s._ 6_d._; the contract is usually for deal, inch thick, but - they never are; if they were, they could not be supplied under - 4_s._; they often break when taken to the grave. - - What would be the price of a coffin deemed respectable by the - labouring classes, with name-plate and appropriate fittings - complete, if manufactured for an extensive supply?—The average price - of such coffins is now about 35_s._; but the same quality of coffin - might be supplied on a large scale for about 17_s._ - - What would be the price of coffins for persons of the middle class, - if supplied on a similar scale?—The prices vary with them from 3_l._ - to 10_l._; they have frequently double coffins; the same coffins - might be supplied from 30_s._ to 5_l._, or 50 per cent. less. - -§ 116. Mr. Hewitt, whose testimony has already been referred to, states, -that under general arrangements, it would be practicable to alleviate -the evil of the expense to an extent which would appear incredible. He -says— - - I have so far carefully considered the subject, that I should be - ready to take a contract for the performance of burials at the - following rates:—For a labouring man, 1_l._ 10_s._ without burial - fees; for a labourer’s child, 15_s._, for a tradesman, 2_l._ 2_s._; - for a tradesman’s child, 1_l._ 1_s._; for a gentleman, 6_l._ 7_s._ - 6_d._; for a gentleman’s child, 3_l._ 10_s._ These expenses are for - “walking funerals;” the expenses of hearses and carriages would - depend on the distance, and would make from one to two guineas each - carriage extra. - - All these, with the same descriptions of coffins, and with the same - respectability of attendance?—Yes, on the scale of about half the - existing burials in the metropolis; if it were for the whole, it - might be done much better, and in some instances perhaps at a - greater rate of reduction. - -§ 117. Mr. Wild gives, on similar grounds, the following estimate of the -practicable rates of expenses of interment with all decent appliances:— - - ─────────┬───────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────── - │ Tradespeople. │ Mechanics. - ─────────┼───────────────┬───────────────┼───────────────┬─────────────── - │ Adults. │ Children. │ Adults. │ Children. - ─────────┼───────┬───────┼───────┬───────┼───────┬───────┼───────┬─────── - │ From. │ To. │ From. │ To. │ From. │ To. │ From. │ To. - ─────────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼─────── - │£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._│£. _s._ - Coffin │ 1 5│ 4 4│ 0 15│ 1 10│ 0 17│ 1 5│ 0 10│ 0 15 - Fittings,│ 0 15│ 2 0│ 0 10│ 1 0│ 0 10│ 0 15│ 0 5│ 0 10 - &c. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Sundries │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Convey- │ 1 1│ 4 4│ 1 1│ 2 2│ 0 17│ 1 1│ 0 10│ 1 1 - ance │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - ─────────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼─────── - Totals │ 3 1│10 8│ 2 6│ 4 12│ 2 4│ 3 1│ 1 5│ 2 6 - ─────────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴─────── - -§ 118. Next to the arrangements practicable for the regulation of the -supplies of goods, the most important practicable arrangements for -reduction of expense are those which may regulate the services necessary -for interments. The item set forth in the above estimate of the charge -for conveyance is on the supposition of separate conveyance in the -present mode to the distant cemetery. With reference to the charge for -the poorer classes, Mr. Wild was asked— - - Might not several sets of mourners be carried in one - conveyance?—Yes; that has often occurred to me, and it would tend to - reduce the expense materially. When two or three children have died - in one street, and they have had to be buried in the same cemetery, - I have asked the parents whether, as they had to go to the same - place, they objected to go in the same conveyance, and they have - frequently stated that they had no objections. These were of the - more respectable classes of mechanics. - - In the fittings up of the coffins, is it considered that these would - be as good as those now used?—Quite as good. - -§ 119. One large item in the expense of funerals in the metropolis and -populous districts is the expense of hearers, § 115, who are provided -for each separate funeral. This expense is about 12_s._ for a set of -bearers for the funeral of an adult of the working classes. Formerly -common bearers were provided by the several parishes in the metropolis. -Any arrangements of a national character would include the provision of -a better regulated class of bearers at a greatly reduced expense. In the -course of the examination of Mr. Dix, the following information was -elicited:— - - It has been suggested that, if the hearse were always used, the - expense of bearers would be dispensed with in walking funerals. What - do you conceive would be the case?—I conceive that that would not be - the case, inasmuch as it would require bearers to remove the body - from the house to the hearse, and from the hearse to the grave. But - this difficulty might, I would suggest, be, to a great extent, - obviated by the establishment of public bearers, who should have the - exclusive right of removing all corpses, and whose rate of payment - should be fixed. - - What is the present rate of payment of bearers to the grave for the - labouring classes?—It is 2_s._ 6_d._ each. - - If public bearers were appointed, what might be the expense?—Much - less than one-half. - - Do you think that this principle of management would be satisfactory - to the working classes?—It is in fact an old method. Formerly there - were bearers in all parishes, appointed by the churchwardens. In the - parish of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, and in most of the city - parishes, the practice continues to this day. In the form of bills - of the various parish dues the charge for bearers remains to the - present day. - - Were these parish bearers less expensive than others?—No; they were - not. - - Why were they discontinued?—In consequence of these bearers often - becoming undertakers themselves, which created a jealousy amongst - the trade, who refused to employ them, and the parishes had no power - to compel their employment. Also in consequence of the men being - elected by the churchwardens; they were seldom elected until they - became of an age that rendered them incapable of performing the - duties properly. They were not properly dressed, and were under no - control. In recommending public bearers, I presume they would be - under a different control than a parochial one or than the - churchwardens. I would add, however, that as one set of bearers - cannot carry a corpse more than a mile, I would only propose them in - aid of the hearses. - -§ 120. Mr. Wild, who had previously volunteered the suggestion as to the -means of reducing the expenses of conveyance, by arrangements on an -extensive scale, observes, further, in reference to the bearers— - - “My first view as to the possible economy of funerals, was derived - from seeing that parish bearers were often made use of. The present - charge for bearers for mechanics is 12_s._ for the adults, or 3_s._ - per bearer. I was asking one of the parish bearers what he was - allowed, as the charge was included in the burial dues, which were - 1_l._ 5_s._ 6_d._ He told me they were paid 6_d._ per bearer, or - 2_s._ the set. He told me that they had borne six to the grave that - morning, and he had earned 3_s._ himself. This at the usual charge - would have been 3_l._ 12_s._; but properly provided bearers at the - cemetery might reduce the charges still further, perhaps to 3_d._ - each case.” - -§ 121. Before submitting for consideration any detailed arrangements for -securing, in a manner satisfactory to the people, better funerals at -less oppressive charges, it is necessary to premise, that there appear -to be no grounds to expect the extensive spontaneous adoption of -improved regulations by the labouring classes without aid _ab extra_. -The labour of communicating information to them, to be attended to at -the time it is wanted, would be immense. Their sources of information on -the occurrence of such events are either poor neighbours, as ignorant as -themselves, or persons who are interested in misleading them and -profiting by their ignorance, to continue expensive and mischievous -practices. As against such an evil as the undue retention of the bodies -amidst the living the usual mode of effecting a change would be simply -by a prohibitory ordinance, § 91, of which information would be conveyed -practically by the enforcement of penalties for disobedience of the law, -which it is assumed they know. The appointment of a responsible agency, -which would be respected, to convey the information of what may be -deemed requisite for the protection of the living and exercise influence -to initiate a change of practice, appears to all the practical witnesses -examined, § 102, to be a preferable course, as being the most suitable -to the temper of the people, and as being the least expensive, as well -as the most efficient. The very desolate and unprotected condition of -the survivors of the poorest classes, on the occurrence of a death in -large towns, appears to render some intervention for their guidance and -protection at that moment peculiarly requisite, as a simple act of -beneficence. Mr. Wild was asked— - - Amongst the poorer classes, is not the widow often made ill during - the protracted delay of the burial?—Yes, very often. They have come - to me in tears, and begged for accommodation, which I have given - them. On observing to them, you seem very ill; a common reply is, - “Yes, I feel very ill. I am very much harassed, and I have no one to - assist me.” I infer from such expressions that the mental anxiety - occasioned by the expense, and want of means to obtain the money, is - the frequent cause of their illness. My opinion is, that unless the - undertaker gave two-thirds of them time or accommodation for - payment, they would not be able to bury the dead at all. - - You state that they have no persons to assist them; do they - frequently, or ever, on such occasions, see any persons of - education, or of influence, from whom they might receive aid or - advice?—I never hear of such persons unless they happen to be - connected with some local association, when the survivors are - visited and get advice, and sometimes relief. - - If any gentleman were to visit them as a public officer, as the - officer of a board of health, would his recommendations have - influence with them?—Very great: the doctor now has the greatest - influence with them, but he does not attend them after the death. - -John Downing, a mechanic, the secretary of a Burial Society, whose duty -it was to visit the remains of the deceased members, was asked— - - After the death of the party have you ever, in visiting the - deceased, met any professional person or any gentleman attending to - give advice or consolation to the widow?—No. Never to my knowledge. - - Then on what advice will the widow act on the occurrence of a - death?—On the advice of the poor people in the neighbourhood, or of - any friends or relatives that may chance to call upon them; but I - never knew either medical man or minister attend professionally to - give advice or consolation. - - Is any notice of the death sent to the minister?—The working-classes - never think of that; the first thing and the only thing thought of - by them is to scrape together the money for the funeral. - - Do you think that a medical officer, an officer of public health, - attending gratuitously to inspect the body and register the cause of - death, and to give advice as to the proper means of conducting the - funeral, and the steps to be taken for the health of the living - would be respectfully received and have influence?—I am very - confident that he would have a very hearty welcome. I think a deal - of benefit would be derived from it to the feelings as well as the - health of the parties. - -§ 122. The curate of a populous district mentioned to me, as -illustrative of the practice in the crowded neighbourhoods in the -metropolis, that he had for a time lived in a house let off in lodgings -to respectable persons in the middle ranks of life, and though his -profession was known in the house, yet three deaths had taken place in -it of which he had no notice whatever, and only knew of them at the time -of the funeral. All the witnesses who have had experience amongst the -labouring classes, concur in the expression of confidence that the -visits and intervention of a public officer would at such a time be well -received by the poorest classes. - -Mr. Hewitt was asked— - - Do you conceive that respectable officers visiting the house of all - classes of the deceased immediately after the death, as medical - officers and officers of public health, to inquire as to the causes - of death and register them, would long fail to acquire powerful - influence in the suggestion of voluntary and beneficial sanitary - arrangements?—I think that an officer appointed from the first class - of physicians would be better received than a local medical man—as - an officer of the public health, whose opinions would be more - prized, and consequently would be sure to be received by all most - respectfully. Such an officer is calculated to do more good than can - easily be conceived, and would be able to execute such duties over - an extensive district. - - Would they have that sort of faith in a physician that they would - not have in any local medical officer?—They would receive well any - gentleman, and would act upon his advice. - - On the occurrence of a death, is there any one person of education, - or of superior condition in life, who comes near the working - classes?—Not one that I am aware; no one attends for such a purpose; - if any such person comes it must be accidental. - - It may perhaps be presumed that it is rare that any death occurs - without some medical man or medical officer having attended the - case?—Very few, and in those cases inquests are usually held. - - In the majority of cases, therefore, the labouring classes, on the - occurrence of a death, are left either to the advice of any - interested person who may come amongst them, or to the influence of - their equally uninformed neighbours?—Yes, certainly, that is the - case. - -§ 123. The principle of the measure proposed, _i. e._ a certificate of -the fact, and the cause of death, given on view of the body, and the -non-interment without such certificate, has been in operation perhaps -during two centuries. In the year 1595, orders were issued by the Privy -Council to the justices, enjoining them, that wherever the plague -appeared, they would see that the ministers of the church, or three or -four substantial householders, appointed persons to view the bodies of -all who died, before they were suffered to be buried. They were to -certify to the minister or the churchwarden, of what disease it was -probable each individual had died. The minister or the churchwarden was -to make a weekly return of the numbers in his parish that were infected, -or had died, and the diseases of which it was probable they had died. -These returns were to be made to the neighbouring justices, and by them -to the clerk of the peace, who was to enter them in a book to be kept -for the purpose. The justices, who assembled every three weeks, were to -forward the results to the Lords of the Privy Council. It is supposed -that this scheme of registration gave rise to the bills of mortality, -which have been preserved without interruption from the year 1603 until -the present period. It is conjectured also, that the appointment of -“searchers” originated at the same time. The alarm of the plague having -subsided, the office of searcher was, until the recent appointments of -registrars under the new Registration Act, given by the parish officers -to two old women in each parish, frequently pew-openers, who, having -viewed the body, demanded a fee of two shillings, in addition to which -they expected to be supplied with some liquor, and gave a certificate of -the fact and cause of death as they were informed of it, and this -certificate was received by the minister as a warrant for the interment. - -§ 124. The Rev. Mr. Stone observes on this topic— - - It would be well if the burial of the dead could be expedited by - some agency created for the purpose; something, for instance, like - the obsolete office of searcher. I never heard but one person make - an objection even to those inferior functionaries, and that one was - an educated person, who would probably have withdrawn the objection, - had the agency been one of a more refined, intelligent, and - conciliatory character. It might be a more delicate matter to secure - the removal of the corpse to be deposited elsewhere for any - considerable time before the burial; though, judging from one - practice, which has fallen under my observation, I feel justified in - supposing, that even this would not be met with universal - repugnance. A similar thing is now often done spontaneously from a - pecuniary motive, and for the purpose of evading burial dues. In my - parish ground, and, I believe, in others, the fees for the burial of - a non-parishioner, or person dying out of the parish, are double - those payable for a parishioner. But, if the undertaker employed is - a parishioner, this extra payment is easily evaded, by his - accommodating the corpse on his own premises. It is brought there - some time before the burial, and frequently from a considerable - distance; it then becomes a resident parishioner, and forthwith - claims the privilege of a parishioner. It claims to be admitted into - our burial ground at single fees; and, of course, the claim so made - cannot easily be disallowed. Indeed, by a little management, this - smuggling of dead bodies may be effected so that my clerk and - sexton, the only officers in my preventive service, may themselves - know nothing about it. It is probable, however, that such sanitary - arrangements as those adverted to would be best facilitated, and it - is certain that much mischief would be entirely prevented, by a - reduction in the amount of burial expenses. Indeed these expenses - ought, if possible, to be reduced for the sake of all classes, - whether they arise from too high a rate of burial fees, from the - prejudices of the people, or from the advantage that may be taken of - those prejudices or other circumstances by a class so directly and - deeply interested as the undertakers. - -§ 125. Several physicians of eminence in the metropolis, who are -conversant with the state and feelings of families of the middle and -higher classes on the occurrence of a death, have expressed their -confidence, that the most respectable families, who are stunned by the -blow, and are ignorant of the detail of the steps to be taken when a -death has occurred, would gladly pay for the attendance of any -respectable and responsible person, on whose information they might, -under such circumstances, rely. As already stated, the physician takes -no cognizance of the arrangements for interments, and knowing the -feelings that commonly arise when the undertaker’s bill is presented, -carefully avoids giving advice, or doing anything that may implicate him -with the arrangements for the interment. - -§ 126. In opening the consideration of remedial measures, it appears -incumbent to represent that there are many who, viewing what has been -accomplished abroad, and the inconvenience experienced in the metropolis -in respect to the oldest private trading burial grounds, object on -principle to the abandonment of acknowledged public functions and -services, and to leaving the necessities of the public as sources of -profit to private, and (practically for every-day purposes) -irresponsible associations. They submit, that if the steps in this -direction cannot be retraced, the public have claims that at all events -they shall be stayed. Such opinions may, perhaps, be the best -represented in the following portion of the communication from the Rev. -Wm. Stone. - - It may be thought that, in alluding to these private burial grounds, - I have expressed myself strongly, and indeed I am not anxious to - disavow having done so. The subject seems to me to justify such a - tone of expression. In all ages and nations, the burial of the dead - has been invested with peculiar sanctity. As the office that closes - the visible scene of human existence, it concentrates in itself the - most touching exercise of our affections towards objects endeared to - us in this life, and the most intense and stirring anxieties that we - can feel respecting an invisible state. And, appealing thus to - common sympathies of our nature, it has been universally marked by - observances intended to give it importance or impressiveness. The - faith and usage of Christians have given remarkable prominence to - this duty. The ecclesiastical institutes of our own country indicate - a jealous solicitude for the safe and religious custody of the - receptacles of the dead; and there are few of us, perhaps, to whom - those receptacles are not hallowed by thoughts and recollections of - the deepest personal interest. It is reasonable, then, that the - reverential impressions thus accumulated within us should shrink - from the contact of more selfish and vulgar associations. And one - may be excused for thinking and speaking strongly in reprobation of - a system which degrades the burial of the dead into a trade. - Throughout the whole scheme and working of this system, there is an - exclusive spirit of money-getting, which is revoltingly heartless; - and in some of its details there is an indecency which I have felt - myself compelled to allude to in the tone of strong condemnation. - - It is surely desirable that a state of things so vulgar and - demoralizing, should be put an end to, but at present there seems no - prospect of it. Of course, during the continuance of a competition - such as I have described, our parishioners will never return to our - parish burial grounds, and I have already remarked, that if they - did, they might not get interment there, inasmuch as it would, - perhaps, be found impossible to make our parochial system meet the - wants of any crowded population. There is little better chance of - the present offensive system of burial being superseded by the joint - stock cemeteries; for to the mass of our population these cemeteries - hold out hardly any advantages which are not possessed by the - private burial grounds, while they have to compete with those - grounds under disadvantages greater, in some instances, than those - which our churchyards have to contend with. - - Indeed, even if it were practicable, I should be sorry to see our - people handed over for burial to a joint stock company. I am very - far from saying this out of any sympathy with the popular, and often - indiscriminate and unreasonable jealousy felt towards all joint - stock companies. Nay, I see obvious reasons why the cemeteries of - such companies should be a great improvement upon the present system - of private speculation in burial grounds. And it may be thought - that, as a clergyman and an interested party, I may naturally prefer - these cemeteries, because their proprietors, unlike the private - speculators, are required to indemnify the clergy for loss of fees - by some amount of pecuniary compensation. But I do sympathize with - the common repugnance to consign to joint stock companies the - solemnities of Christian burial; and I believe that this repugnance - is not more common than it is strong. “And so,” said a highly - intelligent gentleman, pointing to a cemetery of this class, “the - time is come when Christian burial is made an article of traffic.” - And since the legislature has been reported to be contemplating the - removal of burials from populous places, it has been commonly - suspected of having been led to entertain the measure through the - influence of joint stock cemetery proprietors. In fact the - repugnance in question is no more than what I have already adverted - to. It is the state of feeling which shrinks from associating the - touching and impressive solemnities of burial with the profits of - trade. So far as the trading principle is involved, the joint stock - company is no better than the private speculator. However - disinterested may have been the motives which have induced some to - become shareholders in these companies, and I have been assured upon - authority which I respect, that many have done so without any - expectation or hope of profit upon their shares, yet the primary and - effective character of these associations is undeniably that of - trading associations, and they cannot be rescued from that character - by even numerous individual exceptions. Their managers, like the - proprietors of the private grounds, are assiduous in soliciting - attention to their lists of prices; and affiches, painted in large - letters, and placed at various outlets of the metropolis, with - genuine mercantile officiousness, direct the public, as in a case - close by my own parish, “To the E. L. Cemetery, only one mile and - a-half.” Surely we may say, that this system also involves much that - is inconsistent with reverential impressions of the sanctity of - burial, much that must either offend or deteriorate the better - feeling of our population. Then again, as regards burial services, - and other details in the working of the system, with what security - can we consign these to the tender mercies of a trading company? Why - should not the money-getting principle eventually come to operate - upon these points also, and, as in the private burial grounds, tempt - shareholders to sanction indecent and mischievous condescensions to - the interests, habits, tastes, and caprices of the people? What - security, at least, is there equal to that which is afforded by a - clergy and parochial establishments, responsible to the civil and - ecclesiastical authorities of the country, or which would be - afforded by what, for reasons before mentioned, I should think still - preferable, a national plan of burial, placed under a departmental - control of Government? - -The remedial measures hereafter submitted for consideration have been -deduced directly from the actual necessities experienced within the -field of inquiry, and such only are submitted as clearly suggested -themselves without reference to any external experience. The following -preliminary view of the experience of other nations is presented for -consideration on account of the confirmatory evidence which it contains, -as well as the instances to be avoided. - - -_Examples of successful Legislation for the Improvement of the Practice - of Interment._ - -§ 127. It appears that the evil of the expensive interments consequent -on the monopoly which the nature of the event, and the feelings of -survivors, gives to the person nearest at hand for the performance of -the undertaker’s service, is checked by special arrangements in America. -In Boston, and most of the large towns in America, there is a Board of -Health which nominates a superintendent of burial grounds, who is -invariably a person of special qualifications, and generally a medical -man. All undertakers are licensed by the Board of Health, by whom the -licence may at any time be revoked. The sexton of the church which the -deceased attended is usually the undertaker. The bills of the undertaker -are made out on a blank form, furnished by the public superintendent of -interment, to whom all bills are submitted, and by whom they are audited -and allowed, before they are presented for payment to the relations or -friends of the deceased. Previous to interment, the undertaker must -obtain from the physician who last attended the deceased, a certificate -specifying the profession, age, time of illness, and cause of death of -the deceased. This certificate is presented to the superintendent of -funerals. An abstract of these certificates, signed by the -superintendent of funerals, is printed every week in the public journals -of the city. The cost of a funeral for a person in the position of life -of the highest class of tradesmen in Boston, is about fifty dollars, or -10_l._ English, exclusive of the cost of the tomb. The price of a good -mahogany coffin would be fifteen dollars, or 3_l._ 5_s._ The price of a -most elegant mahogany coffin would be perhaps double that price. The -price of a pine coffin, such as are used for the persons of the -labouring classes, would be about four dollars. There is a peculiarity -in the coffins made in the United States,—that a portion of the lid, -about a foot from the upper end, opens upon a hinge. This, when opened, -exposes to view the face of the deceased, which is covered with glass. -The survivors are thus enabled at the last moment to take a view of the -deceased, without the danger of infection. In Germany, the coffins are -nailed down, every blow of the hammer frequently drawing a scream from -the female survivors. - -§ 128. In the chief German states it is adopted as a principle, that -provision shall be made, and it is made successfully, for meeting the -necessities of the population in respect to the undertakers’ supplies of -service and materials; and that on the occurrence of a death, those -necessities shall not be given up as the subject of common trading -profits to whatsoever irresponsible person may obtain the monopoly of -them. At Franckfort provision is made for these services and supplies of -material at the lowest cost to the public as part of a series of -arrangements comprehending the verification of the fact of death on view -of the body, the edifice for the reception and care of the dead previous -to interment, and the public cemeteries, all under the superintendence -of superior and responsible medical officers. The expenses of the -supplies of materials are reduced so low under these arrangements, that -they no longer enter into serious consideration as a burthen to be met -on such occasions. - -§ 129. At Berlin, a contract is made by the Government with one person -to secure funeral materials and services for the public at certain fixed -scales of prices. The materials and services are stated to be of a -perfectly satisfactory character; and yet the undertaker’s charge for a -funeral such as would here cost for an artisan 4_l._ and upwards, is not -more than 15_s._ English money; the charge for a middle class funeral is -about 2_l._, and for a funeral of the opulent class of citizens is -about, 10_l._ And yet I am assured that the contractors’ profits on the -extensive supplies required are deemed too high, and that the Government -will, on the renewal of the contract, find it necessary to protect the -poorer classes by a contract at a lower rate. - -§ 130. At Paris, interments are made the subject of a _fisc_; but a -contract is made with one head to secure services and supplies to the -private individual at reduced rates, and so far the system works -advantageously to the public. - -§ 131. The whole of the interments are there performed, and the various -burial and religious dues collected and paid under one contract, by -joint contractors for the public service at regulated prices, called the -_Service des Pompes Funèbres_. This establishment annually buries -gratis, upwards of 7000 destitute persons, or nearly one-third of all -who die in the city. The funerals and religious services are divided -into nine classes, comprehending various settled particulars of service, -for which a price is fixed. The appointed service for any of these -classes may be had on the terms specified in a tariff. This is found to -be a great benefit to testators and survivors, as it enables them to -settle the ceremonial with certainty, and without the possibility of any -extortion. The first class of funerals are of great pomp: they include -bearers, crosses, plumes, eighteen mourning coaches and attendants, -grand mass at church, 120 lbs. of wax tapers, an anniversary service, -and material of mourning cloth; and also the attendance of Monsieur le -Curé, two vicars, twenty-one priests, six singers and ten chorister -boys, and two instrumental performers, at a cost of 145_l._, for a -funeral superior in magnificence perhaps to any private funeral in -England. The charge for the service and materials of the ninth class, in -which there is the attendance of a vicar and a priest, and of a bass -singer or chorister for the mass, is about 15_s._ of English money. In -the service ordinaire there is less religious service, and that is -performed gratuitously. The only charge made is the price of the coffin, -which is five or seven francs, according to the size: the coffin is -covered by a pall, and carried on a plain hearse, drawn by two black -horses. This funeral is conducted by a superintendent and four -assistants, exclusive of the driver. The following is the scale of -charges, and the numbers interred under each, during two years:— - - ─────────────────────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬───────┬────── - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ 1st │ 2nd │ 3rd │ 4th │ 5th │ 6th - │Class.│Class.│Class.│Class.│Class. │Class. - ─────────────────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼────── - │ £. │ £. │ £. │ £. │£. _s._│ £. - Religious Funeral │ │ │ │ │ │ - Service │ 24│ 19│ 11│ 8│ 5 10│ 2 - Anniversary Religious│ │ │ │ │ │ - Service │ 26│ 20│ 12│ 9│ 6 0│ 3 - Undertaker’s Material│ │ │ │ │ │ - and Service │ 95│ 83│ 49│ 23│ 14 10│ 5 - ─────────────────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼────── - Total Expenses │ 145│ 122│ 72│ 40│ 26 0│ 10 - ─────────────────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼────── - Number of { 1839│ 23│ 52│ 138│ 256│ 828│ 1,457 - Burials { 1841│ 30│ 47│ 188│ 201│ 816│ 1,655 - ─────────────────────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴───────┴────── - ─────────────────────┬──────┬───────┬──────┬────────┬──────────┬─────── - │ │ │ │Total of│ │ - │ 7th │ 8th │ 9th │the nine│ Service │General - │Class.│Class. │Class.│Classes.│Ordinaire.│Total. - ─────────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼────────┼──────────┼─────── - │ £. │£. _s._│ _s._ │ │ │ - Religious Funeral │ │ │ │ │ │ - Service │ 1│ 0 16│ 11│ │ │ - Anniversary Religious│ │ │ │ │ │ - Service │ │ │ │ │ │ - Undertaker’s Material│ │ │ │ │ │ - and Service │ 3│ 1 11│ 4│ │ │ - ─────────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼────────┼──────────┼─────── - Total Expenses │ 4│ 2 7│ 15│ │ │ - ─────────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼────────┼──────────┼─────── - Number of { 1839│ 2,523│ 141│ 530│ 5,958│ 14,087│ 20,045 - Burials { 1841│ 2,377│ 78│ 715│ 6,107│ 14,185│ 20,292 - ─────────────────────┴──────┴───────┴──────┴────────┴──────────┴─────── - -§ 132. On the number of burials in Paris for 1841, the gross income -would be about 80,000_l._ per annum. Out of this sum the contractor pays -the fixed salaries of the staff of officers, which consists of a chief -inspector of funeral ceremonies, of 27 other directors besides, 78 -bearers, one inspector of cemeteries and four keepers; officers chiefly -appointed by the municipality. The total amount of the salaries which he -pays is 5862_l._, English money. He keeps an establishment of 30 hearses -and 76 carriages, with suites of minor attendants properly clothed, and -inters the 7000 of the pauper class gratuitously. The last contractor -paid annually to the municipality 17,000_l._, which sum was chiefly -devoted to ecclesiastical objects. The large profits which he realized -led to considerable competition, and a new contract was recently sealed -for nine years, securing for public purposes an annual income of -28,000_l._ - -Besides this amount, there is a revenue of about 20,000_l._ per annum -derived by the municipality from the sale of tombs, and from the tax on -interments, which is twenty francs for the interment of every adult, and -ten francs upon children under seven years of age. One-fifth of this -revenue, or about 4000_l._, is devoted to the hospitals. - -§ 133. The remains of those who die in the public hospitals in Paris, -and are not claimed by their friends, are, after dissection, merely -enclosed in a coarse cloth and deposited in the ground, without any -funereal rites. This number amounts, as stated, to no less than 7000 -annually. The total average deaths in Paris is from 28,000 to 30,000 -annually. This, in a population of 900,000, gives about one burial to -every thirty of the population annually, which is nearly as large a -proportion of annual deaths and burials as that in Manchester. The -deaths and burials in the British metropolis (though varying in -different parts, from 1 in 28, as in Whitechapel, to 1 in 56, as in -Hackney, chiefly according to the condition of the locality) average for -the entire population of 1,800,000 inhabitants, one death or burial in -every forty-two of the inhabitants, or one-fourth less of burials than -at Paris in proportion to the population. In Paris the average number of -inhabitants to every house is 36. If the mortality were there in the -proportion of London there would be 7,000 fewer burials yearly. An -assertion may be ventured, that more than this excess of mortality is -ascribable to the still lower sanitary condition of the labouring -population in Paris, which has its concomitant in a still lower moral -condition than yet prevails amongst the population of our large -towns.[26] - -§ 134. In Paris the law requires that the dead shall be interred within -twenty-four hours after the decease, but this law may be evaded by -neglect to give notice of the death. The general practice, however, -appears to be, that interments take place within two days. - -§ 135. In America, the later regulations manifest the tendency of the -general experience to connect the regulations of interment with the -general regulations for the protection of the public health, and to do -this by single, specially qualified, paid, and responsible officers, -rather than by Boards, or by any unskilled and honorary agency. The -revised statutes of Massachusetts introduce the alternative of the -appointment of a single officer. Every town is empowered to appoint a -Board of Health, “or a health officer:” and the Board so appointed may -appoint “a physician to the Board.” The Board acting by such officer may -destroy, remove, or prevent, as the case may require, all nuisances, -sources of filth, and causes of sickness. “Whenever any such nuisance or -source of filth, or cause of sickness shall be found on private -property, the Board of Health, or health officer, shall order the owner -or occupant thereof at his own expense to remove the same within -twenty-four hours, and if the owner or occupant shall neglect so to do, -he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars,” c. 21, s. 10. -In cases of the refusal of entry into private property, on complaint to -a magistrate, the magistrate may thereupon issue his warrant, “directed -to the sheriff, or either of his deputies, or to any constable of such -town, commanding them to take sufficient aid, and being accompanied by -two or more members of the said Board of Health, between the hours of -sunset and sunrise, to repair to the place where such nuisance, source -of filth, or cause of sickness complained of may be, and to destroy, -remove, or prevent, the same, under the direction of such members of the -Board of Health.” The cleansing of the streets and houses is in most -cases included in the functions of the Board of Health, or of the health -officer, who regulates the removal of all refuse. Sec. 14, c. 21. - -Every householder, when any of his family are taken ill, is required, on -a penalty of one hundred dollars,—and every physician in the like -penalty, on ascertaining that any person whom he visits is infected with -the small-pox, or other disease dangerous to the public health,—to give -immediate notice to the officers of public health, and they may, “unless -the condition of such person is such as not to admit of his removal -without danger of life,” remove him at once to the public hospital, -whatever may be his station in life. Sec. 43 and 44, c. 21. - -I have been favoured by Dr. Griscom, the inspector of interments at New -York, with the copy of a report on the sanitary condition of the -population of that city; which points out the great extent of deaths -that are preventible by the adoption of means similar to those -recommended in the General Report for the improvement of the sanitary -condition of the population in Great Britain. This report, revealing -extensive causes of death in New York, of which a large proportion of -the population must have been unaware, may be adduced in proof of the -immense services derivable from such an office, when zealously executed, -in guarding against evils more destructive than wars.[27] - -§ 136. In Munich, and in other towns in Germany, the visits and -verification of the fact of death as the warrant for interment, is felt -to be an important public security, and is highly popular; but one cause -of its popularity is the jurisprudential functions of the officer of -health, as means of preventing premature interments, and the escape of -crime; for comparatively little attention appears yet to have been given -to the practical means afforded by the office of tracing out and -removing the causes of disease. The difficulty appears to be in respect -to the jurisprudential functions of the officers of health to satisfy -the public anxiety for the exercise of solemn care in _every_ case of a -multitude, where only one case in that multitude will, on the doctrine -of chances, be a case calling for intervention; and where it is not -provided, as it may and ought to be, that the discovery of that one -shall be a matter of deep personal interest, instead of a mere source of -trouble to the officer himself, his examinations may be expected to -degenerate into a routine in which the intended security will fail in -the less obvious cases. - -In later times very comprehensive regulations as to the sites and -management of cemeteries, and the service of officers of health, who -have charge of the cemeteries, have been adopted throughout the Austrian -dominions, and it is stated that they work very satisfactorily. On the -occasion of every death by accident or violence, or of suspicion, a -close inquiry as to the causes is made by the town physician. In Vienna -a strict inquiry is made into every such death by the following -officers, who all attend for that purpose;—namely, the town physician, -the surgeon in chief, the professor of pathological anatomy, a lawyer, -and in some cases, when analyses are required, a chemist. The results of -their examinations are set forth in a “protocol,” a carefully prepared -document, “_bien motivé_,” which sometimes takes two or three days in -drawing up. The effect of this inquiry is the prevention, to a great -extent, of crimes of violence, and the production of public confidence. -It is stated to be highly popular. - -§ 137. In Paris some cases have of late occurred, which have created -much public uneasiness by the evidence they afforded of the defective -organization of the service of the officers of health, and occasioned it -recently to undergo an examination with the view to the adoption of -better securities. It appears that, from a very early period, to satisfy -the public solicitude, the law required the fact of the reality of a -death to be verified by the personal visit and inspection of the Maire -of the district of the city where the death had taken place. -Subsequently, the Maires were allowed to delegate this duty to officers -of their own nomination, persons qualified for the duties by a medical -education, and who were called _Officiers de Santé_. But the -appointments thus made by the Maires did not give public satisfaction; -and in the year 1806 it was required that the persons appointed as -“officiers de santé” by the Maires, should be chosen by them from -amongst the doctors in medicine and surgery who were attached to the -public hospitals. They appear, however, to have been mostly chosen -without reference to public qualifications, from their own medical -friends in private practice. This arrangement of appointing persons in -private practice appears to have prevailed in other countries, and to -have frustrated much of the benefits otherwise derivable from the -institution. Thirty-five of these private practitioners are now -appointed to perform the duty. Reports have gained ground that from -negligent discharge of the duty, persons had even been buried alive, and -that the verification had been given in cases of murder. On a recent -commission of inquiry, the celebrated surgeon, M. Orfila, thus speaks of -the necessity of the verification of the fact of the decease. - - “It is possible to be interred alive! Interments may take place - after murder, committed with the knife or by means of poison, - without a suspicion being created that the death has been occasioned - by violence. Ignorance or malevolence may attribute to crime deaths - that have occurred from natural causes!” - -After referring to ancient cases in which evidence was recorded of -parties having been buried alive, he adduces the following recent -instances of parties having been interred without due verification of -the cause of death by the _Officier de Santé_:— - - “We all know the case of the death of the grocer in the Rue de la - Paix, who died of poison by arsenic. The interment took place after - the verification of the death. In about a month afterwards I was - called upon to examine the body as to the poison. Although the - putrefaction of the corpse of the person who was of a very full - habit had been much advanced, I was enabled to discover the presence - of the arsenic by which the crime had been perpetrated. - - “The widow Danzelle, of the Rue Beauregard, was found dead in her - bed on the 1st of January, 1826. The certificate of the decease was - given in due form to the relations to authorise the interment. In - that certificate, given to M. le Commissaire de Police, the medical - practitioner declared, ‘the death has taken place, and it appears - that it has been occasioned by a commotion of the brain with - hæmorrhage.’ ‘The deceased’ added he, ‘lived alone; she was found - dead in her chamber, where she appeared to have fallen down.’ The - municipal authorities caused the interment to be adjourned, and - required a new examination of the body in the presence of the - Commissioner of Police, assisted by two doctors in medicine. The - result of the examination was, ‘that Madame the widow Danzelle had - fallen under the blows of an assassin; the corpse bore five recent - wounds in the neck, made with a cutting instrument, and the carotid - artery had been divided.’ - - “In the month of July, a child of Dame Revel, Rue de Seine Saint - Germain, died very suddenly. The authorities being informed that the - child had been the subject of much ill-treatment on the part of the - parents, ordered an inquiry and _une expertise medico-legale_. The - examination of the body showed that the rumours as to the barbarous - conduct of Dame Revel, the mother, were but too well-founded. Dr. - Olivier testified to the fact, that the body bore twenty-seven - recent contusions on the body and members, and a fracture of nearly - five inches in extent, which almost entirely broke through one of - the bones of the cranium. - - “The death of this poor child, which was three years and three - months old, awakened suspicions which had arisen on the death of its - eldest brother, of eight years of age, which had been interred on - the 28th of February preceding. The body was disinterred, and Dr. - Olivier, to whom this second examination was confided, - notwithstanding the length of time that had occurred since the - death, found traces of numerous contusions on the body and members, - and a wound above the right ear, with a fracture and disjunction of - the bones of the cranium.” - -And notwithstanding in this, as in the other case, the interment was -effected without observations.[28] - -After giving instances where the innocent were justified or suspicions -were allayed by post mortem examinations, which proved that deaths -suspected to have been from murder had occurred from natural causes, M. -Orfila concludes by stating:— - - “I do not believe that it often happens that persons are interred - alive in Paris, though I must admit that such events may take place; - but I am convinced that the earth has covered and continues to cover - crimes without any suspicion being raised in respect to them.” - -§ 138. Another report imputes the neglects of the “officiers de santé,” -to the forgetfulness of duties, the force of habit or routine, the -results of age and infirmities; and the chief remedy recommended, and -now apparently in course of adoption in Paris, is the erection on the -unsubstantial foundation of service by a number of private -practitioners, of two additional stages as securities, namely, of three -paid medical officers, who are to devote their time to the -superintendence of the performance of the public duties by the private -practitioners, and, secondly, a certain number of high honorary -officers, who are to superintend both classes of paid officers. This is -an example of one of those superficial alterations, in which, from want -of firmness on the part of the legislature to compensate fairly and -amply the interests which it is obviously necessary to disturb, and from -not duly regarding and estimating the immense amount of pain and public -evil which requires measures of alleviation of corresponding extent and -efficiency; consequently from allowing that amount of pain and mortality -to weigh as dust against local patronage and latent sinister -interests,—that evil is only masked, and more widely and deeply spread -by the intended remedy. Of a certainty the attention of every private -practitioner, as he gains practice, whilst acting as a public officer, -must every hour of the day be _from_ his public duties, and _with_ the -means of adding to his emoluments. That the least possible time may be -taken from them, the public duties are slurred over, conclusions are -snapped from the readiest superficial incidents; extensive and -removable, but latent causes of evil, the development of which would -require sustained and laborious examination, are perpetuated, by being -stamped authoritatively as “accidental” or arbitrarily classed under -some general term assigning the evils as the results of some inscrutable -cause. The three superior paid inspectors will not long be able to -stimulate the thirty-five private practitioners to a close attention to -their public duties against their paramount and ever-pressing interests, -or will soon tire of doing so. The service will become one of mere -routine and of short and easy acquiescence in all except the most -extraordinary cases which present an appearance of danger to the officer -himself if he overlook them. Under such arrangements, the functions of -the office degenerates into a highly prejudicial form, protracting the -evil, by creating an impression from the fact of the existence of the -office, that all has been done in the way of prevention or remedy that -can be done by such an officer. The admixture of private practice with -important public duties in such cases, is attended with further evil in -depriving the public of much volunteer service from the whole class of -private practitioners, for many who would give information to advance -science, or to aid the public service, can scarcely be expected to give -cordial aid that may add to the credit and promote the interests of a -rival. To the people themselves such services, from a locally connected -private practitioner, are generally less acceptable than those of an -independent and responsible public officer. The official service must, -in time, fail to inspire confidence, for it must fail to elicit evidence -to justify public confidence. The additional expense of the three -additional officers will only have created an additional interest, in -slurring over cases that may have been overlooked by the other class of -officers, involving blame for remissness to the superior officers. When -exposures do take place, these two classes of officers will only add to -the means of perplexing public attention, and of dividing and weakening -responsibility. If less than half the number of officers, devoting their -whole time to the service, would be sufficient (as will be shown they -would), for the efficient discharge of these highly important duties in -London, less than one-third of the number would suffice in Paris. - -§ 139. Except in the regulation of the expenses of the funerals, there -appears to be nothing in the practice of interments in Paris, that -deserves to be considered with a view to imitation. Indeed, the whole -arrangements there are now under revision, and exertions are being made -for their improvement. The little account that appears to have been at -any time made of the feelings of the labouring classes, and the burial -after dissection, of the poor dying in hospitals, without funereal -rites, the almost total omission of any marks of sympathy or respect -towards their remains,—cannot but have a most demoralizing effect on the -survivors. The mode in which the evil of the retention of the corpse -amidst the living is provided for by the law, which requires that -interments shall take place within twenty-four hours after notice, must -frequently oppress the feelings of the dying and of survivors, and -harass them with alarms which the medical inspection provided, as we -have seen, § 137, is not of a character to allay. The intermediate stage -of removal provided at Franckfort and other German towns; the retention -of the corpse in a separate room warmed and ventilated, and watched at -all hours, and lighted during the night; the regular medical attendance -and inspection, and other cares bestowed until there are unequivocal -signs of dissolution, and the minds of all classes are satisfied, -appears to be a superior arrangement, salutary in its effect and -principle.[29] Beyond these benevolent arrangements may be commended the -acts of real good will and charity by which the feelings of the -labouring classes are consulted and satisfied by community of sepulture, -and the benevolent care and spirit of good will in which it appears to -be maintained. - - - _Experience in respect to the sites of Places of Burial, and sanitary - precautions necessary in respect to them._ - -There appear to be very important questions connected with the -consideration of the site of the place of burial to populous districts. - -§ 140. The question of the distance of places of burial (irrespective of -convenience of conveyance) appears to be dependent on the numbers -buried,—on the composition and preparation of the ground,—on the -elevation or depression of the place of burial,—and its exposure to the -atmosphere and the direction of the prevalent winds for the avoidance of -habitations. - -§ 141. The extent of burial ground requisite for any district will be -determined by the rate of decomposition. - -§ 142. At Franckfort and Munich, and in the other new cemeteries on the -continent, where qualified persons have paid attention to the subject, -the general rule is not to allow more than one body in a grave. The -grounds for this rule are,—that, when only one body is deposited in a -grave, the decomposition proceeds regularly,—the emanations are more -diluted and less noxious than when the mass of remains is greater; and -also that the inconvenience of opening the graves, of allowing escapes -of miasma, and the indecency of disturbing the remains for new -interments, is thereby avoided; and in the case of exhumations, the -confusion and danger of mistaking the particular body is prevented. - -§ 143. The progress of the decay of the body is various, according to -the nature of the soil and the surrounding agencies. Clayey soils are -antiseptic; they retain the gases, as explained by Mr. Leigh; they -exclude the external atmosphere, and are also liable to the -inconvenience of becoming deeply fissured in hot weather and then -allowing the escape of the emanations which have been retained in a -highly concentrated state. Loamy, ferruginous, and aluminous soils, moor -earth, and bog, are unfavourable to decomposition; sandy, marly, and -calcareous soils are favourable to it. Water, at a low temperature, has -the tendency, as already explained, to promote only a languid -decomposition, which sometimes produces adipocire in bodies: a high and -dry temperature tends to produce the consistency and permanency of -mummies. A temperature of from 65 degrees Fahrenheit and upwards, and a -moist atmosphere, is the most favourable to decomposition. The remains -of the young decompose more rapidly than those of the old, females than -males, the fat than the lean. The remains of children decompose very -rapidly. On opening the graves of children at a period of six or seven -years, the bodies have been found decomposed, not even the bones -remaining, whilst the bodies of the adults were but little affected. The -process of decomposition is also affected by the disease by which the -death was occasioned. The process is delayed by the make of some sorts -of coffins. The extreme variations of the process under such -circumstances as those above recited is from a few months to 30 years or -half a century. Bones often last for centuries. - -§ 144. The regulation of the depth of the graves has been found to be a -subject requiring great attention, to avoid occasioning too rapid an -evolution of miasma from the remains, and at the same time to avoid its -retention and corruption, to avoid the pollution of distant springs, and -also to avoid rendering increased space for burial requisite by the -delay of decomposition usually produced by deep burial, for the ground -usually becomes hard in proportion to the depth, and delays the -decomposition. Attention to these circumstances by qualified persons in -Germany has led to different regulations of the depth of graves at -different ages. At Stuttgart the different depths are as follows: for -bodies of persons— - - ft. in. - Under 8 years 3 9 - 8 to 10 years 4 7 - 10 to 14 years 5 7 - Adults 6 7 - -At the Glasshutte, in the Erzgebirge, the depths are as follows: - - ft. in. - Under 8 years 3 8 - 8 to 14 years 4 7 - Adults 5 0 - -At Franckfort the average depth prescribed for graves is 5 ft. 7 in.; at -Munich 6 ft. 7 in.; in France 4 ft. 10 in. to 6 ft.; in Austria 6 ft. 2 -in., if lime be used. - -§ 145. Space between graves is also a matter requiring attention to -avoid the uncovering of the coffin in one grave in opening another, and -to avoid the accidents arising from the falling in of the sides of the -graves: this space must vary according to the consistency of the ground -and the depth of the graves. At Munich and Stuttgart the space -prescribed, is in round numbers, rather more than 32 square feet to each -adult. To avoid treading on the graves, and to allow the access of -friends, spaces must be allowed also for walks. - -These circumstances considered, the space requisite for the interments -in a town may be determined by the multiplication of the average square -superficies of a grave, by the average yearly mortality, and the period -of years which the grave is to remain closed. “As an example,” says Dr. -Reicke, “of the mode of calculating the necessary space for the burial -ground of a populous district, I will take a town of 35,000 inhabitants. -Accordingly of this number it may be reckoned there will yearly die -1000. Of the number 500 will be adults, 50 children, from 7 to 14, and -450 children from 0 to 7 years. For the adults, allowing more than the -most economical space, I calculate graves of 48 square feet Wirtemburg -(_i. e._ 54·72 square feet English); for the children between 7 and 14 -years, 24 square feet (27·36 English feet); and for those under 7, 20 -square feet (22·80 English). For the adults I take a period of 10 years, -for the youth 8 years, for the infants 7 years, as the time during which -periods the grave must not be opened.” According to this calculation the -space required for the interment of the several classes would be— - - English Numbers English - Square Dead. Years. Square - Feet. Feet. - 1. Adults. 54·72 × 500 × 10 = 273,600 - 2. Youth. 27·36 × 50 × 8 = 10,944 - 3. Infants. 22·80 × 450 × 7 = 71,820 - ——————— - Total 356,364 - -“According to the usual calculation the requisite space would be:— - - 39·90 × 1,000 × 10 = 399,000. - -So that, by the above calculation and classification, there is a saving -of 42,636 square feet. - -“I must, however, beg to be understood that this calculation is only -meant to serve as an example, and that the factors on which it is -grounded must undergo the necessary variations, according as the soil is -more or less favourable to decomposition, and therefore requiring a -longer or shorter period of rest; and according to the greater or less -consistency of the soil, and therefore requiring the space between the -graves to be greater or less; and, lastly, according as the average -mortality varies, and especially the rate of mortality of the three -classes of ages.” - -These factors would give different results for different populations, -according to their different proportions of death. As an example of a -town population, in Whitechapel the proportion of deaths for every -35,000 of the population will be 1125 deaths yearly. As an example of a -rural population, for every 35,000 of the population in Hereford, there -will only be 562 deaths annually, and the space required for interments -for the two populations will be as follows, at the actual rate of deaths -per 35,000 amongst the population in the Whitechapel Union in 1839: - - English Total Average - Square Number of Age of Area in Square - Feet. Deaths. Grave. Square Feet. - Feet. - 1. Adults. 54·72 × 568 × 10 = 310,810 - 2. Youths. 27·36 × 31 × 8 = 6,785 - 3. Children. 22·80 × 524 × 7 = 83,639 - ————— ——————— - 1,123 401,234 39·07 - ————— ——————— ————— - -Rate of deaths per 35,000 in the Herefordshire Unions in 1839: - - English Total Average - Square Number of Age of Area in Square - Feet. Deaths. Grave. Square Feet. - Feet. - 1. Adults. 54·72 × 382 × 10 = 209,030 - 2. Youths. 27·36 × 16 × 8 = 3,502 - 3. Children. 22·80 × 164 × 7 = 26,174 - ——— ——————— - 562 238,706 44·62 - ——— ——————— ————— - - This gives for a rural population 976 graves per acre. - For a town population 1,117 graves per acre. - -But in consequence of the smaller proportion of children dying in the -rural district, a larger space is requisite than would appear from a -comparative number of the interments if the graves were of the same -size. The average size of the different graves may be taken as an -epitome of the strength of the same numbers of the two populations: that -of the town grave being in round numbers 39 feet, while the rural grave -is 44 feet. - -Nevertheless, the extent of land requisite for cemetery, on a decennial -period of renewal, for a population of 20,000 in a rural district would -be only 4–4/10 acres, whilst for 20,000 of such a town population as -that of Whitechapel, it would be 7–4/10 acres. - -§ 146. In 1838 the deaths in the metropolis were nearly 52,000; and for -round numbers the average maybe taken as 50,000 annually. Such an amount -of mortality would require on the scale proposed by Dr. Riecke, for the -several classes of graves, about 48 acres, or a space of nearly the size -of St. James’s Park within the rails, annually. On the same scale, -supposing the interments generally renewable in decennial periods, the -space required for national cemeteries in the metropolis would be 444 -acres, or a space coextensive with Hyde Park, which has 350 acres, and -the Green Park and St. James’s Park put together; or rather more than -one-fourth more than the Regent’s Park, which has 350 acres; or -one-fourth less space than the Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens taken -together. But besides the spaces for the cemeteries, spaces would be -requisite as belts of land surrounding them, and to be kept clear of -houses. - -§ 147. The proper distance of places of interment from houses, is -calculable according to the number of interments. On this subject there -have been some, though not complete observations. There is a church-yard -at Stuttgart, in which 500 bodies are interred yearly, at depths varying -with the age, according to the scale of regulations stated, with no more -than one corpse in each grave, yet a north-west wind renders the -emanations from the ground perceptible in houses distant from 250 to 300 -paces. The stench of the carrion pits at Montfaucon is almost -insupportable to a person not used to it, at a distance of 6500 feet, -and with certain winds at double that distance, and under some -circumstances even to the distance of five miles. Besides the surface -emanations, the pollution of the subsoil drainage and springs have to be -regarded. Captain Vetch states, that on some plains in Mexico, where -animals have been slaughtered and buried in pits in permeable ground, -the effects on vegetation were to be seen along the edges of a brook for -a distance of three-quarters of a mile. In some parts they actually -slaughtered and buried animals for the purpose of influencing the -surrounding vegetation. By the best regulations in Germany, as already -stated, wells are forbidden to be sunk near grave-yards, except at -certain distances, such as 300 feet. _Ante_, §§ 13, 14. - -§ 148. On such data as have been obtained, the distance of a cemetery -ought to vary according to its size, or the number of the population for -whom burial is required. The cemetery for a small population of from 500 -to 1000 inhabitants, should, Dr. Reicke considers, be not less than 150 -paces; for 1000 to 5000 inhabitants, not less than 300 paces; for above -5000, not less than 500 paces. In Prussia, the distance from houses at -which cemeteries may be built, is fixed at not less than 500 paces; at -Stralsund, in Prussia, at 1000 paces. - -§ 149. It is recommended that in general public cemeteries should be -placed at the east or the north, or the north-east of a town: the south -and south-west winds, being usually moist, hold the putrefactive gases -in solution more readily than the north, or north-east winds, which are -dry. The higher the elevation of a cemetery, the nearer may it be -permitted to a city, as putrefactive gases are lighter than the -atmosphere and ascend. For the same reason, cemeteries lower than the -houses should be at a greater distance. A site, with a slope to the -south, is deemed the best, as it will be drier and warmer, and -facilitate decomposition. - -§ 150. Competent witnesses declare, that by a careful preparation of the -ground, and without any appliances that would be otherwise than -acceptable to the most fastidious minds, the escape of miasma may be so -regulated as to avoid all injury to the health, and springs may be -protected from pollution by drainage; and that by these means the -necessity of far distant sites, and the inconvenience and expense of -conveyance of the remains, and obstructions to the access of friends to -the place of burial, may be avoided. - -§ 151. Amongst these means, one for preventing the escape of emanations -at the surface by absorbing and purifying them, is entirely in -accordance with the popular feeling. The great body of English poetry, -which it has been remarked is more rich on the subject of sepulture than -the poetry of any other nation, abounds with reference to the practice -of ornamenting graves with flowers, shrubs, and trees. A rich vegetation -exercises a powerful purifying influence, and where the emanations are -moderate, as from single graves, would go far to prevent the escape of -any deleterious miasma. It is conceived that the escapes of large -quantities of deleterious gasses by the fissuring of the ground would -often be in a very great degree prevented by turfing over the surface, -or by soiling, that is, by laying vegetable mould of five or six inches -in thickness and sowing it carefully with grasses whose roots spread and -mesh together. At the Abney Park Cemetery, where the most successful -attention is paid to the vegetation, this is done; but in some districts -of towns it marks the impurity of the common atmosphere that even grass -will not thrive; and that flowers and shrubs which live on the river -side, or in spaces open to the breeze, become weakly and die rapidly in -the enclosed spaces in the crowded districts. Several species of -evergreens, and the plants which have gummy or resinous leaves, that are -apt to retain soot or dust, die quickly. The influence, therefore, of a -full variety of flowers and a rich vegetation, so necessary for the -actual purification of the atmosphere, as well as to remove associations -of impurity, and refresh the eye and soothe the mind, can only be -obtained at a distance from most towns. It occasionally happens that -individuals incur expense to decorate graves in the town churchyards -with flowers, and more would do so, even in the churchyards near -thoroughfares, but that they perish. - -§ 152. Mr. Loudon recommends for planting in cemeteries, trees chiefly -of the fastigiate growing kinds, which neither cover a large space with -their branches nor give too much shade when the sun shines, and which -admit light and air to neutralize any mephitic effluvia. Of these are, -the Oriental Arbor Vitæ, the Evergreen Cypress, the Swedish and Irish -Juniper, &c. For the same reason, trees of the narrow conical forms, -such as the Red Cedar, and various pines and firs are desirable. In -advantageously situated cemeteries, some of the larger trees, such as -the Cedar of Lebanon, the Oriental Plane, the Purple Beech, the dark -Yew, and the flowering Ash, sycamores, Mountain Ash, hollies, thorns, -and some species of oaks, such as the Evergreen Oak, the Italian Oak, -with flowering trees and shrubs, would find places in due proportion. - -§ 153. There is one point of view in which the site of cemeteries does -not appear to have been considered on the continent, and perhaps in no -place could it be of so much importance as in London, namely, the -convenience of access for processions, including in the consideration -the protection of the inhabitants of particular quarters from an excess -of funereal processions, and the mourners from the conflicting -impressions consequent on a passage through thoroughfares crowded by a -population unavoidably inattentive. It might be found on a survey that -the banks of the river present several eligible sites for national -cemeteries, and one pre-eminent recommendation of such sites would be -the superior and economical means of conveyance they would afford by -appropriate funereal barges, for uninterrupted and noiseless passage -over what has been denominated “The Great Silent Highway.” - - - _Extent of Burial Grounds existing in the Metropolis._ - -§ 154. The rule, as deduced (§ 142.) from the German practice, would -give an average of 110 burials per acre per annum in a town district. - -§ 155. In 1834, some returns of the extent of burial grounds and the -number of burials during the three years preceding, in the places of -burial within the diocese of the Bishop of London and the bills of -mortality, were laid before the House of Commons. From those it appeared -that the ground occupied as burial ground within the diocese amounted to -103 acres, and that the average number of burials was 22,548, or 219 per -acre, being from 108 to 117 more per acre than the preceding rule would -give. In some grounds the number of interments were as high as 891 per -acre. But that return did not include the burials in the whole of the -metropolis. From the results of a systematic inquiry which has been -recently made throughout the whole district of the metropolis (as -defined in the report of the Registrar-General) into the extent of the -burial-grounds and the average weekly number of burials at each place, -it appears that the total area now occupied as burial ground, including -the new cemeteries, and the annual rate of burial in each class, is, as -nearly as can be ascertained, as follows:— - - ────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬────────── - │ │ Annual │ Average │ Highest │ Lowest - Burial Grounds │ │Number of │ Annual │Number of │Number of - in the │ Area in │ Burials, │Number of │ Burials │ Burials - Metropolis. │ Acres. │exclusive │ Burials │ per Acre │ per Acre - │ │ of Vault │per Acre. │ in any │ in any - │ │ Burials. │ │ Ground. │ Ground. - ────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────── - Parochial │ 176–3/10│ 33,747│ 191│ 3,073│ 11 - Grounds │ │ │ │ │ - Protestant │ │ │ │ │ - Dissenters’ │ 8–7/10│ 1,715│ 197│ 1,210│ 6 - Grounds │ │ │ │ │ - Roman Catholics │ 0–3/10│ 270│ 1,043│ 1,613│ 814 - Jews │ 9–2/10│ 304│ 33│ 52│ 13 - Swedish Chapel │ 0–1/10│ 10│ 108│ │ - Undescribed │ 10–9/10│ 3,197│ 294│ 1,109│ 5 - Private Grounds │ 12–6/10│ 5,112│ 405│ 2,323│ 50 - ────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────── - Total of │ │ │ │ │ - Intra-mural │ 218–1/10│ 44,355│ 203│ 1,080│ 46 - Grounds │ │ │ │ │ - ────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────── - Total of New │ 260–5/10│ 3,336│ 13│ 155│ 4 - Cemeteries │ │ │ │ │ - Vault Burials │ │ 789│ │ │ - ────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴────────── - -The total numbers of burials, as ascertained by verbal inquiry at each -graveyard, approximate so nearly to the total numbers of deaths as to -afford a presumption in favour of the general accuracy of these -returns.[30] - -§ 156. The most crowded burial grounds, on the average, are, it appears, -the grounds which belong to private individuals, usually undertakers. In -these places an uneducated man generally acts as minister, puts on a -surplice, and reads the church service, or any other service that may be -called for. These grounds are morally offensive, and appear to be -physically dangerous in proportion to the numbers interred in them. In -one of them the numbers interred appears to be at the rate of more than -2,300 per acre per annum. Names are given to these places by the owners, -importing connexion with congregations, but without any apparent -authority for doing so. They are repudiated by the most respectable -Dissenters. On this point it appears to be just to submit an extract -from a communication (on his individual responsibility) from the Rev. -John Blackburn, Pentonville, one of the secretaries of the Union of -Congregational Dissenters:— - - I have no facts to communicate relating to the _physical_ effects - produced by the present crowded state of the old grave-yards, but I - am sure the moral sensibilities of many delicate minds must sicken - to witness the heaped soil, saturated and blackened with human - remains and fragments of the dead, exposed to the rude insults of - ignorant and brutal spectators. Immediately connected with this, - allow me to mention that some spots that have been chosen both by - episcopalians and dissenters, are wet and clayey, so that the splash - of water is heard from the graves, as the coffins descend, producing - a shudder in every mourner. I may with confidence disclaim the - imputation that the grave-yards of dissenters were primarily and - chiefly established with a view to emolument. Many grave-yards that - are private property, purchased by undertakers for their own - emolument, are regarded as dissenting burial grounds, and we are - implicated in the censures that are pronounced upon the unseemly and - disgusting transactions that have been detected in them.—These are - not dissenting but general cemeteries: dissenters use them for the - reasons already stated [which are omitted, being the objections - urged by dissenters against the indiscriminate use of the burial - service.] The pastor of the bereaved family accompanies them to the - grave, or meets them there, adapts his ministrations to their known - circumstances, and without fee or reward—except in rare - cases—discharges them as part of his pastoral work. By far the - greatest portion of the persons buried in these grounds are not - dissenters at all; and to meet the feelings of their connections the - proprietors of these grounds obtain the services of men, who, - without scruple, ape the clergyman, assume the surplice, and read - the service of the church; a fact which is sufficient to show that - they are not dissenters themselves, nor seeking to conciliate - dissenting objections. The congregational or independent - denomination, to which I belong, have about 120 chapels in and - around London, and I believe there is not more than a sixth part of - them that have grave yards attached, and all those are not in the - hands of trustees appointed by the people. But, as far as I know and - believe, there are but very few of these open to the sweeping - censures that have been pronounced upon them. At a recent meeting of - the congregational ministers of the metropolis they resolved, “That - this board will always hail with satisfaction the adoption of any - efficient means to correct abuses connected with burial grounds, as - well general as parochial, where such abuses are proved to exist;” - and I trust that the character of dissenters in general for good - citizenship, is sufficient to assure you that they will never permit - their private interests to oppose any great measures for our social - improvement that are really national in their spirit and design. - -As the sufficiency of the burial grounds existing within the metropolis -does not properly come into question under the general conclusion that -there ought to be none there, the only observation I at present submit -upon the space of ground now occupied is that it would serve hereafter -advantageously to be kept open as public ground. - -§ 157. The well considered regulations then, give about 1452 common -graves per acre for a town population. § 145. In the arrangements made -for cemeteries belonging to a joint stock company, it is calculated that -every acre of ground filled with vaults and private graves, will receive -no less than 11,000 bodies. On the average size of coffins of 6 feet 3 -by 1 foot 9, the common estimate is that the floor of an acre will -receive 3,887 coffins laid side by side. - -§ 158. Another calculation for the produce of a company’s cemetery, is -that each grave will be 6 feet by 2 feet, or 12 square feet, or 3630 -graves to the acre (which contains 43,560 square feet), and that every -grave shall contain 10 coffins in each grave. Twenty-five shillings is -charged for each coffin interred: hence each acre is calculated to -produce, when filled (without reference to the public health), a gross -sum of 45,375_l._ In one instance, where the burials in a company’s -cemetery were five deep, the sales of graves actually made were at a -rate of 17,000_l._ per acre, gross produce. - -§ 159. The retention of bodies in leaden coffins in vaults is objected -to, as increasing the noxiousness of the gases, which sooner or later -escape, and when in vaults beneath churches, create a miasma which is -apt to escape through the floor, whenever the church is warmed.[31] In -Austria, and in other states, interment in lead is prohibited. In the -majority of cases in England, burial in lead, as well as in other -expensive coffins, appears to be generally promoted by the undertakers, -to whom they are the most profitable. The Emperor Joseph, of Austria, on -the knowledge of the more deleterious character of concentrated -emanations from the dead, forbade the use even of coffins, and directed -that all people should be buried in sacks; but this excited discontent -amongst his subjects, who agreed in the sanitary principle of the -measure, but complained that, putting them in sacks, was treating them -as the Turks would do, and the regulation was altered for burial in -coffins made of pine, which decays rapidly. - -§ 160. It is to be observed as an improved direction of the public mind -in the British metropolis, that on the part of persons who have the -means of defraying the expenses of vaults, an increasing preference of -inhumation is manifested, and that it is found by cemetery companies -that catacombs prepared for sale are not so much in demand as was -anticipated from the proportion in which they were in demand in the -parochial burial grounds. The state of some of the places of common -burial has evidently been such as to lead to the practice of entombment -in preference to inhumation. The associations commonly expressed with -inhumation (_redditur enim terræ corpus, et ita locatum ac situm, quasi -operimento matris obducitur_, Cic. de legibus) were with a purer earth. -In the most carefully regulated cemeteries in Germany the sale of any -portions in perpetuity is entirely prohibited. The recent investigation -of the disorders which have arisen in the management of the Parisian -cemeteries, has led to a conclusion for the adoption of the same -regulation, it having been found that, in time, families become extinct, -or fall into decay; that a proportion of the tombs and vaults are -neglected and fall into ruins, and detract from the general good keeping -of the rest. Under such circumstances the private tombs too frequently -raise associations of a character the very opposite of those intended by -the purchasers. Their numbers at the same time increase and continually -encroach on the spaces for general burial, and would ultimately occupy -the whole of the cemeteries; and in the progress of population would -absorb and hold large tracts of most important land near towns, in what -would literally be one of the worst species of mortmain.[32] It has, -therefore, been found necessary to restrict the sale of perpetuities in -vaults or graves, and to give only what may be called leases for years, -renewable on conditions, for the public protection. - -§ 161. In the common grave-yards in the metropolis, the bones are -scattered about, or wheeled away to a bone-house, where they are thrown -into a heap. The feeling of the labouring classes at the sight of the -removal of the bones from an overcrowded churchyard was expressed in a -recent complaint, that those in charge of the place “would not give the -poor bones time to decay.” In Paris it is the custom to arrange skulls -and bones, in various forms, in catacombs: but they are offensive -objects; and the feelings of the poor man must be but ill consulted in -presenting to him, in these decayed and debased remains, the prospect of -the use of his own skull and bones to form part of a great and revolting -monument. A more beneficial arrangement is that in the better regulated -German cemeteries, where it is the invariable rule to remove from the -sight and to re-inter carefully, all bones, the object being to preserve -the associations of a gradual, inoffensive, and salutary restoration of -the material elements. - -§ 162. By the Code Napoleon any one was permitted to be interred in his -own garden, or wheresoever he pleased. By the better considered -jurisprudence in Germany this liberty is withheld: because if the -practice were to become general, such decomposing remains would be -spread about without order, to the injury of the public health: it would -facilitate the burial of persons murdered; many by precipitate and -ill-regulated burial would be buried alive; many would be buried in this -mode to evade proper inquiries. An examination of the circumstances of -private and speculative burial grounds in this country developes many -facts, in corroboration of the soundness of the German jurisprudence on -this subject. - -§ 163. The information with relation to material arrangements of the -public cemeteries in Germany is submitted, as showing how much there is -in their details of important questions of scientific appliances for -consideration, which, in the new cemeteries as well as in the old burial -grounds in this country, have generally been overlooked: appliances -which, even if they were practicable on a parochial scale of management, -would surely be little understood by the ordinary class of parochial -officers. Though the practice in Germany appears to be on most points in -advance, the inquiry has elicited various suggestions of probable -important improvements upon it, which it is thought unnecessary to -discuss, as being more fitted for investigation when new cemeteries have -been determined upon than at present. It may for the present suffice to -state, that a confident expectation is entertained by the best informed -witnesses, that were the attention of the most competent persons who -have hitherto been scared away, secured to the subject, still further -useful improvements would be in a very short time effected. - -§ 164. The following portion of evidence from Dr. Lyon Playfair, which -adverts to the management of the evil in the common grave-yards, may -however be adduced as an example of the character of some of the -improvements already suggested. - - You have examined into the state of certain church-yards with - reference to their sanitary effects; have you not?—I have examined - various church-yards and burying-grounds for the purpose of - ascertaining whether the layer of earth above the bodies is - sufficient to absorb the putrid gases evolved. The carbonic acid gas - would not in any case be absorbed, but it is not to this that the - evil effects are to be attributed. The slightest inspection, - however, shows that the putrid gases are not thoroughly absorbed by - soil lying over the bodies. I know several church-yards from which - most fœtid smells are evolved, and gases with similar odour are - emitted from the sides of sewers passing in the vicinity of - church-yards, although they may be above 30 feet from them. If these - gases are thus evolved laterally they must be equally emitted in an - upward direction. The worst burying-grounds which have come under my - notice are those belonging to private persons, generally - undertakers, who make their livelihood by interring at a cheap rate. - I visited one of these only a few days since. It was about 150 feet - long and about 30 broad, and had been used for 80 years as a burying - ground, and was still a favourite place of interment among the poor. - Of course many bodies are placed in one grave, and when the ground - becomes too much raised by bodies, it is levelled, and the boxes, - &c., exhumed during the levelling, are thrown into a large cellar - fitted to receive them. This whole ground was a mass of corruption, - as may well be supposed, and it is situated in a densely populated - neighbourhood. I mention this case as one among many other similar - cases of private burying-grounds, in order to suggest that attention - should be paid in any alteration respecting the laws regulating - interments, to prevent burying-grounds being kept as objects of - pecuniary speculation, at least within towns; for this practice - gives much inducement to violate every feeling of decency and regard - for public health in the desire for gain. - - Can you suggest any method for preventing the escape of miasmata - from graves, or from places for the interment of the dead?—I cannot - suggest any methods as the results of experiment; but, at the same - time, I think it possible that the evil might be much abated by the - use of certain materials. For example, in a theoretical point of - view, chloride of lime would be quite effectual, but it might not be - applicable in practice, both from its expense, and from its great - tendency to be decomposed. A cheap method of absorbing putrid - effluvia, is by a mixture of charcoal from burnt tar, burnt clay, - and gypsum. When such a mixture is mixed with putrid matter, all - smell is immediately removed, and the matter is rendered inoffensive - to health. When this mixture is strewed over decomposing animal and - vegetable matter, it ceases to emit disagreeable odours. In like - manner, if a layer of such a cheap mixture as this were thrown - around and over a coffin, it would absorb probably the greatest - part, if not all, of the putrid miasmata arising from the - decomposition of the body. It possesses also this advantage, that it - would not impair by keeping, even though the coffin did not burst - for some years. I beg, however, again to state, that I throw this - out as a mere suggestion, as I have never tried it in the case of - graves, although I think it would be well worthy of a trial. - Vegetation also ought to be encouraged over the graves. The - legitimate food of plants is derived from decaying animal matter; - for indeed all the food existing in the air, from which they derive - their nutriment, is furnished to the atmosphere by the decay of - organic matter. Plants assist in absorbing the emanations which - escape from graves. - -§ 165. It has been mentioned as an objection entertained in Germany to -the use of clayey soils, on the ground that they retain the gases, and -prevent that regular access of air which is necessary (as explained in a -portion of evidence already adduced) to allow decay to proceed without -putrefaction, which is the most dangerous condition. Good sand and good -gravel are of value in the metropolis. It is stated by a gentleman -connected with one of the cemeteries, and it is here mentioned to show -the prevalent want of knowledge, that it is the common practice when -sand and gravel are dug out to form a grave, not to return it, but to -fill in with the cheap and coarse, but retentive, London clay. Now the -grave-diggers frequently suffer severely in re-opening the graves which -are thus filled in by the retentive clay, and require to be stimulated -to their work by ardent spirits; and their ghastly appearance, as Mr. -Loudon observes, attests the sufferings which they undergo. In another -new cemetery, where the grass was very poor, the turf-mounds covering -some of the graves was trodden down; on inquiring the reason, it was -stated that sheep had been let in to eat the grass, to save the expense -of cutting it. Some of the trees and shrubs first planted had not -thriven well, and the officers stated that they had not yet been able to -persuade the directors to go to the expense of renewing them. In most -other cemeteries the plantations were in very good order, and several -presented points of improvement, in the architectural arrangements. But, -as observed by Mr. Loudon, “nearly all the new London cemeteries, and -most of the provincial cemeteries, adopt the practice of interring a -number of bodies in the same grave, without leaving a sufficient depth -over each coffin, to absorb the greater part of the gases of -decomposition.” It may indeed be confidently affirmed that there is -scarcely one of the new cemeteries in which one or other of the well -established principles of management, in the choice of the site, or the -preparation of the soil, or in the drainage, or in the mode of burial, -or in the numbers interred in one grave, or in respect to the -precautions to prevent the undue corruption of the remains and escapes -of dangerous morbific matter, or in the service and officers, or in -jurisprudential securities, is not overlooked. (§ 20.) - -§ 166. In the cemetery at Liverpool, where Mr. Huskisson is interred, it -is the practice to pile the coffins of the poorest class in deep graves -or pits, one coffin over the other, with only a thin covering of earth -over each coffin until the pit is filled, when it holds upwards of -thirty, as the sexton expressed it, about “thirty-four big and little.” -The observation of several of the joint stock cemeteries, and their -estimates of future amounts of interments, not of one body in one grave, -but of bodies piled one over the other by five and even ten deep, -without any new precautions in respect to the emanations, the general -experience of the difficulty of effecting any change through commercial -associations that does not promise an immediate return for the expense -incurred, prove that, although they may be kept in a better condition to -the eye, there is no security that they will not be as injurious as any -common burial grounds, and stand as much in need of some regulations for -the protection of the inhabitants of the dwellings which in time may be -driven closer around them. - -§ 167. Besides the improvements in formation of the cemeteries and -management of the interments, the regulations of the Franckfort and -Munich cemeteries present instances which it may here be proper to -submit for consideration, of the advantages derivable in aid of the -religious service from a better organized staff of officers in -maintaining superior order in the grounds on all occasions of solemnity. - -§ 168. It will have been perceived how little support the clergymen have -in any appointed staff of officers to maintain order in the -burial-grounds of the more populous parishes. §§ 87, 88, and 111. On -occasions of several interments taking place in burial-grounds in the -metropolis at the same time, the master undertakers will volunteer their -services to get the crowd of by-standers into some order, and show how -much might be done by other and better superintendence to add to the -impressiveness of the last scene. The inferior attendants, the -grave-diggers, at the interments which I have witnessed at the new -cemeteries, attended, as they usually do at the parochial grounds, in a -disorderly condition—unshaven, dirty in person, in dirty shirts and in -the old and the common filthy dress. During the burial service the -undertakers’ men only concerned themselves in removing the feathers from -the hearse and preparing for an immediate return; all the attendants -began talking on other matters, and went their different ways -immediately the coffin was lowered; the mourners were left with the -utmost unconcern, except by the grave-diggers, who followed them in the -attitude of the usual solicitations of money for drink. - -§ 169. A conception of the alterations required and practicable in -public establishments for conducting such a ceremony with due regard to -the feelings of the survivors and the public, may be formed by -inspecting the regulations of the cemetery at Franckfort, from which it -will be perceived that the superintendence of the cemetery, and of the -sextons in their various employments, is given to a cemetery inspector, -whose duties are described in the second section of the regulations, and -who must be a person of medical education, an officer of public health, -examined by the Sanitary Board, and found by them to be qualified. It is -specified as an important duty that he shall be present at the -interment, “in order that by his presence nothing may be done by his -subordinates, or by any other person, which should be contrary to the -dignity of the interment or to the regulations.” - -The regulations also provide as follows:— - - (3.) For the performance of all the necessary arrangements preceding - the interment, commissaries of interments are appointed to take the - place of the so called undertakers. These commissaries have to - arrange every thing connected with the funeral, and are responsible - for the proper fulfilment of all the regulations given in their - instructions. - - (4.) In order to prevent the great expense which was formerly - occasioned by the attendance with the dead to the grave, bearers - shall be appointed who shall attend to the cemetery all funerals, - without distinction of rank or condition. - - To these bearers shall be given assistants, who shall be equally - under the control of the interment commissaries. - - The commissary must see that the bearers are always cleanly and - respectably dressed in black when they appear at a funeral, and must - be particularly careful that they conduct themselves seriously, - quietly, and respectably. - - He must also see that the carriage of the dead is not driven quickly - either in the town or beyond it, but that it is conducted - respectably at a proper quiet pace. - - When the dead is covered, and not until then, the commissary and the - bearers shall leave the cemetery in perfect silence. - - For any impropriety which may, through the conduct of the bearers, - arise during the interment, the commissary is responsible. - - (35.) The sextons must always be respectably dressed in black during - the interment, and those who go to the house of mourning must always - appear in neat and clean attire, and must be studious at all times, - whether engaged within or without the churchyard, to preserve a - modest and proper behaviour. Drunkenness, neglect of duty, or abuse - of their services, will be punished by the Church Yard Commission, - and on repetition of the offence, the offender will be dismissed. - -A Christian attention and civility to all is required from the highest -public officer, without any fees or expense, and mendicancy on the part -of the inferior attendants, and the rapacity of the uneducated and of -the ill-educated, which always rushes in most strongly on the helpless, -are equally prohibited. Of the inspector himself, it is by these -regulations provided:— - - (17.) It is the duty of the inspector to treat all who have to apply - to him with politeness and respect, and to give the required - information unweariedly and with ready good will. - - Under no pretext is he allowed either to demand or receive any - payment, as he has a sufficient salary. - -And in respect to the other officers:— - - (40.) Besides, or in addition to the authorised payment printed in - the tax roll, and determined by the Cemetery Commission as the - sufficient remuneration of the Inspector, Commissioners of - Interments, the bearers and sextons, no one is on the occasion of a - death, either to give money, or to furnish food and drink. - - The practice of furnishing crape, gloves, lemons, &c., by the - friends of the dead, is also given up, and the persons engaged in - conducting the interment, must take all the requisites with them, - without asking or receiving any compensation, under pain of instant - dismissal. - -§ 170. It is now a prevalent complaint, which, so far as the present -inquiry has proceeded, appears to be a just one, that in the management -of the common grave-yards in this country, human remains are literally -treated as earth, by the sextons and gravediggers, and ignorant men to -whom that management falls. The popular sentiments are offended by such -open practices as that of using an iron borer, to bore down and -ascertain whether the ground is occupied by a coffin, and whether it and -the contents are sufficiently decayed for removal. Were proper -registries kept of all interments and their sites, these, and a -knowledge of natural operations, would render such offensive processes -unnecessary. There appear to be few parochial grounds in which the -remains of any individual of the poorer classes could be found with -certainty, for exhumation, or for judicial or other purposes. - -§ 171. In the German regulations cited as examples, the public feeling -is carefully consulted, and the general principle is acted upon, that -the remains, so long as they last, are sacred, and must even be dealt -with as sentient. Year after year the regulations for the care of the -dead in the house of reception preparatory to interment are scrupulously -maintained, on the presumption that a revival may take place, and the -action upon the presumption is not relaxed, although perhaps there is no -actual probability of such an event taking place. Persons are kept in -attendance at the cemetery on this presumption, and with respect to them -it is expressly provided:— - - (7.) If roughness be shown by a nurse to the dead, he must be - punished with instant dismissal, and a notification of the same must - be given by the Cemetery Commission, to the police, in order that - proper inquiry and punishment be given. - - - _Moral influence of seclusion from thronged places, and of decorative -Improvements in National Cemeteries, and arrangements requisite for the - satisfactory performance of Funeral Rites._ - -§ 172. The images presented to the mind by the _visible_ arrangements -for sepulture, are inseparably associated with the ideas of death itself -to the greater proportion of the population. Neglected or mismanaged -burial grounds superadd to the indefinite terrors of dissolution, the -revolting image of festering heaps, disturbed and scattered bones, the -prospect of a charnel house and its associations of desecration and -insult. With burial grounds that are undrained, for example, the -associations expressed by the labouring classes on the occasion of -burial there, are similar to those which would arise on plunging a -sentient body into a “watery grave.” Where there is nothing visible to -raise such painful associations, a feeling of dislike is manifested to -the “common” burial grounds in crowded districts, or to their -“dreariness” in the districts which are the least frequented. - -The Rev. H. H. Milman, the rector of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, -probably adverts to these associations when questioned before the -Committee of the House of Commons with reference to the expediency of -discontinuing burial in his own parish. - - 2744. In reference to the churchyard of St. Margaret’s, is that full - or not?—It is very full. - - 2745. Can you with convenience inter there?—My own opinion is, that - interment ought to be discontinued there for several reasons; not - because I have ever heard of any noxious effect upon the health of - the neighbourhood, _but on account of the public situation; it is a - thoroughfare_, and, in point of fact, it has been a cemetery so - long, and it is so crowded, that interment cannot take place without - interfering with previous interments. - -Mr. Wordsworth, in a paper first published by Mr. Coleridge, has thus -expressed the same sentiments, and the feelings, which it is submitted, -are entitled to regard, in legislating upon this subject:— - -“In ancient times, as is well known, it was the custom to bury the dead -beyond the walls of towns and cities, and among the Greeks and Romans -they were frequently interred by the way sides. - -“I could here pause with pleasure, and invite the reader to indulge with -me in contemplation of the advantages which must have attended such a -practice. We might ruminate on the beauty which the monuments thus -placed must have borrowed from the surrounding images of nature, from -the trees, the wild flowers, from a stream running within sight or -hearing, from the beaten road, stretching its weary length hard by. Many -tender similitudes must these objects have presented to the mind of the -traveller, leaning upon one of the tombs, or reposing in the coolness of -its shades, whether he had halted from weariness, or in compliance with -the invitation, ‘Pause traveller,’ so often found upon the monuments. -And to its epitaph must have been supplied strong appeals to visible -appearances or immediate impressions, lively and affecting analogies of -life as a journey—death as a sleep overcoming the tired wayfarer—of -misfortune as a storm that falls suddenly upon him—of beauty as a flower -that passeth away, or of innocent pleasure as one that may be -gathered—of virtue that standeth firm as a rock against the beating -waves, of hope undermined insensibly like the poplar by the side of the -river that has fed it, or blasted in a moment like a pine tree by the -stroke of lightning on the mountain top—of admonitions and -heart-stirring remembrances, like a refreshing breeze that comes without -warning, or the taste of the waters of an unexpected fountain. These and -similar suggestions must have given formerly, to the language of the -senseless stone, a voice enforced and endeared by the benignity of that -nature with which it was in unison. - -“We in modern times have lost much of these advantages; and they are but -in a small degree counter-balanced to the inhabitants of large towns and -cities, by the custom of depositing the dead within or contiguous to -their places of worship, however splendid or imposing may be the -appearance of those edifices, or however interesting or salutary may be -the associations connected with them. Even were it not true, that tombs -lose their monitory virtue when thus obtruded upon the notice of men -occupied with the cares of the world, and too often sullied and defiled -by those cares; yet still, when death is in our thoughts, nothing can -make amends for the want of the soothing influences of nature, and for -the absence of those types of renovation and decay which the fields and -woods offer to the notice of the serious and contemplative mind. To feel -the force of this sentiment, let a man only compare, in imagination, the -unsightly manner in which our monuments are crowded together in the -busy, noisy, unclean, and almost grassless churchyard of a large town, -with the still seclusion of a Turkish cemetery in some remote place, and -yet further sanctified by the grove of cypress in which it is -embosomed.” - -§ 173. Careful visible arrangements, of an agreeable nature, raise -corresponding mental images and associations which diminish the terrors -incident to the aspect of death. Individuals who have purchased portions -of decorated cemeteries for their own interment in the metropolis, make -a practice of visiting them for the sake, doubtless, of those solemn but -tranquil thoughts which the place inspires as personally connected with -themselves. The establishment of a cemetery at Highgate was strongly -opposed by the inhabitants, but when its decorations with flowers and -shrubs and trees, and its quiet and seclusion were seen, applications -were made for the purchase of keys, which conferred the privilege of -walking in the cemetery at whatever time the purchaser pleased. If the -chief private cemeteries in the suburbs of the metropolis were thrown -open on a Sunday, they would on fine days be often thronged by a -respectful population. Such private cemeteries as have been formed, -though pronounced to be only improvements on the places of burial in -this country, and far below what it would yet be practicable to -accomplish, have indisputably been viewed with public satisfaction, and -have created desires of further advances by the erection of national -cemeteries. Abroad the national cemeteries have obtained the deepest -hold on the affections of the population. I have been informed by an -accomplished traveller, who has carefully observed their effects, that -cemeteries have been established near to all the large towns in the -United States. To some of these cemeteries an horticultural garden is -attached; the garden walks being connected with the places of interment, -which, though decorated, are kept apart. Those cemeteries are places of -public resort, and are there observed, as in other countries, to have a -powerful effect in soothing the feelings of those who have departed -friends, and in refining the feelings of all. At Constantinople, the -place of promenade for Europeans is the cemetery at Pera, which is -planted with cypress, and has a delightful position on the side of a -hill overlooking the Golden Horn. The greatest public cemetery attached -to that capital is at Scutari, which forms a beautiful grove, and -disputes in attraction, as a place for readers, with the fountains and -cloisters of the Mosques. - -§ 174. In Russia, almost every town of importance has its burial place -at a distance from the town, laid out by the architect of the -government. It is always well planted with trees, and is frequently -ornamented with good pieces of sculpture. Nearly every German town has -its cemetery at a distance from the town, planted with trees and -ornamented with public and private monuments. Most of the cemeteries -have some choice works of art or public monument, which alone would -render them an object of attraction. For instance, at Saxe Weimar, the -cemetery contains the tombs of Goethe and Schiller placed in the -mausoleum of the ducal family. In Turkey, Russia, and Germany the poorer -classes have the advantages of interment in the national cemeteries. In -Russia it is the practice to hold festivals twice a-year over the graves -of their friends. In several parts of Germany similar customs prevail. -At Munich, the festival on All Saints’ Day (November the 1st) is -described as one of the most extraordinary spectacles that is to be seen -in Europe.[33] The tombs are decorated in a most remarkable manner with -flowers, natural and artificial, branches of trees, canopies, pictures, -sculptures, and every conceivable object that can be applied to ornament -or decorate. The labour bestowed on some tombs requires so much time, -that it is commenced two or three days beforehand, and protected while -going on by a temporary roof. During the whole of the night preceding -the 1st of November, the relations of the dead are occupied in -completing the decoration of the tombs, and during the whole of All -Saints’ Day and the day following, being All Souls’ Day, the cemetery is -visited by the entire population of Munich, including the king and -queen, who go there on foot, and many strangers from distant parts. Mr. -Loudon states that, when he was there, it was estimated that 50,000 -persons had walked round the cemetery in one day, the whole, with very -few exceptions, dressed in black. On November the 3rd, about mid-day, -the more valuable decorations are removed, and the remainder left to -decay from the effects of time and weather. - -§ 175. A review of the circumstances influencing the public feeling, and -of the tendencies marked by the recent changes of practice in this -country, and of the effects of the public institutions for interment -amongst other civilised nations, enforce the conclusion that those -arrangements to which the attention of the population is so earnestly -directed, should be made with the greatest care, and that places of -public burial demand the highest order of art in laying out the sites, -and decorating them with trees and architectural structures of a solemn -and elevating character. National arrangements with such objects, would -be followed up and supported by the munificence of private individuals, -and by various communities. It is observable in the metropolis, and in -the larger towns that the direction of private feeling in the choice of -sepulture is less affected by locality or neighbourhood, than by classes -of profession or occupation, or social communion when living, and that -such feeling would tend to association in the grave and monumental -decoration. A proposal has been in circulation for the purchase of a -portion of one of the new cemeteries, for the erection of a mausoleum -for persons of the naval and military professions—members of the United -Service clubs. At the public cemetery of Mayence are interred 150 -veteran soldiers, officers and privates, natives of the town, who were -buried in one spot, denoted by a monument on which each man’s name and -course of service is inscribed in gold letters, and the monument is -surmounted by a statue of the general under whom they served. At Berlin -there is a cemetery connected with the _Invaleiden haus_ founded by -Frederick the Great, in which many of the generals are buried with the -private soldiers. The ground is well laid out, and ornamented with -monuments, the latest of which are executed by Tieck, and other -celebrated sculptors. This cemetery forms the favourite walk of the old -soldiers. The great moral force, and the consolation to the dying and -the incentive to public spirit whilst living, derivable from the natural -regulations of a public cemetery, is almost entirely lost in this -country, except in the few cases where public monuments are provided in -the cathedrals. In the metropolis it would be very difficult to find the -graves of persons of minor fame who have advanced or adorned any branch -of civil or military service, or have distinguished themselves in any -art or science. Yet there are few occupations which could not furnish -examples for pleasurable contemplation to the living who are engaged in -them, and claim honour from the public. The humblest class of artisans -would feel consolation and honour in interment in the same cemetery with -Brindley, with Crompton, or with Murdoch, the artisan who assisted and -carried out the conceptions of Watt; or with Emerson, or with Simpson, -the hand-loom weaver, who became professor of mathematics at Woolwich; -or with Ferguson, the shepherd’s son; or with Dollond, the improver of -telescopes, whose earliest years were spent at a loom in Spitalfields; -or with others who “have risen from the wheelbarrow” and done honour to -the country, and individually gained public attention from the ranks of -privates; such for example as John Sykes, Nelson’s cockswain, an old and -faithful follower, who twice saved the life of his admiral by parrying -the blows that were aimed at him, and at last actually interposed his -own person to meet the blow of an enemy’s sabre which he could not by -any other means avert, and who survived the dangerous wound he received -in this act of heroic attachment. The greater part of the means of -honour and moral influence on the living generation derivable from the -example of the meritorious dead of every class, is at present in the -larger towns cast away in obscure grave-yards and offensive charnels. -The artisans who are now associated in communities which have from their -beneficent objects a claim to public regard, might if they chose it have -their spaces set apart for the members of their own occupation, and -whilst they derive interest from association with each other, they would -also derive consolation from accommodation within the same precincts as -the more public and illustrious dead. - -§ 176. It is due to the memory of Sir Christopher Wren, to state that -extra-mural or suburban cemeteries formed part of his plan for the -rebuilding of London after the great fire. “I would wish,” says he, -“that all burials in churches might be disallowed, which is not only -unwholesome, but the pavements can never be kept even, nor pews upright: -and if the church-yard be close about the church, this is also -inconvenient, because the ground being continually raised by the graves, -occasions in time a descent by steps into the church, which renders it -damp, and the walls green, as appears evidently in all old churches. It -will be inquired where, then, shall be the burials?—I answer, in -cemeteries seated in the outskirts of the town; and since it has become -the fashion of the age to solemnize funerals by a train of coaches (even -where the deceased are of moderate condition), though the cemeteries -should be half a mile or more distant from the church, the charge need -be little or no more than usual; the service may be first performed in -the church: but for the poor and such as must be interred at the parish -charge, a public hearse of two wheels and one horse may be kept at small -expense, the usual bearers to lead the horse, and take out the corpse at -the grave. A piece of ground of two acres, in the fields, will be -purchased for much less than two roods amongst the buildings. This being -enclosed with a strong brick wall, and having a walk round, and two -cross walks, decently planted with yew trees, the four quarters may -serve four parishes, where the dead need not be disturbed at the -pleasure of the sexton, or piled four or five upon one another, or bones -thrown out to gain room. In these places beautiful monuments may be -erected; but yet the dimensions should be regulated by an architect, and -not left to the fancy of every mason; for thus the rich with large -marble tombs would shoulder out the poor: when a pyramid, a good bust, -or statue on a proper pedestal will take up little room in the quarters, -and be properer than figures lying on marble beds: the walls will -contain escutcheons and memorials for the dead, and the real good air -and walks for the living. It may be considered, further, that if the -cemeteries be thus thrown into the fields, they will bound the excessive -growth of the city with a graceful border which is now encircled with -scavenger’s dung-stalls.”[34] - -§ 177. I might submit the concurrent opinions of several distinguished -clergymen, communicated in reference to the general view of the -importance of a large change in the practice of town interments, and the -formation of suburban cemeteries, as being indeed conformable to the -practice of the Jews and early Christians, and recognised in the words -“There was a dead man carried _out_.” It was the ancient practice, as is -perhaps indicated in the term exsequies, to bury outside of the -town.[35] To this practice it is clear that the earliest Christians -conformed. It was their custom to assign to the martyrs the most -conspicuous places, over which altars or monuments were erected, where -the believers used to assemble for nightly worship, so that it may -rather be said of them that their burial places were their churches, -than that their churches were their burial places.[36] When the temples -of the heathen gods were converted into Christian churches, the _bones_ -or relics of these illustrious persons, together with the altars, were -removed and placed within the churches. The early practice of burial in -the cemeteries near the earthly remains of those holy persons, being -deemed a great privilege when those remains were removed, naturally led -to the idea of its continuation, by the interment of _bodies_ in or -about the first accustomed objects of worship. Nevertheless, interment -in the interior of the church was held to be an unusual piece of good -fortune, and when the Emperor Constantine, who had constituted -Christianity the religion of the state, had granted to him a grave -within the porticos of the church, it was esteemed the most unheard-of -distinction. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought that a corpse -contaminated a sacred place, and this idea as to the corpse was retained -by the early Christians. When some persons in Constantinople began to -make an invasion upon the laws, under pretence that there was no express -prohibition of burying in churches, Theodosius, by a new law, equally -forbade them burying in cities and burying in churches; and this whether -it was only the ashes or relics of any bodies kept above ground in urns -or whole bodies laid in coffins; for the same reasons that the old laws -had assigned, viz., that they might be examples and memorials of -mortality and the condition of human nature to all passengers, and also -that they might not defile the habitations of the living but leave it -pure and clean to them. St. Chrysostom, in one of his homilies upon the -martyrs, says, “As before when the festival of the Maccabees was -celebrated all the country came thronging into the city; so now when the -festival of the martyrs who lie buried in the country is celebrated, it -was fit the whole country should remove thither.” In like manner, -speaking of the festival of Drossis the martyr, he says, “Though they -had spiritual entertainment in the city, yet their going out to the -saints in the country afforded them both great profit and pleasure.” The -Council of Tribur, in the time of Charlemagne, to prevent the abuse of -burying within churches, decreed that _no layman_ should thenceforth be -buried within a church; and that if in any church graves were so -numerous that they could not be concealed by a pavement the place was to -be converted into a cemetery, and the altar to be removed elsewhere and -erected in a place where sacrifice could be religiously offered to God. - -Amongst the distinct clerical orders of the Primitive Church, Bingham -(book iii. chap. 7) reckons the _Psalmistæ_, the _Copiatæ_, and the -_Parabolani_. The Psalmistæ, or the canonical singers, were appointed to -retrieve and improve the psalmody of the church. The business of the -Copiatæ was to take care of funerals and provide for the decent -interment of the dead. St. Jerome styles them _Fossarii_, from digging -of graves; and in Justinian’s Novels they are called _Lecticarii_, from -carrying the corpse or bier at funerals. And St. Jerome, speaking of one -that was to be interred, “The _Clerici_,” says he, “whose office it was, -wound up the body, digged the earth,” and so, according to custom, “made -ready the grave.” Constantine incorporated a body of men to the number -of 1100 in Constantinople, under the name of _Copiatæ_, for the service -in question, and so they continued to the time of Honorius and -Theodosius, junior, who reduced them to 950; but Anastatius augmented -them again to the first number, which Justinian confirmed by two novels, -published for that purpose. Their office was to take the whole care of -funerals upon themselves, and to see that all persons had a decent and -honourable interment. Especially they were obliged to perform this last -office to the poorer people without exacting anything of their relations -upon that account. The _Parabolani_ were incorporated at Alexandria to -the number of 500 or 600, who were deputed to attend upon the sick, and -take care of their bodies in time of weakness.[37] [Cod. Theod., leg. -43:—“Parabolani, qui ad curanda debilium corpora deputantur, quingentos -esse ante præcipimus; sed quia hos minus sufficere in præsenti -cognovimus, pro quingentis sex centos constitui præcipimus,” &c.] They -were called _Parabolani_ from their undertaking (Παραβολον ἔργον) a most -dangerous office in attending the sick. The foundation of a great city -like Constantinople must have brought the magnitude of the service of -the burial of the whole population distinctly under view, and have -necessitated comprehensive and systematic arrangements of a -corresponding extent, by the superintendence of superior officers -through the gradations of duty of a disciplined force, which, even with -the Eastern redundance of service, could scarcely have failed to be -efficient and economical as compared with numerous separated and -isolated efforts. A great prototype was thus gained, and the -well-considered gradations of duty and service of the great city was -carried out as far as practicable in the small parish. In some churches, -where there was no such standing office as the Copiatæ or the -Parabolani, the Penitents were obliged to take upon themselves the -office and care of burying the dead; “and this by way of discipline and -exercise of humility and charity which were so becoming their station.” -_Bingham_, book xviii. cap. 2. The state of administrative information -in these our times may surely be deplored, when any views can be -entertained of making the small parish and the rude and barbarous -service (multiplied, at an enormous expense) of the really -unsuperintended common gravedigger and sexton, the prototypes for this -most important and difficult branch of public administration of the -greatest metropolis in the modern world. - -On a full consideration I think it will be apparent that the exclusion -of the burial of corpses in churches or in churchyards, and the adoption -of burials in cemeteries, and the conspicuous interment there of all -individuals whose lives and services have graced communities, will, in -so far as it is carried out, be in principle a return to the primitive -practice, restoring to the many the privilege, of which they are -necessarily deprived by burials in churches, of association in sepulture -with the illustrious dead, and giving to these a wider sphere of -attention and honour, and beneficent influence. - -On the immediate question of the arrangements for sepulture I beg leave -to submit for consideration the following extracts from a communication -from the Rev. H. Milman, which is more peculiarly due to him, as his -examination before the Committee of the House of Commons does not appear -to have elicited his full and matured opinions on the important -subject:— - - I cannot but consider the sanitary part of the question, as the most - dubious, and as resting on less satisfactory evidence than other - considerations involved in the inquiry. The decency, the solemnity, - the Christian impressiveness of burial, in my opinion, are of far - greater and more undeniable importance. - - It must unquestionably be a government measure in its management as - well as its organization. If you have understood my evidence as - recommending parochial, rather than a general administration, such - was not my intention. I thought that I had left that point quite - open. When I stated (2729) the alternative of cemeteries provided by - the national funds, and by parochial taxation, I represented the - unpopularity of the latter mode of taxation: and (in 2782) I - suggested certain advantages to be derived from the more general and - public administration. The Committee, however, who seemed to incline - strongly towards the parochial system, went off in that direction, - and the questions turned rather on the practicability of that - system, and the manner in which it might be organized. - - Further reflection leads me to the strong conviction that the - parochial system, even if there were no difficulties in forming the - union of the smaller parishes for this object, could only furnish so - loose and uncertain a superintendence over an affair of such - magnitude, and requiring such constant vigilance, as to be - altogether inadequate to the purpose. It is not easy, with their - present burthens and responsibilities, to fill the parochial offices - with men competent to the duty, and with sufficient leisure to - devote to it. They are usually filled by men in business of some - kind, with considerable sacrifice of their time, and of that - attention which is required by their personal concerns. These - duties, however are confined, onerous as they sometimes are, to - their own immediate neighbourhood. But if we add to their - responsibilities, the care of a remote and large churchyard, with - all its complicated management, we impose upon them duties so - arduous and so incompatible with their own interests and avocations, - that the conscientious would shrink from undertaking them, and they - would fall into the hands of a lower class of busy persons, anxious - for notoriety, or with some remote view of advantage to themselves. - It will be absolutely necessary to relieve the parish officers from - a burthen which they cannot undertake without a sacrifice, which is - more than can be expected from men engaged in business or in some of - the active professions. Besides all this, the administration would - be constantly passing from one to another; the objection to the - whole parochial system, that a man no sooner learns the duty of his - office, than he is released from it, would apply in a tenfold degree - to an affair of such magnitude. The only way to secure the proper - organization and conduct of a remote cemetery, would be by officers, - judiciously selected, and adequately paid, who should devote their - whole time to the business. Many of these objections, as the want of - sufficient time without neglecting more serious duties, would apply - to the clergyman of a large town parish, and if the cemetery be made - an object of parochial taxation, the less he is involved in it the - better. - - On the wise and maturely considered organization, and on the - provisions for the careful, constant, and vigilant superintendence - of the whole system, will depend entirely its fulfilment of its - great object, the re-investment of the funeral services, and of the - sacred abode of the dead, in their due solemnity and religious - influence. Nothing can be more beautiful, more soothing under the - immediate influence of sorrow, or at all times more suggestive of - tranquil, yet deep religious emotion, than the village churchyard, - where the clergyman, the squire, or the peasant, pass weekly or more - often by the quiet and hallowed graves of their kindred and friends, - to the house of prayer, and where hereafter they expect themselves - to be laid at rest under a stone perhaps, on which is expressed the - simple hope of resurrection to eternal life, and where all is so - peaceful, that the tomb may almost seem as if it might last - undisturbed to that time. I am inclined to think that some of the - unbounded popularity of Gray’s Elegy, independent of its exquisite - poetic execution, may arise from these associations. Of these - tranquillizing and elevating influences, so constantly refreshed and - renewed, the inhabitants of large cities are of necessity deprived. - The churchyard, often very small, always full, and crowded with - remains of former interments, either carelessly scattered about, or - but ill concealed, is in some cases a thoroughfare, where the - religious service is disturbed by the noises, if not of passing and - thoughtless strangers, with those of the din and traffic of the - neighbouring street; and the new made grave, or the stone, which has - just been fixed down, is trampled over by the passing crowd, or made - the play-place of idle children. Where, as in some of the larger - parishes in the west of London, the burial place is not contiguous - to the church, it is more decent, but then it is secluded within - high walls, or perhaps by houses, and is only open for the funeral - ceremony, at other times inaccessible to the mourning relatives. - - But will it not be possible, as we cannot give to the population of - the metropolis, and other crowded towns, the quiet, the sanctity, - the proximity to the church of the village place of sepulture, to - substitute something at least decent, and with more appearance of - repose and permanence; if not solemn, serious, and religiously - impressive? The poor are peculiarly sensible of these impressions, - and to them impression and custom form a great part, the most - profound and universal influence of religion; and to them they - cannot be given but by some arrangement under the sanction, and with - the assistance, of the Government. Private speculation may give - something of this kind to the rich, but private speculation looks - for a return of profit for its invested capital. To my mind there is - something peculiarly repugnant in Joint-Stock Burial and Cemetery - Companies. But, setting that aside, they are and can be of no use to - the _people_ of the metropolis and the large towns. There always has - been, and probably always will be, some distinction in the burial - rites (I beg to say that to the credit of my curates, they refuse to - make any difference between rich and poor in the services of the - church) and in the humbler or more costly grave of rich and poor— - - Here lie I beside the door, - Here lie I because I am poor; - Further in the more they pay, - Here lie I as well as they. - - But it may be a question whether the very numbers of funerals, which - must take place for a large town, with the extent of the burial - places, may not be made a source of solemnity and impressiveness, - which may in some degree compensate for the individual and immediate - interest excited by a funeral in a small parish. That which at - present, when left to a single harassed and exhausted clergyman, and - one sexton, and a few wretched assistants, can hardly avoid the - appearance of hurry and confusion, might be so regulated as to - impose, from the very gathering of such masses of mortality, - bequeathed together to their common earth, not (let me be - understood) in one vault or pit, but each apart in his decent grave. - The vast extent of cemetery which would be required for London - (suppose six or eight for the whole metropolis and its suburbs), if - properly kept, and with such architectural decorations, and the - grand and solemn shade of trees appropriate to the character of the - ground, could scarcely fail to impress the reflective mind, and even - to awe the more thoughtless. Our national character, and our more - sober religion, will preserve us, probably, from the affectations - and fantastic fineries of the Père la Chaise ground at Paris. From - some of the German cemeteries we may learn much as to regulation, - and the proper character to be maintained in a cemetery of the dead. - - National sepulture is a part, and a most important part of national - religion; of all the beautiful services of our Church, none is more - beautiful (I might wish, perhaps, two expressions altered) than our - service for burial. I could have wished that the Church had taken - the initiative in this great question. I trust that she will act, if - the State can be prevailed upon to move, in perfect harmony with the - general feeling on the subject. It is fortunate, that in the Bishop - of London we have not merely a person of liberal mind, and practical - views, but one who brings the experience of the parish priest of a - large London living to his Episcopal authority and influence. - - One further practical suggestion occurs to me as likely most - materially to diminish the expenditure of funerals of all classes, - and therefore to render any great scheme more feasible. A funeral - procession through the streets of a great and busy town can scarcely - be made impressive. Not even the hearse, in its gorgeous gloom, with - all the pomp of heraldry, and followed by the carriages of half the - nobility of the land, will arrest for an instant the noise and - confusion of our streets, or awaken any deeper impression with the - mass than idle curiosity. While the poor man, borne on the shoulders - of men as poor as himself, is jostled off the pavement; the - mourners, at some crossing, are either in danger of being run over - or separated from the body; in the throng of passers no sign of - reverence, no stirring of conscious mortality in the heart. Besides - this, if, as must be the case, the cemeteries are at some distance, - often a considerable distance, from the homes of the deceased, to - those who are real mourners nothing can be more painful or - distressing than this long, wearisome, never-ending—perhaps often - interrupted—march; while those who attend out of compliment to the - deceased while away the time in idle gossip in the mourning coach, - to which perhaps they endeavour to give—but, if their feelings are - not really moved, endeavour in vain to give—a serious turn. Abandon, - then, this painful and ineffective part of the ceremony; let the - dead be conveyed with decency, but with more expedition, under - trustworthy care, to the cemetery; there form the procession, there - assemble the friends and relatives; concentrate the whole effect on - the actual service, and do not allow the mind to be disturbed and - distracted by the previous mechanical arrangements, and the extreme - wearisome length of that which, if not irreverent and distressing, - cannot, from the circumstances, be otherwise than painfully tedious. - - It may be worth observing that, in London, even the passing bell - seems almost lost in the din and confusion. This is the case even in - the old churches, which retain their deep, full, and sonorous bells. - The quick shrill gingle, or the feeble tone of those which are - placed in the chapels of the more recent burial-grounds, instead of - deepening to my ear, are utterly discordant with the solemnity of - the service. In the country nothing can be finer than the tolling - from some old grey church tower— - - Over some wide watered shore, - Swinging slow with solemn roar. - - What would be the effect of a bell as large as St. Paul’s, heard at - stated times, or in the event of the funeral of some really - distinguished persons, from the distant cemetery? - -§ 178. The formation of national cemeteries would give the means of more -special and appropriate service for the interment of the dead than it is -now possible to provide by small parochial establishments. In the more -populous parishes, the service is unavoidably hurried. In all, the -feelings of survivors require the most full, respectful, and impressive -service. In many of the rural districts, the friends and fellow-workmen -of the deceased accompany the remains to the grave, and one object of -subscriptions to burial and general benefit clubs is to secure the -advantages of arrangements for the attendance of fellow-workmen, who are -members of the same club. When a waterman dies, to whom his brethren -would pay respect, the body is conveyed by them in an eight-oared -cutter, to the churchyard by the water-side. On their return, the seat -which the deceased would have occupied is left vacant, and his oar, tied -with a piece of crape, is placed across the boat. One of the most -popular and impressive of funeral ceremonies is that on the interment of -a private soldier. When a private of the metropolitan police dies, a -number of members of the force, and a superior officer, attend his -funeral in their uniforms. It is not unfrequent when a member has been -invalided and left the force, that he will make it a dying request that -his funeral may be attended by the officer and men with whom he served. -This request is generally complied with. Old soldiers who have been -invalided frequently make it a dying request to the commanders of the -regiments in which they have served that they may be buried as if they -had died in the service; and unless there be an exception to the -respectability of their conduct, the honour and consolation is bestowed. - -§ 179. In Scotland, it is a subject of intense desire on the part of the -labouring classes to gain the attendance of some person of higher -condition at their funerals. When an aged and exemplary member of a -congregation dies, it is not unfrequent that the minister’s eldest son -will pay respect, by acting as one of the bearers of the corpse. In many -of the rural districts in England, the persons composing the procession -will sing hymns. In the churches, anthems are still sung, and funeral -discourses given in the manner described by the Rev. Dr. Russell, the -rector of Bishopsgate. - - When I was a boy (says the reverend gentleman), nothing was more - common, in the parish of which my father was rector, than for the - body to be brought into church before the commencement of the - evening service on Sundays. The psalms and lessons appointed for the - burial service were read instead of the psalms and the second lesson - of the evening. At the time of singing, a portion of those psalms - which have reference to the shortness of life was sung; and - sometimes an ambitious choir would attempt a hymn—‘Vital spark of - heavenly flame,’ or the like. Since I have been in orders, I have - myself occasionally, in the country, buried persons with a similar - service. Sometimes funeral sermons were preached. - -§ 180. The natives of the provinces, when they attend the remains of -their friends to the grave in London, frequently express a wish to have -anthems or such solemnities as those to which they have been -accustomed.[38] - -§ 181. The formation of national cemeteries would enable the -ecclesiastical authorities to provide means for complying with the -desire thus expressed. Under general arrangements, with reduced -expenses, it will be seen that ample pecuniary provision for it may be -made to give to the funerals of the many the most impressive solemnity. -On this subject, the Rev. Mr. Stone, rector of Spitalfields, observes— - - Should the legislature determine upon removing the burial of the - dead from populous places, it would get rid of these mischiefs; and - should it adopt a national system of burial instead of the highly - objectionable parochial system sketched out in Mr. Mackinnon’s Bill, - it might do much more—it might greatly add to the solemnity of our - burial obsequies, and so make them at once more impressive and more - attractive. This might be done by concentration; instead of the - parochial clergyman, hurried to the performance of this affecting - service, when his time, attention, and sympathies are engaged by - other duties, summoned desultorily to it, and often compelled to - repeat it over and over again at the same grave, just as the - interest or the convenience of undertakers, the caprice, the - bigotry, or the carousals of mourners may choose to prescribe, let - ministers appointed to officiate in national cemeteries perform the - service over great numbers at once, and at two or three stated hours - in every day. But the performance of the burial service over great - numbers at the same time would add incalculably to its solemnity. In - the present state of things, simultaneous interments are supposed, - as they certainly are primarily intended, merely to save the time - and labour of the clergy; and they may sometimes be hurried through - in a manner so careless, slovenly, and unfeeling, as not even the - necessities of the clergy can excuse. But it is quite a confusion of - ideas to suppose that the practice itself is slovenly and unfeeling. - On the contrary, I find it more impressive in its effect upon - myself; and I think it must prove so to others. Two or three - coffins, placed with their sable draperies in the body of the - church, are in themselves an awful spectacle; and the attendant - mourners, occupying the surrounding pews clothed in the same livery - of death, form a congregation at once appropriate, and large enough - to give effect to a religious service. By their numbers, too, they - operate against the intrusion of idle gossips and inquisitive - gazers, and, associated as they are with each other in a bereavement - of the same kind, they are thus brought into a contact calculated to - kindle emotions of social sympathy and religious sensibility. - Assembled in the burial ground round the same grave, or disposed in - groups by the side of graves within a reasonable distance of each - other, they form a picture of the same affecting and impressive - character. If the sympathy of a public assembly is perceptible or - intense in proportion to the numbers that compose it, this - aggregation of burials need only be limited by the effective power - of the human voice. - - Judging from an experiment of my own, I think that these salutary - effects would be heightened to a thrilling degree by music. And from - the practice of the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities, I - presume that the introduction of music into the burial office is not - inconsistent with the rubric. At a burial already alluded to, I - acceded to a special request by allowing the introduction of some - organ-music; and, having no rubrical directions on the point, I - selected two parts of the service as those in which music seemed to - me to be most admissible, and most likely to prove impressive. After - the officiating minister has preceded the corpse from the entrance - of the church and read the introductory sentences, there is an - interval, during which he ascends the desk, the mourners take their - places in the pews assigned to them, and the corpse is deposited in - the body of the church; and there is a still longer interval, during - which the melancholy procession leaves the church for the burial - ground. I found that both these intervals, which are unavoidably - disturbed by somewhat bustling and noisy arrangements, were most - usefully and effectively filled up by the introduction of music. The - subjoined scheme of the music performed at royal burials will prove - that I was not mistaken in supposing music consistent with the - rubric, nor much so in selecting those parts of the service, at - which I prescribed its introduction. It will also serve to show to - what an extent music might be made to give effect and attractiveness - to a national burial of the dead. - - Parts of the Service. Musical - Composer. - “I am the resurrection,” &c. Sung Croft. - “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” &c. Ditto Croft. - “We brought nothing into this world,” &c. Ditto Croft. - The Psalms are chanted Chant in G minor Purcell. - -After the lesson, and before the removal of the corpse from its station -in the choir, an anthem is introduced _ad libitum_. - - “Man that is born of a woman,” &c. Sung Croft. - “In the midst of life,” &c. Ditto Croft. - “Yet, O Lord God, most holy,” &c. Ditto Croft. - “Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets,” &c. Ditto Purcell. - “I heard a voice from heaven,” &c. Ditto Croft. - -Immediately before the Collect, “O merciful God,” or sometimes, though -very seldom, before “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” an anthem is -introduced _ad libitum_. - -At the close of the service, while the mourners are moving off, the Dead -March in Saul is played on the organ. - -The anthems usually selected are two of the following:— - - “When the ear heard,” &c. Handel. - “I have set God always before me,” &c. Blake. - “The souls of the righteous,” &c. Dupuis. - “Hear my prayer,” &c. Kent. - -On the burial of esteemed members of the cathedral choirs, the other -choristers have sung the highest and most solemn of the church music. - -§ 182. Where the circumstances described, in respect to the Protestant -population, have prevented compliance with the popular desire for hymns -or anthems to be sung or sermons to be spoken at the burial at the -parochial churches in London, interment has been purchased for the -express purpose of obtaining them at the trading burial grounds. And yet -it may be submitted that the desire is consistent with the earliest -recognized practice for all classes,[39] and that a system of national -cemeteries would in proportion to the numbers interred in them, furnish -valuable cases as examples for its beneficial exercise, and must, to a -great extent, prevent the misapplication of the service to such cases as -have apparently caused it to fall in public esteem. - -“The honour,” says Hooker, “generally due unto all men maketh a decent -interring of them to be convenient, even for very humanity’s sake. And -therefore so much as is mentioned in the burial of the widow’s son, the -carrying him forth upon a bier and accompanying him to the earth, hath -been used even amongst infidels, all men accounting it a very extreme -destitution not to have at least this honour due to them.” * * * * “Let -any man of reasonable judgment examine whether it be more convenient for -a company of men, as it were, in a dumb show to bring a corpse to a -place of burial, there to leave it, covered with earth, and so end, or -else to have the exsequies devoutly performed with solemn recitals of -such lectures, psalms, and prayers, as are purposely framed for the -stirring up of men’s minds into a careful consideration of their estate -both here and hereafter. - -“In regard to the quality of men, it hath been judged fit to commend -them unto the world at their death amongst the heathen in funeral -orations; amongst the Jews in sacred poems; and why not in funeral -sermons amongst Christians? Us it sufficeth that the known benefit -hereof doth countervail millions of such inconveniences as are therein -surmised, although they were not surmised only, but found therein.” -* * * “The care no doubt of the living, both to live and die well, must -needs be somewhat increased when they know that their departure shall -not be folded up in silence, but the ears of many be made acquainted -with it. The sound of these things do not so pass the ears of them that -are most loose and dissolute in life, but it causeth them one time or -other to wish, ‘Oh that I might die the death of the righteous, and that -my end might be like his.’ Thus much peculiar good there doth grow at -those times by speech concerning the dead; besides the benefit of public -instruction common unto funeral with other sermons.”—_Hooker, -Ecclesiastical Polity_, b. v. ch. lxxv. - -“When thou hast wept awhile,” says Jeremy Taylor, in his Holy Dying, -“compose the body to burial; which, that it be done gravely, decently, -and charitably, we have the example of all nations to engage us, and of -all ages of the world to warrant; so that it is against common honesty -and public fame and reputation not to do this office.”—“The church, in -her funerals of the dead, used to sing psalms and to give thanks for the -redemption and delivery of the soul from the evil and dangers of -mortality.”—“Solemn and appointed mournings are good expressions of our -dearness to the departed soul, and of his worth and our value of him, -and it hath its praise in nature, and in manners, and in public customs; -but the praise of it is not in the gospel, that is, it hath no direct -and proper uses in religion; for if the dead did die in the Lord, then -there is joy to him, and it is an ill expression of our affection and -our charity to weep uncomfortably at a change that hath carried my -friend to the state of a huge felicity.”—“Something is to be given to -custom, something to fame, to nature and to civilities, and to the -honour of deceased friends; for that man is esteemed to die miserable -for whom no friend or relation sheds a tear, or pays a solemn sigh. I -desire to die a dry death, but am not very desirous to have a dry -funeral; some flowers sprinkled on my grave would do well and comely; -and a soft shower, to turn those flowers into a springing memory or a -fair rehearsal, that I may not go forth of my doors, as my servants -carry the entrails of beasts.” * * * * - -“Concerning doing honour to the dead the consideration is not long. -Anciently the friends of the dead used to make their funeral oration, -and what they spake of greater commendation was pardoned on the accounts -of friendship; but when Christianity seized on the possession of the -world, this charge was devolved on priests and bishops, and they first -kept the custom of the world and adorned it with the piety of truth and -of religion; but they also ordered it that it should not be cheap; for -they made funeral sermons only at the death of princes, or of such holy -persons ‘who shall judge the angels.’ The custom descended, and in the -channels mingled with the veins of earth, through which it passed; and -now-a-days, men that die are commended at a price, and the measure of -their legacy is the degree of their virtue. But these things ought not -so to be; the reward of the greatest virtue ought not to be prostitute -to the doles of common persons, but preserved like laurels and coronets -to remark and encourage the noblest things. Persons of an ordinary life -should neither be praised publicly, nor reproached in private; for it is -an offence and charge of humanity to speak no evil of the dead, which I -suppose, is meant concerning things not public and evident; but then -neither should our charity to them teach us to tell a lie, or to make a -great flame from a heap of rushes and mushrooms, and make orations -crammed with the narrative of little observances, and acts of civil, -necessary, and eternal religion. But that which is most considerable is, -that we should do something for the dead, something that is real and of -proper advantage. That we perform their will, the laws oblige us, and -will see to it; but that we do all those parts of personal duty which -our dead left unperformed, and to which the laws do not oblige us, is an -act of great charity and perfect kindness.”—“Besides this, let us right -their causes and assert their honour:” * * “and certainly it is the -noblest thing in the world to do an act of kindness to him whom we shall -never see, but yet hath deserved it of us, and to whom we would do it if -he were present; and unless we do so, our charity is mercenary, and our -friendships are direct merchandise, and our gifts are brocage: but what -we do to the dead, or to the living for their sakes, is gratitude, and -virtue for virtue’s sake, and the noblest portion of humanity.” - - - _Necessity and nature of the superior agency requisite for private and - public protection in respect to interments._ - -§ 183. Having given a view of the evils arising from the existing -practice in respect to interments in towns, and an outline of what -appears to be justly desired as necessary objects to supply the wants of -the population, I now beg leave to submit for consideration the -information collected as to the practical means of obtaining them. - -§ 184. The most pressing of the evils being physical or sanitary evils, -the first means of amendment required is the appointment and arrangement -of the qualifications, powers, and duties and responsibilities of an -officer of health, to whom the requisite changes of practice may be most -safely confided. - -The functions of such an officer, as marked out by the evidence of -existing necessities, may be divided into the ordinary and the -extraordinary. The immediate necessities are those which arise from the -want of a trustworthy person who maybe looked up to for counsel and -direction to survivors in the event of a death, §§ 121, 122, 123, 124, -and guide a change of the practice of interment. It is only by an -arrangement that will carry a man of education, a responsible officer, -to the house of even the poorest person in the community, just at the -time when a competent and trustworthy person is most needed to give -advice, that the effect of ignorant or interested suggestions may be -prevented, and the beneficent intentions of the legislature, or the -salutary nature of any public arrangement for the general advantage can -be made known with certainty. - -§ 185. The ordinary service of such an officer would consist of the -verification of the fact and cause of death, and its due civic -registration. From the exercise of these duties would follow the -extraordinary duties of directing measures of immediate precaution and -prevention, which it is to be feared whatsoever general sanitary -measures might be adopted would, at the outset, and for too long a -period, constitute ordinary and every-day duties. Out of the ordinary -duties of the officer of health, would arise extraordinary -jurisprudential duties of protecting the interests of the community in -cases of deaths which have occurred under circumstances of suspicion or -of manifest criminality. - -§ 186. Assuming the necessity of the establishment of adequate national -cemeteries at proper sites, it is proposed that a body of officers -properly qualified by service, as in the example § 185, should have -charge of the material arrangements, and take the place of the -churchwardens and overseers in respect to all places of burial, and be -responsible for the control of the servants of the establishment, and -shall, moreover, be enabled to regulate and contract for supplies, at -reduced prices, of materials and service of the nature of those now -supplied by the undertaker. §§ 150, 153, 154, 155. - -§ 187. In order that the officer of public health may be brought to the -spot, it is proposed that the last medical attendant on the deceased -should, on a small payment, be required to give immediate notice of the -death, in a form to be specified, or in case there happened to be no -medical attendant, it should then be incumbent on the occupier of the -house, or the person having charge of the body, to give the required -notice. - -Before particularising the course of practice of such an officer, it -appears requisite to state other grounds on which intervention appears -requisite for the verification of the fact of death, and the mode of -death, by the inspection of the body previously to interment. - -§ 188. It is admitted that some additional arrangements are yet wanting -for the complete attainment of the proper civic and technical purposes -of registration:—as depositaries of pre-appointed evidence of the fact -of death, to determine questions of private rights:—as depositaries of -evidence for purposes of medical science and public health, to show the -extent and prevalence of common causes of disease incident to different -occupations and different localities—and of the data for tables of -insurance, as well as for the recovery of sums assured, where the proof -of age is not admitted in the policy. Any one who is unknown to the -local registrar may go and register as a fact his own death, of which a -certified copy of the registry will, according to the 38th clause of the -Act, be evidence in a court of law. Cases of the registration of false -statements have already been detected; some have been made with the view -to successions and to the obtainment of property. False registrations -have been made amongst the labouring classes as to the place of death, -to gain interments in distant parishes at cheaper rates. Fictitious -deaths have been registered to defraud burial societies, and the -registrar’s certificate of such deaths have got in use by vagrants as a -means of obtaining alms. In Manchester a woman having obtained and used -one certificate of a fictitious death, soon after obtained another -similar certificate, and in order to deter parties from visiting the -house, she got the cause of death registered as “malignant fever.” - -§ 189. On the continent, wherever the mortuary registers are well kept, -and arrangements are made for the protection of the public health, the -fact and time of death, and the identity of the deceased, is verified on -the spot, by inspection of the body by a competent responsible officer -of public health. Vide instance and effects at Geneva, stated in the -General Sanitary Report, p. 174. - -§ 190. It is proposed that the verification of the fact of death, and -ascertaining its cause, by inquiry on the spot, should be confided to -the officer proposed to be appointed as an officer of public health. The -present local registrars might act as auxiliaries; the proposed -appointment would be an additional security for the accuracy of the -mortuary registration, and would improve that branch of the local -machinery for registration. - -Postponing the consideration of other collateral grounds for the -appointment of a district officer of health, and to illustrate more -clearly the course of alteration of the practice of interments, we will -suppose the physician or officer of health brought by the proper notice -to the habitation where the body lies in the presence of the survivors. - -§ 191. In visiting the habitations of the labouring classes, he would be -more careful to denote his office, profession, and condition, by his -dress, and in his address, even than with other classes. On his arrival -at the place of abode of a person of the working class, he would, after -announcing his office and duty, inspect the body, and then require the -name, age, occupation, and circumstances of the death of the deceased, -enter them, and take the attestations of witnesses present. If the death -occurred from any ordinary cause, he would, nevertheless, speak of the -expediency of the early removal of the body to the chapel or house of -reception, where it would be placed under proper care until the -appointed time of the attendance of the relations and friends at the -interment. The exercise of a summary power of removal in the case of -rapid decomposition of the corpse, or in case of deaths from epidemic -disease, for the protection of the living, is frequently suggested and -claimed by neighbours. On inquiry in Manchester as to the periods during -which the bodies of persons dying in the poorest districts were retained -in the rooms where they died, the superintendent-registrar, Mr. -Gardiner, observed, “they are not retained so long in these districts, -because the houses to which the rooms belong are generally inhabited by -several families, and those other families feel the inconvenience of the -retention of the body amongst them, and they press for an early -interment.” With females or survivors who cannot endure to part with the -remains, the exercise of a friendly will would sometimes be necessary, -and if properly exercised would generally be effectual. The name of an -officer of public health would carry with it very general voluntary -obedience to whatever he recommended, and in a majority of cases the -prostrate survivors would be glad that he should order everything, and -would feel it a relief if he were to do so. He would be prepared with a -tariff of the prices of burial, and with instructions as to the -regulations adopted for the public convenience, and for the more -respectful performance of the ceremony of interment, and should be -empowered and required, on the assent or application of the parties, to -carry them out completely, as he might do with very little inconvenience -or expenditure of time. He might be empowered to take such a course as -this. Speaking to the widow or survivor of the lowest class, he might -say— - -“The inspectors of public health have been empowered to regulate the -practice and the charges for interment, and to contract for and on -behalf of the public to ensure the means of burial in a proper and -respectful manner for the highest, as well as for the most humble -classes. Formerly, the charge for the funeral of a person of the -condition in life of your husband was four or five pounds, but by the -new regulations, an equally respectable interment is secured to you for -little more than half the amount. You are, nevertheless, at liberty to -obtain the means of burial from any private undertaker. You may also, if -you prefer it, have burial in any private cemetery, or elsewhere.” - -§ 192. It is anticipated that, except on private canvass, and that only -for a time, interment under the auspices of a public officer would be -preferred in the great majority of cases, if the business were conducted -with moderate care, in a manner really satisfactory, and if the minor -but really important conveniences of all classes were duly consulted. -For example, one frequent cause of the delay of interments amongst the -poorer classes in crowded districts, is the delay of notification of -deaths to distant relatives and friends, whose attendance may be -required. More than one-half of the poor cannot write, and many of all -classes who can write are unable to collect their thoughts even for a -simple announcement of the event. The poorer classes generally get some -one to write for them; and the regular payment for each letter is -fourpence and a glass of liquor, or sixpence, exclusive of paper and -postage. In the charges for funerals of the labouring classes in -Scotland, five shillings is set down as the item of expense of letters -of notification of the death of an artisan, and fifteen shillings for -the notifications of the deaths of persons of the middle ranks of life. -Under practicable regulations, such notifications might be prepared in a -manner suitable to persons of every condition, at the rate of threepence -per letter, or at one-half the ordinary rate of payment, paper, and -envelope, and postage stamp included. The service might be rendered at -an expense of a few minutes’ time to the officer in taking down a list -of the names and addresses of the persons to be sent to. This list he -would on his return to his office, hand to a clerk, by whom they would -be immediately prepared and despatched in proper and well considered -form. The Inspector might, therefore, add— - -“If you will give me the names and addresses of those relatives and -friends who may be desired to attend the funeral, I will cause notice of -the time and places of attendance to be sent to them. Amongst the -highest classes it is now the practice to diminish the number of -followers to the grave, and to commit that duty only to a few; and it is -desirable, for the sake of preventing unnecessary expense, that too many -should not be invited. All the friends of the deceased who attend at the -national cemetery will have an opportunity of joining in with the -procession. Besides, the requests to attend, I can also, if you wish it, -and will give me the names and addresses, cause notifications of the -fact of the death to be sent to any persons in any part of the country.” - -In the cases of illness amongst the survivors, or of a death from -epidemic disease, indicating an infected atmosphere, he might add— - -“For the protection of your own health, and the health of your children -and of your neighbours, it is requisite that the body be immediately -removed to a place where it will be kept under the care of a physician, -and inspected until the appointed time of interment, when it will be -received by the friends and relations who attend.” - -§ 193. It is considered that, in general, this course would be complied -with, but it is considered by physicians, that if it were found -necessary in the first instance, in the case of the poorest and most -ignorant and highly-excitable people, to concede the point, the officer -might give directions to have the body enclosed with cloth of a material -to resist the immediate escape of effluvia, and to be closed down, which -might be done at a few shillings extra expense. Mr. R. Baker, the -surgeon, who has paid great attention to the means for the improvement -of the sanitary condition of the population at Leeds, observes— - - I believe that where persons die of epidemic diseases, there is not - much regard paid to the necessity of early interment. There is what - is called the making up of the body, which is often done very early - after death, and even in some cases of supposed contagion, before it - is absolutely necessary. But an application is used in coffins of - those whose friends can afford it which deserves naming, because it - is at once safe and economical, and renders any sanitary precautions - unnecessary, where there is a desire from any requisite family - arrangements to keep the body; it is to place the body in a deal - shell, and then to place this shell within the coffin, between which - and the shell are affixed at the sides and bottom, a few pieces of - circular wood about the thickness of two crown pieces, here and - there, to keep the shell and coffin apart, forming a considerable - interstice, which is filled in with boiling pitch. The lid of the - shell is then laid on, having a glass over the face, and over this - is poured more pitch till the shell is incased in a pitch coffin - between the wooden ones. The cost of this process, which is next to - that of embalming, is about 9_s._ 6_d._, and is easily paid out of - the seven or ten pounds which the club supplies. I would only add - that this experiment deserves well of every one’s consideration, - being far superior to lead, and equally useful, in all ordinary - interments, and admirable for the purpose of avoiding contagion, - while it admits the opportunity of keeping the body for any - arrangement that is required to be made. If this plan could be - enforced upon all occasions where death had occurred from contagious - disease, I look upon it, that a great benefit would be conferred - upon the community. - -§ 194. In the cases where decomposition, as sometimes occurs, commences -even before death and proceeds with extreme rapidity after it, even an -immediate removal is not effected without producing depressing effects -on the bearers; and when there is an in-door church service, in some -districts in the metropolis, it is not unfrequently necessary to have -the body left at the church door, on account of the extremely offensive -smell which escapes from the coffin. These coffins are generally -constructed without knowledge, or care, or adaptation to the -circumstances of the remains, or to any sanitary service. Mr. W. Dyce -Guthrie, surgeon, who has paid much attention to some of the structural -means for the protection of the public health, specifies various modes -in which the evils arising before interment, as well as after, may be -prevented, at a cost so inconsiderable as not to be sensibly felt, even -by the poorest classes, and yet be as efficient as the most expensive -arrangements now in use. For example: “Coffins may,” he says, “be -rendered perfectly impervious to the escape of all morbific matter, at -an expense not exceeding 1_s._ 6_d._ or 2_s._ each, by coating the -interior over with a cement composed of lime, sand, and oil, which soon -sets and becomes almost as hard and resisting as stone. Pitch, applied -hot, would answer the same purpose as the compound I have mentioned, but -it would be more expensive.” In the cases of such rapid decomposition as -bursts leaden coffins, or renders “tapping” necessary, he recommends the -application, at a few shillings expense, of safety-tubes to the foot of -the coffin, so as to secure and carry away into a chimney flue, or a -current created by a chauffer, the mephitic matter. These are adduced as -instances of the detailed appliances of which the officer of health -would judge in each case on the spot and suggest to the survivors, and -if necessary write directions, or a prescription, for their appliance. - -§ 195. A cause of the delay of interments might, it is stated, be -diminished by arrangements, under which coffins of every size being kept -prepared, one might be brought to the house, with the name of the -deceased, and his obituary duly inscribed on a plate, in about one-third -the time that is now usually employed for the purpose. By this service, -the rapid progress of decomposition, and the escape of noxious effluvia -would be arrested. - -§ 196. Before leaving the abode of the deceased, the officer of health -would, in the case of death from diseases likely to have been originated -or precipitated by local causes, inspect the premises, inquire closely -as to the antecedent circumstances of the decease; and note directions -to be given in respect to the premises to officers having charge of -drainage or sewerage, or public works, for cleansing and lime-washing -the premises, at the charge of the owner, before renewed occupation. - -In respect to the poorest classes, those who stand the most in need of -protection: the measure of prohibiting burial, except on a verification -of the fact and cause of death, by a certificate granted on the sight -and identification of the body at the place where the death occurred, -has its chief importance as being the means of carrying a person of -education into places rarely, if ever entered, by them, except by -accident. The functions of the officer of health when there are marked -out by instances of acts done by force of humanity and charity, which as -yet have no authority in law, or in administrative provision. For -example, in the following instance, of a house owned by a landlord of -the lowest class. - - Shepherd’s-court consists of about six houses. It was notorious that - fever had prevailed to a great extent in this court; in the house in - question, several cases of fever had occurred in succession. The - house is small, contains four rooms,—two on the ground-floor and two - above; each of these rooms was let out to a separate family. On the - present occasion, in one of the rooms on the ground-floor there were - four persons ill of fever; in the other room, on the same floor, - there were, at the same time, three persons ill of fever; and in one - of the upper rooms there were also at the same time three persons - ill of fever; in the fourth room no one was ill at that time. It - appeared that different families had in succession occupied these - rooms, and become affected with fever; on the occasion in question, - all the sick were removed as soon as possible by the interference of - the parish officers. An order was made by the board of guardians to - take the case before the magistrates at Worship-street. The - magistrates at first refused to interfere, but the medical officer - stated that several cases of fever had occurred in succession in - this particular house; that one set of people had gone in, become - ill with fever, and were removed; that another set of people had - gone in, and been in like manner attacked with fever; that this had - occurred several times, and that it was positively known that this - house had been affected with fever for upwards of six weeks before - the present application was made. On hearing this, the magistrate - sent for the owner of the house, and remonstrated with him for - allowing different sets of people to occupy the rooms without - previously cleansing and whitewashing them; telling him that he was - committing a serious offence in allowing the nuisance to continue. - The magistrate further gave the house in charge to the medical - officer, authorizing him to see all the rooms properly fumigated, - and otherwise thoroughly cleansed; and said that, if any persons - entered the house before the medical officer said that the place was - fit to be inhabited, they would send an officer to turn them out, or - place an officer at the door to prevent their entrance. The landlord - became frightened, and allowed the house to be whitewashed, - fumigated, and thoroughly cleansed. Since this was done the rooms - have been occupied by a fresh set of people; but no case of fever - has occurred.[40] - -This occurred seven years since, and on a very recent inquiry made at -this same house, it was stated that comparative cleanliness having been -maintained, no fever had since broken out, no more such deaths have been -occasioned, no more burthens had been cast upon the poor’s rates from -this house. The law already authorizes the house to be condemned, and -its use arrested, when it is in a condition to endanger life by falling; -if it be deemed that the principle should be applied to all manifest -causes of disease or death, or danger to life, then, instead of the -remote and practically useless remedy by the inspection of an unskilled -and unqualified ward inquest (Vide General Sanitary Report, p. 300), the -skilled and responsible medical officer, with such summary powers and -duties of immediate interference, as were successfully exercised in the -case above cited, should be appointed. - -§ 197. It is proper to observe, that it occurs not unfrequently that -such scenes arise from negligences and dilapidations of a succession of -bad tenants, of which the chief landlord is himself unaware: but whether -aware of it or not, the prompt intervention of an officer of health in -such cases would not be without its compensation to the owner. A -bricklayer, who himself owned some small houses occupied by artisans, -which he had himself built, was asked in the course of another inquiry:— - - In what periods do you collect the rents?—Some monthly; about - one-third monthly; the rest we collect quarterly. - - What may be your losses on the collections?—They will average, - perhaps, about one-fifth; we lose rather the most on the quarterly - tenements. - - What are the chief causes of your losses from this class of - tenants?—Loss of work first; then sickness and death; then frauds. - - Are the frauds considerable?—Not so much as the inabilities to pay. - I find the working classes, if they have means, as willing to pay - and as honourable as any other class. Within the last 18 months - there have been a great many people out of work; at other times - there is as much loss to the landlord from sickness as from any - other cause. Three out of five of the losses of rent that I now - have, are losses from the sickness of the tenants, who are working - men. - - When children are sick, there is of course no immediate interruption - to the payment of rent?—Very seldom. - - What sort of sicknesses are they from which the interruption to work - and to the payment of rent occurs?—Fevers, nervous disorders, and - sickness that debilitates them. - - Then anything which promotes the health of the tenants will tend to - prevent losses of rent to the owners of the lower class of - houses?—Yes, I have decidedly found that rent is the best got from - healthy houses. - -In some of the cellar dwellings in Manchester the losses of rent, -chiefly from sickness, amounted to 20 per cent. - -§ 198. In all cases of deaths from epidemic diseases, one of the first -duties of the officer of health would be to inquire whether there were -any other persons in the house attacked with disease, and examine them. -In all such cases as those cited, §§ 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, he should -have adequate power, which, that it may be efficient must be summary, to -take measures to protect the parties affected and others, by ordering -their immediate removal to fever wards. It is only in a deplorable state -of ignorance of the nature of the evils which depress such districts -that there could be any hesitation in granting such powers from the fear -of abuse; the most serious legislative difficulty would be to ensure -their constant and efficient application. Mr. S. Holmes, the builder of -the Stockport viaduct, and formerly an active member of the Liverpool -town council, gives the following illustration of the extreme miseries -witnessed in that town, and it is certainly not an exaggerated -description of the scenes to which the officer of health must at the -commencement of his duties be frequently carried on the occurrence of -deaths. - - The melancholy facts elicited by the corporation clearly show that - Liverpool contains a multitude of inhabited cellars, close and damp, - with no drain nor any convenience, and these pest-houses are - constantly filled with fever. Some time ago I visited a poor woman - in distress, the wife of a labouring man. She had been confined only - a few days, and herself and infant were lying on straw in a vault - through the outer cellar, with a clay floor, impervious to water. - There was no light nor ventilation in it, and the air was dreadful. - I had to walk on bricks across the floor to reach her bed-side, as - the floor itself was flooded with stagnant water. This is by no - means an extraordinary case, for I have witnessed scenes equally - wretched; and it is only necessary to go into Crosby-street, - Freemasons’-row, and many cross streets out of Vauxhall-road, to - find hordes of poor creatures living in cellars, which are almost as - bad and offensive as charnel-houses. In Freemasons’-row, about two - years ago, a court of houses, the floors of which were below the - public street, and the area of the whole court, was a floating mass - of putrified animal and vegetable matter, so dreadfully offensive - that I was obliged to make a precipitate retreat. Yet the whole of - the houses were inhabited! - -§ 199. In cases of epidemics the saving of life by the prompt -intervention of an officer of health, on the occurrence of the first -death, and the immediate removal of the survivors affected, would be -very considerable. In cases of fever, on the removal of patients to the -fever hospital, they are often received in a state of violent delirium, -or in a state of coma succeeding to violent delirium. After they have -been washed in a bath, and placed in a clean bed, in the spacious and -well-ventilated ward of the hospital, in a few hours, often before the -visit of the physician, the violent delirium has subsided, or the state -of coma having passed away consciousness has returned. Although in a -great majority of cases the patients are only sent to the hospital in -the last stage of disease, this mere change in the locality and external -circumstances of the sufferers diminishes the proportion of deaths from -one in five to one in seven. Supposing the cases occurred in equal -numbers daily, the functions of registration in the metropolis would -carry the officers of health to upwards of 20 cases per diem of deaths -from epidemic disease, for the most part in the most wretched districts. - -§ 200. The principle of this part of the proposed arrangement is in -necessitating visits of inspection, and thence necessitating the -initiation of measures of relief where there has hitherto been, and -whence it may safely be said there will be, no complaint or initiation -of measures of relief by the sufferers themselves. It is observed by Dr. -Southwood Smith, in confirmation of the observations made on the -demoralizing effects of the physical evils which depress the bodily -condition of large classes that, as they have not the bodily vigour, so -they have not the intelligence of a healthy class. One of the most -melancholy proofs of this, he observes, is, that they make no effort to -get into happier circumstances; their dulness and apathy indicate an -equal degree of mental as of physical paralysis. And this has struck -other observers who have had opportunities of becoming acquainted with -the real state of these people. “The following statement impressed my -mind the more, because it recalled to my recollection vividly similar -cases witnessed by myself. ‘In the year 1836,’ says one of the medical -officers of the West Derby Union, ‘I attended a family of thirteen, -twelve of whom had typhus fever,—without a bed in the cellar, without -straw or timber shavings—frequent substitutes. They lay on the floor, -and so crowded that I could scarcely pass between them. In another house -I attended fourteen patients: there were only two beds in the house. All -the patients lay on the boards, and during their illness never had their -clothes off. I met with many cases in similar conditions; yet amidst the -greatest destitution and want of domestic comfort, _I have never heard, -during the course of twelve years’ practice, a complaint of inconvenient -accommodation_.’ Now this want of complaint, under such circumstances, -appears to me to constitute a very melancholy part of this condition. It -shows that physical wretchedness has done its worst on the human -sufferer, for it has destroyed his mind. The wretchedness being greater -than humanity can bear, annihilates the mental faculties—the faculties -distinctive of the human being. There is a kind of satisfaction in the -thought, for it sets a limit to the capacity of suffering which would -otherwise be without bound.” - -§ 201. In respect to any such services proposed, involving inquiry on -the spot, an objection is apt to be suggested, that the exercise of such -functions would be unpopular and objected to. By the sufferers it -certainly would not, § 122. With portions of the population, in such a -deplorable state of ignorance as that manifested, even in this country, -at the time of the invasion of the cholera, when they imbibed the notion -that the wells had been poisoned by the medical men, the creation of any -monstrous impressions by others must be admitted to be possible; but the -existence of that notion would have been no justification for closing -the hospitals, for staying the work of beneficence, and suspending the -performance of medical duties. Such an objection, however, implies a -very large misconception as to the _general_ state of intelligence of -the working classes. There is, on this point, as regards the metropolis, -the direct and decisive evidence of experience. In consequence of the -difficulty of dealing satisfactorily with common hearsay evidence, some -of the local registrars have, with praiseworthy care, proceeded to -verify the facts of the death by inquiries made at the house where it -took place, which inquiries are strictly supererogatory. The following -evidence, though in part substantially a repetition of scenes already -described, is here adduced less for the descriptions of places visited -than as showing the manner in which these officers were received. - -Mr. James Murray, the registrar of births, deaths, and marriages for the -Hackney Road district of Bethnal Green, having stated that sometimes he -made inquiries on the spot for the registration of deaths, speaking of -the poorer population of that district, states that they have usually -only a single room, and that “they never speak of occupying the same -house, but the ‘same room.’” - - In what proportion of cases do the bodies of those persons remain in - the room in which the persons live and sleep?—It would depend upon - the part of the district, for part of the higher district is highly - respectable. In that district nine-tenths of them have only a single - room, and no opportunity of placing the body elsewhere. - - In nine-tenths of the cases the body remains in the same room?—It - must be so, they have no other room. - - In a coffin?—Yes; I have seen it so repeatedly. - - Is the retention of the body injurious?—I think so. - - When you go to register the deaths is it deemed an intrusion, or are - you received with civility?—I am always received with civility in - all cases. - - It is not considered an intrusion?—Not at all. I myself have rather - cultivated the good feeling and opinion of the working classes; they - know me exceedingly well, and I have never met with any instance of - incivility among them. - -Mr. John Johnson, the registrar of one part of the Shoreditch district, -was asked— - - Of the labouring classes, what proportion of the families have more - than two rooms?—I cannot say the number; but there is a vast number - who occupy one room, and some occupy two rooms; some occupy a - kitchen and one room, or a little parlour and kitchen, and some two - rooms up-stairs, some one room; perhaps if they have two rooms - up-stairs they have a family in each. - - Do you find, on visiting those places, upon the occurrence of a - death, that the dead body is retained in the living and sleeping - room?—Frequently we find it so. - - And the family are eating and pursuing the ordinary offices of life - in the room where the body lies?—Yes. - - Have you found the body retained for a long time?—No, they do not - usually keep it longer than five or six days; but I have known - instances where the body has been kept two and three weeks. - - But in that time does it not acquire a putrid smell?—Yes, and in - rooms where I have gone to register births I have found the effluvia - so bad that I have been obliged to go out of the house without - effecting the register. - - It had an effect upon your health for the time being?—Yes. - - When you go to register deaths at the houses of the labouring - classes, are you on the whole well received?—Generally very well; - they consider we pay them a compliment by calling upon them. - - They do not deem your registration or inquiry an intrusion?—Not at - all. - -Mr. W. H. Wheatley, the registrar for the Old Church district of -Lambeth, was asked— - - You think it necessary, in order to ascertain the causes of death - with correctness, to go to the spot and ascertain the fact on the - spot?—Yes: I get much more correct information in that way than from - parties calling upon me. - - If you were to remain at your desk, without local inquiry, do you - conceive your registration would be at all correct, or would it not - be widely different from the fact?—I do not think it would be - correct. I think in every case of death the registrar ought to go to - the house, not only for the purpose of registering the death, but - that there ought to be some means of ascertaining from what cause - the party died; that the body ought to be seen by the registrar, or - some authorized person, or that it should be compulsory to produce a - medical certificate, certifying the precise cause of death. The - searchers, who were two women, appointed in open vestry, under an - old Act of Parliament, to call and investigate every case of death - that occurred, and to examine the body and see that the party had - come fairly by his or her death, have been done away with since the - passing of the Registration Act, and there is now no means of - ascertaining how the party has met with his death. - - Can you state to the Commissioners instances of error which you have - obviated or prevented by going and inquiring upon the spot, that - would have occurred by your not going?—I cannot mention individual - cases; but it has come under my knowledge that parties have called - upon me to register a death, and when I have asked the cause they - have said, “I do not exactly know what it was, I believe it was a - fever, or something of that kind.” I have said, “I must trouble you - to get me a medical certificate, or I will call at the house.” I - have gone to the house, and found it widely different in many cases - from the statement they gave to me, from error on their parts. - - Are you satisfied from the experience of your office, though it has - been short, that there can be no correct registration without - examination on the spot, and a sight of the body?—I think so; it - would entail upon the registrars a very arduous and a very - unpleasant office, but that the registration would be more perfect, - and it would be a check upon crime, I have very little doubt. - - Do you find any obstruction given on the part of the poorer classes - to your going to the spot and making inquiries?—Not the slightest. - My opinion is that the poorer classes pay more attention to the - registration than the middling classes. - - Have you met with any manifestation of prejudice or bad feeling from - the poorer classes?—No, not the slightest, but really a wish that - the registration should be effective. - - They do not view the registrar as an intrusive officer?—Not in the - least. - -In the worst conditioned places the only persons who are seen as public -officers are policemen and the rate-collectors or the tax-gatherers. -When commissioners of inquiry have been seen taking notes in them, the -popular impression was that they were tax-gatherers, an impression which -it required some trouble to remove. In a little time the officer of -health would be most popular and would exercise extensive and beneficial -influence. The practical evidence of the registrars was of an uniform -tenor, establishing, as far as actual experience may establish, not only -the acceptability of the more elevated and extensive service proposed, -but that it must develope most important civil as well as medical facts, -the correct knowledge of which is necessary for the relief of the most -afflicted portions of the population. - - - _Jurisprudential value of the appointment of Officers of Health._ - -§ 202. In the lamentable state of the population, which in England and -Wales produces annually upwards of 700 committals to prison for crimes -of passion, and of these 450 for murder, manslaughter, and attempts upon -life, it may scarcely be deemed necessary to adduce many particular -examples of the importance of the extraordinary jurisprudential services -and securities for life to the community obtainable by the exercise in -all cases of the ordinary functions of the verification, as far as may -be, of the fact as well as the cause of death. On examining the grounds -of the fears of life and suspicions of the poorer classes, inhabiting -the worst conditioned districts, it is evident that obstructions to -crime, or safeguards, which are carefully preserved in the well -regulated communities (marked by security of life and the rarity of -crimes of violence) are here absent, and that wide openings are left for -the escape of the darkest crimes. Had there been an officer of public -health, and a verification of the cause of death by him on inspection, -as at Geneva, Munich, or other towns on the continent, and inquiry for -registration of the causes of death, it is probable that, with the -certainty of such inspection, the murders of the children at Stockport -or at Little Bolton would not have been attempted; or, if perpetrated, -they might have been detected in the first case. The whole class of -murders verified on examination after disinterment may be cited as -coming within the same category. The crime of burking, which appears to -have originated in Scotland, and was extended to England, could scarcely -have been attempted systematically, except under the temptation of the -absence of such a security; and with such service as that proposed, it -is highly improbable that it could have been carried on to the extent -there is reason to believe it was. - -On this point Mr. Corder, the superintendent registrar of the Strand -Union, gives important testimony. - - From your knowledge of the actual state of much of the population in - the worst part of the metropolis, derived from your experience in - the several local offices you have held, and especially your - experience as a superintendent registrar, do you believe that the - inspection of the body to verify the fact of death, and, as far as - inspection and inquiry on the spot may do so, to determine the cause - of death, would be important securities not merely for the truth of - the registration, but valuable securities for life itself?—Most - certainly I do. Had there been such an inspection and verification - prior to the year 1831, the horrible system of destroying human - beings for the purpose of selling their bodies could not have been - carried on to the extent to which I know it existed at that period. - Being then the vestry clerk of St. Paul, Covent Garden, the officers - of which were bound over to prosecute Bishop, Williams, and May, for - the murder of the Italian boy, the duty of conducting the - prosecution entirely devolved upon me. In the course of my - inquiries, I elicited beyond all doubt that the practice of burking, - as it was then called, had prevailed to a considerable extent in the - metropolis. - - Would inspection, do you conceive, and proper inquiry as to the - cause of death, have prevented such murders?—Most effectually so, I - conceive. I may mention that they took out the teeth of the younger - subjects, and sold them to the dentists. The Italian boy, it would - have been seen, had no teeth; the teeth had been punched out in such - a manner as to have been remarkable. - - Though the motives to such dreadful practices are removed under the - securities for the public safety imposed in connexion with the - Anatomy Act, yet in cases of other attempts against life, do you - consider that the requiring a certificate of the fact of death, - verified on inspection before burial, would interpose useful - practical obstacles for the prevention of murder, and the protection - of life?—Most assuredly. - -Mr. Partridge, the surgeon of King’s College, at whose instance the -murderers were taken into custody, in the cases referred to, expresses a -similar opinion as to the importance of the proposed verification of the -fact and cause of death by a proper officer. - -§ 203. It may here be stated that only a small proportion of the local -registrars are either medical officers or members of the medical -profession; but the short experience of those registrars who have those -qualifications has elicited abundant indications of the extent to which -proper securities are wanting for the protection of life in this -country. Nearly all who have for any length of time exercised their -functions have had occasion to arrest cases of _primâ facie_ suspicion -on the way to interment that had escaped the only existing security and -initiative to investigation, the suspicion of neighbours and popular -rumour. Mr. Abraham, surgeon and registrar of deaths in the City of -London Union, was asked on this subject— - - You are Registrar of Deaths in the City of London Union. Since you - have been Registrar, have you had occasion to send notice to the - coroner of cases where the causes of death stated appeared - suspicious?—Yes, in about half-a-dozen cases. One was of an old - gentleman occupying apartments in Bell Alley. His servant went out - to market, and on her return, in less than an hour, found him dead - on the bed, with his legs lying over the side of it. He had been - ailing some time, and was seized occasionally with difficulty of - breathing, but able to get up, and when she left him she did not - perceive anything unusual in his appearance. I went to the house - myself, and made inquiries into the cause of death; and although I - did not discover anything to lead to the suspicion of his having - died from poison or other unfair means, I considered it involved in - obscurity, and referred the case to the coroner for investigation. - Another case was of a traveller who was found dead in his bed at an - inn. The body was removed to a distance of forty miles before a - certificate to authorize the burial was applied for. His usual - medical attendant certified to his having been for several years the - subject of aortic aneurism, which was the probable cause of his - sudden death, although the evidence was imperfect and - unsatisfactory, and could not be otherwise without an examination of - the body, and I therefore refused to register it without notice from - the coroner. - - A third case occurred a few days ago. A medical certificate was - presented to me of the death of a man from disease of the heart and - aneurism of the aorta. He was driven in a cab to the door of a - medical practitioner in this neighbourhood, and was found dead. He - might have died from poison, and, without the questions put on the - occasion of registering the cause of death, the case might have - passed without notice. There was not in this case, as in others, any - evidence to show that death was occasioned by unfair means, but the - causes were obscure and unsatisfactory, and I felt it to be my duty - to have them investigated by the coroner. - - But for anything known, you may have passed cases of - murder?—Certainly; and there is at present no security against such - cases. The personal inspection of the deceased would undoubtedly act - as a great security. - -Mr. P. H. Holland, surgeon, registrar for Chorlton-on-Medlock:— - - My district is of the better description, inhabited either by the - higher classes or by respectable working men, in which cases of - deaths from crime are not very likely to occur; yet suspicious cases - have from time to time happened (say six or eight annually in my - district), to which I have thought it necessary to call the - attention of the coroner. In one case, for example, a father, a - labouring man, came to me to report the death of his infant child, - stating the cause to be sickness and purging; there was then no - cholera prevalent, and the rapidity of the disease was unusually - great. My suspicion was excited as to the cause of the death, of - which the father could give no clear account, and I sent word to the - coroner that I thought the case was one which required inquiry. An - inquest was held, and it turned out that the child had taken - arsenic. The jury were of opinion that the death was entirely - accidental,—that there had been no criminal intention. Had not the - cause of the accident been developed by the inquiry, others of the - family might have suffered in the same way. The other cases, which - had escaped inquiry, have been chiefly those of accident, in which - the death occurred at long periods subsequently, such as five or six - weeks. I have found that it is a common practice to represent - children as “still-born,” who were born alive, it not being - necessary to register still-born children. By passing them off as - still-born, burial is obtained for a smaller fee. But by this means - cases of infanticide might be concealed. The fact of a married woman - having been pregnant, and no proof existing as to the issue may - hereafter be of legal importance. I have heard of many suspected - cases of the wilful neglect of children, on whose deaths sums were - obtainable from different burial societies. I cannot doubt that by - inquiring much infantile death, which occurs from ignorance and - incorrect treatment, would be prevented. - - Inspection on the spot would, I consider, operate much more - powerfully in prevention than in detection of crime. It would also - occasion the stoppage of many existing but unsuspected causes of - death. I have had reason to believe in the existence of a large - amount of the preventible causes of death, with respect to which I - have had no means of inquiry. - - I was, during four years, apothecary to the Chorlton-on-Medlock - Dispensary, during which time cases of sickness occurring in houses - unfit for healthful habitation were constantly coming under my - observation; many particular localities, affording far more than - their due proportion of disease, owing to imperfect drainage and - ventilation. Any one who had gone to inspect the body on the - occurrence of death in those places, with powers to enforce sanitary - measures, such as the removal of the survivors, the drainage and - cleansing and ventilation of the premises, would, undoubtedly, have - had the means of preventing much mortality. - -§ 204. Mr. Leigh, the surgeon, whose testimony has already been cited, -acts as one of the registrars of Manchester, and adverts to one source -of mortality amongst infants which appears to be widely extended in the -town districts. It is a practice with mothers who go to work to leave -their children in the care of the cheapest nurses, who commonly neglect -the infants, and have recourse to Dalby’s Carminative in large -quantities to quiet them. It is his opinion that a large number of them -fall a sacrifice to this and other improper modes of treatment. For -example, says Mr. Leigh, - - There is one evil of the extent of whose existence I had no - conception, till I had for some time held the office of registrar. - In decrying this, I would beg distinctly to disavow any private - professional feeling. I allude to the great number of cases in which - either no medical treatment at all, or what is nearly as bad, - improper medical treatment, had been resorted to. I think, in nearly - one-fourth of the deaths of infants reported to me, on inquiry I - find that the little patients had been attended by incompetent and - unqualified practitioners, chiefly retail druggists. Cases of croup - and inflammation of the lungs which are eminently benefited by - medical treatment, and in which prompt and decisive measures often - preserve life, are treated by them, and I have reason to know by - inquiry into the details of the cases that bleedings, calomel, and - the remedies absolutely requisite in such cases are never, or very - rarely, employed, whereas, under proper medical treatment, most of - such cases would recover. Under these circumstances, these men - themselves become fertile sources of mortality to the young. - -In a subsequent communication, he states— - - I find that in the month of January just passed I registered the - deaths of 33 children under 4 years of age, of these 9 were attended - by druggists; I believe all by one who has received no medical - education: this is at the rate of 108 per annum. Three of the - children had no assistance at all, making 12 out of 33 that might - possibly have been saved. This number 33, however, is below the - average of the year, for in the three months preceding there died in - the district, of children under 4 years, 133, or 44 per month; and - during the quarter ending 30th September, 1842, 169, or 56 per - month; and the general number of those having no attendance, or - being attended by druggists, is fully one-third, so that 100 per - annum is much below the truth. I some time ago requested Mr. Bennet, - the registrar for the Ancoats district, to make similar notes on the - cases reported to him, and on inquiry from him I have reason to - believe that the evil exists to as great an extent in his district - as in mine. - - I find that in most of the cases no efficient medical treatment was - adopted. Cases of pneumonia are seldom or never bled, or proper - remedies applied: the disease is probably not recognized, and if it - were, the treatment and extent to which it should be pursued is not - known to the parties prescribing. - -A similar practice appears to be prevalent also in the mining districts -of Staffordshire and Shropshire. (Vide Reports of the Sub-Commissioners -for inquiring into employment in Mines, vol. I., pp. 22, 23; articles -182–6; and pp. 38, 39; pp. 305 to 315, and the recent report respecting -the employment of children at Nottingham.) In the course of some recent -inquiries by Dr. Lyon Playfair he found the increasing sale of opium in -the manufacturing towns was ascribable to the increasing use of it in -the form of carminative, or as it was named “quietness” for children, -and that the consumption of opium by adults had diminished. On inquiring -from the druggists who sold the opium what was the cause of the -diminished consumption by the adults, the uniform answer was, the -“distress of the times,” which compelled them to dispense with luxuries. -He however ascertained clearly that from this terrible practice great -numbers of children perish, sometimes suddenly from an overdose, but -more commonly slowly, painfully, and insidiously. He was struck, -however, with the fact of the increased proportions and rapidity of the -births in the places where this infantile mortality was prevalent. It -was remarked by the people themselves. So that there was no diminution -of the numbers of children, but a woeful diminution of their strength -and a proportionate increase of their burdensomeness. Those who escaped -with life, became pale and sickly children, and it was very long before -they overcame the effects arising from the pernicious practice; if -indeed they ever did do so.[41] - -The most serious consequences, arise from the omission of proper -administrative securities for the safety of life in Scotland. On these -Dr. Scott Alison states:— - - In Scotland there is full opportunity for the perpetration of murder - and burial without investigation by any responsible officer. There - is no coroner and no inquest. I have known cases of the occurrence - of deaths from culpable negligence, to say the least of it, which - required public proceedings to be taken, but where interment took - place without the slightest notice. I had myself a young man of - about 20 years of age under treatment who, in my opinion, died from - culpable maltreatment whilst in prison. He had in a drunken frolic - committed an assault, and was imprisoned in a damp cold cell without - a fire. He certainly died of disease which was very likely to be - produced by the cold which he then endured, and to which he ascribed - it. Before his imprisonment he was a remarkably strong, fine healthy - man. No inquiry was made or thought of in the case. I have known - several cases, and they were not uncommon. I remember two, within - two or three days, of children having been overlaid and killed by - their parents when in a state of drunkenness. They were buried - without any notice being taken of the circumstance by any party, - though if punishment were not inflicted upon them public notice - would have been of importance for the sake of the morals of the - population. - - I have known deaths of grown up people from burning when in a state - of intoxication, and deaths from intoxication take place without - inquiry; also deaths from accidents, such as falling into coal pits, - deaths from machinery, as to which in many cases no public inquiry - whatsoever was ever made. I have known cases of children burned to - death who were left without any care. It was a common case in - Tranent for persons to drink for a wager who would drink most. I - know of the case of three tradesmen who drank for a wager; two of - them died within a few days, and the widow of one of them committed - suicide shortly afterwards; and I was informed that they were all - buried without any notice being taken of the fact. There is - certainly a facility for the perpetration of murder in Scotland from - the absence of securities, and for protection of life against - culpable negligence. The visits of an officer of public health would - be of very great utility. - -Mr. William Chambers observes:— - - It seems to me not a little surprising that in Scotland, which is - signalized for its general intelligence, love of order, and I may - add really beneficent laws, the country should be so far behind in - everything connected with vital statistics. I have already noticed - that it possesses no coroner’s inquest. This is a positive disgrace. - Deaths are continually occurring from violence, but of which not the - slightest notice is taken by procurators fiscal, magistrates, or - police; indeed, these functionaries seldom interfere except when a - positive complaint is lodged. Some time ago, the medical gentleman - who attends my family, mentioned to me incidentally that that - morning he had been called to look at, and if possible recover, a - lady who had been found hanging in her bed-room. His efforts were - ineffectual; the lady was stone dead; and it was announced by her - relatives that she had died suddenly. In the usual course of things, - she was buried. Now, in this case, not the slightest inquiry was - made by any public officer, and whether it was a death from suicide - or from murder nobody can tell. The procurator fiscal, whose duty it - is to take cognizance of such deaths, is, of course, not to blame, - for he has not the faculty of omniscience. - -The preventive and detective functions of the officer of health would be -the more efficient from the exercise of any such functions being -incidental to ordinary functions of acknowledged every day importance, -which must lead his visits and inspection to be regarded as _primâ -facie_ services of beneficence and kindness to all who surround the -deceased. The comparative inefficiency of officers whose functions are -principally judiciary is well exemplified in some remarks made by Mr. -Hill Burton, Advocate, in a communication on the subject of interments -in Scotland. - - A prominent defect (as he observes) in the means of inquiry into the - causes of death in Scotland consists in the circumstance that before - any investigation can be entered on there must be ostensible reasons - for presuming the existence of violence and crime. On the occasion - of a death having occurred in circumstances out of the ordinary - course, the only person authorized to make any inquiry as to its - cause is the officer whose proper and ostensible duty it is to - prosecute to conviction. It hence arises that the simple institution - of an inquiry is almost equivalent to a charge of crime, and that - the proper officer, knowing the serious position in which he places - those concerned, by taking any steps, is very reluctant to move, - until the public voice has pretty unequivocally shown him that the - matter comes within his province as a public prosecutor. There is no - family in Scotland that would not at present feel a demand by a - Procurator Fiscal, or by any individual to inspect a body within - their house, as very nearly equivalent to a charge of murder; and I - should think it is of very rare occurrence, that any such inspection - takes place, in a private house, unless when a prosecution has been - decided on. - - The absence of any machinery, through which an inquiry can be calmly - and impartially made into the cause of death, without in itself - implying suspicion of crime, is frequently illustrated in the - creation of excitement and alarm in the public mind, which the - authorities cannot find a suitable means of allaying. I remember - some years ago being present at a trial for murder, which, as it - involved no point in law, has unfortunately not been reported. It - was a trial undertaken by the Crown for the mere purpose of - justifying an innocent man. Two butchers were returning tipsy from a - fair; some words arose between them, and soon after, one of them was - found stabbed to the heart by one of the set of knives which both - carried. On investigation, it appeared that the deceased had fallen - on his side, from the effects of drunkenness, and that one of the - knives which hung at his side, dropping perpendicularly with its - heavy handle to the ground, pierced through his ribs to his heart as - he fell. It was impossible, however, to satisfy the public that such - was the case. The feeling of the neighbourhood ran high, and the - Crown was induced, out of humanity, or from a desire to preserve the - public peace, to concede the formality of a trial. I know it to be - of the most frequent occurrence, especially in the north of - Scotland, that suspicions which must be destructive to the peace of - mind of those who are the objects of them, take wing through - society, and can never be set effectually at rest. - -§ 205. Mr. W. Dyce Guthrie, after reciting several cases of strong -suspicion which came under his observation whilst acting as a medical -practitioner in Scotland concludes by observing— - - Whether on an inquest before a coroner the real truth would have - been elicited I cannot determine, but I think there can be but one - opinion as to the propriety of having all obstacles removed which - may presently stand in the way of arriving at the truth of all - circumstances connected with sudden and suspicious deaths. Were it - necessary, I could cite many instances of sudden deaths attended by - circumstances of such a nature as not only rendered an investigation - highly proper in a legal point of view, but necessary in charity to - those individuals whose characters were tarnished by the cruelly - unjust insinuations of some black-hearted enemies. The business not - having been thoroughly probed at the time of its occurrence leaves - great latitude for the villanous conjectures of parties whose - interest it may be to damage others in the estimation of the public. - -§ 206. Besides supplying the defect of administrative arrangements in -respect to the cases of suspicion which at present escape inquiry, the -proposed appointment of officers of health presents as a further -incidental advantage the means of abating an evil which has been the -subject of much complaint, namely, the grievous pain inflicted on the -relations and survivors, and the expense to the public by the holding of -inquests, which the subsequent evidence and the terms of the verdicts -have shown to have been unnecessary. In the metropolis, and in many -extensive districts inquests are chiefly moved on the representations of -common parish beadles, or by common parish constables, to whom the -inquest is usually a source of emolument. This will be admitted to be -one of the least secure and satisfactory agencies in towns that could -well be employed for so important a purpose. I have been informed of -instances where they have been paid to avoid the annoyance of inquests -in cases where from sudden but natural deaths, as from apoplexy, -inquests might have been held, and that there is reason to believe that -such payments have not been unfrequent. Such agency cannot be said to be -a secure one either as to integrity or discretion. - -§ 207. I am informed by Mr. Payne, the coroner for the city of London, -that he has in some cases felt it to be his duty to send a confidential -person to make inquiries for him, before he would act on the ordinary -sources of information in holding inquests. I have also been informed -that other coroners adopt the same laudable practice, and frequently -incur the trouble and expense of previous inquiries by more trustworthy -persons, in cases where the alleged cause of death is not manifest. The -appointment of medical officers of health might be made without the -exercise of any new or anomalous powers to relieve the coroners from -such necessity, and at the same time give the public cause to be better -satisfied that no really suspicious cases were shrouded and concealed, -and that none escaped from inadvertence.[42] I believe that on the uses -to be derived from the appointment of the officers in question most -coroners would concur in the opinions expressed in the following answer -received from Mr. Payne. - - In reply to your inquiry (respecting the Medical Registrars of - Deaths giving notice to the Coroner of such deaths as may appear to - them to inquire to be investigated by him), I beg to say that I have - long felt there has been something wanting in the machinery by which - inquiries into deaths are, or ought to be regulated. - - In cases of death from external violence, where the injury is - apparent, the constable of the district is fully aware of the - necessity of applying to the coroner; but in cases of sudden or - other deaths where there is no cause apparent to a common observer, - there is a necessity for some qualified person forming a judgment as - to the expediency of a judicial inquiry into the cause of death, and - I know of none so well qualified to form such a judgment as a member - of the medical profession. The office of _searcher_, when properly - carried out, was useful as far as it could be in the hands of old - women, but that could only apply to cases in which external violence - was apparent to the view on searching the body. I believe, however, - that the office has now ceased to exist, and the present mode of - registering deaths does not supply any means of detecting unnatural - or violent deaths. I am therefore quite of opinion that a Medical - Registrar (chosen for his ability and _discretion_) who would not - unnecessarily annoy the feelings of private families, and yet make - himself acquainted with the death by personal knowledge, would be a - valuable addition to the present mode of ascertaining and - registering deaths. - - - _Advantages to Science from the Improvement of the Mortuary - Registration._ - -§ 208. Extending the view from the private and public immediate and -extraordinary necessities which may be met by a staff of well qualified -public officers, exercising the duties and powers proposed, to the -ordinary but higher public wants, it will be found they may in that -position obtain in years, or even in months, indications of the certain -means of prevention of disease, for which the medical experience of ages -has supplied no means of cure, and only doubtful means of alleviation. - -§ 209. There is not one medical man who has acted as a registrar of -deaths who has been consulted on this subject, who does not state as a -result of his short experience under the registration of the fact of -deaths, and even of the distant and imperfect statements of the causes -of death, that it has given them such a knowledge as no private practice -could give of the effect of habits of life and of locality in producing -disease. - -§ 210. As a practical instance of the immediate advantages of placing -the business of registration under the guidance of medical knowledge, -may be cited the following from the statement of Mr. Jones, a medical -officer, who acts as registrar of the Strand Union. Speaking of the -working of the registration, he says— - - I find that neither my experience as a medical officer, for many - years in the parish, nor my experience as a private practitioner, - give me the same extended view of the causes of death as the - mortuary registration. It brings to my knowledge cases which I could - not know as a private practitioner: for example, as to the - occurrence of small-pox or epidemics. In such instances, it is of - use to me, as it sometimes enables me to go to places where I - believe children have not been vaccinated, and suggest to the family - the necessity of vaccination as a measure of prevention. When I have - received information of one or two cases of small-pox, I have looked - to the register of births, and sent to other people to warn them of - the necessity of vaccination. - -§ 211. On the advantages which inquiries for the registration of death -would give, the concurrent opinions of several eminent medical men may -be expressed in the terms used by Dr. Calvert Holland, of Sheffield, who -observes that, “From an inquiry on the spot concerning the train of -symptoms preceding death, the general examination of the body, or from -conversation with the medical attendant, the cause of death, with few -exceptions, would probably be assigned with as much accuracy as by any -plan that can possibly be devised. We should hail such an appointment as -one of great value. Even in those instances in which it is difficult, -from the obscurity or undefined character of the symptoms, to say -precisely what is the cause of death, the inquiry would tend to -dissipate the doubts or obscurity in which it might be involved. The -duties of the officer, if he possessed first-rate professional -abilities, would give to him a power of analyzing symptoms, of tracing -cause and effect, which few practitioners possess or can acquire in a -long life of professional exertions. Were the causes of death analyzed -and recorded by one having no other duties, and fitted by his -accomplishments to undertake the task, the medical and statistical -inquirer would possess a body of information on the influence of general -local circumstances as well as on particular agents in connexion with -manufactures, the just value of which it is not possible to appreciate.” - -§ 212. For the promotion of the new science of prevention, and the -knowledge of causes necessary to it, a primary requisite is to bring -large classes of cases as may be duly observed, under the eye of one -observer. It would be a practicable arrangement, on the receipt of the -notices of deaths, to direct the visits of one officer chiefly to cases -of the same class, for the purpose of collecting information as to the -common causes or antecedents. The amount of remuneration included in the -estimate hereafter given might be made the means of obtaining additional -time and services for carrying the inspections of the officers of health -still further into the circumstances of the living; as in cases of -consumption or fever, where numbers came from the same place of work or -occupation, to visit and ascertain whether there was any overcrowding or -any latent cause of disease. - -§ 213. In an important paper which Dr. Calvert Holland has written “On -the Diseases of the Lungs from mechanical causes,” he gives an account -of the physical and moral condition of the cutlers’ dry grinders of -Sheffield, whose case may be cited not only as further exemplifying the -large evils, § 200, which, in the absence of protective public -arrangements, will pass without complaint from the _immediate_ -sufferers, but as showing the advantages derivable from any arrangements -which bring large classes of cases within one intelligent view, _i. e._ -before an officer of health, in presenting clearly common causes of -evil, and in suggesting means of prevention, which in single cases or -smaller groups of cases might not have challenged attention or justified -any confident conclusions as to the remedies available. - -It is known that the steel and stone dust arising in the processes of -grinding cutlery, is peculiarly injurious to the class of workpeople -engaged in it, and that those who continue at the work are generally cut -off before they are thirty-five or forty-five years of age. Formerly the -same workmen completed several processes in the making of knives, of -which processes grinding was only one. At that time the “grinders’ -disease” was very little known, and the men lived to about the average -age, and were considered the most respectable class of the Sheffield -workmen. As the manufacture advanced the labour became subdivided, and -one class of workmen were wholly occupied with the destructive process -of grinding. Whether their numbers were kept down by the excessive -mortality, or a monopoly were maintained by the destructive effects of -the process, wages were so high as to allow them to play during a part -of the week. Then arose that avidity for immediate and reckless -enjoyment, common to all uneducated minds under the perception of a -transient existence. When trade was good they would only work a part of -the week; they spent the remainder in the riot and the dissipation -characteristic of soldiers after a siege. Many of them each kept a -hound, and had it trained by a master of the hunt, and their several -hounds formed a pack with which they hunted lawlessly, and poached over -any grounds within their reach. The grinders pack is still kept up -amongst them. They became reckless in their marriages. “The more -destructive the branch of work,” says Dr. Holland, “the more ignorant, -reckless, and dissipated are the workmen, and the effects may be traced -in the tendency to marry, and generally at exceedingly early ages.” He -further observes of one class of them, that amongst them “nature appears -not only precocious but extremely fruitful.” Their short and improvident -career is attended by a proportionately large amount of premature and -wretched widowhood and destitute orphanage. - -This one class of cases was brought fortuitously under the observation -of Dr. Holland, and he has done what a competent officer of health could -scarcely have omitted to attempt to do,—to devise means of prevention -and reclaim their execution. - -One benevolent inventor proposed the adoption of a magnetic guard, or -mouth-piece, the efficiency of which consisted in the attraction of the -metallic particles evolved in the process of grinding. But the dust to -which the grinder was exposed consisted of the gritty particles of the -stone as well as of the metallic particles of the instruments ground, -and if the invention had been adopted, it would still have left the men -exposed to the gritty particles. It was not, however, adopted, nor does -it appear that any efficient preventive would be voluntarily adopted by -these reckless men. Dr. Holland invented another mode, which acts -independently of the men, and which is very simple, and, it is -confidently stated, that after a trial of some years, it has proved -equal to the complete correction of the evil. It consists of an -arrangement by which a current of air, directed over the work, carries -from the workman clear out of the apartment all the gritty as well as -all the metallic particles. The expense of the apparatus would scarcely -exceed the proportion of a sovereign to each grinder. But it is not -adopted; and Dr. Holland is in the position of an officer of health, on -behalf of mothers and children, to reclaim authoritative intervention -and the interests of society to arrest the suicidal and demoralizing -waste of life. Having consulted his experience on the advantages of such -an office as that in question to the working classes, he speaks in -strong and confident terms of the benefits to be derived from it:— - - Perhaps in no manufacturing community is human life, in large - classes of men, so shortened or accompanied with such an amount of - suffering or wretchedness as in this town, in connection with - certain staple manufactures. Were the legislature to interfere and - enforce the correction of the evils, by a system of ventilation, - which is neither difficult nor expensive to put in operation, the - duties of this officer, if directed to the superintendence of this - system, would save numerous lives and prevent an incalculable amount - of misery. At present, in consequence of these evils, a majority of - the artisans is killed off from twenty-five to thirty-five years of - age, and numbers annually leaving widows and children in great - destitution, and, in most cases, dependent on the parish. The evils - are not inseparably connected with the occupation; they admit of - redress. An officer of health, by maintaining the system of - ventilation in efficient operation, would save numerous lives, would - create a better tone of mind among the artisans—for wretchedness is - closely allied with ignorance and immorality—would diminish the high - rate of mortality amongst the young under five years of age—left by - the premature death of the parent unprovided for, and lastly, would - greatly relieve the parish funds. The officer, having the power to - remove at once any case of fever from a densely populated locality, - as well as to enforce measures of prevention, such as the removal of - accumulated filth, stagnant pools of water, or the correction of any - other local circumstances, would perform duties which would redound - considerably to the advantage of the community. - -§ 214. In confirmation of the views of the benefits derivable to medical -science from such arrangements as those proposed, § 211, various -instances might be adduced besides the last cited, § 213, and that -already given in the General Report, p. 355, of the discoveries made, on -an examination of 1000 cases, by M. Louis, on the nature of consumption, -now generally recognized as presenting facts at variance with all -ancient and previous modern opinions: but in respect of the views there -stated, as to the great public importance of well-ascertained medical -statistics, I submit the high confirmation derivable from the following -statement contained in the recently published outlines of pathology and -practice of medicine, by Dr. W. Pulteney Alison, fellow and late -president of the College of Physicians at Edinburgh, and professor of -the practice of medicine in the University of Edinburgh:— - -“The living body,” he observes, “assumes, in many cases, different kinds -of diseased action, varying remarkably in different periods of life, -without any apparent or known cause; but in the greater number of cases -it is generally believed that certain circumstances in the situation or -condition of patients, before diseases appear, can be assigned with -confidence as their causes. The efficacy of these, however, is seldom -established in any other way than simply by the observation that persons -known to be exposed to their influence become afflicted with certain -diseases in a proportion very much greater than those who are not known -to be so exposed. - -“This kind of evidence is in many _individual_ cases very liable to -fallacy, in consequence of the great variety of the circumstances -capable of affecting health, in which individuals are placed, and of the -difficulty of varying these so as to obtain such observations, in the -way of induction or exclusion, as shall be decisive as to the efficacy -of each. Hence the importance of the observations intended to illustrate -this matter being as extensively multiplied as possible; and hence also -the peculiar value, with a view to the investigation of the causes of -diseases, of observations made on large and organized bodies of men, as -in the experience of military and naval practitioners. All the -circumstances of the whole number of men whose diseases are there -observed, are in many respects exactly alike; they are accurately known -to the observer, and are indeed often to a certain degree at his -disposal; they are often suddenly changed, and when changed as to one -portion of the individuals under observation, they are often unchanged -as to another; and therefore the conditions necessary to obtaining an -_experimentum crucis_ as to the efficacy of an alleged cause of disease -are more frequently in the power of such an observer than of one who is -conversant only with civil life. - -“But when the necessary precautions as to the multiplication of facts, -and the exclusion of circumstances foreign to the result in question, -are observed, the efficacy of the remote causes of disease may often be -determined _statistically_, and with absolute certainty; and the -knowledge thus acquired as leading directly to the _prevention_ of -disease, is often of the greatest importance, especially with a view to -regulations of medical police. And if the human race be destined, in -future ages, to possess greater wisdom and happiness in this state of -existence than at present, the value of this knowledge may be expected -to increase in the progress of time; because there are many diseases -which the experience of ages has brought only partially within the power -of medicine, but the causes of which are known, and under certain -circumstances may be avoided; and the conditions necessary for avoiding -them are in a great measure in the power of _communities_, though at -present beyond the power of many of the individuals composing these. - -“There are, indeed, various cases, of frequent occurrence, in which the -study of the remote causes of disease is as practically important as -anything that can be learnt as to their history, or the effects of -remedies upon them. This is particularly true of epidemic diseases, and -of diseases to which a tendency is given by irremediable constitutional -infirmities.” - -Having had the honour to be associated with the late Dr. Cowan of -Glasgow, Dr. Alison, and some other gentlemen, in a committee to -consider of the means of obtaining a system of mortuary registration for -Scotland, and having conversed with many qualified persons who have also -paid much attention to the subject, I may state confidently that the -exposition above given of the advantages derivable to the public service -from the improvement of vital statistics would meet with extensive -concurrence, independently of the very high sanction conferred by any -expression of an opinion on such a subject from Dr. Alison. The towns -where the greatest mortality prevails present precisely the -opportunities so highly appreciated, of observations on large and -organized bodies of men, § 213, often as similar in the chief -circumstances which govern their condition, as the classes presented to -the observation of medical officers in the army or in the navy. - -Lord Bacon observes, in his suggestions for an inquiry into the causes -of death—“And this inquiry, we hope, might redound to a general good, if -physicians would but exert themselves and raise their minds above the -sordid considerations of cure; not deriving their honour from the -necessities of mankind, but becoming ministers to the Divine power and -goodness both in prolonging and restoring the life of man; especially as -this may be effected by safe, commodious, and not illiberal means, -though hitherto unattempted. And certainly it would be an earnest of -Divine favour if, whilst we are journeying to the land of promise, our -garments, those frail bodies of ours, were not greatly to wear out in -the wilderness of this world.” It would accord with his great views that -adequate public provision and arrangement should be made to enable -physicians to render the services desired. From the earliest time to the -present, when the subject of sanitary evil and desecration of -grave-yards was brought before the public by the long-continued -exertions of Mr. Walker, members of the medical profession have made the -most strenuous exertions and sacrifices for the attainment of such -objects. - -It is submitted that, in whatsoever place a proper system of the -verification and registration of the fact and cause of death has not -been introduced, as in Ireland and Scotland, and in all populous and -increasing districts, that the appointment of an officer of health, -having charge and regulations of all interments, would be the most -economical as well as the most efficient mode of introducing it: in -every place it must be a measure of paramount importance. - -§ 215. As an instance of the incompatibility of such duties as those of -the proposed officer of public health, with service in connexion with -any existing local administrative body, it may be mentioned that every -local Board in such a town as Sheffield would comprehend some of the -chief householders, who would most probably be the chief manufacturers -and employers of the class of workmen, and that even the official -connexion would to such minds as the workmen expose him to suspicion, -and diminish his influence, for the effectuation of any voluntary -changes of practice. On other grounds, such as the absence of -qualification in such Boards to give superior directions; and such -grounds as those specified in p. 322 and p. 349 and 350 of the General -Report, it is submitted that the functions of the officer of health -would be the best exercised, independently of any other local -administrative body. He would, in an independent capacity, be the most -powerful auxiliary of any well-intended and zealous administration of -local works, and as his functions must bring him at once to the chief -spots where the consequences of neglects and omissions would be often -manifest in fatal events, he would, as an independent and yet -responsible officer, exercise an extensive influence and an efficient -check on behalf of the public at large. - -§ 216. Every efficient measure of improvement of the sanitary condition -of the population, must be in its mere pecuniary results a measure of a -large economy (§ 80). Physicians and medical officers are of opinion -that all the ordinary and extraordinary duties specified, and even more, -may be done by an officer of health with the same average expenditure of -time (taking one case with another), that occurs to a physician in -visiting a patient, examining the case, writing out a prescription and -giving instructions to attendants. I shall be able to show that it may -be accomplished at a charge no greater than that now paid by the -labouring classes to one of their body as a steward or officer of their -burial clubs who is required to inspect and identify the body of a -deceased member. - - - _Proximate Estimate of the comparative Expense of Interments under - arrangements for National Cemeteries._ - -Having shown the chief desiderata in respect to the improvement of the -practice of interment, and the means of protecting the public health, I -proceed to submit the substance of the information collected as to the -means of obtaining them. - -§ 217. In submitting for consideration a proximate estimate of the -extent to which it is practicable to carry that reduction of the expense -of interments, which is so important to the middle and lower classes, -the expense of interments of gentry and persons of the middle class of -life is taken at double the amount at which persons of great experience -in providing for the interment of large numbers have estimated they may -be executed for without any reduction of the essentials to a decent -solemnity. - -§ 218. The estimate takes the existing scale of burial fees of the -parish of St. James, Westminster, as fees to be continued, which would, -if received in a fee fund, not only provide compensation for vested -interests, but go far to provide the expense of new services. - -§ 219. To the estimate of the expenses of interment is superadded a fee -to defray the expenses of medical officers of a board of public health. -The reduction of that great source of waste and expense, the payment of -two or three stages of profits, for materials, &c. of funerals (by -placing them under general arrangements), would admit of this charge, -which is really a means to a still greater economy, the economy of -health and life, and consequently of the number of funerals themselves. -Objection to these charges would scarcely have place where the pecuniary -economy is immediate. The medical service proposed may be procured to -the working classes (supposing it were necessary to charge the expense -on the funeral) at all distances, for the same sum as that which they -now pay to the unlearned inspectors, officers of their clubs, for -inspection within short distances, namely, 2_s._ 6_d._ It is declared by -competent witnesses, that a respectable officer of public health, a -physician, performing such services as those described, would be -welcomed in most families on such a charge as 10_s._ 6_d._ for the -middle classes, and 1_l._ 1_s._ for the higher classes, charged as a -part of the reduced funeral expenses. - - _Estimated Scale of Charges for Interments in the Metropolis, - inclusive of Compensations; the payment for the purchase of new - Cemeteries; and new Establishment Charges._ - - ────────────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬──────────── - │ │ Proposed │ Scale of - │ │ Charge for │Expense for - │ Existing │ Officer of │Undertaker’s - │Burial Dues.│ Health and │ Materials - │ │Registration│ and - │ │ of Death. │ Services. - │ │ │ - ────────────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼──────────── - │£. _s._ _d._│£. _s._ _d._│£. _s._ _d._ - │ │ │ - Gentry {Adults │ 10 10 0│ 1 0 0│ 21 0 0 - {Children│ 5 5 0│ 1 0 0│ 3 10 0 - │ │ │ - 1st Class {Adults │ 2 10 0│ 0 10 0│ 10 10 0 - Tradesmen {Children│ 1 5 0│ 0 10 0│ 2 10 0 - │ │ │ - 2nd Class }Adults │ 1 12 9│ 0 6 3│ 6 0 0 - Tradesmen }Children│ 0 16 9│ 0 6 3│ 1 12 6 - (Undescribed) } │ │ │ - │ │ │ - Artisans {Adults │ 0 15 6│ 0 2 6│ 1 10 0 - {Children│ 0 8 9│ 0 2 6│ 0 15 0 - │ │ │ - Paupers {Adults │ }│ │ - {Children│ }│ │ - │ │ │ - Totals - - - - ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - ────────────────────────┬───────────────┬────────────┬──────┬────────── - │ │ │Annual│ Total - │ │ Total │Number│estimated - │Charge for New │ estimated │ of │Expense of - │Cemeteries and │ Scale of │Cases │Interments - │Establishments.│ Expense of │ of │ to each - │ │ Burials. │ each │Class per - │ │ │Class.│ annum. - ────────────────────────┼───────────────┼────────────┼──────┼────────── - │ £. _s._ _d._ │£. _s._ _d._│ │ £ - │ │ │ │ - Gentry {Adults │ 6 0 0│ 38 10 0│ 1,724│ 66,374 - {Children│ 4 5 0│ 14 0 0│ 529│ 7,406 - │ │ │ │ - 1st Class {Adults │ 3 0 0│ 16 10 0│ 3,979│ 65,655 - Tradesmen {Children│ 2 0 0│ 6 5 0│ 3,703│ 23,144 - │ │ │ │ - 2nd Class }Adults │ 1 10 0│ 9 9 0│ 2,996│ 28,312 - Tradesmen }Children│ 0 10 0│ 3 5 6│ 2,761│ 9,042 - (Undescribed) } │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ - Artisans {Adults │ 0 2 0│ 2 10 0│12,045│ 30,113 - {Children│ 0 1 9│ 1 8 0│13,885│ 19,439 - │ │ │ │ - Paupers {Adults │ │ 0 13 0│ 3,655│ 2,376 - {Children│ │ │ │ —————— - │ │ │ │ - Totals │ 251,861 - │ ——————— - Or an annual saving on the estimated total expense of the │ - interments and parochial charges for the whole metropolis │ 374,743 - ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - -§ 220. In this estimate the expense of the funerals of the classes -“undescribed” in the mortuary registries may be taken as representing -the second or third class of tradesmen. In the estimate of the expense -of funerals of persons of the first class, no account is taken for a -long cavalcade of mourning coaches; but those who are conversant with -the details agree that several may be supplied, with a full retinue of -hired mourners, and the expense be yet kept below one-half the present -amount of charges. A confident opinion is expressed that interments -might be performed, under general arrangements, with all the advantages -specified, and full compensation be given, at a rate of between 5_l._ -and 6_l._ each funeral, instead of about 15_l._, the present average. - -§ 221. On the eight chief cemeteries opened in the metropolis by private -companies, and comprising about 260 acres, or considerably more than the -space occupied by all the parochial and private burial grounds whatever, -a capital of about 400,000_l._ has been invested. The expenses of -litigation and of procuring Acts of Parliament, and purchasing grounds, -must have been excessively heavy; and it appears probable that, for an -amount not much greater or not exceeding it by more than one-fifth, -superior national cemeteries, with houses of reception and appropriate -chapels, may be formed on the present scale of expenditure of these -companies, and in a style commensurate with what is due to the -metropolis of the empire. If the charge of the purchase of the land and -the structural arrangements be spread over 30 years, and the payment of -the money charged, with interest, on the burials of persons of the -higher and middle classes, the amount might be included in the total -charges for funerals above estimated for the several classes, which -charges, though so much below the amount at present usually paid, are -yet higher than asserted to be necessary by respectable tradesmen, ready -to verify their assertions by sureties to supply the materials and -service of an equal or of a better description for the public than that -which they now obtain. If the charges of the new cemeteries and -establishments at such rates as those suggested were taken as -substitutes for the existing rates of charge for graves, the new rates -would be for the middle and higher classes greatly below the charges -usually found in undertakers’ bills and executors’ accounts. If those -new expenses were levied in the shape of a poll tax, or as burial dues, -a sum of about 5_d._ per head per annum (exclusive of the expense of -collection) would suffice in the metropolis to repay the principal and -interest of purchase-money in 30 years, and also to defray the annual -establishment charges. - -§ 222. The establishment charges of the existing eight principal -cemeteries amount, it is stated, to about 7500_l._ per annum. I believe, -that by appropriate arrangements of a public establishment a far more -efficient service might be obtained for national cemeteries for the same -money. Assuming that the greatest solemnity and the highest cathedral -service is due to funerals, four full choirs of 20 choristers and four -organists to lead them might be obtained for less than 10,000_l._ per -annum for four national cemeteries to meet the wishes of those who -desire a service of the highest solemnity. The lowest aggregate charge -for the separate establishments of parochial and suburban burial -grounds, if only on the scale of that of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, -must be at the least 25,000_l._, and would probably extend to 30,000_l._ -or 40,000_l._ per annum. Such an amount in connexion with national -cemeteries would suffice to maintain, in addition to the superior -religious establishments above described, a superior description of -intermediate houses of reception for the dead, with houses and offices -for the residence of the officers of public health in care of them: it -would beyond that suffice to provide the means for accommodation, on a -large scale, for the reception and treatment of all persons labouring -under infectious diseases. It might also suffice for the establishment -of public baths, in which the metropolis is also deficient. - -§ 223. The number of the officers of health requisite for the due -execution of the service could only be determined by experience; but, -judging from analogous experience, a much smaller staff than on the -first view might be expected would suffice for the performance of all -the duties specified, if their whole time were devoted to them. Medical -officers of dispensaries, within their districts, visit, examine, and -treat twenty or thirty cases per diem; physicians in full practice, and -driving to distant parts of the town, on the average (which includes -cases of short visits of a few minutes and cases where a long attendance -would be required), visit about three cases in the hour. This appears to -be the best analogous experience. On this experience, and considering -that it would be good economy to provide each officer with a one-horse -vehicle, he may be expected to visit fifteen cases a-day, one day with -the other, out of the daily number of deaths. The two public medical -departments, the navy and the army, have rendered the highest, if not -the only, public service in the prevention of disease—the navy medical -department especially; which service it has been enabled to achieve from -having the subjects of its care under the most complete control. The -scale of remuneration to these officers, who, whatever diploma they may -possess, are required to undergo, and do undergo, a special -re-examination, is taken for estimating the expense. There are various -grounds that, at all events at the outset, and for their superior -responsibility, this class of officers should be selected. The proposed -staff would be as follows:— - - Per Annum. - £. _s._ _d._ - An inspector of public health, of the rank of an - inspector-general of hospitals in the army, or of 657 0 0 - fleets in the navy, at full pay of 1_l._ 16_s._ per - diem, at the rate given after ten years’ service - - A deputy inspector-general, at the rate of the army 438 0 0 - full pay of 1_l._ 4_s._ per diem - - Eight inspectors of public health, of the rank of staff - surgeon, at the rate of the army full pay of 19_s._ 2,774 0 0 - per diem - - Two supernumeraries, of the pay of regimental surgeons, 547 10 0 - at the rate of the army pay of 15_s._ per diem - - Ten single horse vehicles, and ten drivers, at 1_l._ 1,638 0 0 - 1_s._ per week, total 3_l._ 3_s._ per week each - ————— —— — - Total 6,054 10 0 - ————— —— — - -Ten officers, visiting fifteen cases per diem, would suffice to take -order such as described, for the burial of 45,000 persons. They will -also be enabled in upwards of 8,000 cases to direct measures for the -protection of the survivors and their neighbours from the spread of -contagious disease. Supposing that each class of deaths occurred daily, -with the same regularity that they occur yearly, the distribution of the -duties of verification and examination may be seen from the following -table, made from the Registrar-General’s returns. - - ─────────────────┬──────────────────────────╥────────┬────────┬──────── - │ ║ Liver- │ Man- │ Leeds - │Metropolis Pop. 1,870,727 ║ pool │chester │ Pop. - │ ║ Pop. │ Pop. │168,627 - │ ║223,045 │192,408 │ - ─────────────────┼────────┬───────┬─────────╫────────┼────────┼──────── - │ Daily │ │ ║ Weekly │ │ - │ Number │ Daily │ ║ Number │ Weekly │ Weekly - │ of │Number │ Total ║ of │ Number │ Number - │ Deaths │ of │ Number ║ Deaths │ of │ of - │ of │Deaths │ Daily. ║ in │ Deaths │ Deaths - │Children│ of │ ║ Liver- │in Man- │ in - │ under │Adults.│ ║ pool. │chester.│ Leeds. - │ 15. │ │ ║ │ │ - ─────────────────┼────────┼───────┼─────────╫────────┼────────┼──────── - Epidemic, │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Endemic, and │ 18│ 4–2/10│ 22–2/10║ 52–6/10│ 34–8/10│ 20–3/10 - Contagious │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Diseases │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Sporadic │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Diseases:— │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Nervous Disease │ 14–6/10│ 6–6/10│ 21–2/10║ 28–7/10│ 18│ 15–6/10 - Diseases of the │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Respiratory │ 13–2/10│25–6/10│ 38–6/10║ 46–8/10│ 34–6/10│ 24 - Organs │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Diseases of the │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Organs of │ │ 2–4/10│ 2–7/10║ 1–8/10│ 1–1/10│ 8/10 - Circulation │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Diseases of the │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Digestive │ 5–5/10│ 3–8/10│ 9–3/10║ 10–5/10│ 9–5/10│ 6–1/10 - Organs │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Other Sporadic │ 5–4/10│12–7/10│ 18–1/10║ 13–5/10│ 16│ 10–2/10 - Diseases │ │ │ ║ │ │ - Old Age │ │ 9–4/10│ 9–4/10║ 5–1/10│ 5–7/10│ 5–6/10 - Violent Deaths │ 1│ 2–4/10│ 3–4/10║ 3–8/10│ 4–9/10│ 2–7/10 - Causes not │ 2/10│ 3/10│ 5/10║ │ │ 1 - specified │ │ │ ║ │ │ - ─────────────────┼────────┼───────┼─────────╫────────┼────────┼──────── - Total │ 58–1/10│67–2/10│ ║162–8/10│124–8/10│ 86–3/10 - Total Deaths │ │ │ 125–4/10║ 23–2/10│ 17–8/10│ 12–3/10 - Daily │ │ │ ║ │ │ - ─────────────────┴────────┴───────┴─────────╨────────┴────────┴──────── - - NOTE.—The data upon which this Table is calculated are taken from - the Registrar-General’s Fourth Annual Report—the Metropolis, p. 330; - Liverpool, p. 281; Manchester, p. 281; Leeds, p. 283. The Metropolis - is calculated on the average of the years 1840 and 1841, the other - places on the year 1840. - -§ 224. The total number of funerals and deaths requiring verification -daily would be—for Birmingham about 12, for Nottingham 5, for Leicester -3, for Derby 3. From the data above given it will be seen at how small -an expenditure of time a well directed force for the prevention as well -as the alleviation of misery—vast interests of the population, that are -now neglected—may be placed, under responsible superintendence, and on -the most sordid views of economy of money, immense savings, under proper -regulations, be made. In Liverpool alone, in the business of cure or -alleviation there are now engaged 50 physicians, and 250 surgeons, -apothecaries, and druggists, and not one responsible public officer to -investigate the causes of disease with a view to prevention. Nor has the -city of London, with a population of 125,000, one such officer, though -it has an expenditure of 72,000_l._ per annum in hospitals and endowed -medical charities alone, for the alleviation of disease. - -§ 225. There is much experience to establish the conclusion that very -special qualifications are requisite for the performance of the duties -of an officer of the public health. The only safe proof of the -possession of such qualifications is the fact of a person having -investigated successfully some scientific question on the prevention of -disease to a practical end, by which the main qualification, the habit -of practical investigation, and zeal and ability for the service of -prevention may be placed beyond doubt. It would be no imputation on the -merits of a general medical practitioner that he was found unsuited to -the performance of the duties devolving on an officer of public health. -The working of the Parisian administrative arrangements shows the injury -done to the public service by the difficulty of retrieving any mistaken -appointment, and suggests the desirableness of an arrangement to -facilitate changes of the officers of health even where there is the -security of a previous special examination as to the qualifications for -the office. Cases would occur where officers would themselves choose to -withdraw from such a service, for which they felt unsuited, if they -might retire without imputation and without any severe sacrifice. If, -therefore, officers of health were chosen from amongst those who had -long served with honour in the army or navy medical department, the -advantage would be gained of a facility of retirement being given to the -officer of health (an office, indeed, which would often be trying to the -constitution), and without loss of rank or of the means of livelihood. - -§ 226. The arrangements for the performance of the funereal rites in -public cemeteries would, of course, fall to the proper ecclesiastical -authority. The architectural arrangements, and the decoration of the -cemeteries, may claim the highest aid that art can give to the -production of solemn religious impressions. Public monuments and works -of art have of late been extensively thrown open to the population, and -there is evidence that this course of proceeding has been productive of -beneficial effects on those of the lower classes who have had -opportunities of viewing such monuments during their holidays. But the -place of burial is the object to which the views of almost every -individual of that class, as well as of others, is ever most intently -directed. All the structural and decorative arrangements of the national -cemetery should, therefore, be made by the highest talent that can be -procured, with the purpose of interesting the feelings, under the -conviction that in rendering attractive that place we are preparing -_the_ picture which is most frequently present to the minds of the -poorest, in the hours of mental and bodily infirmity, and the last -picture on earth presented to his contemplation before dissolution. - -§ 227. It will have been seen that if the tendency of the public mind be -followed out by the economical regulation of funeral expenses, and if -the public be protected from the extortions of undertakers, considerable -reductions of expense may be effected, and munificent provision may yet -be made for permanent decorations. - -These reductions would, also, under practicable regulations of the mode -and practice of interment, admit of full and liberal compensation to all -legal and proper interests affected by the proposed change of the -practice, and to whom Parliament might determine that compensation -should be awarded. - -§ 228. In the case of the ministers of the Established Church in large -towns, the surplice fees, including the burial dues, are to be -considered as the main parts of their incomes. They have no tithes, and -no other means of livelihood. But the burial dues are so variously -regulated—in some places by custom, in other places by local Acts—that -it is scarcely practicable to lay down any one scale in respect to them -that would not operate unequally and unjustly. Complaints from cemetery -companies are made in respect to the existing scales of compensation, -which did not appear to be within my province to investigate. It -appeared to me that the only satisfactory mode of determining the amount -of compensation would be an adjudication and examination of the case of -each parish. This would be a service, which the Commissioners for the -Commutation of Tithes would be competent to render. - -§ 229. The claims of families who have purchased the privilege of -interment in private vaults are not, that I find, maintained to any -extent by the possessors, but are rather suggested as obstacles by -others. That which at the time of purchase was deemed a privilege is now -proved to be an injury to the community at large, not to speak of the -very families by whom the right of interment in the church which they -attend is exercised. When the fact is known of the deleterious character -of the miasma which arises wherever bodies waste away, it were -inconsistent with all religious feeling to maintain, as a privilege, the -right of endangering the health of their families, friends, or -neighbours. The same observation is applicable to grave-yards attached -to chapels belonging to Dissenting congregations. Burial there is an -injury to the congregations themselves, and the removal of interments a -benefit to them; and although any one may choose to put up with the -injury, or refuse to admit the evidence of it, they can scarcely claim -to continue the injury at the expense of others, or against the -conviction of the majority of the community and the opinions and customs -of all civilized nations by whom the practice of interments in towns is -prohibited. The overwhelming evidence that what is deemed a privilege is -really an injury, precludes all claim to compensation as for a loss. No -claim is set forth by any congregation for compensation as for the loss -of a gainful trade of burial. Setting aside, then, the question of -right, it may be submitted in respect to the owners of private vaults in -parochial burial grounds, whether claimants, within a given time, may -not be allowed an equal space in the national cemeteries, and be allowed -to transfer the remains of their ancestors thither, and erect suitable -monuments to them. It may also be submitted that the sites occupied as -burial grounds may be re-purchased from the congregations on liberal -terms of compensation, to be kept as open spaces for the public use, and -that those congregations may have equivalent spaces allotted to them at -a distance from town in the new cemeteries. The authorities carrying out -the change, should be enabled, on the like terms, to re-purchase from -private companies such cemeteries as may be deemed eligible for the -public, and engage their officers in the public service, or otherwise -compensate them. The success of national cemeteries, would doubtlessly -occasion loss to those who have subscribed capital in what was at the -time a public improvement, and it is further submitted for -consideration, whether the power of re-purchase for the public, from the -proceeds of a reduced burial expenditure, might not be extended to the -re-purchase of such sites even where they would not be found eligible -for national cemeteries. - -§ 230. If it be decided that the protection so much needed by all -classes, especially by the poorest, in respect to the expense of -interments shall be given, by empowering officers of health to carry out -regulations the same in principle as those which have given relief and -satisfaction in well regulated communities, it may then be submitted for -consideration, whether the cases of the tradesmen who have devoted -themselves entirely to the business of supplying funereal materials and -service, and who will be wholly superseded, could not be brought within -any legitimate principles and precedents of compensation, for the loss -of their existing multiform monopoly by the whole or any portion of the -supply having been transferred to officers responsible to the public. By -means of such transference, the public gain will, in proportion to its -completeness, be immense. Without it there is no apparent means of -change or compensation that will not increase the existing expenses, and -also increase the train of existing evils consequent on those expenses. -Whatever may be the sacrifice or inconvenience experienced by this class -of tradesmen from such a transference, it were a lamentable misdirection -of sympathy to sustain their pecuniary interests at the expense of the -perpetuation of the enormous pecuniary sacrifices of the poorest and -most helpless classes. But it may be submitted that the large work of -charity and justice to the public from the change proposed, need not be -accomplished by the sacrifice of the real principals in the business of -undertaking. If the alterations proposed were not made, it is -nevertheless probable that this business will be considerably changed. -The practicability and advantage of the consolidation of the business of -the supply of funereal materials and services under one general -management with the cemetery, and the acceptability of the institution -of a place for the reception and care of the dead previous to interment, -are attested by the fact of which I am informed, that in consequence of -the proposed measures having been necessarily developed by the course of -the present inquiry from a multitude of witnesses, joint stock companies -are now preparing to adopt, as a source of emolument, similar -arrangements. To those persons who are not really principals in the -business, as they professed, but agents, whose only service consisted in -conveying orders to real principals, and who extorted large profits from -those who employed them; to those carrying on the business of undertaker -only as an addition to their chief trade, and to whom the orders for a -funeral was “an occasional job”—to a large proportion of these classes, -the change would cause no ultimate loss, and to many it must be an -eventual gain. The business as at present conducted is in principle -similar to a lottery in the excessive emoluments of death, amounting to -upwards of half a million of money in the metropolis alone, and which is -chiefly wrested from the poorer and depressed classes. Such an amount is -annually distributed in prizes, which fall with the deaths, in sums -varying from a few pounds to several hundreds, amongst a crowd of -expectants, which even, under the existing management, is five times -more numerous than is necessary (and under the proposed arrangements ten -times the number requisite), leaving the greater number poorly paid for -all their waiting, notwithstanding the large sums exacted from the -suffering survivors. It may confidently be pronounced, that to the -majority of the class of inferior labourers, the change of system must -be an eventual and very early benefit. - -§ 231. As various religious communities would participate in the -provision of public cemeteries, it appears preferable, for the avoidance -of jealousy and any pretext for dissatisfaction, and that such different -parties may be freely communicated with, that land should be purchased, -and the structural arrangements made, on due consultation by the -Commissioners of Woods and Forests. - -§ 232. The sites for national cemeteries would be determinable on -consideration of circumstances affecting public health, and by -convenience of access, which the responsible officers of public health -should be required to investigate on a view or survey of the -circumstances of the metropolis in these respects as a whole. They would -also set forth the arrangements necessary for the preparation of the -ground for interment, for drainage, and the protection of the springs; -and the prevention of the escape of miasma; from which regulations no -class of interments and no places should be exempted. - -§ 233. If the whole of the arrangements for sepulture were begun _de -novo_, the most eligible principle for defraying all the public charges, -and perhaps most of those charges which are now private charges, would -be, as respects persons of the lower and middle ranks, by annual -payments approximating to an insurance. With the wealthy classes payment -at the time of interment partakes of the nature of a legacy duty, and is -then made most conveniently. With the lower and a large part of the -middle classes of society, the death of an adult member of the family is -frequently the loss of the most productive member of the family, which -occurs at a time when the family has, in almost every case, incurred -severe expenses for medical treatment during illness. The charges for -interment and for the mourning which custom requires, then press most -grievously. A large proportion of the middle and lower classes endeavour -to alleviate this pressure by spreading it over long periods by means of -insurance, and amongst others by such expensive and uncertain modes as -those displayed in the regulations of burial clubs. The commutation of -the charge of insurance into an annual charge would be a public -insurance, possessing the advantages of superior security, and the means -of superior efficiency as well as of economy. The chief obstacle that -stands in the way of such an arrangement is the want of a machinery for -the annual collection of such a tax. It has been proposed to throw upon -the poor’s rates some of the additional charges supposed to be -necessary, and, in the event of the change being made by means of -numerous extra-mural parochial establishments, that certainly would be -necessary. But the imposition of such a charge in such a mode as to -follow the incidents of the poor’s-rates would be unequal and unjust. -Large districts of cottage tenements, which are now, chiefly to the -benefit of the landlords of those tenements and at the expense of the -other rate-payers, exempted from poor’s-rates, would escape -contribution, and it is precisely in such districts that the deaths are -most frequent and the burial charges would be the most burthensome. -Lodgers would extensively escape the charges; strangers and foreigners, -and the fluctuating population in large districts, would escape them. If -there were a machinery for collection, it is submitted that the most -equitable mode of levying such charges would be, like those of a burial -club, _i. e._ of the nature of a poll-tax, or burial dues payable, per -head, on the number of persons inhabiting each house. These might be -fixed for the whole community at a minimum rate, leaving it to the -friends of the deceased to pay for any higher class of funeral which -they think proper. - -§ 234. It is, however, to be borne in mind that in burial clubs, and in -savings’ banks, large sums are now actually set apart by the labouring -classes for the payment of funeral charges. Provision is, no doubt, also -made by will, by other classes for defraying such charges. In the plan -proposed, even including the expense of the new agency of officers of -health the consideration of new sources of additional payments is -rendered unnecessary. On the whole, therefore (although if bodies are -immediately removed from the premises in cases where the removal is -requisite for the protection of the lives of the survivors, attempts -will be made to shift the expense to the public), it may be recommended -that all new charges and compensations should, for the present, at -least, still be defrayed from burial dues levied upon each interment. -And in so far as any new expenses are for objects obviously beneficial -(not to speak of those immediate charges being for the most efficient -means of reducing the aggregate expenses), it will meet with ready -acquiescence. I have consulted intelligent persons of the labouring -classes, and discussed with them step by step the proposed changes. They -have unanimously declared that these changes would all be a great gain -to them, especially the proposed reduction of the expenses of -interments. They have moreover urged that if they were enabled to have -the funerals performed in a satisfactory manner, at a reduced expense, -the applications for parochial aid would be proportionately diminished, -the poorest relations would then subscribe to avert the disgrace of a -parochial interment; a large proportion of the applications for such aid -being now made by others than regular paupers, and in consequence of the -hopelessness of their being enabled to defray the heavy expenses which -are at present necessary. - -§ 235. The conclusions before stated are deduced principally from the -facts obtained by inquiries in the metropolis and the chief towns in the -manufacturing districts. The information obtained by correspondence from -Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, Coventry, and several towns in -Ireland, tends to the conclusion that the leading principles set forth -in this report are applicable to all crowded town districts, with but -few modifications. In all the practice of interments in towns, the -crowded state of the places of burial, the apparent want of seclusion -and sanctity pollute the mental associations, and offend the sentiments -of the population, irrespective of any considerations of the public -health; in almost all, this state of feeling is manifested by the -increasing resort of persons of the higher and middle classes to such -cemeteries as have been formed out of the towns by private individuals -who have associated, and taken advantage of the feelings to procure -subscriptions for the formation of more acceptable places of sepulture. -In Manchester and Edinburgh, and a few other towns, the business of the -undertaker does not appear to be on the same footing as in the -metropolis; the expenses of the funerals to the labouring classes appear -nevertheless to be no less oppressive, and the whole arrangements to -stand in pressing need of regulation. In nearly all the towns where the -grave-yards are crowded by the burials of an increasing population, -evidence was tendered of outrages perpetrated upon the feelings of the -population by the gravediggers in the disposal of undecomposed remains -to make space for new interments. And it follows, from the circumstances -that these men will not allow their own means of livelihood to be -curtailed, and will, if they be permitted, or be unwatched, make way by -any means for new interments. The desecrations are suspected, and from -time to time are discovered. It requires a high order of education and -mental qualification to maintain habitually respect for the inanimate -remains of the dead and regard to the feelings of the living connected -with them. In the uneducated, any common feelings of respect soon give -way to every-day conveniences, and are at once obliterated by any strong -necessities. The common tendencies in this respect are attested by the -examples cited, of careful arrangements made to guard against them. (§ -169.) In all the populous provincial towns the need of the superior -superintendence of the material arrangements for interment, and the -exercise of such functions as those described as falling to a superior -officer of public health, appear to be even more urgent than in the -metropolis. It is, however, an error to suppose that the evils of the -existing practice of interment are confined to the _larger_ towns. The -burial-ground at Southampton, for example, is represented to me to be -full; it is moreover not more than one-half of the extent requisite for -the population of that town, which is about 28,000, and rapidly -increasing. The authorities there are desirous of obtaining grounds and -establishing a public cemetery in or near the town, and would, if -practicable, do so without the expense of a private Act of Parliament. -The grave-yard of the cathedral of Ely, for the burials arising from a -population of about 7,000 is reported to be inconveniently full, and the -very reverend the dean is stated to be extremely desirous of closing it -and procuring a burial-ground at a distance. I have been informed by -several ecclesiastical authorities, that the clergy are often much -distressed by the inadequacy of the old grave-yards to meet the -necessities of burial for an increasing population. The data already -given as to the space required for interments will serve to show the -adequacy or inadequacy of the existing burial-grounds for any -population. It may be submitted that provision might be made for the -relief of any district on the inspection and under the authority of -properly appointed officers of health, for the provision of new and -separate places of burial, on applications showing the inadequacy or -unsuitableness of the existing grave-yards. - -It were a reproach to the country, and its institutions and its -government, and to its administrative capacity, to suppose that what is -satisfactorily done in the German states may not, now that attention is -directed to the subject, be generally done at least as well and -satisfactorily in this country; or that the higher classes would not in -whatever depends on their voluntary aid, exhibit as good and practical -an example of community of feeling in taking a lead in the adoption of -all arrangements tending to the common benefit, as that displayed in the -states which have achieved the most satisfactory improvement of the -practice of interment, by well-appointed officers of public health. - -§ 236. I have thought it unnecessary to occupy attention with many -details which would appear to follow the adoption of the general -principles deducible from the information collected. I have given that -information so fully in the text, that I have avoided extending the bulk -of the Report by repeating it with prefatory or connecting matter in the -Appendix. - -I would now beg leave to recapitulate the chief conclusions which the -information obtained under this inquiry appears to establish. They are— - - - I. _As to the Evils which require Remedies._ - -§ 237. That the emanations from human remains are of a nature to produce -fatal disease, and to depress the general health of whosoever is exposed -to them; and that interments in the vaults of churches, or in -grave-yards surrounded by inhabited houses, contribute to the mass of -atmospheric and other impurities by which the general health and average -duration of life of the inhabitants is diminished. (§ 1 to 23.) - -§ 238. That the places of burial in towns or crowded districts are -usually destitute of proper seclusion or means for impressive religious -service, and are exposed to desecrations revolting to the popular -feelings; and that feelings of aversion are manifest in the increasing -removals or abandonment of family vaults and places of burial, and the -preference, often at increased expense, of interments in suburban -cemeteries, which are better fitted to raise mental associations of -greater quiet, respect, and security as places of repose. (§ 109.) - -§ 239. That the greatest injury done by emanations from decomposing -remains of the dead to the health of the living of the labouring -classes, in many populous districts, arises from the long retention of -the body before interment in the single rooms in which families of those -classes live and have their meals, and sleep, and where the deaths, in -the greater number of instances, take place; and that closely successive -deaths of members of the same family, from the same disease, are very -frequent amongst the labouring classes; and that, where the disease has -not been occasioned by the emanations from the first dead body, as -sometimes appears to have been the case, or where the disease has either -arisen from a common cause, or may have been communicated before death -from the living person, the diseases are apparently rendered much more -fatal by this practice of the retention of the dead body in the one -living room previous to interment. (§ 24 to 39.) - -§ 240. That this practice of the prolonged retention of the dead in such -crowded rooms, besides being physically injurious, is morally degrading -and brutalizing. (§ 40 to 42.) - -§ 241. That this practice is frequently the most powerfully influenced -by the difficulty of raising the expenses of funerals, which in this -country press grievously on the labouring and middle classes of the -community, and are extravagant and wasteful to all classes, and occasion -severe suffering and moral evil. (§ 43 to 71.) - -§ 242. That, on the best proximate estimates which have been made, the -total amount of the whole of the yearly expenses of funerals in the -metropolis cannot be less than between six and seven hundred thousand -pounds, and for the whole of Great Britain between four and five -millions sterling per annum. (§ 72 to 74.) - -§ 243. That it appears, upon examination in the metropolis, that -notwithstanding the great expense of funerals, the existing arrangements -for conducting them are on an unsatisfactory footing, and that great -difficulties stand in the way of any efficient amendment, whilst the -practice of interment in the crowded districts is retained. (§ 84 to -89.) - -§ 244. That on the occurrence of a death amongst the poorest classes or -amongst strangers, the survivors are commonly destitute of means of -precaution against oppressive charges and of trustworthy advice or -counsel, as to the modes of burial such as are afforded by the civic -arrangements of other civilized countries. (§§ 121, 122, and vide -Appendix, No. 1.) - -§ 245. That on the occurrence of deaths from preventible causes of -disease, there are no appointed means for the detection and removal of -those causes, and that strangers and new-comers, having no warning, are -successively exposed, and frequently fall victims to them. (§ 196.) - -§ 246. That common causes of diseases which ravage the community, of the -extent of operation of which causes it has a deep interest in knowing, -pass unexamined and undetected; moreover, that in many districts there -are wide opportunities for the escape of crimes, by which life is also -rendered insecure, chiefly by the omission of efficient arrangements for -the due verification of the fact and causes of death. (§§ 205 to 215.) - -§ 247. That the numbers of funerals, and intensity of the misery -attendant upon them, vary amongst the different classes of society in -proportion to the internal and external circumstances of their -habitations: that the deaths and funerals vary in the metropolis from 1 -in every 30 of the population annually (and even more in ill-conditioned -districts), to 1 in 56 in better-conditioned districts; from 1 death and -funeral in every 28 inhabitants in an ill-conditioned provincial town -district, to 1 in 64 in a better-conditioned rural district: such -differences of the condition of the population being accompanied by -still closer coincidences in the variation of the span of life, the -average age of all who die in some ill-conditioned districts of the -metropolis being 26 years only, whilst in better-conditioned districts -it is 36 years: the variations of the age of deaths being in some -provincial towns, such as Leicester, from 15 years in the -ill-conditioned to 24 years in the better-conditioned districts: and as -between town and rural districts 17 or 18 years for the whole population -of Liverpool, and 39 years for the whole population of Hereford; and -that the total excess of deaths and funerals in England and Wales alone, -above the commonly attained standards of health, being at the least -between thirty and forty thousand annually. (§ 75 to § 80, and district -returns: Appendix.) - - - II. _As to the Remedies available for the Prevention or Mitigation of - these Evils._ - -§ 248. That the most effectual and principal means for the abatement of -the evils of interments are those sanitary measures which diminish the -proportionate numbers of deaths and funerals, and increase the duration -of life. § 75 to § 82, and General Report, p. 370. But— - -§ 249. That on the several special grounds, moral, religious, and -physical, and in conformity to the best usages and authorities of -primitive Christianity, § 177, and the general practice of the most -civilized modern nations, the practice of interments in towns in burial -places amidst the habitations of the living, and the practice of -interment, in churches, ought for the future, and without any exception -of places, or acceptation of persons, to be entirely prohibited. (§ 1 to -§ 23.) - -§ 250. That the necessities of no class of the population in respect to -burial ought to be abandoned as sources of private emolument to -commercial associations, but that national cemeteries of a suitable -description ought to be provided and maintained (as to the material -arrangements), under the direction of officers duly qualified for the -care of the public health. (§ 126.) - -§ 251. That for the avoidance of the pain, and moral and physical evil -arising from the prolonged retention of the body in the rooms occupied -by the living, and at the same time to carry out such arrangements as -may remove the painful apprehensions of premature interments, -institutions of houses for the immediate reception, and respectful and -appropriate care of the dead, under superior and responsible officers, -should be provided in every town for the use of all classes of the -community. (§ 90 to § 101.) - -§ 252. That for the abatement of oppressive charges for funereal -materials, decorations, and services, provision should be made (in -conformity to successful examples abroad) by the officers having charge -of the national cemeteries, for the supply of the requisite materials -and services, securing to all classes, but especially to the poor, the -means of respectable interment, at reduced and moderate prices, suitable -to the station of the deceased, and the condition of the survivors. (§ -186, § 115 to § 120.) - -§ 253. That for these purposes, and for carrying out the physical -arrangements necessary for the protection of the public health in -respect to the practice of interment, officers of health qualified by -medical education and special knowledge should be appointed. (§ 223.) - -§ 254. That in order to abate the apprehensions of premature interment, -§ 92 to § 96, to bring responsible aid and counsel, and protection -within the reach of the most destitute survivors, §§ 121 and 122 and § -198, to protect the people against continued exposure to ascertained and -preventible causes of disease and death, the principle of the early -appointment of searchers be revived, and no interment be allowed to take -place without the verification of the fact and cause of death by the -officer of health. (§ 123, 124, 125, 126, to § 216.) - -§ 255. That in all clear and well ascertained cases of deaths from -immediately removable causes of disease and death, the officers of -health be invested with summary powers, and be responsible for -exercising them, for the removal of those causes, and for the protection -of strangers from continued exposure and suffering from them. - -§ 256. That the expenses of national cemeteries should be raised by -loans bearing interest. - -§ 257. That the repayment of the principal and interest should be spread -over a period of [thirty years?]—and be charged as part of the reduced -expenses for future interments. - -§ 258. That all burial fees and existing dues be collected on interment, -and form a fund from whence be paid the compensations which Parliament -may award to such existing interests as it may be necessary to disturb, -including the payment of the establishment charges, and the principal -and interest of the money expended for the erection of new cemeteries; -and that any surplus which may thereafter accrue may be applied to the -means of improving the health of the living. - -§ 259. That, on consulting the experience of those cities abroad where -the greatest attention has been given to the arrangements for the -protection of health connected with interments, it appears that by the -appointment of medical officers, unencumbered by private practice, as -officers of health, and qualified by the possession of appropriate -science for the verification of the fact and causes of death, and by -committing to them the regulation of the service of interments in -national cemeteries, the several defects above specified may be -remedied, and that new and comparatively salubrious places of burial may -be procured, together with appropriate religious establishments, wherein -the funeral service may be better solemnized, and that the expense of -funerals may be reduced, in the metropolis, at the least, to one-half of -the existing amount, and full compensation be given to all who may have -legitimate claims for compensation for losses on the alterations of the -existing practice. (§ 219 to § 225.) - -§ 260. That the agency of properly qualified officers of health -necessary for abating the evils of the practice of interments would also -serve powerfully to promote the application of those sanitary measures -which in some districts would, there is reason to believe, save more -than their own pecuniary expense, merely in the diminished numbers -combined with reduced expenses of funerals, consequent on the practical -operation of comprehensive measures of sanitary improvement. (§ 201.) - -§ 261. The advantages which the measures proposed offer to the classes -who now stand most in need of a beneficent intervention, may be thus -recapitulated. To take the poorest class: the labouring man would (in -common with the middle and higher classes) gain, on the occasion of his -demise, protection for his widow and surviving children, that is to say; - - Protection from the physical evil occasioned by the necessity of the - prolonged retention of his remains in the living and sleeping - room: - - Protection against extortionate charges for interment, and against - the impositions of unnecessary, expensive, and unseemly funereal - customs, maintained against the wishes of private individuals and - families: - - Protection and redress to his survivors or the living against any - unfair or illegal practices, should any such have led to the - death: - - Protection against any discoverable causes of ill health, should any - have attached to his abode or to his place of work: - - Protection from the painful idea (by arrangements preventive of the - possibility) of a premature interment: - - Protection of the remains from profanation, either before or after - interment: - - Protection such as may be afforded by the information and advice of - a responsible officer, of knowledge, and station, in the various - unforeseen contingencies that occur to perplex and mislead the - prostrate and desolate survivors on such occasions. (§ 191 to § - 207.) - -Added to these will be the relief from the prospect of interment, in a -common grave-yard or charnel, by the substitution of a public national -cemetery, on which the mind may dwell with complacency, as a place in -which sepulture may be made an honour and a privilege. - -§ 262. The advantages derivable to the public at large have already been -specified, in the removal of causes of pain to the feelings of the -living connected with the common burial places; they would also gain in -the several measures for protection against the causes of disease -specified as within the province of an officer of the public health to -remove; and they would also gain in the steps towards the creation of a -science of the prevention of disease, and in a better registration of -the fact and the causes of death. - -To use the words of a great Christian writer,—that all this, which -constitutes the last office of the living, “to compose the body to -burial,” should be done, and that it should be done well and “gravely, -decently, and charitably, we have the example of all civilized nations -to engage us, and of all ages of the world to warrant:—so that it is -against common honesty, and public fame and reputation not to do this -office.” - -I would, in conclusion, beg leave to repeat and represent urgently that -Her Majesty’s Government, should only set hands to this great work, when -invested with full powers to effect it completely: for at present there -appears to be no alternative between doing it well or ill; between -simply shifting the evil from the centre of the populous districts to -the suburbs, and deteriorating them; fixing the sites of interments at -inconvenient distances, forming numerous, separate, and weak, and yet -enormously expensive, establishments; aggravating the expense, and -physical and moral evils of the delay of interment; diminishing the -solemnities of sepulture; scattering away the elements of moral and -religious improvement, and increasing the duration and sum of the -existing evils:—there appears to be no distinct or practicable -alternative between these results and effecting such a change as, if -zealously carried out, will soothe and elevate the feelings of the great -bulk of the population, abate the apprehensions of the dying, influence -the voluntary adoption of beneficial changes in the practice of -obsequies, occasion an earlier removal of the dead from amidst the -living to await interment and ensure the impressiveness of the funeral -service, give additional securities against attempts on life, and -trustworthy evidence of the fact of death, with the means of advancing -the protection of the living against the attacks of disease; and at a -reduced expense provide in well arranged national cemeteries places for -public monuments, becoming the position of the empire amongst civilized -nations. - - I have the honour to be, Sir, - - Your obedient servant, - - EDWIN CHADWICK. - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - According to a memoir on this subject, read at the Royal Academy of - Sciences, by M. Cadet de Vaux, in the year 1781, “Le méphetisme qui - s’etoit dégagé d’une des fosses voisines du cimetière, avoit infecté - toutes les caves: on comparait aux poisons les plus subtils, à ceux - dont les sauvages imprégnant leur flèches meurtrières, la terrible - activité de cette émanation. Les murs baignés de l’humidité dont elles - les pénétroit, pouvoit communiquer, disoit on par le seul attouchement - les accidens les plus redoutable.” See Mémoires de la Société Royale - de Médecine, tom. viii. p. 242; also Annales de Chimie, tom. v. p. - 158. As an instance of the state of the cellars around the grave-yard, - it is stated, that a workman being engaged in one of them put his hand - on the wet wall. He was warned that the moisture on the walls was - poisonous, and was requested to wash the hand in vinegar. He merely - dried his hand on his apron: at the end of three days the whole arm - became numb, then the hand and lower arm swelled with great pain, - blisters came out on the skin, and the epidermis came off. - -Footnote 2: - - Vide also, Traité des Maladies des Artisans par Patissier, d’après - Ramazzini, 8vo. Paris, 1822, p. 151, sur les Fossoyeurs: “Le sort des - fossoyeurs est très déplorable, leur face est livide, leur aspect - triste: je n’en ai vu aucun devenir vieux.” Also pp. 108–9, 137, 144. - -Footnote 3: - - Manuel du Tanneur et Corroyeur. Paris, 1833, p. 325. - -Footnote 4: - - In the course of some inquiries which I made with Professor Owen, when - examining a slaughterman as to the effects of the effluvia of animal - remains on himself and family, some other facts were elicited - illustrative of the effects of such effluvia on still more delicate - life. The man had lived in Bear-yard, near Clare-market, which was - exposed to the combined effluvia from a slaughter-house and a tripe - factory. He was a bird-fancier, but he found that he could not rear - his birds in this place. He had known a bird fresh caught in - summer-time die there in a week. He particularly noted as having a - fatal influence on the birds, the stench raised by boiling down the - fat from the tripe offal. He said, “You may hang the cage out of the - garret window in any house round Bear-yard, and if it be a fresh bird, - it will be dead in a week.” He had previously lived for a time in the - same neighbourhood in a room over a crowded burial-ground in - Portugal-street; at times in the morning he had seen a mist rise from - the ground, and the smell was offensive. That place was equally fatal - to his birds. He had removed to another dwelling in Vere-street, - Clare-market, which is beyond the smells from those particular places, - and he was now enabled to keep his birds. In town, however, the - ordinary singing-birds did not, usually, live more than about 18 - months; in cages in the country, such birds were known to live as long - as nine years or more on the same food. When he particularly wished to - preserve a pet bird, he sent it for a time into the country; and by - repeating this removal he preserved them much longer. The fact of the - pernicious effect of offensive smells on the small graminivorous - birds, and the short duration of their life in close rooms and - districts, was attested by a bird-dealer. In respect to cattle, the - slaughterman gave decided reasons for the conclusion, that whilst in - the slaughter-house they lost their appetites and refused food from - the effect of the effluvium of the place, and not, as was popularly - supposed, from any presentiment of their impending fate. _Vide_ - General Sanitary Report, p. 103, note, and p. 106. - -Footnote 5: - - On the evidence of individual cases the innocuousness of many poisons - and diseases might be proved. Individuals are sometimes found to - resist inoculation. It is a singular, and as yet unexplained fact, - that centenarians are often found in the greatest proportion in times - and places where the average duration of life of the whole population - is very low. It has been shown from an accurate registration of - centuries in Geneva, that as the average duration of life amongst the - whole community advanced, the proportion of extreme cases of - centenarians diminished. According to the bills of mortality there - were nearly three times as many centenarians in London a century ago - than at present. Out of 141,720 deaths within the bills of mortality - during the five years ended 1742, the deaths of 58 persons alone of - 100 years and upwards of age are recorded; whilst out of 139,876 - deaths which occurred in the metropolis as returned by the - registrar-general, during the three years which ended 30th June, 1841, - only 22 deaths of 100 years of age and upwards are recorded. The - average age of death of all who died was then 24 years; it is now, - judging from an enumeration made from the returns of 1839, about 27 - years; and there appears to have been a considerable improvement in - all periods of life up to 90 years. - -Footnote 6: - - _Vide_ Appendix of the district returns of the Mortuary Registration. - -Footnote 7: - - In the medical profession examples are not rare of the attainment of - extreme old age; yet as a class they bear the visible marks of health - below the average. The registration of one year may be an imperfect - index; but the mortuary registration for the year 1839 having been - examined, to ascertain what was the average age of death of persons of - the three professions, it appears that the average age of the - clergymen who died in London during that year was 59, of the legal - profession 50, and of the medical profession 45. Only one medical - student was included in the registration: had the deaths of those who - died in their noviciate been included, the average age of death of the - medical profession would have been much lower. - -Footnote 8: - - An instance in exception of a barber having caught fever is - subsequently stated. - -Footnote 9: - - Two days in the week the London Fever Hospital is open to the friends - of the patients, who often spend a considerable time in the wards, - sometimes sitting on the beds of the sick; yet these visitors never - take fever themselves, nor are they ever known to convey it by their - clothes to persons out of the hospital. In like manner the persons - employed to convey the clothes of the fever-patients from the wards of - the hospital do not take fever, nor is there any evidence whatever - that typhus fever is, or can be, propagated merely by the clothes; yet - it is remarkable that the laundresses who wash the clothes, which - often contain excrementitious matters from the patients, or from the - dead, of an amount perceptible to the senses, rarely if ever escape - fever. It is inferred, that in this case the poison is by the heat put - in a state of vapour, which is inhaled, and being sufficient in - quantity, produces the disease. - -Footnote 10: - - In the Appendix will be found further particulars and exemplifications - of the facts, deducible from the mortuary registers, together with the - returns from the several registration districts in the metropolis, of - which the above is a summary. - -Footnote 11: - - Vide Appendix.—Paper on the Mortuary Returns. - -Footnote 12: - - Recently, April the 4th, at the Liverpool assizes, a woman named - Eccles was convicted of the murder of one child, and was under the - charge of poisoning two others, with arsenic. Immediately the murders - were committed, it appeared she went to demand a stated allowance of - burial money from the employers of the children. - -Footnote 13: - - Clarke _v._ Johnson, 11 Moore, 319. - -Footnote 14: - - Bligh’s 4th Parl. Reports, N. S. 194. - -Footnote 15: - - _Vide_ Appendix No. 12 for examples of undertakers’ ordinary bills for - funerals of different classes. - -Footnote 16: - - _Vide_ Return in the Appendix. - -Footnote 17: - - _Vide_ Appendix. - -Footnote 18: - - _Vide_ General Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Population, p. - 443 and p. 395, for proximate estimates of the chief structural - expenses, _i. e._ main drains, house drains, annual supply of water, - water tank, and water-closet, and means of cleansing, and also an - exemplification of the practical rule for the distribution of the - expense, so as to render it coincident to the benefit. - -Footnote 19: - - In all cases the mortuary registries of 1839 are referred to; but the - data are varying, and are submitted, as they will be understood, only - as proximate estimates. I have every reason to believe them to be on - the whole below the truth. - -Footnote 20: - - A severe epidemic, by sweeping off the most susceptible cases, usually - diminishes the proportionate mortality from that cause during the - following year. - -Footnote 21: - - _Vide_ District Returns, Appendix. - -Footnote 22: - - On a question of fact as to the effect of the common funeral - arrangements on the imagination, the testimony of a poet, whose - accuracy of description is universally admitted, may be cited. The - Rev. Mr. Crabbe thus describes the effect of the funeral array:— - - Lo! now what dismal sons of darkness come - To bear this daughter of indulgence home! - Tragedians all, and well arranged in black! - Who nature, feeling, force, expression lack; - Who cause no tear, but gloomily pass by, - And shake their sables in the wearied eye, - That turns disgusted from the pompous scene, - Proud without grandeur, with profusion mean! - The tear for kindness past affection owes; - For worth deceased the sigh from reason flows; - E’en well-feigned passions for our sorrows call, - And real tears for mimic miseries fall: - But this poor farce has neither truth nor art, - To please the fancy or to touch the heart. - - * * * * * - - Dark but not awful, dismal but yet mean, - With anxious bustle moves the cumb’rous scene;— - Presents no objects tender or profound, - But spreads its cold unmeaning gloom around. - - * * * * * - - When woes are feigned, how ill such forms appear; - And oh! how needless when the woe’s sincere. - - _The Parish Register._ - -Footnote 23: - - Amongst the higher classes the tendency is to reduce the number of - cases in which mourning is worn, and to diminish the time of wearing - it. It would be a great boon to persons in inferior condition and of - limited means, who are governed by the examples of those above them, - and who are put to ruinous expense for putting a whole family into - mourning, at a time when the expense can be the least spared, if the - custom could be further altered to the wearing of a piece of crape - only on the hat or on the arm, as in the army and navy; or by limiting - the wearing of full mourning to the head of the family, and using only - crape bands for the rest. Some conception may be formed of the - inconvenience incurred by the extent to which mourning is carried, - even amongst the poorest classes, if we suppose that on such occasions - it were necessary to clothe the whole of the men of the army and navy - in black. The very excess of deaths above a healthy standard in Great - Britain necessitates mourning to nearly forty thousand families per - annum. The extent to which custom has carried mourning appears to have - no Scriptural authority. Bingham, speaking of the primitive - Christians, states, “that they did not condemn the notion of going - into a mourning habit for the dead, nor yet much approve of it, but - left it to all men’s liberty as an indifferent thing, rather - commending those that either omitted it wholly, or in short time laid - it aside again, as acting more according to the bravery and philosophy - of a Christian. Thus St. Jerome commends one Julian (Hieron. Ep. 34 ad - Julian), a rich man in his time, because having lost his wife and two - daughters, that is his whole family, in a few days, one after another, - he wore the mourning habit but forty days after their death, and then - resumed his usual habit again, and because he accompanied his wife to - the grave, not as one that was dead, but as going to her rest. - Cyprian, indeed, seems to carry the matter a little farther; he says - he was ordered by divine revelation to preach to the people publicly - and constantly, that they should not lament their brethren that were - delivered from the world by divine vocation, as being assured that - they were not lost, but only sent before them: that their death was - only a receding from the world, and a speedier call to heaven; that we - ought to long after them and not lament them, nor wear any mourning - habit, seeing they were gone to put on their white garments in heaven - (2 Cypr. de Mortal., p. 164). No occasion should be given to the - Gentiles justly to accuse us, and reprehend us for lamenting those as - lost and extinct, whom we affirm still to live with God; and that we - do not prove that faith which we profess in words, by the outward - testimony of our hearts and souls. Cyprian thought no sorrow at all - was to be expressed for the death of a Christian, nor consequently any - signs of sorrow, such as the mourning habits, because the death of a - Christian was only a translation of him to heaven. But others did not - carry the thing so high, but thought a moderate sorrow might be - allowed to nature, and therefore did not so peremptorily condemn the - mourning habit, as being only a decent expression of such a moderate - sorrow, though they liked it better if men could have the bravery to - refuse it.” (Bing., book xxii. chap. 3, sec. 22). - -Footnote 24: - - Dr. Bently states, that “allowing for much of fiction, with which such - a subject must ever be mixed, there is still sufficient evidence to - warrant a diligent examination of the means of discriminating between - real and apparent death.” (_Ency. Prac. Medicine_, vol. iii. 316.) “As - respiration is a function most essential to health, and at the same - time the most apparent, the cessation of it may be considered as an - indication of death. But as in certain diseases and states of - exhaustion it becomes very slow and feeble, and so to the casual - observer to appear quite extinct, various methods have been adopted - for ascertaining its existence. Thus, placing down or other light - substances near the mouth or nose; laying a vessel of water on the - chest, as an index of motion in that cavity; holding a mirror before - the mouth, in order to condense the watery vapour of the breath; have - all been proposed and employed, but they are all liable to fallacy. - Down, or whatever substance is employed, may be moved by some - agitation of the surrounding air; and the surface of the mirror may be - apparently covered by the condensed vapour of the breath, when it is - only the fluid of some exhalation from the surface of the body. We - therefore agree fully with the judicious observations of Dr. Paris on - this subject:—‘We feel no hesitation in asserting, that it is - physiologically impossible for a human being to remain more than a few - minutes in such a state of asphyxia as not to betray some sign by - which a medical observer can at once recognize the existence of - vitality; for if the respiration be only suspended for a short - interval we may conclude that life has fled for ever. Of all the acts - of animal life, this is by far the most essential and indisputable. - Breath and life are very properly considered in the scriptures as - convertible terms, and the same synonym, as far as we know, prevails - in every language. However slow and feeble respiration may become by - disease, yet it must always be perceptible, provided the naked breast - and belly be exposed; for when the intercostal muscles act, the ribs - are elevated, and the sternum is pushed forwards; when the diaphragm - acts the abdomen swells. Now this can never escape the attentive eye; - and by looking at the chest and belly we shall form a safer conclusion - than by the popular methods which have been usually adopted.’” - - The looking-glass and the feather have been the standing test for time - immemorial. When Lear enters with Cordelia dead in his arms, he says:— - - “I know when one is dead, and when one lives; - She’s dead as earth.—Lend me a looking-glass; - If that her breath will mist or stain the stone, - Why, then she lives. - - _Kent._—Is this the promis’d end? - - _Edgar._—Or image of that horror? - - _Lear._—This feather stirs; she lives! if it be so - It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows - That ever I have felt.” - - _Shakespeare, King Lear, Act V. Sc. 3._ - -Footnote 25: - - Vide Appendix.—Regulations and Plans of the Building, forming part of - the Institution. - -Footnote 26: - - In a paper read on the 2nd January last before the Academy of Sciences - at Paris, by M. le Baron Charles Dupin, on the increase of savings’ - banks and their influence on the Parisian population, some most - startling facts are mentioned in the conclusion, showing the - deplorable moral condition of a large portion of that population. “Le - nombre proportionnel des indigents, au lieu d’augmenter, diminue, - ainsi que celui des bâtards, mais avec lenteur déplorable; au - commencement de l’époque dont nous résumons les progrès, le peuple de - Paris abandonnait chaque année 205 enfants sur 1,000 nouveau nés; il - n’en abandonne plus que 120: c’est beaucoup moins, et pourtant c’est - _cent vingt_ fois trop. Encore aujourd’hui, le _tiers_ du peuple vit - dans le concubinage ou dans le libertinage; un _tiers_ de ses enfants - sont bâtards; un _tiers_ de ses morts expirent à l’hôpital ou sur le - grabat du pauvre; et ni père, ni mère, ni fils, ni filles, n’ont le - cœur, pour dernier tribut humain, de donner un cercueil, un linceul, - au cadavre de leurs proches:—du côté des mœurs, voilà Paris, et Paris - amélioré!”—It may on this point of comparison be a relief to state, - the numbers who die in the workhouses in the British metropolis, do - not exceed 4000 for nearly double the population, and that of these, - on the average of the last ten years, not more than 293 have been so - given up or abandoned as to be applicable to the public service in the - schools of anatomy. The total number who are abandoned in all the - hospitals of London, for that service, has not, on the average, - exceeded 168 out of upwards of 2000 deaths per annum. The total number - of subjects requisite for teaching in the schools of anatomy would be - about 600. Notwithstanding that the prejudice against dissection has - much abated, the full number deemed requisite has never been obtained - of late years from all sources. In some instances, persons of - education set an example by giving up their own bodies for dissection; - in some other instances, the use of the remains is obtained by - persuasions, and the promises of more respectful interment afterwards, - than could otherwise be obtained. There are actually very few real - “abandonments” by relations, the greater proportion of cases being of - persons who have outlived near relations, of whom none, after due - enquiry, which is always made, can be found. In respect to - illegitimate births, it appears from the last parliamentary return of - the number of illegitimate children born in the several counties of - England (that of Mr. Rickman,) for 1833, that the proportion of - illegitimate to legitimate births, was in Middlesex, 1 in 38; and in - Surrey 1 in 40. This was most probably an understatement, but, - whatever may be the real proportions they are below any comparison - with the proportions in Paris. The highest proportion of illegitimate - to legitimate births given in the returns, were those of the county of - Pembroke, 1 in 8; and Radnor, where it is 1 in 7. It may be important - to state for the sake of the example, and in illustration of the - principle, as to the comparative economy of sanitary arrangements that - this excess of 7,000 miserable deaths and burials per annum in Paris, - at the least, might be saved by structural sanitary arrangements, - which would prevent the accumulation of human beings in winding - streets, (some of which are not more than eight or nine feet wide,) - under circumstances which render decency, morality, health, or - contentment impossible. The whole excess of deaths, as well as the - demoralization that arises from overcrowding, might in all probability - be saved even by the last vote of expenditure, five millions sterling, - (which, at English prices, of 100_l._ for a tenement for a family, - would have provided improved tenements, at improved rents, for fifty - thousand labourers’ families) for maintaining the war on the Arabs, or - by the interest of the money expended in building the immense wall and - fortifications round the dangerous population (kept “desperate,” as - Jeremy Taylor expresses it, “by a too quick sense of a constant - infelicity,”) which those works encircle in Paris. In a copy of a - report of the medical commissioners, appointed to examine the cholera, - with which I have been favoured by one distinguished member, M. - Villerme, and in which I have found powerful corroborative evidence on - the influence of structural arrangements on the health and moral, not - to speak of the political, condition of the population; they observe, - “Le fléau qui a pesé si cruellement sur la capitale s’est fait sentir - d’une manière particulièrement désastreuse dans les quartiers étroits, - sales et embarrassés de l’ancien Paris; n’y aurait-il pas lieu de - signaler ici quelques améliorations utiles à introduire dans ces - localités? Les raisons d’état ont souvent dominé les intérêts - matériels des villes; autrefois les voies étroites et tortueuses - appliquées même aux rues pouvait faire partie des moyens de défense à - l’usage de l’état: aujourd’hui des rues larges et droites deviennent - dans l’intérieur des villes un premier élément de sécurité publique - autant que d’hygiène; il y a donc double avantage à favoriser dans ces - conditions, soit des percements nouveaux, soit l’élargissement des - voies actuelles.” They give forcible descriptions of population - analogous to that found—happily in less proportions,—in the worst part - of our cities, and they also attest, from the examination of the - inferior population of that capital: “C’est une vérité de tous les - temps, de tous les lieux, une vérité, qu’il faut redire sans cesse - parceque sans cesse on l’oublie; il existe entre l’homme et tout ce - qui l’entoure, de secrets liens, de mystérieux rapports dont - l’influence sur lui est continuelle et profonde. Favorable, cette - influence ajoute à ses forces physiques et morales, elle les develope, - les conserve; nuisible, alors elle les altère, les anéantit, les tue. - Mais son action n’est jamais plus redoutable que lorsqu’elle trouve à - s’exercer sur une population entassée, quelle qu’elle soit d’ailleurs, - et voilà pourquoi l’on observe dans certains arrondissements une - mortalité plus grande; voilà pourquoi le germe des maladies s’y - développe plus constamment, pourquoi la vie s’y éteint plus - rapidement, enfin pourquoi l’on y compte habituellement un décès sur - trente-deux habitants, quand il n’y en a qu’un sur quarante dans les - autres.” They also indicate as part of the effects of the noxious - physical causes the moral depravity and the predominance of bad - passions which impede amendment. “Ces obstacles sont réels, ils ne - sauraient être méconnus, mais qui peut douter de les voir s’affaiblir, - si d’une part la classe aisée de la population, comprenant mieux les - intentions de l’autorité et ses intérêts véritables, se prête plus - aisément à l’action des règlements sur la propreté et la salubrité - publique, et si d’une autre part l’instruction, pénétrant dans cette - portion de la population qui doit une partie de ses vices et de sa - misère à l’ignorance, fait naître chez elle, avec des mœurs plus - pures, des habitudes plus régulières et plus en harmonie avec - l’hygiène publique?” But these representations of the Medical - Commissioners of Paris have not been heard by the classes appealed to, - and relief is sought by the mode of “giving vent” to the dangerous - passions in preference to the superior treatment recommended, of the - removal of the physical circumstances by which those passions must - continue to be generated. Thus it may be mentioned in illustration of - the important principle of the superior economy and efficiency of - structural means of prevention, that the expenditure of money on - Algiers appears to have been upwards of four millions sterling per - annum, during the twelve years of its occupation. The capital sunk on - the permanent structural arrangements for supplying London with water - being about three millions and a half, it may be safely alleged that - one year’s expenditure on Algiers would have sufficed for the - structural arrangements for a supply of water for the cleansing of - every room, and house, and street in Paris; or on the scale of the - expense of the works completed for supplying Toulouse with water, one - year’s expenditure on Algiers would have sufficed to supply one - hundred and fifty towns of the same size as Toulouse with the like - means of healthful, and thence of moral improvement; or such a sum - would have sufficed to have effected for ever the “percements et - enlargissements des voies actuelles,” and thence to have advanced the - health and achieved the comparative security of four or five such - cities as Lyons. One year’s cost of any one regiment maintained in the - war on the Arabs would suffice to build and endow a school, or to have - constructed between one and two miles of permanent railway. The total - amount of capital so applied exceeds nearly by one-fourth the amount - expended on the existing railroads in Great Britain. It may be - confidently averred that the cost of the forts detaches, or - _enceintes-continues_, said to be on a reduced scale upwards of ten - millions sterling, would, if properly directed, with the accessaries - of moral appliances in addition to such physical means as those - indicated by the officers of public health, suffice within the period - of the living generation, to renovate the physical and moral condition - of the great mass of the population in the interior of that capital. - -Footnote 27: - - Vide Appendix—Explanations of the District Mortuary Returns. - -Footnote 28: - - _Vide_ other instances cited in the Annales d’Hygiene.—Number 59, p. - 153 to 159. - -Footnote 29: - - Vide Regulations at Franckfort and Munich, Appendix. - -Footnote 30: - - Vide Appendix for the list of burial places returned, and a view of - the spaces requisite on the preceding scale, § 145, and the relative - space occupied as burial ground by the chief religious denominations. - -Footnote 31: - - It is due to the medical profession to state, that they have always - discountenanced as injurious the practice of entombment in vaults - under churches. A Parisian physician had the following epitaph to his - memory:— - - “Simon Pierre, vir pius et probus - Hic sub dio sepeliri voluit - Ne mortuus cuiquam noceret - Qui vivus omnibus profuerat.” - - At Louvain, there is the tomb of a celebrated anatomist, with the - following:— - - “Philippus Verhagen, - Med. Dr. et prof. - Partem sui materialem - Hic in cœmeterio condi voluit, - Ne templum dehonestaret - Aut nocivis halitibus inficeret.” - -Footnote 32: - - Perpetuities in burial grounds may be said to have been declared - illegal by Lord Stowell’s decision in the case of Gilbert v. the - Churchwardens of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, on the use of iron coffins. - His lordship, in his judgment in that case, remarked, that “All - contrivances that, whether intentionally or not, prolong the time of - dissolution beyond the period at which the common local understanding - and usage have fixed it, is an act of injustice, unless compensated in - some other way.”—Haggard’s Rep. v. 2, p. 353. _Vide_ statement of the - principle of this decision, in the extracts from the judgment given in - the Appendix, No. 12. - -Footnote 33: - - The neglect of the cemeteries at Paris, and especially of those - portions dedicated to the interment of the poorer classes, has been - the subject of public complaint, and means are now being taken to - redress them. A friend, who aided me with some inquiries in respect to - them, states,— - - The English tourist in visiting Père la Chaise is attracted by - splendid monuments in the midst of cypress trees, and little - gardens filled with flowers planted round a majority of the tombs; - but the graves of the humbler classes lie beyond these, and to - them the stranger is seldom conducted. The contrast is painful. - When I last visited Père la Chaise, on a fine day in November, and - after a week of unusually fine weather for the season, I found the - paths quite impracticable in the poorer quarter of the cemetery, - and as I watched a man, in the usual blouse dress worn by the - working class, picking his way through the mud to lead his little - boy to pray over the grave of his mother, I could but deplore the - economy of an administration which had neglected to provide, at - least, a dry gravel path for the humble and pious mourner. - -Footnote 34: - - Vide Appendix for an exemplification of the excess of deaths and - funerals, and other losses incurred by setting aside Sir Christopher - Wren’s plan for the rebuilding of the city of London. - -Footnote 35: - - One of the twelve tables was in these words, “_Hominem mortuum in urbe - ne sepelito neve urito_.” Cicero, in one of his epistles, Epist. ad - Div. iv. 12, in which he describes the assassination of his friend M. - Marcellus, at Athens, mentions that he had been unable to obtain - permission of the Athenians that the body should be buried in the - city; they said that such permission was inadmissible on religious - grounds, and that it never had been granted to any one. - -Footnote 36: - - Bingham’s Christian Antiquities, b. xxiii. ch. 1, s. 2. - -Footnote 37: - - _Vide_ Leviticus, chap. xiv., verse 33 to 48, for early sanitary - measures of purification. - -Footnote 38: - - It is perhaps an important fact, that the great majority of burials in - some burial-grounds are stated by the undertakers who perform them to - be burials of persons who are not subscribing members of the - congregations who are reputed to be the owners of the grounds, and - whilst only one out of three of the parishioners of many parishes - choose burial in the ground belonging to their parish church, the - solemnization of the marriage ceremony being generally satisfactory to - the population, and all of them having the option to have the marriage - solemnized with or without the religious ceremony, only one out of - twenty-four in the metropolis prefer solemnization elsewhere than at - the established church. From the Registrar General’s Report it appears - that, in 1839, out of 18,648 marriages celebrated in the metropolis, - only 772 were not solemnized in the established church; and out of - 124,329 marriages performed that year in the whole of England and - Wales, only 7,311 were performed out of the established church. - -Footnote 39: - - Bingham observes that St. Chrysostom speaks against those who use - excessive mourning at funerals, showing them the incongruity of that - with this psalmody of the church, and exposing them at the same time - to the ridicule of the Gentiles. For what said they are these men that - talk so finely and philosophically about the resurrection? Yes, - indeed! But their actions do not agree with their doctrine. For whilst - they profess in words the belief of a resurrection, in their deeds - they act more like men that despair of it. If they were really - persuaded that their dead were gone to a better life, they would not - so lament. “Therefore,” says Chrysostom, “let us be ashamed to carry - out our dead after this manner. For our psalmody, and prayers, and - solemn meeting of fathers, and such a multitude of brethren, is not - that thou shouldst weep and lament, and be angry at God, but give him - thanks for taking a deceased brother to himself.” St. Jerome also - frequently speaks of this psalmody as one of the chief parts of their - funeral pomp. He says at the funeral of the Lady Paula at Bethlehem, - which was attended with great concourse of bishops and clergy and - people of Palestine, there was no howling or lamenting as used to be - among the men of this world, but singing of psalms in Greek, Latin, - and Syriac (because there were people of different languages present) - at the procession of her body to the grave.” “And being so general and - decent a practice, it was a grievance to any one to be denied the - privilege of it. Victor Uticensis, upon this account, complains of the - inhuman cruelty of one of the kings of the Vandals. Who can bear, says - he, to think of it without tears, when he calls to mind how he - commanded the bodies of our dead to be carried in silence without the - solemnity of the usual hymns to the grave.” (Vol. vii. 335.) - -Footnote 40: - - Dr. Southwood Smith’s Report, Poor Law Commissioners’ Fifth Annual - Report, Appendix, p. 160. - -Footnote 41: - - Whosoever may feel inclined not to attach much weight to infantile - mortality on any such theory as that the “pressure of population” is - thereby diminished, may be requested to consider the evidence of the - fallacy, and proof that in the very districts where such mortality is - the greatest, so is the amount of births. Vide General Sanitary - Report, Note, p. 175; Tables, p. 182 and 183, et seq.; and the - subsequent corroborative evidence adduced in connexion with the - district returns of the proportions of deaths and funerals given in - the Appendix to this Report—Appendix. - -Footnote 42: - - Vide on the subject of defective registration of the causes of deaths: - a letter to the Registrar-general from Mr. Baker, coroner to - Middlesex, printed in the Minutes of Evidence on the practice of - coroners, given before a Select Committee of the House of Commons, p. - 128 of paper 549, Sess. 1840. - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - No. 1. - REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC INTERMENT AT FRANCKFORT, PASSED 1829. - -The transference of the cemetery to the outside of the town required the -herewith enacted abolition of the ancient mode and custom of interring -the dead, and the substitution of another and more suitable arrangement. -For this purpose the following regulations for Sachsenhausen [the -suburbs of Franckfort], as well as Franckfort, are published for general -observance:— - - - SECTION I. - -(1.) The mixed Church and School Commission has the chief -superintendence of all church, cemetery, and interment affairs. - -The regulation of all matters relating to interments is conferred upon -the legally-appointed Church and Cemetery Commission. - -All officers employed in connection with interments are placed under the -control of the said Commission, and it will be its duty to report yearly -to the mixed Church and School Commission on the expenses and receipts, -and the general progress of the institution. - -(2.) The superintendence of the cemetery, of the sextons in their -various employments, and of the house of reception, is given to an -inspector, whose duties are hereafter described in the 2nd section. - -(3.) For the performance of all the necessary arrangements preceding the -interment, commissaries of interments are appointed to take the place of -the so-called undertakers. These commissaries have to arrange everything -connected with the funeral, and are responsible for the proper -fulfilment of all the regulations given in their instructions. - -(4.) In order to prevent the great expense which was formerly occasioned -by the attendance with the dead to the grave, bearers shall be appointed -who shall attend to the cemetery all funerals, without distinction of -rank or condition. - -To these bearers shall be given assistants, who shall be equally under -the control of the interment commissaries. - -(5.) A sufficient number of sextons and assistants shall be appointed to -form the graves and assist at the interment. - -(6.) There are four classes of funerals and interments. Every house of -mourning may choose the class of funeral on paying the sum fixed for -that class to the Church and Cemetery Commission. - -All Christian interments, without distinction, can be conducted only -according to these interment regulations. It remains open to the friends -of the dead to attend the burial either in carriage or on foot; but this -must be without expense to the house of mourning. The funerals of the -town guards and of the soldiers of the line remain the same, but are -only to cost a fixed sum. - -If it be the wish of a family, the clergyman may attend the funeral, and -he may perform a service either at the side of the grave, or, in case of -bad weather, in the house of reception. - -All interments whatsoever, except in extraordinary cases, where the -police determines the time, must take place early—in summer before nine, -in winter before eleven o’clock, in the morning. - -The blowing of trumpets from the steeples, the attendance of women with -napkins, the bearings of crosses, the attendance of the old-fashioned -mourning coach, and also the use of the so-called “chariot of Heaven,” -and the following of young handicraftsmen, which generally were an -immense expense, are all given up. New carriages of a simpler and more -respectable form, and such as are better suited to the object and to the -greater distance of the cemetery from the town, shall be built. - -The bodies of adults who are taken direct from the house of mourning to -the grave, must be borne in the funeral carriage to the gate of the -cemetery, where the bearers will convey the coffin to the grave. - -The dead who have been placed in the house of reception must be borne in -the same manner to the grave. - -In exceptional cases, the dead may be borne to the grave by other -persons; but this is only allowed when there is any particular cause of -sympathy with the dead, or with the surviving family, and it must be -free of all expense. - -(7.) A complete and exact plan of the new cemetery shall be prepared, -and all the graves shall be marked upon it. - -Every place of interment must be numbered, which number must be engraved -upon the plan as soon as it is taken. - -The actuary of the Cemetery Commission shall keep a book, in which is -entered, along with the number of the grave, the rank, age, name, and -surname of the deceased. - -(8.) Those who possess family vaults, family graves, or monuments, -receive from the Cemetery Commission a document attesting their right, -and they must also follow the regulations which are contained in it. - -(9.) No grave can be opened till after the lapse of 20 years. - -Hence, if a family grave-plot is full, and the oldest grave has not been -closed 20 years on the occurrence of another death in the family, if it -cannot be placed in the grave-plot of any other relative, it must be -interred in the general interment ground, in the regular order and -course. - -(10.) The printed table of the cost of interment determines what sum is -to be paid for funerals to the Church and Cemetery Commission. - - - SECTION II.—_The duties of the Cemetery Inspector._ - -(11.) He is chosen by the Church and Cemetery Commission, and the -appointment is confirmed by the mixed Church and School Commission. - -In case the latter commission should find reason to delay the -ratification, the grounds of the delay are to be reported to the senate, -which will then order what is requisite. - -The oath of the Cemetery Inspector must be taken before the younger -_Herr Bürgermeister_, but his dismissal must be conducted in the same -manner as his appointment. - -He must be examined by the Sanitary Board, and must be found by them to -be qualified. He must also be a burgher. - -The Cemetery Inspector retains his situation during good behaviour, -exact obedience to the interment regulations, and all other matters -contained in his instructions. - -(12.) The sextons and their assistants are under the control of the -Cemetery Inspector. - -He has to enforce the regulation that all those employed in the -solemnities of funerals, or in the house of mourning, shall appear in -good black clothes, and that no disorder, negligence, or defect, is -permitted in the cemetery. - -He has further to see that on the part of the sextons, or the gardeners, -the neatness of the paths of the cemetery is restored after interments, -as also that of the plantations and flower borders, as quickly as -possible, and also that the mounds on the graves in the common ground -are covered with green turf and kept in a pretty form. - -(13.) The interments are to be notified by writing to the inspector of -the cemetery by the Interment Commissary. This notification must be -signed by the Church and Cemetery Commission, otherwise the inspector -may not venture to order the sextons to form a grave. - -One of the principal duties of the inspector is to keep a register of -all the interments from these notifications, which register he must -weekly lay before the Church and Cemetery Commission. - -(14.) The coffins must, without any distinction, be lowered into the -graves, and the inspector has to see that the necessary ropes are always -in proper condition. - -No less important is it for the inspector to be present at an interment, -in order that by his presence nothing may be done by his subordinates, -or by any other person, which should be contrary to the dignity of the -interment or to the regulations. - -(15.) The inspector must also inspect the family vaults, graves, and -monuments, and keep a book, in which he enters statements of any repairs -which may be necessary, and a notification of this is immediately to be -sent to the Church and Cemetery Commission, without whose permission no -alteration can be made in the graves. - -(16.) The inspector has also the superintendence of the house of -reception. - -(17.) It is the duty of the inspector to treat all who have to apply to -him with politeness and respect, and to give the required information -unweariedly and with ready good will. - -Under no pretext is he allowed either to demand or receive any payment, -as he has a sufficient salary. - - - SECTION III.—_On the Interment Commissaries._ - -(18.) On the motion of the Church and Cemetery Commission, the -Consistory names four Interment Commissaries for the Lutheran community. - -For the reformed church in Franckfort two Interment Commissaries are -chosen by the reformed consistory from those proposed by the Church and -Cemetery Commission. Amongst those persons proposed by this commission, -there must be included not only the present clergymen of the two -reformed communities, but the clergyman at all times must be proposed. - -The Catholic has also an Interment Commissary, chosen by the Church and -School Commission from those proposed by the Church and Cemetery -Commission. - -The list proposed for every such appointment must include, at least, -three burghers, fit to fill the situation. - -The appointment is given during good behaviour, and the commissary must -take an oath that he will truly and exactly follow the regulations, and -that he feels it his duty to perform all these and any other particular -instructions which he may receive. - -(19.) To each of the three Interment Commissaries of the Lutheran -community four districts are given, in which they must superintend all -that has to be done from the death to the interment in their community. - -The two Reformed commissaries, as well as the Catholic, have to take -care of everything connected with interment in their communities. - -(20.) In order that illness or any other unavoidable obstacle may not -easily interfere with the function of these commissaries, two Lutheran, -one Reformed, and one Catholic commissaries, shall be appointed as -substitutes, and shall have the same duties and obligations as their -superiors. - -(21.) These commissaries must notify to each other at what hour they -have an interment in charge, in order that many interments at the same -time may be avoided. - -(22.) The commissary is to be informed immediately as soon as a death -has occurred. Thereon the commissary acquaints the family of the -deceased with all that is to be done or observed with regard to the -interment. - -The commissary must then send to the proper officer a notification of -the death, and receive the interment certificate, signed by the Church -and Cemetery Commission. If the hour and day of the interment is fixed -by the family of the deceased, the interment commissary informs the -bearers of it the day before, so that if many funerals occurred on one -day, it may be so arranged that no delays or annoyances should take -place. - -Timely warning is to be given to the friends of those who are placed in -the house of reception, of the hour and day of interment, in order that -they may, if desirous of doing so, attend the funeral. - -(23.) The bearers alone, without any exception, must place the coffin in -the ground. - -The commissary must see that the bearers are always cleanly and -respectably dressed in black when they appear at a funeral, and must be -particularly careful that they conduct themselves seriously, quietly, -and respectably. - -He must also see that the carriage of the dead is not driven quickly -either in the town or beyond it, but that it is conducted respectably at -a quiet pace. - -When the dead is covered, and not until then, the commissary and the -bearers shall leave the cemetery in perfect silence. - -For any impropriety which may, through the conduct of the bearers, arise -during the interment, the commissary is responsible. - -(24.) The commissary must keep a register of the deaths which occur in -his district. He must close it every month with his signature, and -present it in the first three days of the following month to the Church -and Cemetery Commission. - -(25.) If desired by the family of the deceased to communicate the event -to the friends, the commissary shall do so, and for this he is to be -paid according to the tax. But it is by no means necessary that he -should be employed, as any other person may be employed to announce the -death. - -(26.) The substitute must receive half of the sum fixed by the tax-roll -as belonging to the commissary, whose place he fills. - -If the substitute is employed to announce the death, he receives the -whole of the remuneration for that service. - - - _Of the Bearers or Attendants of the Funerals._ - -(27.) The coffin bearers are chosen by the Church and School Commission, -according to the sect for which they are to be employed. - -The appointment of attendants on funerals and their assistants depends -on good conduct. - -They are bound by oath, truly and exactly, to do all that is prescribed -by the interment regulations, as also all that may further be committed -to them by the Church and Cemetery Commission. - -(28.) For the interment of the Reformed and Lutheran sects in -Franckfort, there shall be appointed thirty-six attendants of funerals -and twelve assistants. - -The community in Sachsenhausen has also twelve attendants and six -assistants. - -These attendants and their assistants are chosen from both these -evangelical sects, without regard, however, to the particular number -which there may be belonging to the one or the other sect. - -They are summoned by writing to the performance of their duties at the -four different classes of funeral by the Interment Commissioner -belonging to that community, and are subject to the strictest inspection -by that commissioner. - -The Catholic community has also twelve attendants and six assistants. - -The whole of the attendants and assistants must be citizens or burghers -of Franckfort, or from the neighbourhood, and of unquestionable -reputation. - -(29.) On the occasion of every death, whenever they are required, these -bearers must appear in a neat and clean dress, and conduct themselves -respectfully and quietly. - -The dress consists of a frock coat, vest, trousers, a round hat, -stockings, and shoes or boots, all of black. - -In winter is added a black cloak. - -The whole of the dress must be of a particular form and make. - -(30.) The bearers shall neither eat nor drink in the house of mourning: -they shall neither ask nor receive, under the strongest penalty, any sum -for that purpose, since they and their assistants have a fixed and -sufficient salary, according to the interment regulations; any breach of -this regulation will be punished by dismissal. - -The assistant will pay half the rate to the bearer. That assistant who -has signalized himself by the exact fulfilment of his duties, shall be -the first to be promoted as bearer in case of a vacancy. - -Neglect of duty on the first occasion shall be punished by the Church -and Cemetery Commission with suspension from the office for a certain -length of time, and on a repetition of the neglect, with dismissal. - -It is before this commission that the bearers have to bring their -complaints, which may sometimes occur, against the Interment Commissary, -under whose immediate control they are placed, and the matter is there -settled. - -(31.) The Church and Cemetery Commission has to name from amongst the -attendants of the Lutheran and Catholic funerals those who are to be -cross-bearers. These, as well as the bearers, must fulfil most exactly -and conscientiously the orders of the Commissioner of Interments, and -must only attend when required by him. - - - SECTION IV.—_Of the Grave-diggers._ - -(32.) The Church and Cemetery Commission appoints the sextons and their -assistants, who are bound by oath to fulfil the regulations and -necessary arrangements of the Commission. - -(33.) The Church and Cemetery Commission appoints one of the sextons as -chief, who must always live in the town, and to whom the Interment -Commissioner must make known the event of a death, in order that it may -be notified to the Church and Cemetery Inspector, who thereupon orders -the preparation of a grave. - -This chief sexton has a register, in which he enters all the -notifications of interments that have been sent to him, and which, when -asked for, he must lay before the Church and Cemetery Commission. - -No grave can be prepared, unless the warrant for it has been signed by -the Church and Cemetery Commission. - -Every grave must be six feet deep, three feet and a-half wide, and seven -feet long for an adult. - -The measurement for children is regulated by the Church and Cemetery -Inspector on each separate occasion. Between the graves in the ordinary -course there must be an interval of one foot. - -(34.) The whole of the sextons, in which is included their assistants, -are under the inspection of the Church and Cemetery Inspector, who must -keep them to their duty, and who is answerable for any misdemeanor, or -offence or neglect of the sextons. - -(35.) The sextons must always be respectably dressed in black during the -interment, and those who go to the house of mourning must always appear -in neat and clean attire, and must be studious at all times, whether -engaged within or without the churchyard, to preserve a modest and -proper behaviour. Drunkenness, neglect of duty, or abuse of their -services, will be punished by the Church and Cemetery Commission, and on -repetition of the offence the offender will be dismissed. The sextons -are forbidden, on pain of dismissal, from making any alteration in any -family vault, or grave, or in the ordinary graves, without especial -orders. They shall, on the other hand, keep all the flowers, borders, -and shrubs in the neatest order, and one of the sextons must be an -excellent gardener, whose office it shall be to keep the plantations and -borders in good condition. - -Any assistant who has been guilty of any fault which has led to the -dismissal of the sexton, shall not be able to be employed again as -sexton. - -(36.) The salary for the making of a grave is settled by the Church and -Cemetery Commissioners, on the roll, and no more than this sum can -either be demanded or received, under pain of dismissal. - -An assistant who has to perform the work of a sexton on account of -sickness, must give the sexton half the remuneration. In case the sexton -allows the assistant to do his work, or, on occasion of increased work -requiring the employment of an assistant, the assistant must receive the -full pay. - -That assistant who has signalized himself by the exact and excellent -performance of his duties, shall be the first to be promoted when a -vacancy occurs. - -When the qualifications are equal, the assistant of the longest standing -shall be promoted, and when this is equal, the oldest shall be made -sexton. - -The complaints of the sextons and assistants against the Inspector or -amongst themselves are to be settled by the Church and Cemetery -Commission. - - - _Of the Cost of Interment._ - -The Church and Cemetery Commission undertake to conduct the interments -at the price fixed by them in the tax roll. - -The whole rates could only be made so moderate, by making all interments -to depend on the Church and Cemetery Commission, therefore the -solemnities of interment can be superintended by no one except the said -Commission, under the regulation of the printed orders. - -The Interment Commissioner, on the occasion of a death, must call the -attention of the friends to these orders. It depends entirely on the -choice of the friends to which of the four classes of prices the funeral -shall belong. - -(39.) The Commission of Interments has to receive the payment for the -interment from the friends, and must immediately pay it over to the -Church and Cemetery Commission. - -(40.) Besides, or in addition to the authorized payment printed in the -tax roll, and determined by the Church and Cemetery Commission as the -sufficient remuneration of the Inspector, Commissioner of Interments, -the bearers and sextons, no one is, on the occasion of a death, either -to give money or to furnish food and drink. - -The practice of furnishing crape, gloves, lemons, &c., by the friends of -the dead, is also given up, and the persons engaged in conducting the -interment, must take all the requisites with them, without asking or -receiving any compensation, under pain of instant dismissal. - - - _The time which these orders are to remain in force._ - -(41.) Experience will best show what alteration is necessary in these -regulations, and they are therefore after some years to be laid by the -mixed Church and School Commission before the Senate for revision, and -further regulation. - - -_The rate of Interment for the Christian communities of the free town of - Franckfort._ - -The following, by order of the Legislative Assembly, of the 31st May, -1836, is the table of the rate of interment, which is here made known -for every one’s observance and obedience. - -The interments of adults are divided into four classes:— - - English Money. - £. _s._ _d._ - The 1st class costs 50 florins = 4 7 6 - The 2nd class costs 36 florins = 3 3 0 - The 3rd class costs 22 florins = 1 18 6 - The 4th class costs 15 florins = 1 6 3 - -The interment of children are also of four classes:— - - - _First Class._ English Money. - £. _s._ _d._ - Children from 10 to 15 22 florins = 1 18 6 - Children from 5 to 10 16 florins = 1 8 0 - Children from 0 to 5 12 florins = 1 1 0 - - - _Second Class._ - - Children from 10 to 15 16 florins = 1 8 0 - Children from 5 to 10 11 florins = 0 19 3 - Children from 0 to 5 8 florins = 0 14 0 - - - _Third Class._ - - Children from 10 to 15 10 florins = 0 17 6 - Children from 5 to 10 8 florins = 0 14 0 - Children from 0 to 5 4 florins = 0 7 0 - - - _Fourth Class._ - - Children from 10 to 15 6 florins = 0 10 6 - Children from 5 to 10 5 florins = 0 8 9 - Children from 0 to 5 2 florins 30 kruitzers = 0 4 4 - -For the funeral of all the city militia and officers of the line, twelve -florins must be paid for the cross, the pall, and the making of the -grave, inclusive of the carriage, by the friends of the dead. - -The interment of a pauper will cost six florins, eight kruitzers. - -The expenses of the interments of the institution for paupers are -settled by the Church and Cemetery Commission, with the officers of that -institution. - -If the Interment Commissary be employed by the friends of the deceased, -to announce the occurrence of the death, he is to receive three guilders -per day. - - - SECTION V.—_The Regulations with regard to the House for the reception - of the Dead._ - -The following are the regulations regarding the use of the house for the -reception and care of the dead, which are here made known for every -one’s observance. - -(1.) The object of this institution is— - - _a._ To give perfect security against the danger of premature - interment. - - _b._ To offer a respectable place for the reception of the dead, in - order to remove the corpse from the confined dwellings of the - survivors. - -(2.) The use of the reception-house is quite voluntary, yet, in case the -physician may consider it necessary for the safety of the survivors that -the dead be removed, a notification to this effect must be forwarded to -the younger burgermeister to obtain the necessary order. - -(3.) Even, in case the house of reception is not used, the dead cannot -be interred until after the lapse of three nights, without the proper -certificate of the physician that the signs of decomposition have -commenced. In order to prevent the indecency which has formerly -occurred, of preparing too early the certificate of the death, the -physician shall in future sign a preliminary announcement of the -occurrence of death, for the sake of the previous arrangements necessary -for an interment, but the certificate of death is only to be prepared -when the corpse shows unequivocal signs of decomposition having -commenced. For the dead which it is wished to place in the house of -reception, the physician prepares a certificate of removal. This -certificate of removal can only be given after the lapse of the -different periods, of six hours; in sudden death, of twelve hours; and -in other cases, twenty-four hours. - -In case of the thermometer being below 10 degrees of Reaumur, (30 -Fahrenheit), removal can only take place when there are unequivocal -signs of death, and under the certificate of death from the physician. - -(4.) The custody and treatment of the dead in the house of reception is -the same for all ranks and conditions. - -(5.) The superintendence of the house of reception is conferred upon the -Inspector of the Church Yard. He must possess the requisite medical and -surgical knowledge, and must be examined by the Sanitary Board with -regard to his qualification for the office, and must be instructed -according to their direction. - -(6.) The guardians of the dead are under the control of the inspector, -and must receive a special instruction with regard to their duties. - -(7.) The dead which are placed in the house of reception must not be -interred until unequivocal signs of decomposition have appeared. - -The inspector determines the time of interment. - -(8.) The dead, on arrival at the house of reception, are immediately -placed in separate rooms, which are built for that purpose, and which -are numbered, and there receive all the proper means of security. - -(9.) In the house of reception, there are besides these rooms two other -chambers; one is used as the animating chamber, the other, as a bath -room. - -The kitchen, which is also near at hand, is used to furnish hot water, -or whatever may be required. - -(10.) In case a body gives signs of re-animation, it must be brought -immediately into the chamber used for that purpose, when all the means -will be applied by the inspector, according to the instructions he has -received. - -(11.) This chamber, in which there is a bed, must always be carefully -locked, in order that it may never be used for any other purpose. The -inspector alone has possession of the key of this chamber. - -(12.) There must be in this chamber every necessary provision of -medicines, and of means of resuscitation and proper ventilation of the -air, according to the instruction of the Sanitary Board, and all these -arrangements must be kept in most perfect order by the inspector. - -(13.) If any particular case occurs in the house of reception, the -Sanitary Board must immediately have information of it, and the Board -must from time to time examine into the state of the house. - -(14.) Permission to friends and relatives to enter the rooms of the dead -is not granted unconditionally, on account of considerations of health, -but it depends upon the consent of the inspector. Entrance into the -waiting hall, from which the rooms in which the dead are deposited -range, is at all times allowed to the relatives of the dead. - -(15.) A register is kept in the house of reception, in which is entered -the rank and name of the dead, the age, the last disease, the day and -hour of the death, the placing in the house of reception, and the time -of interment, and the name of the last physician. Every registration is -signed by the inspector. - -(16.) No payment is made for reception and guarding of the dead in the -house of reception, nor for the services of the inspector or nurses, nor -for the heating of the chambers. These expenses are defrayed from the -Interment Fund. - -(17.) The inspector and nurses are strictly forbidden to allow any -persons to visit them in the buildings of the burial ground. - -(18.) When the inspector has been examined by the Sanitary Board, as to -his special qualifications, and has passed, the oath is administered to -him by the younger burgermeister. - - - _Instructions to the Inspector in regard to the House of Reception._ - -(1.) The inspector must be examined as to his medical and surgical -knowledge, by the Sanitary Board, and as to his treatment of suspended -animation, in which he is specially instructed by the Sanitary Board, -and is then sworn in by the younger burgermeister. - -(2.) The inspector has to instruct his assistants, and must see that his -instructions are strictly followed. - -(3.) He must answer for all that is out of order in the house of -reception. - -(4.) As long as there are corpses in the house, the inspector must not -leave his house. - -(5.) He has to keep a register, in a form which is prescribed, and must -punctually and clearly fill up all the heads of the form. - -(6.) As soon as a corpse is brought to the house, the inspector must -determine in which of the rooms it is to be placed, and order all the -necessary arrangements and means of security, and the attendance of -guardians, and must not leave the dead until everything has been -arranged for its proper protection and care. - -(7.) The Cemetery Inspector must superintend the attendants night and -day. - -(8.) No corpse can be interred until unequivocal signs of decomposition -have appeared. On this matter the inspector has to act according to the -instructions of the Sanitary Board. - -(9.) Should the case arise, that the dead sets in motion the alarum, or -that the nurses perceive a slight colour in the cheek, or a slight -breathing, or a movement in the eye-lid, the inspector must immediately -arrange that the body be brought into the fresh air of the re-animating -chamber, which is properly warmed, and he will there adopt all the other -means, on which he has received instructions from the Sanitary Board. - -(10.) When these signs of life have appeared, the inspector must -immediately give information of the circumstance by a messenger to the -physician who last attended the person, in order that a notification of -the same may be made to the _Physikat_. - -The tidings of the re-animation shall be conveyed to the house of -mourning by the physician alone, and then only when there is no longer -any doubt of the resuscitation. - -(11.) One of the first essentials in the house is cleanliness. The -Cemetery Inspector has therefore strictly to watch that everything which -belongs to the house is kept most perfectly clean by the nurses. - -In order to preserve the purity of the air, he must see that the -arrangements for ventilation are kept in perfect order. - -(12.) He must also see that the rooms are properly warmed during the -cold weather. - -(13.) The Cemetery Inspector is not specially paid for his services in -the house of reception, but has a house free, besides the salary -determined by the Cemetery Commission, and printed in the salary table. - - - _Instructions in respect to the Watchers or Nurses._ - -(1.) The nurses, amongst which the sextons may be sometimes employed, -are named and appointed by the Church and Cemetery Commission, on good -behaviour. - -(2.) They are under the superintendence of the Cemetery Inspector, and -must obey his orders with the greatest exactitude and alacrity. - -(3.) As soon as a corpse is brought to the house the nurses must convey -it immediately into the room pointed out by the inspector, and -afterwards do all that is required of them by him. - -(4.) They must be instructed in all their duties by the inspector. - -(5.) He, whose week it is to watch in the warder’s chamber, must never -leave the chamber when there are corpses in the rooms, on pain of -instant dismissal; but if anything requires him to leave the chamber, he -must first summon with a bell, one of the other nurses to take his -place. - -(6.) The nurses must keep everything in the house in the greatest -cleanliness. Any one who has frequently to be reminded of his duties -through carelessness shall be dismissed from the situation. - -(7.) If roughness be shown by a nurse to the dead, he must be punished -with instant dismissal, and a notification of the same must be given by -the Church and Cemetery Commission to the police, in order that proper -inquiry and punishment be given. - -(8.) In case the alarum is set in motion, or any other sign of life is -perceived, the nurse must immediately inform the Inspector, and quietly -and gently fulfil all his directions. - -(9.) The nurses are forbidden to use tobacco in the house. - -(10.) They are forbidden to receive any visits in the house, and more -especially to allow any person to come during the night into the -ward-chamber. - -(11.) There shall be in the warder’s chamber a clock, which, by a -certain mechanism, can tell when, and how long a nurse may have slept -during the night. Frequent negligence of this kind will be punished by -dismissal. - -[Illustration: FRONT ELEVATION OF THE ENTRANCE, AND THE BUILDINGS -ATTACHED TO THE ENTRANCE, OF THE CHRISTIAN CEMETERY AT -FRANCKFORT-ON-THE-MAINE.] - -[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE ENTRANCE OF THE INSTITUTION FOR THE -RECEPTION AND CARE OF THE DEAD, ATTACHED TO THE CEMETERY.] - -[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE PROBATIONARY HOUSE OF RECEPTION -AND CARE OF THE DEAD PREVIOUS TO INTERMENT AT THE CEMETERY.] - -[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE PROBATIONARY HOUSE OF -RECEPTION AND CARE OF THE DEAD PREVIOUS TO INTERMENT AT THE CEMETERY.] - - - No. 2. -REGULATIONS FOR THE EXAMINATION AND CARE OF THE DEAD, AND FOR RELIEVING - THE APPREHENSIONS OF PREMATURE INTERMENTS, PROVIDED AT MUNICH. - - - _Regulations for the Examination of the Dead._ - -Whereas it is of importance to all men to be perfectly assured that the -beings who were dear to them in life are not torn from them so long as -any, the remotest, hope exists of preserving them; so is death less -dreadful in its shape when one is convinced of its actual occurrence, -and no longer a danger exists of being buried alive. - -In order to afford this satisfaction to mankind, and to preclude the -possibility of any one being considered as dead who is not actually so; -that the spread of infectious disorders be avoided as much as possible; -that the quackeries so highly injurious to health may be suppressed; -that murders committed by secret violence may be discovered, and the -perpetrators delivered over to the hands of justice, is the imperative -duty of every wise government; and in order to accomplish these objects, -every one of which is of infinite importance, recourse must be had to -the Safety Police as the most efficient means, by a strict medical -examination into the deaths occurring, and a conformable view of the -body. - -In consideration of which, the orders already existing on this subject -will undergo a strict examination, and, with the august consent of the -government of the Isar-Circle, the following general regulations have -been fixed upon:— - -1. An examination of all dead bodies, at two different times, and this -without exception to rank, is henceforth to take place in the -metropolitan city of Munich, and the suburbs belonging thereto. - -2. The first examination is to be held immediately after death has taken -place, and the second shortly before the interment. - -3. At the public hospitals, both examinations are intrusted to the -acting physician, who has however strictly to observe those regulations -relating to the certificates for the examination of the dead. - -4. The first examination is to take place at the very spot where death -has taken place, or where any dead body may be discovered, by the sworn -surgeon of the district: the second examination, however, by the surgeon -appointed by and belonging to the Police Establishment. - -5. The city of Munich, with the suburbs, are to be divided into Eight -Districts; for each of these districts a separate surgeon is hereby -appointed, viz.:— - -[Here follow the eight districts, with the names and residences of the -Surgeons appointed for each district.] - -6. As soon as a death takes place, immediate notice must be given by the -Soul-nuns, Midwife, &c., &c., or by any such person charged with the -arrangements for the burial. This said notice must state the street, the -number of the house, and of the floor where the dead body is lying; -whereupon the said surgeon has immediately to go there, and conduct the -investigation according to his instructions. - -7. Previous to this, and before the first examination has taken place, -it is neither permitted to undress nor to clean the dead body: nor is -the body allowed (in cases of natural death) to be carried out of that -room where death has taken place, or to be removed from the spot; and it -is not even permitted to remove the cushions from under the head of the -dead body. Every violation of this decree will be punished with a fine -of from 5 to 15 florins, or with imprisonment from one to three days. - -8. Those regulations issued by the examining surgeon respecting the -treatment of the dead body, or which relate to the clothes and other -objects of the deceased, must be strictly obeyed. - -9. After the examining surgeon has convinced himself that every hope of -re-animation has disappeared, he fills up the certificate of examination -according to his instructions; but be it observed at the same time, that -if a medical man has attended the deceased, such is bound to enter in -the said certificate the description of the disease, and to certify it -by his signature. - -10. If the dead body remains in the dwelling-house until the burial -takes place, the second examination by the surgeon from the Police must -be held there; and for this reason the certificate must be forwarded -into his hands as soon as possible. - -11. But if the dead body after the first examination has been removed to -the house for the reception of the dead, in order to remain there, this -said certificate should previously, or at the delivery, be taken to the -Inspector of his Institution, in order that no obstacle may arise to its -reception. - -12. The utmost cleanliness and greatest order is to prevail in this said -house for the reception of the dead, where the dead bodies removed there -are to be placed under a perpetual and proper watch; and the Police -Surgeon is bound to call at the Institution twice every day, namely, in -the morning and in the evening, to institute a very minute examination -of the dead bodies there; and in case of any signs of re-animation, to -render speedy and the most serviceable assistance. - -13. If the medical man who conducts the second examination perceives -those signs in a corpse which do not leave any doubt whatsoever that a -death has taken place, he then enters the verification in the -certificate, which thereupon is taken to the Directory of Police, who -then grant the permission for the interment. - -14. Without such a legal certificate permitting it, no body is allowed -to be buried; and that Priest or Clergyman who will assist at any burial -without having seen this certificate forfeits a sum from 15 to 30 -florins. - -15. Proper arrangements have been made that the Printed Forms for the -decreed Certificates may always be obtained at the Directory of Police, -and will be delivered gratis to the officiating medical men of the -Public Hospitals, as well as to the Examining Surgeons; a receipt -however must be given for them. - -16. All those persons nominated for the execution of these measures, as -the Soul-nuns, Midwives, attendants at the house for the reception of -the dead; the Inspector of such House, the Examining Surgeons, the -Surgeons of the Police, &c., &c., will be supplied with the printed -regulations, as well as the most minute instructions, for which purpose -they will be sworn, and be ever subject to a rigorous inspection. - - _Munich, Nov. 20, 1821._ - - [The regulations which follow this are chiefly as to the different - prices of different degrees of the religious service.] - - - _Regulations for the Guards or Watchers at the House for the reception - of the Dead near the Burial Ground at Munich, with reference to the - Inspection of Dead Bodies._ - -1. There must be at least two health-worthy and active men, as trusty as -possible, appointed as Body Watchers, and specially sworn in by the -Police. - -2. When a body is intended to be placed in the house for the reception -of the dead, it must be previously notified to the Inspector of the -same, and the before-mentioned “Examination Ticket,” or a special -official order, be delivered over to him. - -3. It is forbidden to the Body Watchers to place any body there without -the previous knowledge and concurrence of the Inspector. - -4. Should no obstacle arise, the corpse is then received by the Body -Watchers, and deposited in the place appropriated to it. - -5. The cover of the coffin must then be immediately withdrawn, the face -of the deceased uncovered, and the hands and feet disengaged from the -bandages attached to them. - -6. The place where the bodies are watched must be kept warm day and -night, and lighted during the night without interruption. - -7. Great cleanliness is to be observed, and a supply of pure air to be -kept up. - -8. The Watchers must constantly remain in the watch-room, and frequently -by day and night enter the room for the reception of the dead, in order -carefully to observe the bodies lying there. - -9. The Police Surgeons will particularly instruct the Body Watchers as -to what signs or appearances they are especially to observe, and how -they are to act with regard to them. On this point they are to take the -greatest care. - -10. Should any sign or appearances which may betoken re-animation -proceed from any body, it must be immediately brought into the -watch-room with every care and precaution, and placed on the bed -provided with mattrasses and blankets for that purpose. - -11. On such an event occurring, not only the Inspector must be informed -of it, but the Police Surgeon must be called in without a moment’s -delay. - -12. As to the treatment of the body until the arrival of the Surgeon, -the Inspector and Body Watchers are informed by the Police Surgeon. In -all cases must warm water be prepared, and the safety apparatus -arranged. - -13. The body, thus awakened from its sleep, must be treated with extreme -care, and everything must be avoided likely to create any strong -impression on it. - -14. No coffin wherein a body is placed must be closed, nor must any -preparation for the burial take place, until the distinct permission -from the Police Surgeon is issued. - -15. The entrance into the room for the reception of the dead is allowed -to every one under proper restrictions, care being taken that the quiet -and good order there are not disturbed. - -16. Any Body Watcher who shall be convicted of any neglect in the -performance of his duties, will be punished with a proportional fine and -imprisonment, and dismissed on a repetition of the offence. - - _Munich, Nov. 20, 1821. Royal Police Direction._ - - - _Regulations for the Proceedings at the Second Examination of the - Corpses by the proper nominated Surgeon of the Police._ - -1. The second examination of the deceased must be performed by the -appointed Police Surgeon, who must, however, take particular pains to -satisfy himself that the first examination has been duly executed, that -the certificates were properly drawn up, that the Soul-nuns have -fulfilled their various duties, and that both the Inspector, as well as -the appointed Watchmen belonging to the house for the reception of the -dead, have duly discharged the duties with which they are intrusted, and -that, moreover, nothing has been undertaken or omitted that should not -be in accordance with the various intents and purposes of the decreed -examination of the bodies. - -2. This said Surgeon must be supplied with a copy of all the regulations -relating to the examination of the bodies, as well as copies of all such -regulations for the guidance of all others charged with the performance -of any of these duties. - -3. If the Surgeon who is appointed by the Police feels convinced that by -one person or other any act has been performed contrary to the -prescribed duties, or that any negligence in the execution of the -service exists, he must, on pain of personal responsibility, give -immediate notice to the Police. - -4. The same (the Police Surgeon) is bound to issue proper instructions, -more particularly to the Soul-nuns, to the Inspector of the house for -the reception of the dead, and to the Watchers and attendants of the -said institution, as well as to all individuals assisting at any of the -examinations; which said instructions relate to the method of -proceeding, and treatment of the dead bodies, especially in such a case -where re-animation might again take place, and repeated caution must be -given on this subject. - -5. The second examination with which he is charged must either be -undertaken in that house where death has taken place, or in the house -for the reception of the dead. In the first case, when, for instance, -the deceased is kept at the house where death has taken place until the -final interment, the Police Surgeon must receive the necessary -information through the medium of the examining ticket, which has been -issued and signed by the medical man of the district, and which ticket -must be forwarded to him, either through the Soul-nun, or through any -such person charged to attend the deceased. - -6. The stated sickness, or the manner how death ensued, as also the time -in which deceased is to be buried; all of which, having been entered on -the ticket, must serve him for guidance whether the second examination -must be more or less accelerated. In all cases, however, such must be -undertaken as timely as possible, so that generally interment may take -place after 48 hours. - -7. He has, accordingly, to go to that place stated in the certificate of -examination, examine the corpse with due minuteness, and, in case the -burial may be proceeded with, he has to state it in the certificate; -such is then to be forwarded to the Royal Police, where the permission -for interment is granted. - -8. If it is intended to remove the body to the house for the reception -of the dead, such may take place without any hesitation after the -proceedings of the first examination; and in this case the Police -Surgeon must find both the body and certificate at that place. - -9. The Police Surgeon is bound to attend twice every day at the house -for the reception of the dead of the burial-ground, viz., every morning -from 9 to 10 o’clock, and in the afternoon from 3 to 4 o’clock. On his -arrival, such dead bodies, with their certificates, which have been -examined, must be shown to him; he examines them, and signs those -certificates which do not admit of any delay; which certificates are -afterwards forwarded to the Royal Police authorities, in order to -procure the certificate of permission for the burial. - -10. Of all such dead bodies having undergone the second examination by -the Police Surgeon, and which have been considered by him proper for -burial, minute lists must be kept by him containing the consecutive -numbers, as well as the statement of that day on which the interment has -been ordered, and all such observations which have been entered in the -certificate of examination. - -11. Such corpses which from the manner of their death are subject to any -judicial examination or dissection, will, after their previous -dissection, be received by the proper judicial authorities, and the -interment is to take place according to the existing orders. - -12. Should information be forwarded to the Police Surgeon that signs of -re-animation have been observed in any body, it is to be his first and -most sacred duty to attend instantly at the place and spot, in order to -conduct all attempts at restoration, and to issue orders about the mode -of treatment of the re-animated body. - -13. Attending minutely to his duties, it is certain that he may perceive -divers symptoms which are not only important to him as Examining -Surgeon, but also as surgeon to the Police; he has therefore to attend -minutely to such observations, and, together with his own, communicate -such to his superior authorities. - -14. In case the Police Surgeon should be prevented, either by -indisposition, absence, or any other cause, from conducting the -examinations with which he is intrusted, he is forthwith to give -immediate notice to the Royal Police, in order to provide for a proper -substitute, whom he may himself propose. - -15. It is fully expected from the Surgeon of the Police, that, impressed -with the importance of the business he is charged with, he will do all -in his power to attain the manifold important objects belonging to it. -Any negligence of which he may be guilty will be rigorously punished, -and on a repetition of the offence he will be discharged. - - _Royal Police Direction, Munich._ - - - _Instructions to the Soul-Nuns as to their Duties in regard to the - Inspection of the Dead._ - -(1.) As soon as a person is dead, or appears to be so, the nurse or -sister of charity in attendance is immediately to give information of -the same to the medical man appointed to the district. - -(2.) For this purpose she obtains the _form of notification_ for -conducting the inspection of the dead, which contains the divisions of -the districts of inspection, and the names of the physicians appointed -to each district. - -(3.) In order that the physician may inspect _immediately, and without -the slightest delay_, the case of death in his district, the name of the -street, the number and floor of the house in which the death occurs is -to be given with exactness, so that he may not in any way be hindered in -going to the place and making the earliest possible inspection. - -(4.) Before this inspection has taken place, it is expressly forbidden -to undress the corpse, or wash it, or, if the death is a natural one, to -remove it from the bed or room in which the death took place, or even to -take away or alter the position of the pillow. - -(5.) Any disobedience to this law will be punished by a fine of from 5 -to 15 florins, or by a three days’ imprisonment. - -(6.) The physician will make a note of all the circumstances of the -first inspection, according to his instructions. If he should consider -that particular arrangements are necessary, they are to be adopted -immediately. - -(7.) His note of remarks shall be left at the house, in the charge of -the soul-nun, and through them the signature of the physicians attending -the person who had died, if such there has been, shall be procured. - -(8.) If the dead is retained at the house till the time of interment, -the note of inspection must be directly handed over to the public -surgeon, in order that he may make the second inspection, and determine -further what is necessary with regard to the interment. - -(9.) If after a certain length of time he sees no reason to postpone the -interment, he will make a note to that effect and give it to the police -direction, and from them is procured the sanction for the interment. - -This sanction will be given in to the clergyman’s office belonging to -the district, and thence handed over to the officer who has the care of -the house for the reception of the dead previous to interment. Without -this sanction no corpse can be interred. - -(10.) The corpse must be retained until interment in an apartment where -there is fresh and pure air. The coffin must not be closed, nor the face -covered till after the second inspection, and the hands and feet must -not be bound. - -If any signs of life should be observed, the district physician is -immediately to be called. - -(11.) If the corpse is conveyed into the house for the reception of the -dead, the second inspection must be made there. The district physician’s -note of inspection is to be given to the officer of the house for the -reception of the dead at the time, or before the corpse being brought -there, and that officer is to hand over the note to the public surgeon. -Without this note of inspection, no corpse can be received into the -house for the reception of the dead. - -(12.) The soul-nuns, or midwives, or whoever is intrusted with this -office, must wait for the second inspection, and for the time when the -public surgeon shall pronounce that the interment is necessary. For this -purpose the surgeon will make the requisite certificate, which must then -be given to the proper officer, who immediately gives the sanction for -the interment. - -(13.) As the second inspection in the house for the reception of the -dead must take place, according to the regulations, in the morning -between 9 and 10, and in the afternoon between 3 and 4, the sanction for -interment may be procured between 11 and 12 in the morning, and 4 and 5 -in the afternoon. - - - No. 3. - DEFECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE VERIFICATION OF THE CAUSES OF DEATH. - - - _Thomas Abraham_, Esq., Surgeon. - -You are Registrar of Deaths in the City of London Union. Since you have -been Registrar, have you had occasion to send notice to the coroner of -cases where the causes of death stated appeared suspicious?—Yes, in -about half-a-dozen cases. One was of an old gentleman occupying -apartments in Bell Alley. His servant went out to market, and on her -return, in less than an hour, found him dead on the bed, with his legs -lying over the side of it. He had been ailing some time, and was seized -occasionally with difficulty of breathing, but able to get up, and when -she left him she did not perceive anything unusual in his appearance. I -went to the house myself, and made inquiries into the cause of death; -and although I did not discover anything to lead to the suspicion of his -having died from poison or other unfair means, I considered it involved -in obscurity, and referred the case to the coroner for investigation. -Another case was of a traveller who was found dead in his bed at an inn. -The body was removed to a distance of forty miles before a certificate -to authorize the burial was applied for. His usual medical attendant -certified to his having been for several years the subject of aortic -aneurism, which was the probable cause of his sudden death, although the -evidence was imperfect and unsatisfactory, and could not be otherwise -without an examination of the body, and I therefore refused to register -it without notice to the coroner. - -A third case occurred a few days ago. A medical certificate was -presented to me of the death of a man from disease of the heart and -aneurism of the aorta. He was driven in a cab to the door of a medical -practitioner in this neighbourhood, and was found dead. He might have -died from poison, and, without the questions put on the occasion of -registering the cause of death, the case might have passed without -notice. There was not in this case, as in others, any evidence to show -that death was occasioned by unfair means, but the causes were obscure -and unsatisfactory, and I felt it to be my duty to have them -investigated by the coroner. - -But for anything known, you may have passed cases of murder?—Certainly; -and there is at present no security against such cases. The personal -inspection of the deceased would undoubtedly act as a great security. - -In the course of your practice, have you had occasion to believe that -evil is produced by the retention of the corpse?—Yes; I can give an -instance of a man, his wife, and six children, living in one room, in -Draper’s Buildings. The mother and all the children successively fell -ill of typhus fever: the mother died; the body remained in the room. I -wished it to be removed the next day, and I also wished the children to -be removed, being afraid that the fever would extend. The children were -apparently well at the time of the death of the mother. The -recommendation was not attended to: the body was kept five days in the -only room which this family of eight had to live and sleep in. The -eldest daughter was attacked about a week after the mother had been -removed, and, after three days’ illness, that daughter died. The corpse -of this child was only kept three days, as we determined that it should -positively be removed. In about nine days after the death of the girl, -the youngest child was attacked, and it died in about nine days. Then -the second one was taken: he lay twenty-three days, and died. Then -another boy died. The two other children recovered. - -By the immediate removal of the corpse, and the use of proper preventive -means, how many deaths do you believe might have been prevented?—I think -it probable that the one took it from the other, and that if the corpse -of the first had been removed the rest would have escaped; although I, -of course, admit that the same cause which produced the disease of the -mother might also have produced it in the children. I believe that, in -cases of typhus, scarlatina, and other infectious diseases, it -frequently happens that the living are attacked by the same disease from -the retention of the body. - -Have you had occasion to observe the effects of cesspools in your -district?—Yes, and that they are very injurious to the health. In the -states of the weather when offensive emanations arise from the cesspools -and drains, I have often heard people complain of headache, giddiness, -nausea, languor, and an indisposition for exertion of any kind; and I -have known a walk or a ride in the open air to remove those symptoms, -but in an hour or two after their return home they have found themselves -as bad as before. Their sleep brings them little or no refreshment; in -truth, they have inhaled, during the whole of the night, the noxious -atmosphere, which is very depressing, and will fully account for their -rising, as they often say, as tired as when they went to bed. As an -example, I may mention the case of a compositor, residing in Draper’s -Buildings—a narrow, confined, and filthy place, where there was always a -disgusting stench in every house. He was the subject of disordered -stomach and liver, which might have been induced by his night-work and -intemperance: the stinking hole in which he resided contributed its -share towards it, without doubt. This man remained at home for a week, -when he was getting better, but had scarcely any appetite. I advised him -to walk in Finsbury Circus two or three times a-day, as long as he could -without fatigue; and on several occasions, when he returned to his -dinner, he said, “Now, if I had had my dinner in Finsbury Circus I could -have eaten a hearty one, but now I do not seem to care anything about -it.” I believe that if I had entered that man’s house with a good -appetite for a dinner, and had remained there for an hour, that I should -have cared no more about eating than he did,—which I attribute to the -nauseating and depressing effects of the effluvia from the cesspools, -drains, and general filthiness of the place. - -Are you aware whether this state of things arose from the cesspools or -the state of the sewers?—I conceive the worst have been cesspools; but -the drains, if they open, are just as bad. I was called upon to visit a -patient living in a court in Whitecross Street, ill of typhus fever; in -the centre of it was a gully-hole, which was untrapped and smelt -horribly. The fever went through the whole of that court. I gave it as -my opinion at the time, that the case I visited was occasioned by the -gully-hole, and that the fever would go through the court, which it did. - -Have you perceived the present state of the drains in the city of -London?—At times they smell very strongly, which scarcely any one can -fail to notice; but I have heard country-people complain of them at -times when they have not attracted any particular notice from me. - -Are you aware that decomposing matter is allowed to accumulate in -them?—Yes; very recently they took up the refuse in our street, Old -Broad Street; it smelt very badly, and it was black and horribly filthy. - -How long before had the sewer been cleansed?—I do not know. I do not -remember its having been cleansed, before the last September, since I -have been there, which is about nine years. - -Do you remember to have perceived the smell from the sewers before the -last September?—Yes; there is a gully-hole near my own house from which -there was constantly an offensive smell: it was much worse after a thaw -in winter, or a shower of rain in summer. A neighbour living two doors -from me being more annoyed by it than I, made great efforts, and at -length succeeded in getting it trapped; and I have not since perceived -any smell from it, though I observe it now in other places. The -gully-holes are trapped now in most of the respectable streets, but in -the bye and poor streets they are not trapped. - -From the evidence which has come before you, have you any doubt that the -existing state of sewers in the City are the latent cause of much -disease and death?—I have not the least doubt of it in the world.—A -great deal of active disease, which creeps on gradually and insidiously, -may be traced to that cause. - -In the poorer districts, in what state is the surface-cleansing of the -streets?—Even the best streets are very badly cleansed, but in the -poorer streets of the city the cleansing is very bad indeed—horribly -bad! Take Duke’s Place, for example; you will see cabbage-stalks and -rotten oranges that have been thrown away, and they often remain there -for several days. We do not get our streets swept oftener than once -a-week. - -If there were a perfect system of drainage and cleansing in the city, do -you think that the health and the duration of life of the inhabitants -would be extended?—I think there would be a considerable extension. - -What is the physical condition of the children born in London of parents -who are natives of the rural districts, as compared with the physical -condition of children who are born in the country of parents of the same -class?—The children born and bred up in London are more frequently of -small stature and have slender limbs, are deficient in stamina and -powers of endurance, are of irritable frames and prone to inflammatory -attack, than children born and bred up in the country. An impure -atmosphere is immeasurably more injurious to children than adults. -Children also suffer more from want of opportunities of exercise in the -open air. The beneficial effects of pure air and exercise on children -who have been born and pent up in London are most marked: a weakly -child, and which, if kept in London, would perhaps always continue -weakly, would most likely become strong and healthy if sent into the -country. I cannot doubt that children born of healthy parents, and bred -up in the country, would be more robust and stronger than children born -of the same class of parents and bred up in London, and that this -difference may be justly ascribable to atmospheric influence. - -When children are weakly, what is the effect on the temper and -character?—The temper and character of weakly children are generally -found to correspond with, and are most probably derived from, the -character of their constitution: their temper is quick and irritable, -their passions ardent, their perception keen, and their imagination -predominant over their judgment. - -You are speaking, of course, of the general characteristics of -individuals as specimens of the population brought up under such -circumstances?—Yes, of persons coming under my own observation. - -Have you, as Registrar of Deaths, noticed the larger proportion of -infant mortality in the city?—There is, I conceive, all over the -kingdom, a large proportion of infant deaths; but I have no doubt that a -considerable proportion of the excess of infant deaths in London is -ascribable to atmospheric influences. - -It appears, from the Mortuary Registration, that of deaths in the city -of London, about one-half are deaths of children under ten years of age; -whilst in a rural district, take the county of Hereford for example, -only one-third of the deaths are deaths of children. - -Do you conceive it probable that this different rate of infant mortality -is to be traced chiefly to the difference of the atmospheric influence, -the average age of all of the labouring classes being, in Herefordshire, -39 years, whilst in the City of London the average age of the deaths of -all the labouring classes is only 22 years?—I am decidedly of opinion -that a greater proportion of the excess of infant mortality in London, -and the reduced duration of life, are ascribable to atmospheric -impurity. - -If all cesspools were removed, and water-closets substituted; if water -were introduced into the houses of the poorest classes; if the sewers -were regularly flushed weekly, or oftener, so as to prevent -accumulations of deposit and the escape of miasma, such as you have -described; if the carriage and foot pavements were more frequently and -completely cleansed; if these several public duties were performed with -practicable efficiency, can you express a confident opinion that -decrease and premature deaths would be considerably diminished?—I am -quite confident that the adoption of such measures would not only -diminish disease of every kind, but greatly improve the moral as well as -the physical condition of the inhabitants. - - - No. 4. - THE PROPORTIONS OF DEATHS AND FUNERALS PREVENTIBLE BY SANITARY MEANS. - - - _Henry Blenkarne_, Esq., South West District Surgeon of the City of - London Union. - -Have you in your district perceived any effects resulting from -interments in the parochial burying places?—I have no cognizance of any -bad effects resulting from those interments. The first twenty years of -my life I lived close to a burial-ground, and never was aware or heard -of any prejudicial consequences arising. I may observe, however, that -when a relation of mine has attended the church she has been enabled to -perceive whenever a vault underneath the church has been opened. She has -said, “I feel they have opened a vault;” and on inquiry it has turned -out to have been so. - -Have you observed any evil effects following the practice of the long -retention of the corpse in the house amidst the living?—Yes, I have -observed effects follow, but I cannot say produced by them, though they -were perhaps increased by them. In those cases which I have had where -there has been a succession of cases of fever in the same family, after -a death it has generally occurred that the parties affected have -complained two or three days before that they felt very unwell. -Generally this has been the case. I have, in such instances, ordered -them medicine immediately. Since the Union has been established we have -immediately removed all fever cases to the Fever Hospital. - -The retention of the corpse amidst the living, under such circumstances, -must aggravate the mortality, must it not?—There cannot be a moment’s -doubt about it. - -What, from the observations in your district, has been the actual state -of the sewerage, and cleansing dependent upon it, as the cleansing of -the cesspools?—There has been great improvement in the city of London by -the improvement of the sewerage, in so far as it has removed the -cesspools. When you went into a respectable house formerly, you could, -in the city, tell the state of the weather by the smell from the -cesspools. Where water-closets are substituted, the health of the -inhabitants has undoubtedly been improved. In the poorer neighbourhoods, -where they have still cesspools, they are still very bad. I constantly -tell them, if you get rid of that nasty cesspool you’ll get well and -keep well; it is of no use my giving you physic until that is done. -Where there have been deposits accumulating in the sewers, and the -drains have been choked up, the effect has been just the same as if -there had been cesspools. - -You are aware that in respect to sewerage it is the practice to allow -deposits to accumulate in the sewers, and then, when the private drains -are stopped up, to open the sewer and get out the deposit by means of -buckets, and remove it in carts?—Yes, I am. - -Have you seen any illness result from this practice?—I cannot state a -case, though I have no doubt of its highly injurious effects; but can -decidedly speak to illness arising from the accumulations. The illness -is just the same as from cesspools: a low depressing nervous fever, most -like that which is described to be the form of the jungle fever. In -November or December last, they were taking up the deposits from the -sewers near Broken Wharf, in Upper Thames-street: the stench from it was -quite sufficient to have produced any fever: it was not within my -district, and I do not know what were the effects. Fortunately there was -clear weather, and the wind blew towards the river. - -Have you any doubt that the removal of such refuse, as well as the -accumulation, must be attended with danger to life?—Yes; if any person -in a state of mental or bodily depression were exposed to such an -influence, it would produce low fever; it would be dangerous in -proportion as it was stagnant. - -In passing through the city, have you been assailed with smells from -gully-holes?—Only yesterday, in passing through the city, the smells -from many of the gully-holes were very offensive; and several medical -friends agree with me in attributing extremely prejudicial consequences -as arising from this cause. - -The following case is related on the authority of Dr. Good, as having -occurred within the city of London, and is mentioned by Mr. Fuller, in a -letter from a surgeon who has paid great attention to the influence of -sewerage, and who adduces the facts of the case in evidence that typhus -may be produced by the miasma from sewers:—“Soon after the closing of -the Parliamentary Committee, I learned, from the late Dr. Hope, the -particulars of a case which, to my mind, has completely proved the -production of typhus fever from it, and was so much in the character of -an _experimentum crucis_, that I did not consider it necessary to -prosecute the inquiry any further. The case is as follows:—“A family in -the city of London, who had occupied the same house for many years, -enjoying a good state of health, had a nursery-maid seized with typhus -fever; the young woman was removed from the house and another -substituted in her place. In a short time the new nurse-maid was -attacked with typhus fever, and was also sent away. A few weeks after -one of the children was seized with the same fever: an inquiry was now -instituted by the medical man in attendance, in order to ascertain, if -possible, the cause of this frequent recurrence of typhus fever, when -the following facts were brought to light:—The nursery was situated on -the upper floor but one of the house, and about a fortnight or three -weeks before the first case of fever occurred, a sink was placed in the -corner of the nursery for the purpose of saving the labour of the -servants; this was found to communicate with the common sewer, and to be -quite open, or untrapped; they ordered it immediately to be effectually -trapped, and then no other case of fever occurred, although it continued -to be occupied as before; and, when I learned the case, more than a -twelvemonth had passed.”” - -Have you met with cases analogous to the one here stated?—I have met -with several such cases. I know of an instance where a room in an old -house had an offensive stench, and the health of the person living in it -was always bad. A stench was perceived in the room, which it was guessed -might arise from the decay of dead rats in the wainscot. The party went -to much expense to pull down the wainscot, when it was found that there -was an opening which communicated with the cesspool below. The hole was -properly cemented and stopped up, and the room has since that time -become quite habitable and healthy; and where I have directed the -cesspools to be emptied, as the predisposing cause, the general result -has been that the sick have immediately got well. From my knowledge of -the local causes I can predicate, with certainty, what will be the -general effect on the health in the case of removal of the parties. - -Besides the houses of the labouring classes, are there many houses of -the middling classes in your district in the city of London that are -provided with cesspools?—Many houses that I go into are provided with -cesspools. I mentioned the other day to a lady that I should never be -enabled to keep her well so long as there was a cesspool in the house; I -told her that the expense of continued medical attendance would pay for -a communication with the common sewer and better cleansing. - -Are you aware that a new practice has arisen of preventing the -accumulation of deposits in the sewers, by flushes of water, which -remove all deposits weekly, and so far prevent the year’s accumulation -and corruption of deposits in the sewers. If this system were enforced -in the city, have you any doubt as to the extensive prevention of -disease and mortality which would be thereby effected amongst all -classes?—Certainly it would be a great boon, in a sanitary point of -view, to the population of the city of London. I am so much convinced of -this, that in my own house I put a stick under the handle of the -water-closet, so as to have a continued flow or flush of water for some -length of time; this I do to remove any accidental accumulation. Of -course the flushing of the common sewers would have the same effects. - -Besides the accumulations in the sewers, is there at this time no -decomposing refuse from the defective cleansing of the courts and -bye-streets, and poorer districts?—Yes; in the poorer districts there is -accumulation. In one court, for example, called Harrow-court, -Thames-street, where there is almost always low fever, there is always -dirt and filth, and I am constantly exhorting the people to remove the -filth; but the great difficulty with the poor people is commonly how to -get the water. There is a court in Cornhill which a man was cleansing -the other day by applying a hose to the water-cock (which is used in -case of fire), in order to cleanse the pavement. An officer belonging to -the water company coming by, said, “If I see you doing that again, I -shall indict you.” - -Are you aware that the streets are swept oftener than weekly in the city -of London?—My impression is—not oftener. - -It has been proposed that water should be laid on, and kept at high -pressure in the streets, so as to enable the courts and alleys, the foot -and the carriage pavements, to be washed daily by means of a hose -attached to the water-pipes. This, which has been proposed for -protection against fire, as well as for cleansing the streets more -completely, has, I am informed, been done in Philadelphia. If the system -were carried out in the city of London, what do you conceive would be -the effect on the health of the population in the poorer districts?—I -should certainly say that it would tend greatly to prolong life amongst -the population. - -From the mortuary registries it appears that the average duration of -life among the professional persons and gentry in the city of London, -who live in better cleansed and ventilated houses, and better cleansed -streets, is, on the average of the whole class, about 43 years, and 6 -per cent. of the deaths are deaths from epidemic disease; whilst among -the labouring classes the proportion of deaths from epidemic disease is -19 per cent., and the average age of all who die is only 22 years. With -such sanitary regulations as are under the public control of the public -authorities, to what extent do you think it probable the duration of -life amongst the labouring classes may be extended?—So far as I can -judge, without examination of the particular cases, I should say that -the average might be extended one-half at the least. - -The majority of the cases of epidemic diseases may decidedly be ascribed -to the want of cleanliness and ventilation. On looking over the mortuary -registry of the deaths occurring in Upper Thames-street and the district -attached to it, I find the causes of death most frequently registered -are “low fever,” “low fever,” occurring one after the other. This -recurrence of low fever corresponds with my experience of sickness, -which so often assumes the character of low typhoid nervous depression. -The medicine I use in the greatest quantity is ammonia, as an active -diffusive stimulus. For all classes this medicine is in constant use. In -damp weather we have always much increase of this illness: the dampness -produces a depression which lays them open to the atmospheric poison. - -Have you had instances where better cleansing has taken place and -illness diminished?—Yes; for example, in Ireland-yard, containing a -large number of families of coal-heavers and others, a place which I -never was out of from continued illnesses: the yard has been much better -cleansed, the houses put in better order, and now there is very little -illness there. I know for a fact, that in the neighbourhood of -London-wall, where recently great improvements have taken place in the -sewerage and ventilation, disease has greatly diminished, especially -_low fever_. Formerly they had a sewer which used to be stopped up and -overflowed; they have had of late a new sewer, which now works better; -they have no stink or stench in the kitchens, as formerly, and they have -nothing of the same kind of disease going on there that they used to -have before. - -Are the houses in Ireland-yard occupied by the same inhabitants?—Just by -the same class. The habits of coal-heavers are reputed to be none of the -best in respect to general cleanliness or temperance. - -Have you observed any alteration in their habits?—Not in the least. - -Have you observed what is the personal condition of the natives of -London?—The real cockney is generally of stunted growth. - -Have you observed whether the children born in London of parents who -have come from the rural districts are as tall or as strong as the -parents?—Generally shorter children, though some of them are as tall, -but all are of comparatively weakly constitutions; they are particularly -predisposed to strumous disease. I have been so impressed with the -effect of children living in a London atmosphere, that I have been -anxious to send them out of it when possible. - -Does not defective cleansing, as causing atmospheric impurity, not only -tend to produce disease and shorten the duration of life, but depress -the physical condition of the population?—Decidedly. - - - No. 5. - - - _Dr. Wray_, Medical Officer of the West London Union. - -You have read what is stated by Mr. Blencarne, and by Mr. Abrahams—do -you generally agree with them as to the effects of defective cleansing, -on the condition of the population?—I agree with the whole of what they -state; it perfectly accords with my own experience, which has been about -25 years in this district. I have during that time observed a great -falling off in the condition of the children; they are stunted, squalid, -poor-looking things, and there is a great deal of deformity amongst -them. - -Have you observed moral effects attendant on the physical -depression?—Yes; I have observed a great deal in our neighbourhood. I -think the females of the poorer classes who are not strong for work, are -more apt to take to courses of livelihood other than by work;—that very -many of them go upon the town. - - - No. 6. - - -_Mr. Thomas Porter_, Surgeon to the St. Botolph’s Bishopsgate District. - -Have you observed any emanations from the sewers in your district?—In -Liverpool-street there is now a cleansing of the sewers by opening the -top, taking the soil out, and carting it away. - -What is the effect of this process?—It vitiates the atmosphere to a -considerable extent. - -Have you observed any effects from it?—I have often found headache to -result from it to myself, and parties have complained to me of the same -effects. - -What is the state of the drainage?—There are some districts, such as -Halfmoon-street, which are imperfectly drained, where the cesspools are -suffered to overflow and run along the kennels at the sides -of the street, causing fœtid and deleterious exhalations; -in this street and the alleys opening into it, especially -Thompson’s-court, Thompson’-rents, Baker’s-court, Providence-place, and -Campions-buildings, fever prevails nearly the whole year round. It also -prevails very much in Bligh’s-buildings, Lamb-alley, Dunning’s-alley, -Sweet Apple-court, Montague-court, Artillery-lane, Rose-alley, and -Catherine-wheel-alley. These places, all of which are badly drained and -not regularly cleansed, are seldom without fever for any length of time. - -In these places are there any water-closets?—No; they have nothing but -common necessaries, which are usually allowed to run over before they -are emptied, and it is impossible to enter the tenements without being -assailed by the disagreeable and unhealthy effluvia thence arising. - -Have they water laid on in the rooms of the several tenements?—Seldom in -the rooms; generally in some place in the court to which they all go. -Many have not that even, and they resort to the common street pumps. I -do not remember an instance where water is properly laid on in any house -of the labouring classes. - -What rents are paid for houses in this condition?—Rent for one room is -from 1_s._ 6_d._ to 4_s._ 6_d._ per week. The rents are very high in -proportion to the size and accommodation of the rooms. - -You say you have observed emanations from the sewers within your -district?—Yes; they are frequently very offensive in moist warm weather. -You may, indeed, almost tell the condition of the weather from the -smells from the public sewers. Recently in returning from Islington -along the City-road from the Canal bridge to Finsbury-square, and along -Sun-street, I noticed in passing near the gratings, as every person must -have noticed, a peculiarly offensive effluvium. - -Within the city itself have you perceived the same effluvium on passing -the gratings of the sewers?—Frequently; it is so general that no -particular place is distinguished by being free from it. - -Suppose a tradesman or a merchant returning from Change in a state of -depression from anxiety passing through a street, exposed to a -succession of smells and breathing the effluvium from such sewers; what -is likely to be the effect upon him?—A low nervous fever, with -considerable gastric derangement. The greater part of fever cases which -I have to treat are of this description. - -Is that with every class of persons?—Yes, with every rank of life. They -are mostly of the low or typhoid type, and do not bear depletion. In my -ordinary course of treatment I generally begin by emptying the stomach -and bowels, and by lowering the diet. I then use a moderately -stimulating treatment with a perfect absence of solid food. - -Is gross feeding or excess very common amongst the people of your -district?—Not very common. Excess from drinking is more frequent than -excess from eating. - -In what proportion will there be of excess from eating or drinking in -such cases?—Amongst the labouring classes perhaps there may be one case -in ten from excess of drinking, and one case in thirty from excess of -eating. - -If these excesses had taken place in a purer atmosphere, do you conceive -the results in disease would have followed?—In most instances the system -in a pure atmosphere would have thrown off the inconvenience without -fever. - -Then excess or depression both predispose to the attacks of disease from -atmospheric impurity, and especially to the direct influence of the -effluvium in question?—Yes, certainly; excess of watching, want of rest, -mental anxiety, every depressing cause predisposes to an attack. - -Besides the defects in respect to the cleansing of the cesspools and the -drains, are there not defects in respect to other portions of cleansing, -such as dust-bins neglected?—Yes, in those places there is no person to -regulate or to see that done which ought to be done; consequently the -dustmen and scavengers duty is much neglected, and places are filled -with decomposing remains, which remain there two or three weeks in -summer and much longer in winter. The carelessness of the people -themselves as to cleanliness is also deplorable, as it operates very -injuriously on their health and comfort; the floors of their rooms, the -passages, stairs, and landings are often suffered to remain unwashed for -weeks and months, and the walls and ceilings are seldom cleansed or -whitened, so that what with filthiness of one kind or other they present -an appearance of wretchedness beyond all description. - -What is the condition of the children born or kept in courts or places -of the condition you describe, with badly cleansed drains, with privies, -and without water or conveniences for cleansing introduced into their -habitations?—The children are, for the most part, of delicate or weak -frame, and subject to struma. The health of children depends partly -whether they were born in such places or not, whether their parents on -each side are Londoners, as there appears to be a gradual decline in -physical power by a long continuance in a vitiated atmosphere, which -passes from parent to progeny, and partly also in a family where one -part of the children have been born and brought up in the country and -the other in town; those born in the country, and not coming into London -until they are five years of age, will have comparatively strong frames, -and will resist such influences, whilst those born in town will be -comparatively of delicate frame, weakly and strumous, liable to -glandular disease, and diseased affections of the joints and the spine. -Generally they are shorter in stature, sometimes they are taller, but -then they are slender and very delicate, in which case they are likely -to have bending of the limbs. - -What is the condition of females born under such circumstances?—I have -observed that the females are less depressed than the males, and are -reared with less difficulty. - -Why is this so?—I have not been able to determine. It may be that the -male requires more extensive and powerful exercise, and that in pure -air, than the female, and consequently that the female suffers less from -the want of it. - -What are the moral characteristics of the population brought up under -these depressing physical circumstances?—They have decided unwillingness -to labour. They are not so strenuous as the more healthy people from the -country. They are more apt to resort to subterfuge to gain their ends -without labour. Light employments they do not object to, and do -comparatively well in. But it is difficult to keep a native of London, -either male or female to heavy work; they will avoid it if they can. The -cause is in most cases physical from the deficiency of ability to -labour. The greatest part of them are mentally irritable and impatient -under moral restraint. - -Is any similar difference marked on the condition of the children of -tradespeople between those children of tradespeople brought up in London -and those born in the country?—Yes, there is a similar difference -perceptible, but less in degree. Amongst tradesmen, too, it is the -extensive practice of the parents to send their children out of town to -school or on visits, which may powerfully affect them beneficially. In -the tradesman’s family they have better sleeping rooms, and greater -cleanliness in person, and in bed and body linen, and also a better -regulated dietary. - -What is the effect of such atmospheric impurities as those described in -the chances of recovery from attacks of disease?—It lessens the chances -of recovery and greatly impedes convalescence. Indeed, in many -instances, very little progress can be made until the patient is sent -out into the country. In a case of fever which occurred to a strong -healthy man, aged 24, a carman, in a close neighbourhood, the house -being without drains and ill ventilated; no progress could be effected -until he was removed into the country, although the fever had decidedly -subsided. I believe that in this case something else would have -supervened, had he not been removed. I frequently remove patients in a -respectable condition, finding no chance of recovery without it. Many of -the better conditioned houses being badly adapted for the treatment of -fevers, having low ceilings and insufficient ventilation. - -What will be the difference in respect to the time of cure or -convalescence between a well and an ill-cleansed neighbourhood?—A -difference of perhaps one-half. - -Suppose the rooms of each house supplied with water, the privies and -cesspools removed, drains from the houses to sewers, and the sewers so -constructed as to be cleansed, and to convey away daily such refuse as -that which is allowed to remain decomposing in the close courts during -weeks. Supposing the surfaces of the streets cleansed as frequently -after the manner in use in Philadelphia and other towns where they are -cleansed with water daily, to what extent do you conceive disease would -be reduced?—Of fevers two-thirds certainly, and other diseases would be -considerably lessened. - - - No. 7. - - - _Mr. John H. Paul_, Surgeon, Medical Officer of the City of London - Union. - -In what condition in respect to cleanliness are the courts and other -places within your district, chiefly inhabited by the labouring -classes?—The cleansing of the courts and alleys in my district is -defective. I agree with what Mr. Blenkarne says in respect to cesspools. -For instance, in one room in a house in Sugar Loaf-court, Garlick-hill, -next to their common cesspool, I have frequently attended patients, and -before going, I surmise that whatever disease they are primarily -affected with, it will generally run into one of low character with -tendency to typhus. In the interval of little more than a twelvemonth, I -have attended several occupants of the house, one after the other, who -have all been, to a certain extent, similarly affected. I have generally -improved their health by giving diffusive stimuli, and have occasionally -prevailed on them to remove. - -How many visits in the year may you have paid to this same -house?—Upwards of forty visits. But there are other houses where there -are similar evils, where I have had occasion to visit them still more -frequently. In one house in Star-court, Bread Street-hill, which is -similarly situated, where almost the whole of the inmates were laid up -with fever, and where I had to visit it three times a day for upwards of -three weeks. There were deaths on each floor of that house. Fever -assumed, at one time, so malignant an aspect, that there appeared to be -no possibility of saving them, except by removal. I do not remember one -case of a removal in time where death ensued. The ward inquest had the -inhabitants removed, and the house cleansed. - -But was the cesspool removed?—Emptied but not removed. - -Then in time you will have a recurrence of the same evils in the place -in question?—Yes, certainly. - -What is the condition of children brought up in such places?—Generally -pale and emaciated, scrofulous, and apt to mesenteric disease. - -You were medical attendant at the Norwood school, where the pauper -children from the city of London are taken. Do you think, that on a view -of the children, and without any positive knowledge of the sort of -residences of the parents of the children, you could on the view select -from the rest, the children who came from the courts and alleys, such as -you have described in the city of London?—I have but little doubt of it, -though generally speaking the children from the city were of rather a -better description than those from more crowded localities. Indeed, the -courts and alleys of my district are superior to those in other quarters -of the metropolis. They are situated near the banks of the Thames with a -considerable fall towards the river. Some parents also take their -children much out into the open air, and in these the influence of the -place would not be so visible, but with the majority there would be but -very little mistake. Whilst at Norwood, my chief trouble arose from this -sick and diseased class of children, who generally improved very much -after being there some little time. - -What was the moral condition of these physically depressed children, as -compared with other pauper children, whose position had been less -unfavourable?—The moral condition of this depressed class of children -was generally worse also. - - - No. 8. - - -_Effects observed of Dark, Ill-ventilated, and Ill-drained Localities on - the Moral and Physical Condition of the Population of Paris._ - -Dr. la Chaise, in his Medical Topography of Paris, which is an early -attempt to investigate the influence of localities on the moral and -physical condition of a population, gives the following description of -the physical condition of the short-lived population bred up in the -narrow and dark streets, and ill-cleansed and badly ventilated houses of -Paris, which description may serve for comparison with those given of -the native population in the crowded and badly cleansed districts of -London. - -“The Parisian,” he says, “in stature is often below what is commonly -termed middle-size. His fair skin, soft to the touch, forms a striking -contrast to that of the inhabitant of small towns, and, above all, to -the countryman, who is more exposed to the various changes of the -weather, and to the action of the sun and light. The hair of the -Parisian is generally fair or light brown, and his eyes blue. His -muscular frame is little developed, so that the form has on the whole a -feminine appearance. In the labouring class the muscles of the lower -limbs are sometimes developed, but irregularly and incompletely, which -is explained by the exercise given exclusively to certain muscles by -their employment or handicraft; these irregularities of development are -much less frequent in the rural districts where the movements, and -consequently muscular actions, are much more equally divided. The -temperament, that is to say the physical constitution peculiar to the -Parisian, differs, as is perceived, from each of the distinct and -determined forms admitted by physiologists. He seems to partake of the -union of many,—to be intermediate between those which are recognized -under the names nervous, bilious, and lymphatic-sanguine; the first -seems, however, to predominate. - -“It is not, however, rare to meet in Paris with physical constitutions -entirely in the extremes and contrasted with each other; that is to say, -there are here, as in other large towns, large numbers of weakly and -debilitated, vulgarly called sickly, and others with hollow chest and -tall slim figure. - -“The women of Paris are rather pretty than handsome; without regular -features, they owe to the development of the cellular tissue, and to the -fairness and fineness of the skin, a certain softness of form which is -very graceful; and a quick and spiritual eye makes one forget the -paleness of their cheeks. - -“Considered morally, the portrait of the Parisian presents colours which -are not impossible to seize, notwithstanding their great variety. He may -be said generally to be lively, spiritual, industrious, and deserving -the name of frivolous. Much less perhaps is given him. He is -inquisitive, and carries into his work a taste, an ardent imagination, -and inventive mind, which he is willing to believe should compensate for -sustained activity. There necessarily results from this a great nervous -susceptibility, an _encéphalique_ predominance, which it is important to -the physician never to overlook. - -“If a sound and firm organization allows a few to resist the effects of -this premature exercise of the organ of thought, a rapid increase in its -functions always shows itself in the injury done to the other organs, -and generally to the muscular system, which bear the marks of feebleness -and often of deplorable languor. In this life, too active morally and -too indolent physically, the nervous system acquires not what is -vulgarly called a feebleness or delicacy, but a susceptibility, or -rather a predominance, which is affected by the least shock. Hence that -fickleness, and that vivacity of desires, that changeableness in the -tastes, in a word that coquetry, that unequal and whimsical moody -character, those caprices and vapours. The character is not alone -affected by this excess of susceptibility; all the organs, the whole of -the economy of the body feels it in turn; the nervous system acts -particularly on the uterus, developes it prematurely; thus the women -generally arrive at puberty much earlier at Paris than in the provinces, -and especially than in the country. It is not unfrequent to find young -girls of 12 or 13 fully formed and capable of becoming mothers, whilst -in the country, even in the south, they do not attain that period till -the age of 15 or 16.” - - - No. 9. - NOTE TO PAGE 128, ON SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN’S PLAN FOR EXTRA MURAL - INTERMENTS, AND FOR EXCLUDING GRAVEYARDS ON THE REBUILDING OF THE CITY - OF LONDON. - -Whosoever examines the various modern plans for the improvement of the -metropolis, and compares them with the plan of the architect of St. -Paul’s, will see in them only small approximations to his conceptions, -and that they only provide for a few large openings, without reference -to any general sanitary considerations, and without providing for the -mass of the population, whereas he was for “excluding all narrow dark -alleys without thoroughfares, and courts,” such as are commonly left -untouched in the new lines of streets; and he had provided that not only -“all church yards,” but “all trades that use great fires, or yield -noisome smells, be placed out of town.” If, as is confidently maintained -on such evidence as that before referred to, _ante_ p. 22 and 25, the -proportions of death might even now be reduced by one-third in the city -of London by better drainage and other sanitary measures (independently -of the removal of those courts and alleys, &c.), on the evidence of the -proportions of mortality actually prevalent in districts such as he -would have constructed, facilitating, and almost necessitating by -regular lines an early and more systematic drainage below the streets, -as well as a free and copious flow of fresh air from above, it may be as -confidently maintained that the mortality and numbers of burials would -have been reduced in like proportions from the period of the rebuilding -of the city. The whole of the deformed area stands as a monument of the -disasters incurred to the living generation, by a weak and careless -yielding, not of the present to the future, but of the present itself, -to blind and ignorant impulses, which have entailed immense -demoralization, waste of health, and life and money, and a large -proportion of the evil which now depresses the sanitary condition of the -population of that particular district which his improvements would have -covered. “The practicability of this whole scheme,” says the Parentalia, -“without loss to any man or infringement of any property, was at that -time fully demonstrated, and all material objections fully weighed and -answered; the only, and as it happened, insurmountable difficulty, was -the obstinate averseness of a great part of the citizens to alter their -old properties, and to recede from building their houses again on the -old ground and foundations, as also the distrust in many, and -unwillingness to give up their properties, though for a time only, into -the hands of public trustees or commissioners, till they might be -dispensed to them again, with more advantages to themselves than -otherwise was possible to be effected; for such a method was proposed, -that by an equal distribution of ground into buildings, leaving out -churchyards, gardens, &c. (which are to be removed out of the town), -there would have been sufficient room both for the augmentation of the -streets, disposition of the churches, halls, and all public buildings, -and to have given every proprietor full satisfaction; and although few -proprietors should happen to have been seated again directly upon the -very same ground they had possessed before the fire, yet no man would -have been thrust any considerable distance from it, but been placed, at -least, as conveniently, and sometimes more so, to their own trades than -before.” “By these means the opportunity, in a great degree, was lost of -making the new city the most magnificent, as well as commodious, for -health and trade of any upon earth, and the surveyor being thus confined -and cramped in his designs, it required no small labour and skill to -model the city in the manner it has since appeared.” The plan was -approved by the King and the Parliament, but opposed by the corporation, -who, it is stated in a history of the city institutions, by one of its -officers, conceived that they would have lost population and trade by -the plan; _i. e._, they would have been spread beyond its jurisdiction. -But on both points this policy was dreadfully mistaken. Only a -burthensome population is obtained by overcrowding, that is to say, a -larger than the natural proportions of the young and dependent, of -widowhood, and early and destitute orphanage, and of sickly and -dependent, and prematurely aged adults. As an example of the coincidence -of pecuniary economy with enlarged sanitary measures, it may be -mentioned, that it is shown in a report on a survey made for sanitary -purposes by Mr. Butler Williams of the College of Civil Engineers, -Putney, that a loss of not less than 80,000_l._ per annum is now -incurred in carriage traffic alone on two main lines of street, namely, -Holborn Hill to the Bank, and Ludgate Hill to the same point, being made -crooked and with steep acclivities instead of straight and level, as Sir -Christopher Wren designed them. It is to be regretted that the -discussions on the rebuilding of Hamburg have presented an instance of a -similar conflict of local interests, which, in a few instances, has been -so far successful as to preserve several dense masses of crowded and -unwholesome habitations for the poorer classes, in the face of the -recent experience of the sort of population which, to the surprise of -the better classes of inhabitants, issued out of them and made the city -at the time of its destruction a scene of plunder and anarchy more -terrible than the fire itself. - - - No. 10. - LETTER FROM THE TOWN CLERK OF STOCKPORT, ON INFANTICIDES COMMITTED - PARTLY FOR THE SAKE OF BURIAL MONEY. - - DEAR SIR, _Stockport, 25th January, 1843._ - -I have no doubt that infanticide to a considerable extent has been -committed in the borough of Stockport; and I have been professionally -engaged in prosecuting two distinct charges of infanticide, of which I -give you the following summary:— - -The first case was against Robert Standring, by trade a hatter. He had a -female child about sixteen years of age, who, from imbecility, was not -very likely to obtain her own living. One morning, about five o’clock, -he sent her to call up a labouring hatter, with whom he (the father) was -going to work during the day; but, previous to his so sending her, he -gave the child some coffee. After the child’s return she was seized with -vomiting, and all the usual symptoms of illness caused by mineral -poison, and died during the course of that day. The coroner (the late -Mr. Hollins) held an inquest on the body, but refused to allow any -surgical examination; and charging the jury that the death was a natural -one, such a verdict was returned. In about three months afterwards, the -case, and some suspicious circumstances, came to the knowledge of the -Stockport police; and I was consulted as town-clerk and clerk to the -justices. The magistrates issuing a warrant for the exhumation of the -body, I attended with a competent surgeon and chemist (Mr. John Rayner), -and a large—very large quantity of arsenic was found in the stomach, and -all parts of the body which could be affected by arsenic taken -internally were remarkably preserved from putrefaction. Standring, being -apprehended, was tried before Mr. Justice Coleridge at the Chester -Assizes. The judge apparently summed up for a conviction; but the jury, -after a long deliberation, returned a verdict of acquittal. The verdict -was an extraordinary one, and can only be accounted for by the general -feeling against capital punishments, which enables so many criminals -(capitally indicted) to escape any punishment. - -The inducement for this murder, so far as it could be ascertained, was -of a twofold character; partly to obtain money from the burial friendly -societies, in which Standring had entered his child as a member, and -from which he received about 8_l._, and partly to free himself from the -future burthen of supporting the child. The judge, in summing up the -case for the consideration of the jury, remarked upon the apparent -inadequacy of the motives for the murder; but, with all due deference to -his lordship, when it is known to be an established fact that Mr. -Ashton, a manufacturer of Hyde, was murdered by two miscreants whose -only inducement was 10_l._ divided between them, there can be no scale -laid down to indicate the lowest price for murder. - -The other case involved no less than three distinct cases of murder. -Robert Sandys, and Ann his wife, and George Sandys, and Honor his wife, -were brothers and sisters-in-law, living in Stockport, in two adjoining -cellars. They were bear or mat makers. Robert had two sons and two -daughters, all young children, and George had a female child also very -young. Two of the female children of Robert Sandys were one morning -taken very ill, and one of them died the same day, under very suspicious -circumstances, the neighbours publicly declaring that the children must -be poisoned. These two girls (along with their brother, a little boy -about five years of age) having been in the morning of the illness in -the company of Bridget Ryley (a girl of inoffensive but imbecile mind), -their mother, Ann Sandys, after the neighbours said the children must -have been poisoned, said, “Oh, Bridget Ryley must have given them -something.” Bridget Ryley had given them some cold cabbage, which Ann -Sandys well knew, and the boy who had been with them was not at all -unwell. Bridget Ryley was apprehended, and by accident I was present at -the coroner’s inquest. I came in just at its termination, Bridget Ryley -being in custody, and Ann Sandys being about to close her examination. -After she had concluded her examination, which was very strong against -Bridget Ryley, she began to apologize for Bridget, saying, She did not -think the poor girl (as she called her) intended any harm to the child; -and she evidently wished to make it appear that the poisoning was all a -matter of accident. Bridget Ryley was then asked to say what she knew -about the business, and she earnestly protested her innocence, saying -the child had died of the same complaint as another child of Ann Sandys -had died of three weeks before. It appeared strange that the mother of -the child should both criminate and exculpate Bridget Ryley, and I -thought I could perceive a watchful restlessness in her eye, which ill -accorded with the probable grief of a bereaved parent; I therefore -communicated to the coroner my opinion that the mother of the children -might be the murderess, and that if so, the child which had been buried -three weeks before would also prove poisoned. The coroner thought it a -very proper inquiry, and adjourned the inquest, directing this other -child to be exhumed; and it proved to have been poisoned by arsenic. -Whilst this exhumation was taking place, Honor Sandys met one of the -constables, and she expressed a wish that they would not disturb her -dear little infant. The constable told me this, and directions were -consequently given for its immediate exhumation. Arsenic had also caused -the death of this child. Ann Sandys then said that Bridget Ryley must -have poisoned them all, and that a child which Bridget Ryley had nursed -had died in a similar way. (This was after Ann Sandys was in custody and -charged with this murder.) This last child so nursed by Bridget Ryley -was exhumed, but it had died a natural death. Now all these three -children so poisoned were in friendly burial societies, and their -parents would receive for their funerals about 3_l._ for each child. The -expense of the funeral would be about 1_l._, and the profit on each -murder 2_l._, and the liberation from the future expense of keeping the -child. - -At the ensuing assizes for Chester Mr. Justice Coltman postponed the -trial to enable the boy, the son of Ann Sandys, to be educated for -examination. This boy would have proved some very material facts as to -the mode in which the poison was administered, but as this did not come -out in evidence, as the boy was not considered capable of being examined -at the subsequent assizes, it is hardly fair now to state them. - -Mr. Justice Erskine tried the cases, and Robert Sandys was convicted, -but his wife Ann Sandys acquitted. I afterwards was told by one of the -jury that they acquitted her because they thought she acted under the -control of her husband, and they thought that justified her acquittal. -The judge and counsel had been silent on this point, satisfied with -their own knowledge, that in murder the wife, though acting with her -husband, is guilty and punishable, and thinking the jury as wise as -themselves. - -In consequence of an objection to the admissability of a statement made -by Ann Sandys before the coroner, and also to the form of the -indictment, judgment was respited to the following assizes. The judges -determined for the Crown on both points, and sentence of death was -passed on Robert Sandys. Afterwards, and without any communication to -the parties prosecuting, the sentence of death was commuted to -transportation for life. George and Honor Sandys were not tried, as the -evidence was not so conclusive against them, and Robert and Ann were -believed to be the principals in these murders. - -I know it to be the opinion of some of the respectable medical -practitioners in Stockport that infanticides have been commonly -influenced by various motives—to obtain the burial moneys from the -societies in question, and to be relieved from the burthen of the -child’s support. The parties generally resort to a mineral poison, -which, causing sickness, and sometimes purging, assumes the appearance -of the diseases to which children are subject; and as they then take the -child to a surgeon who prescribes after a very cursory examination, they -thus escape any suspicion on the part of their neighbours. Each child in -Sandys’ case was so treated, but they took care not to administer the -physic obtained. - -How to prevent these infanticides is a question of great difficulty. I -think these societies are of great use if under proper regulation and -inspection. These cases may be good argument for requiring the due -inspection, after death, of each child in a burial society by a surgical -examiner, who might judge, in most cases, whether a _post-mortem_ -examination were advisable or not; but as these societies are very -useful on the whole, the partial misuse of them cannot avail against -their general use. Probably an application to these societies of the law -applicable to life assurance companies might tend to prevent the crime -of infanticide. The object of these burial societies is the decent -interment of the deceased member. In life insurance companies no person -is by law allowed to recover from an insurance company more money than -the value of his interest in the life of the person whose life is -insured: for instance, should his interest in a life lease be worth -500_l._ he may insure and recover 500_l._, but not 600_l._ He therefore -receives by the policy that which he loses by the death, and no more. If -he has no interest the policy is void. Now, applying this principle to -these burial societies would make it necessary that some officer of the -society should prepare for and superintend the interment of the child, -and that no further sum than requisite for the decent interment should -be expended, and no money in any case should be paid to the friends of -the deceased; also, no party should be insured in more than one society. - -None of our registrars of births and deaths are medical men, and no case -of infanticide has been discovered through the instrumentality of the -Registration Act. - -I shall be glad to furnish you with the briefs in these cases of murder, -should you desire them, or with any further information in my power. - -In all four deaths each child was in a burial society, and arsenic was -indisputably the cause of death. - -I may also mention that each death was of a female child. The male -children, more likely to be useful to their parents, were in each case -spared. - - I have the honour to be, - Your most obedient servant, - HENRY COPPOCK, - _Town Clerk of Stockport, and - Clerk to the Stockport Union_. - - * * * * * - -[In answer to a subsequent inquiry, Mr. Coppock stated that at the time -the offences detailed in the above letter were committed, both the -parties were in employment. Standring was a hatter, in full work, and -making with industry 20_s._ a-week; the Sandys, Robert and George, were -mat-makers, not making more than from 7_s._ to 10_s._ per week each; the -women contributing, it is presumed, to the earnings of the family.] - - - No. 11. - A RETURN OF THE AVERAGE AGES AT WHICH DEATHS AND FUNERALS OCCURRED - DURING THE YEAR 1839 TO THE SEVERAL CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN THE SEVERAL - SUPERINTENDENT REGISTRARS’ DISTRICTS OF THE METROPOLIS. - - Also of the PROPORTIONATE NUMBERS of DEATHS to the POPULATION of - each such District: setting forth the excess in Numbers of Deaths - and Funerals in each such District above the proportionate Numbers - of Deaths and Funerals in healthy and well-conditioned Town - Districts: setting forth also the amount of Reduction of the - ordinary Duration of Life of each Class in the District, as - compared with the standards of Longevity afforded by the Insurance - Tables deduced from the experience of the Population of Carlisle, - and of the County of Hereford. - -The explanations given in respect to the totals inserted at § 37 are -applicable to the annexed district returns, which are only submitted as -the best approximations that can be obtained in the present state of the -registration. The practical bearing of the consideration of the ages of -deaths as well as the proportionate numbers of deaths on the subject of -provision for funerals is shown in §§ 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, also -§§ 160, 161, 163, 169, 173, and note to § 150, also § 205. For the sake -of those who are engaged as members of committees in the investigation -of the health of the populous towns and the causes of mortality, it may -be of public use to give full explanations of the principles on which -returns should be made to measure the relative pressure of those causes -in different localities, or amongst different classes of the community: -it may also be of use to show the necessity of careful provisions for -the registration of facts which are of great importance to every -community. - -Dr. Price, in his work on Annuities and Reversionary Payments, states -that in his time the proportion of deaths in London within the bills of -mortality was rather more than 1 to 22 of the population annually, which -he states as an equivalent proposition to saying that the average -duration of life to all who died was 22 years. Again he observes that— - -“One with another, then, they will have an expectation of life of 22½ -years; that is, one of 22½ will die every year.” p. 255. - -In p. 274, that— - -“In the dukedom of Wurtemberg, the inhabitants, Mr. Susmilch says, are -numbered every year; and from the average of 5 years, ending in 1754, it -appeared that taking the towns and country together, 1 in 32 died -annually. In another province which he mentions, consisting of 635,998 -inhabitants, 1 in 33 died annually. From these facts he concludes, that, -taking a whole country in _gross_, including all cities and villages, -mankind enjoy among them about 32 or 33 years each of existence. This -very probably is below the truth; from whence it will follow, that a -child born in a country parish or village has at least an expectation of -36 or 37 years; supposing the proportion of _country_ to _town_ -inhabitants, to be as 3½ to 1, which, I think, this ingenious writer’s -observations prove to be nearly the case in Pomerania, Brandenburg, and -some other kingdoms.” - -By Mr. Milne, in his work on Annuities, and in his article on Mortality -in the last edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, by Dr. Bissett -Hawkins, and by nearly all statistical writers, the proportions of -deaths to the population, and the average ages of death, are treated as -equivalent. Dr. Southwood Smith has been misled to adopt the same view. -He states in his work on the Philosophy of Health, p. 135, that “There -is reason to believe that the mortality at present throughout Europe, -taking all countries together, including towns and villages, and -combining all classes into one aggregate, is 1 in 36. Susmilch, a -celebrated German writer, who flourished about the middle of the last -century, estimated it at this average at that period. The result of all -Mr. Finlaison’s investigations is, that the average for the whole of -Europe does not materially differ at the present time.” “It has been -shown that the average mortality at present at Ostend is 1 in 36, which -is the same thing as to assert that a new-born child at Ostend has an -expectation of 35½ years of life.” - -Having of late had occasion to make rather extensive observations on -this subject, it appears to be a public duty to state, that in no class -of persons, in no district or country, and in no tract of time, has the -fact hitherto appeared to be in coincidence with this hypothesis; and -also that returns of the proportions of deaths to the population, when -taken singly as the exponents of the average duration of life, are often -mischievously misleading, exaggerating those chances of life sometimes -to the extent of double the real amount. If Dr. Price, instead of -resting satisfied with Susmilch’s hypothesis, had taken the actual ages -of the dying within the bills of mortality, he would have found only a -casual approximation to the hypothesis for the whole metropolis; and if -he had taken the worst conditioned districts, that, as applied to them, -it was in error full one-half. On Mr. Milne’s own data it appears that -the proportions of deaths to the population at Carlisle, instead of -coinciding with the ascertained average ages of death, 38·72, were in -the year 1780, 1 in 35; in 1787, they were 1 in 43; and in 1801, they -were 1 in 44. Having caused an average to be deduced from the actual -ages of 5,200,141 deaths which occurred in the Prussian States from 1820 -to 1834, instead of 36 years, the actual average age of deaths was only -28 years and 10 months. The average ages of death in France, as deduced -from Duvillard’s table, founded on the experience of one million of -deaths, instead of being 36 years, was 28 years and 5 months. - -The public errors created and maintained by taking the proportions of -deaths as exponents of the average ages of death, or of the chances of -life to the population, may be illustrated by reference to the actual -experience amongst nearly two millions of the population, or upwards of -forty-five thousand deaths in thirty-two districts, equivalent to as -many populous towns, which the Registrar-General has obligingly enabled -me to examine for the year 1839. - -The Carlisle table is taken as the standard for the duration of life, to -measure the loss of life in the several districts, as it gives the -probability of life from infancy, well ascertained for one town, and -nearly coincides with the experience of the annuity offices on the -select class of lives insured by them, and with the results which I have -obtained from the mortuary registries showing the average age of death -in the county of Hereford. Each of the recognized insurance tables may, -however, be used. If the Carlisle table be taken, the chances of life at -infancy would be 38·72; by the Chester table it would be 36·70; by the -Northampton, 25·18; by the Montpellier table, 25·36; by the last Swedish -table, 39·39; by the experience of Geneva, 40·18. After the attainment -of twenty years of age these several tables give the chances of life as -follows:—by the Carlisle table it would be 41·46; by the Chester table, -36·48; by the Northampton table, 33·43; by the Montpellier table, 37·99; -by the Swedish table, 39·98; by the Geneva experience, 37·67; and by the -experience of the Equitable Society, 41·67. For civic purposes in this -country, the most important period for considering the chances of life -is after coming of age, or after the attainment of twenty-one years; the -average ages of all who die above that age in each district of the -metropolis are therefore given to illustrate the extent of loss of life -to each class of adults, which is the more important to be observed, as -it has been hastily supposed that the pressure of the more common and -removable causes of disease is almost exclusively upon the infant -population. - -In illustration of the errors occasioned by taking the proportions of -deaths as the exponent of the duration of life; if we take the -proportions of deaths in the district of Islington, with its population -of 55,720, we find the deaths for the year only 1 to every 55 of the -population, which would appear to be a highly healthy standard; whereas, -when we examine the average age of death of all of that population who -have died during that year, we find it to be only 29 years: in other -words, we find that the average duration of the period of existence has -even in that district been shortened by at least nine years to all, and -to an extent of at least six years on the average to the class of -adults. If we examine the pressure of the causes of death upon each -class of the community, in the same district, we find that the class of -artisans, instead of attaining 39 _years_, have, on the average, been -cut off at 19 years; and hence that children and adults, and on the -average all those of the labouring classes who have died, have been -deprived of 20 years of the natural expectation of life; and that even -the class of adults who have died have been deprived of 15 years of -working ability, involving extensive orphanage and premature widowhood. -If we take such a district as Bethnal Green, inhabited by weavers and a -badly conditioned population, the returns of the proportionate number of -deaths to the population (1 in 41) would lead to the supposition of an -average vitality of nearly double the real amount, which appears from -this year’s return to be only 22 years for the whole population. For the -working classes in that district it is no more than 18 years. If we -carry investigations closer, and into the local causes of the mortality, -we have them developed in such evidence as that given by Mr. T. Taylor, -one of the registrars of that district;—or in other districts by such -information as that given by Mr. Worrell, the registrar of St. Pancras, -or by registrars of St. George’s, Hanover Square, or by the registrar of -a district of Marylebone, where we find the state of overcrowding (noted -in § 26), combined with the insufficient supplies of water, the -defective drainage and neglect of cleansing which is described in the -answers—attended by a reduction of 12 years’ duration of life to the -adult artisans. In the opulent parish of St. George’s, Hanover Square, -it is attended by a loss of 16 years; in Marylebone and in St. Pancras, -by a loss of 17 years. The external and internal circumstances of the -labouring population, where such results have been obtained, vary -widely, and the results are commonly the mean of extreme differences. -For example, in the parish of St. Margaret’s, Leicester, which has a -population of 22,000, almost all of whom are artisans engaged in the -manufacture of stockings, where the average age of death in the whole -parish was, during the year 1840, 18 years, I succeeded in obtaining the -ages of death in the different _streets_, when it appeared that this -average was made up as follows:—Average age of deaths in the streets -that were drained (and that by no means perfectly) 23½ years; in the -streets that were partially drained, 17½ years; in the streets that were -entirely undrained, 13½ years. Though the defective drainage and -cleansing was the main cause, it was doubtless not the only cause of -this variation. That, however, was a year of a heavy mortality, and the -average age of death in that and another district during the years 1840, -1841, and 1842, was in the streets drained 25½ years; in those partly -drained 21, and those not drained, 17 years. The general average was 21 -years. The proportions of death to the population in Leicester were -during the same period, 1 in 36½. The inquiries promoted in the -districts of other towns have developed instances of large masses of -population amongst whom even lower average duration of life than any -noted in the first report is attendant on the circumstances described as -causes. - -So far as estimates of the number of the people before a census was -taken may be depended upon, it appears that the proportionate numbers of -deaths in the metropolis were, at the commencement of the last century, -1 to 20. At the time the first census was taken (1801) the proportion of -deaths to the population within the bills of mortality appeared to be 1 -to 39. At the present time it appears to be 1 to 40. Having had the -average ages of death within the bills of mortality in the metropolis -calculated from the earliest to the later returns published, they appear -to be, as far as they can be made out from the returns, which are only -given in quinquennial and decennial periods, as follows:— - -Of all returned as having died during the - - The average Age was - Years, Months. - 22 years, from 1728 to 1749 25 1 - 25 years, from 1750 to 1774 25 6 - 25 years, from 1775 to 1799 26 0 - 25 years, from 1800 to 1825 29 0 - 6 years, from 1826 to 1830 29 10 - -Thus, whilst it would appear from the proportionate numbers of deaths to -the population that the average duration of life in the metropolis has -doubled during the last century, it appears from the returns of the -average ages themselves that it has only increased four years and nine -months, or about one-fifth. The district of the old bills of mortality -comprehends little more than one-half of the metropolis. The average age -of death for the year 1839 for the whole metropolis, it will have been -seen, is only 27 years. So far as an average for that year for the old -district can be made out from the several recent district returns, it -would appear to be no more than 26 years. But the earlier mortuary -registration was known to be extremely defective, especially in the -registration of deaths in the poorer districts, and the recent lower -averages are ascribable to the closer registration of the infantile -mortality in those districts. The earlier returns are only to be -regarded in so far as the errors from period to period are likely to -have compensated each other; they are only adduced as indicating the -degree of proportionate progression, correspondent with the general -physical improvements of the population. But the slow general -improvement, made up by the great improvements of particular classes, is -consistent with the positive deterioration of others. The average age of -death of the whole of the working classes we have seen is still no more -than 22 years in the whole of the metropolis. In large sub-districts, if -we could distinguish accurately the classes of deaths, the average would -be found to be not more than half that period: a rate of mortality -ascribable to increased over-crowding and stationary accommodation, -greatly below anything that probably existed at the commencement of the -century. The chief errors in the existing returns are errors which cause -the extent of the evils which depress the sanitary condition of the -population, and the mortality consequent on those evils to be under -estimated. - -The erroneous conclusions as to the ages of the populations from the -proportions of deaths, have perhaps arisen from assumptions of the -existence of states of things rarely, if ever, found, namely, perfectly -stationary populations and perfectly stationary causes of death. I have -been asked “If 1 out of 40 die yearly, must not the average age of all -who die be 40 years?” The answer, by actual experience, as we have seen, -is, that it is often not 30 years; and perhaps the reason why it is not -so will be most conveniently illustrated by hypothetical cases. For -example, let it be assumed that in any given year 40 persons die out of -1600, which is in the proportion of 1 to 40, and in consequence of an -unusual prevalence of measles, or some disease to which children are -subject, the greater number of deaths occur amongst the infant portion -of the population, and hence, out of the 40 deaths, 20 occur at 5 years -of age, 10 at 25, and 10 at 60. Then the total existence had, would have -been (20 × 5) + (10 × 25) + (10 × 60) = 100 + 250 + 600 = 950 years, and -this divided by 40, the number who died would give 950/40 = 24 years -nearly as the average duration of life to each of the 40 who died. - -On the other hand, suppose a severe winter, in which the peculiar causes -of mortality may have pressed unusually heavy upon the older lives, and -let the numbers who died have been 20, at 60 years of age; 10 at 40; and -10 at 5; in such case, the total existence enjoyed would have been (20 × -60) + (10 × 40) + (10 × 5) = 1200 + 400 + 50 = 1650 years, which, -divided by 40, would give 1650/40 = 41¼ years as the average duration of -life to each. - -And again, where, in fact, the proportion of death in one year may be -represented as 1 death out of 20 of the population; the average -existence enjoyed may be greater than when 1 in 40 died for the reason -given in the former case. As for example, in the year when 1 in 20 died, -it may have happened that the deaths were among the older lives, and -that, taking one with another, the average age of all who died might be -50; while in the other case the mortality might have been amongst the -infant population, when the average age might have been 20. If the -proportion of 1 in 40, or 1 in 20, were to obtain each year -continuously, taking one life with another, the average duration to a -population just born, of whom 1 in 40 died, and whose place should be -supplied each year by a new birth, would be about 20 years to each life, -or one-half; and of a similar population, of whom 1 out of 20 died -annually, the average duration of life to each would be about 10 years, -or one-half the period at the expiration of which all the lives would -have expired. - -When these examples are considered, it will be understood that the -average age of death may remain stationary, or may go on increasing, -whilst the proportions of death remain the same, or vary. The actual -mortality of most districts is found to be coincident chiefly with its -physical condition, and is most accurately measured by the years of -vitality which have been enjoyed, _i. e._, by the average age of death. -The numbers of deaths increase or diminish considerably, and frequently -create erroneous impressions, whilst the average ages of death are found -to maintain a comparatively steady course, always nearest to the actual -condition of the population, and give the most sure indications. - -The chief test of the pressure of the causes of mortality is then the -duration of life in years: and whatever age may be taken as the standard -of the natural age or the average age of the individual in any community -may be taken to correct the returns of the proportions of death in that -same community. For example, in the returns of the St. George’s, Hanover -Square district, it appears that in 1839, the proportions of deaths was -1 to 50 of the population; but the average number of years which 1325 -individuals who died during that year had lived, was only 31 years, or 8 -years below the average period of life in Carlisle. There was then in -that district during that year a total loss of 10,600 years of life, -which at 39 years may be considered as equal to an excess of deaths of -272 persons, and in a healthy state the proportions of deaths should -have been 1 in 63 instead of 1 in 50 of the population. The excess in -numbers of deaths in the metropolis has been measured by this standard, -the total number of years of life, would in a healthy community have -been divided in portions of not less than 39 years to every individual -who died. - -The effect of migration or of emigration, in disturbing the results of -returns of the average ages of death in particular localities appears to -be commonly much exaggerated. - -As formerly, when navy surgeons, overlooking the filth of their ships, -which has since been removed, and not perceiving the effects of the -atmospheric impurities arising from the overcrowding, which have since -been diminished by better ventilation, directed their whole attention to -supposed distant causes and mysterious agencies, and were wont to -ascribe the whole of the fever which ravaged a fleet to infection from -some casual hand, who was found to have been received on board from some -equally filthy and ill kept prison where the “gaol fever” had been -prevalent; so now, in some of our towns, we find much ingenuity -exercised to avoid the immediate force of the facts presented by such -returns, by a search for collateral and incidental defects in them. Thus -in Liverpool the whole of its vast excess of mortality has been charged -upon the poorer passengers who pass through the port. In other towns -also, all the excess of deaths from epidemic or infectious disease is -charged upon the vagrant population. In New York and some of the -American cities, where inquiries have been stimulated by the example of -the sanitary inquiry in this country, a common observation made on the -proved excess of mortality is, that a large proportion of “foreigners” -frequent the city. An inquiry into the cases themselves would generally -show that if, instead of the proportion of the immigrant population -being: a small per-centage, it formed a very large proportion of the -population included: still the proportion per cent. of sickness and -mortality, from consumption and other diseases, amongst the resident -population, is the greatest; and that even in lodging-houses the disease -roost frequently appears first in the occupants who are stationary, and -last in the new comers. In some badly conditioned districts, where there -is a very severe mortality observable on children, a less proportionate -amount of mortality prevails amongst the adults who are migrant, than on -other adults resident in somewhat less depressed districts, but who are -more stationary. Of all classes (unless it be the higher classes who -resort to watering-places) it is not the sickly and the weakly who -travel for subsistence as handicraftsmen, or for subsistence in -commerce, but the healthy and robust. In so far as the general results -of mortuary registration of any district are disturbed by a population -who are migrant (who are not only above the average strength, but who -generally come with the additional advantage of health by travel in the -open air and in a purer atmosphere), they are usually disturbed by -unduly raising and giving the locality an appearance of an average of -health, and the fatally deceptive chances of longevity that do not -belong to it Whilst therefore the localities gain by the average health -and strength of the migrant population, other districts have the credit -of a share of the excess of disease and mortality which really belong to -unhealthy localities. In other words, the population migrating through -such districts carry away more disease and mortality from the crowded -districts than they take into them. If there had been a mortuary -registration at Walcheren, or any pestilential stations productive of an -excessive mortality in the army, the registries probably would not have -given the localities credit for more than half the mortality which -belonged to them. The real sickness and mortality of the more depressed -town districts are often made to appear lower than they are by the -number of cases treated in distant workhouses, hospitals, and -dispensaries, for which no credit is given to the locality where the -cause of death occurred. - -It would doubtless proportionately enhance the value of such returns as -those in question, if the rule were fully carried out that “the -population enumerated must always be precisely that which produces the -deaths registered;” the grand desideratum being, as expressed by Mr. -Milne, for insurance purposes, “to determine the number of annual deaths -at each age which takes place among the living at the same age;”[43] but -the facts cited of the greater proportion of adults, and of health in -those adults who are immigrant, will answer the objections to the -superior applicability to local or class insurance tables, deduced from -actual local observation of the local rate of mortality prevalent -amongst that population, whether migrant or stationary, and without -reference to the actual ages of the living (though that were desirable), -compared with deductions from any general insurance table, _i. e._ the -experience of a distant and wholly unconnected population. Deductions -from tables, however correctly made from the experience of other towns, -must he, and are proved, by such experience as that hereafter cited, to -be merely “guess-work.” Vide ‘General Sanitary Report,’ pp. 218, 219. -For myself, I make it a general rule of precaution neither to receive -nor adduce statistical returns as evidence without previous inquiry, -wherever it is possible, into the particulars on which they are founded, -or with which they are connected. I adduce them less as principal -evidence, proving anything by themselves, than as proximate measures, or -as indications of the extent of the operation of causes substantiated by -distinct investigations. The general conclusions which the facts that -have come to my knowledge tend to establish on the subject of the -experience of mortality are, that there is no general law of mortality -yet established that is applicable to all countries or to all classes, -or to all times, as commonly assumed; that every place, and class, and -period has rather its own circumstances and its own law, varying with -those circumstances; that the actual experience of any class or place, -or period, even with the disturbance of any ordinary amount of -migration, or immigration, or any ordinary influx of young lives from -births, is a safer guide than any experience deduced from the experience -of another people living at another time and place, or any assumed -general law. - -For many public purposes, I have submitted it as a desideratum that -population returns should give not merely the _numbers_ of each class, -or of those engaged in each distinct occupation, which only enables us -to resort to the fallacious standard of the proportionate numbers of -deaths, to judge of the mortality incidental to the class, but the total -ages of each class, which would serve as an index of alterations in the -sanitary condition of that same class. Such returns of the total ages -should, for the public use, be reduced to their simplest proportions. In -the form in which they are usually given, only in intervals of -quinquennial or decennial periods, they are extremely meagre, and -involve so much inaccuracy in any attempts that might be made to use -them, for the purpose of comparing district with district, as to be -generally useless. Whereas, if the ages of any class, or of the general -population living in any district, and the ages of those of them who -die, were reduced to the simplest proportions—that is, if the total -years of age, whether of the living or dying, were divided by the total -number of individuals from which the returns were made, the public would -be enabled to make comparisons between district and district, and to -judge of the relative degrees of pressure, in each, of the causes of -mortality. As the simple proportions of average ages of the living have -not yet, that I am aware of, been used, or even calculated in any -instance, I beg leave to exemplify them. - -Mr. Griffith Davies is theoretically of opinion, on a formula of De -Moivre, that in general the average age of death in any community is -necessarily higher than the average age of those living in the same -community: and that in a stationary population the average age of death -will, under ordinary circumstances, be in the ratio of 3 to 2 higher -than the average age of the living. I have had the average age of the -living population, on which the experience embodied in the Carlisle -Insurance table was founded, calculated: and if that may be considered -to have been a stationary population, the proportion of the ages of the -living to those of the dying was practically as about 3 to 4: for whilst -the average age of the dying was 38–3/10, the average age of the living -population was 32–9/10. The average age of the dying in Hereford, in -which the increase of population had been very slight, was 39. But the -average age of the living population, so far as it can be made out from -quinquennial returns, was 28 years and 5 months. On this and all returns -of the ages of the living, in the mode in which the returns have been -collected, allowance must be made for understatements of ages by some of -the adult members of the community. On the whole, the proportion of the -ages of the living to the dying appears to be in an ordinarily healthy -and stationary community, as about 3 to 4. - -As yet the observations have not been on a sufficiently wide basis; but -it appears that wherever there is any divergence between the average -ages of the living and the average ages of the dying, the divergence -beyond their natural proportions may be taken as indicating the -proportionate operation of some disturbing cause upon either line, as by -some extraordinary increase of births, or by immigration or emigration, -on the average ages of the living, and on the line of the average ages -of the dead. - -So far as I have been enabled to observe or collect from the extremely -imperfect data at present available to the public service, the line of -the average ages of the living is comparatively steady; the disturbances -by migration and immigration which often compensate each other, for the -same place and period, being much the same at different periods, and -seldom affect the results materially, whilst the variations in the -pressure of the causes of death from year to year, are usually -considerable, and warrant the assumption that in general the -disturbances occasioning the divergence described, are from the -operations of causes of death upon that line. Wherever the pressure of -the causes of death has yet been observed to be very great, there the -line of mortality, or the average age of death, is below, what may be -called, the line of vitality constituted by the average age of the -living; and wherever there is on the whole any diminution of those -causes of death, as by better ventilation, or by widening streets, -opening new thoroughfares, better supplies of water, sewering and -cleansing, and improvements in the general habits of the population, -there the line of mortality, the infantile mortality especially, -diminishes, the average age of each adult class, up to sexagenarians or -octogenarians, increases, and the average age of death ascends above the -average age of the living. The means of observation are as yet too few -to elicit more than indications for the guidance of sustained -investigation, to determine whether the divergence of the two lines may -be reduced to any rule. - -In Liverpool,—where the investigations into the condition of the -resident cellar population certainly show an increase of the causes of -death,—overcrowding, defective ventilation, bad supplies of water, and -increased filth,—the average age of death is, for the whole town, 17 or -18 years only, whilst the average age of the living population, so far -as it can be made out from the mode in which the census is prepared, is -24 years. As far as can be ascertained by reference to previous -registries of one large parish, where the ages of the dead were formerly -entered, the average duration of life in that town has gradually fallen. -The average ages of all who were buried in St. Nicholas parish between -the years 1784 and 1809 was 25. - -In Manchester, the average age of the living is 25 years, but the -average age of the dying is only 18. In Leeds, the average age of the -living is also 25 years, but the average age of the dying is only 21. - - Years. Months. - - The average age of all who _live_ in the town parishes - of Middlesex, so far as they can be made out from the 26 2 - only available materials,—the returns in quinquennial - periods,—is only - - But the average age of all who _die_, judging from one 27 0 - year’s return, appears to be about - -If, however, we allow for the understatement of ages, the two lines for -the whole metropolis would be nearly coincident. On the experience of -Carlisle and Hereford, the average age of death should be twelve years -higher. - -Arranging the several districts of the metropolis, in the order of the -average age of deaths, we find the average age of the living decrease -with the average age of the dying; and the proportion of births to the -population increase with the decrease of the average age of death. The -excess in the proportionate number of births beyond the proportions in -such a county as Hereford (1 to 44), where the average age of death is -much higher, and proportionate number of deaths to the population, -afford important indicia. - - ──────────────────┬────────┬─────────┬───────┬───────┬───────────────── - │Average │ Average │Propor-│Propor-│ - Districts in which│ Age of │ Age of │ tions │ tions │ Excess above - average Age of │Death in│ all who │ of │ of │ County of - Death of the whole│the Dis-│ live in │Births │Deaths │ Hereford in the - Population is │ trict, │the Dis- │to the │to the │ Number of: - │ of all │ trict. │ Popu- │ Popu- │ - │Classes.│ │lation.│lation.│ - ──────────────────┼────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────┼─────────┬─────── - │ │ │ │ │ Deaths │ - │ │ │ │ │ and │Births. - │ │ │ │ │Funerals.│ - ──────────────────┼────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────┼─────────┼─────── - │ Years. │yrs. mon.│ │ │ │ - Highest │ │ │ │ │ │ - (Comprising 2 │ │ │ │ │ │ - Districts.) │ 35│ 27 11│1 to 41│1 to 42│ 966│ 145 - Population │ │ │ │ │ │ - 120,678. │ │ │ │ │ │ - 1. Intermediate (6│ │ │ │ │ │ - Districts.) │ 30│ 27 5│1 to 39│1 to 46│ 1,836│ 639 - Population │ │ │ │ │ │ - 311,022. │ │ │ │ │ │ - 2. Intermediate │ │ │ │ │ │ - (12 Districts.) │ 27│ 26 11│1 to 33│1 to 40│ 7,457│ 5,718 - Population │ │ │ │ │ │ - 774,937. │ │ │ │ │ │ - Lowest (12 │ │ │ │ │ │ - Districts.) │ 23│ 26 5│1 to 30│1 to 41│ 5,705│ 6,822 - Population │ │ │ │ │ │ - 663,290. │ │ │ │ │ │ - ──────────────────┴────────┴─────────┴───────┴───────┴─────────┴─────── - -It will be observed that in the least healthy districts where the -pressure of the causes of mortality is the most extensive, the average -age of death falls nearly three years and a half _below_ the average age -of the living, whilst in the higher districts the line of mortality -rises towards the natural position, or nearly four years above it. But -it must still be borne in mind, in the inspection of the returns from -the highest district, that the average is made up of districts which are -probably retrograding, connected with others which are advancing,—of -districts such as are developed by Mr. Worrell, registrar, in his note -on one of the returns from St. Pancras, comprising streets, the -connected courts and alleys from which are widely as separate and -distinct in condition,—and, if I may use such an illustration, as little -appropriate for any average that could be represented by numerals—as -were the conditions of Lazarus and Dives. - -Even the lowest proportion of deaths to the population presented in the -district returns, that of Hackney, where it is only 1 to 56. appears to -be a proportion in excess by nearly one-eighth, _i. e._ the deaths from -epidemics, as well as the excess of more than one-third in the deaths of -children under 10 years of age. The return, from the healthiest district -in the returns, of the average age of deaths gives an average of 7 -years’ loss of life for the whole population; whilst for the _adults_ of -the middle classes it gives 10 years, and for the _adults_ of the -working classes 7 years’ premature loss of life. Even in the county of -Hereford where there is a proportion of deaths of 1 to 64 of the -population, and the standard of the Carlisle table of insurance where an -average age of 39 years of death is attained, it will be observed that -even this average includes a large proportion (542), or nearly 1-third -in the number of deaths under 10 years of age, and 123 or 1–14th deaths -from epidemics, besides others involving deaths from preventible causes. -Only 329, or 1 in 5 of the deaths in this very healthy county, were -deaths registered as from old age. By the removal of this excess of -deaths, the excess of births which replace them would even in these -districts be of course still further diminished. - -It may be conjectured that if there were the means of distinguishing -accurately the various classes of the living amongst whom these deaths -fall, the irregularity of the proportionate number of deaths which -probably arise amongst the labouring classes would be accounted for. The -present returns of the number of births do not distinguish the classes -amongst whom the births occur. Taking the districts in the order of the -average age in which deaths occur to the labouring classes, and -comparing the proportions of the deaths and funerals with the -proportions which occur in Hereford, the excess of deaths and funerals -was in 1839 as follows:— - - ┌──────────────────────────────┬───────────┬──────────────────────────┐ - │ │Average Age│Excess in Number of Deaths│ - │Districts in which average Age│of Death of│ of Artisans, &c., in the │ - │of Death of Artisans, &c., is │ Artisans, │District above the Deaths │ - │ │&c. in the │of Agricultural Labourers │ - │ │Districts. │ in Herefordshire. │ - ├──────────────────────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────┤ - │1. Highest number of the class│ 38│ 483│ - │ (comprising 2 Districts.) │ │ │ - │2. Intermediate (1) number of │ 27│ 548│ - │ the class (5 Districts.) │ │ │ - │3. Intermediate (2) number of │ 23│ 1,773│ - │ the class (10 Districts.) │ │ │ - │4. Lowest number of the class │ 20│ 4,121│ - │ (15 Districts.) │ │ │ - └──────────────────────────────┴───────────┴──────────────────────────┘ - -The totals of the subjoined district returns for the metropolis are as -follows:— - - ┌──────────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────┬────────┬─────────┐ - │ │ │ Number │Average │ Average │ - │ │ │ of │ age at │ age at │ - │ │ Number of deaths of each │ deaths │death of│death of │ - │ │ class. │ from │all who │the whole│ - │ │ │Epidemic│ die │ class, │ - │ │ │disease.│ above │including│ - │ │ │ │ 21. │children.│ - ├──────────────┼────────┬────────┬────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ │Children│ │ │ │ │ - │ │Adults. │under 10│ Total. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ years. │ │ │ │ │ - ├──────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │Gentlemen │ 1724│ 529│ 2253│ 210│ 60│ 44│ - │Tradesmen │ 3970│ 3703│ 7682│ 1428│ 51│ 25│ - │Labourers │ 12045│ 13885│ 25930│ 5469│ 49│ 22│ - │Paupers │ 3062│ 593│ 3655│ 557│ 60│ 49│ - │Undescribed │ 2996│ 2761│ 5757│ 1051│ 56│ 28│ - ├──────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │ Totals │ 23806│ 21471│ 45277│ 8715│ 53│ 27│ - └──────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴─────────┘ - -The following totals of the mortuary registration of the several -registrars’ districts in Hereford for the same year are given for -comparison:— - - ┌──────────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────┬────────┬─────────┐ - │ │ │ Number │Average │ Average │ - │ │ │ of │ age at │ age at │ - │ │ Number of deaths of each │ deaths │death of│death of │ - │ │ class. │ from │all who │the whole│ - │ │ │Epidemic│ die │ class, │ - │ │ │disease.│ above │including│ - │ │ │ │ 21. │children.│ - ├──────────────┼────────┬────────┬────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ │Children│ │ │ │ │ - │ │Adults. │under 10│ Total. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ years. │ │ │ │ │ - ├──────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │Gentlemen │ 49│ 19│ 68│ 2│ 65│ 45│ - │Farmers, &c. │ 205│ 45│ 250│ 14│ 60│ 47│ - │Labourers │ 833│ 324│ 1157│ 87│ 58│ 39│ - │Paupers │ 26│ 11│ 37│ 1│ 71│ 51│ - │Undescribed │ 124│ 143│ 267│ 19│ 68│ 30│ - ├──────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┤ - │ Totals │ 1237│ 512│ 1779│ 123│ 60│ 39│ - └──────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴─────────┘ - -The total number of births registered in the several districts in the -metropolis, where it is yet far from complete, in the year 1839, was -51,232, or 1 to 37 of the population. The total number of births -registered in Hereford during the same year was 2579, or 1 to 44. - -The positions advanced in the Sanitary Report of the greater proportion -of births in the districts where the deaths are the most frequent, is -confirmed in respect to the metropolis by a more recent return with -which I have been obligingly favoured by the Registrar-General, in which -he shows,— - - ┌──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┬────────────┐ - │ │ │ Ratio of │ - │ │ Proportion per cent. │ deaths to │ - │ │ │ births. │ - ├──────────────────────────────┼────────────┬────────────┼────────────┤ - │ │ Deaths. │ Births. │ │ - ├──────────────────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤ - │“Unhealthiest sub-districts │ 3·14│ 3·66│ 1 to 1·17│ - │Less unhealthy sub-districts │ 2·68│ 3·18│ 1 to 1·19│ - │Average sub-districts │ 2·43│ 3·35│ 1 to 1·38│ - │Healthier sub-districts │ 2·17│ 2·64│ 1 to 1·22│ - │Healthiest sub-districts” │ 1·87│ 2·47│ 1 to 1·32│ - ├──────────────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┤ - │“The mortality is 68 per cent. higher in the unhealthy than in the │ - │healthy sub-districts: the proportion of births is 48 per cent. │ - │greater in the unhealthy than in the healthy sub-districts.” │ - └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - -If the deaths in the metropolis during 1839 had been in the same -proportion to the population as they were in Hereford, there would have -been 8866 funerals less during that year. - -If the proportion of births in the metropolis during that year had been -the same as in Hereford, there would have been 16,053 births the less. - -Or to vary the illustration:— - -If the deaths in Hereford had been in the same proportion as the deaths -in the metropolis, the community in that county would during that year -have had 977 funerals the more. - -If the births in Hereford had been in the same proportion as in the -metropolis, there would during that year have been 540 births the more. - -If the deaths in the whole of England and Wales had been in the -proportions attained in some districts, and attainable in all, namely, 1 -in 50, there would during the year have been 31,866 funerals less, and -more than ten times that amount of cases of sickness the less. - -If the proportions of births in the whole kingdom had been the same as -those occurring in average healthy districts—such as that of the town -district of Hackney, for example, of 1 to 42—there would have been -139,958 births the less to make up for the excess of deaths. - - * * * * * - -The importance of the subject will justify the reference to other -examples. - -The commissioners for taking the census of Ireland have bestowed -considerable labour to effect various improvements, with a view to -determine more accurately the actual condition and progress of the -population. They have attempted, amongst other improvements, to -ascertain not merely the total number of houses, but the number of each -description of houses in each district. From the want of any system of -mortuary or birth registration in Ireland their attempts to ascertain -correctly the proportions of deaths and births to the population appear -to have been to some degree frustrated; and the return of the average -age of death must be received as an approximation, giving higher than -the real chances of life in that country. From the mode which the -commissioners adopted of collecting the ages of the living, by taking -the actual age of each individual with precautions, it appears probable -that their returns on this head are more trustworthy than those obtained -in England. - -The proportions of births to the population obtained by the Census -Commissioners in Ireland are, I conceive, below the real amount; the -proportions of deaths are confessedly so. The proportions of deaths and -several other results may however serve for comparison between one -province and another and between one county and another. I have taken -the following results from several of their tables, or have had them -calculated from their data. I submit them as indications of the -momentous public truths that still lie open for investigation, of which -truths the most important are the extent of the operation of the causes -of mortality, which can only be correctly ascertained on the spot by -inquiries for a mortuary registration, by responsible officers of -superior qualifications and intelligence as officers of health. The -fractional numbers are omitted in the returns from the provinces. - - ┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ LEINSTER. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┬───────────────────┤ - │ │ RURAL. │ TOWN. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┤ - │ │ Houses. │Families.│ Houses. │Families.│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │First Class houses │ 2│ 2│ 24│ 33│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │“Good farm-houses, or in │ │ │ │ │ - │ towns houses in a small │ 21│ 21│ 37│ 39│ - │ street, having from 5 to 9 │ │ │ │ │ - │ rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“A better description of │ │ │ │ │ - │ cottage, still built of │ 47│ 46│ 23│ 16│ - │ mud, but varying from 2 to │ │ │ │ │ - │ 4 rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“All mud cabins having only │ 28│ 28│ 14│ 10│ - │ one room” │ │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ Males. │Females. │ Males. │Females. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Average age at death │ 32·│ 31·5│ 25·│ 25·4│ - │ │ / │ / │ - │ │ 32 │ 25 │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 30 │ - │Average term of premature │ │ │ - │ loss of life as compared │ │ │ - │ with the experience of │ 7 │ 14 │ - │ Carlisle or the county of │ │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 9 │ - │ │ │ - │Annual proportion of deaths │ 1 in 32·3 │ - │ to the mean population │ │ - │ │ │ - │Average age of all who lived │ 25 │ - │ in 1841 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Proportion of widows to every│ │ │ - │ 100 of the population above│ 13 │ 17 │ - │ 17 years old │ │ │ - │ │ —— │ —— │ - │ │ │ - │Rate of increase on │ 3·35 │ - │ population since 1831 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Excess of number of births to│ │ - │ every 10,000 of the │ │ - │ population above the │ 73 │ - │ proportion of births in │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ - │ │ │ - │Positive numbers of births in│ │ - │ excess above the proportion│ 14,515 │ - │ of births in Hereford │ │ - └─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ - ┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ MUNSTER. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┬───────────────────┤ - │ │ RURAL. │ TOWN. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┤ - │ │ Houses. │Families.│ Houses. │Families.│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │First Class houses │ 1│ 1│ 12│ 14│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │“Good farm-houses, or in │ │ │ │ │ - │ towns houses in a small │ 13│ 13│ 44│ 49│ - │ street, having from 5 to 9 │ │ │ │ │ - │ rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“A better description of │ │ │ │ │ - │ cottage, still built of │ 34│ 34│ 30│ 25│ - │ mud, but varying from 2 to │ │ │ │ │ - │ 4 rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“All mud cabins having only │ 50│ 49│ 13│ 10│ - │ one room” │ │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ Males. │Females. │ Males. │Females. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Average age at death │ 28·2│ 27·│ 23·6│ 23·7│ - │ │ / │ / │ - │ │ 28 │ 24 │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 27 │ - │Average term of premature │ │ │ - │ loss of life as compared │ │ │ - │ with the experience of │ 11 │ 15 │ - │ Carlisle or the county of │ │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 12 │ - │ │ │ - │Annual proportion of deaths │ 1 in 29·5 │ - │ to the mean population │ │ - │ │ │ - │Average age of all who lived │ 24 │ - │ in 1841 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Proportion of widows to every│ │ │ - │ 100 of the population above│ 12 │ 16 │ - │ 17 years old │ │ │ - │ │ —— │ —— │ - │ │ │ - │Rate of increase on │ 7·59 │ - │ population since 1831 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Excess of number of births to│ │ - │ every 10,000 of the │ │ - │ population above the │ 95 │ - │ proportion of births in │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ - │ │ │ - │Positive numbers of births in│ │ - │ excess above the proportion│ 22,875 │ - │ of births in Hereford │ │ - └─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ - ┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ ULSTER. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┬───────────────────┤ - │ │ RURAL. │ TOWN. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┤ - │ │ Houses. │Families.│ Houses. │Families.│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │First Class houses │ 1│ 1│ 10│ 9│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │“Good farm-houses, or in │ │ │ │ │ - │ towns houses in a small │ 21│ 21│ 56│ 60│ - │ street, having from 5 to 9 │ │ │ │ │ - │ rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“A better description of │ │ │ │ │ - │ cottage, still built of │ 45│ 45│ 23│ 21│ - │ mud, but varying from 2 to │ │ │ │ │ - │ 4 rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“All mud cabins having only │ 32│ 32│ 9│ 8│ - │ one room” │ │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ Males. │Females. │ Males. │Females. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Average age at death │ 31·8│ 32·│ 23·8│ 23·6│ - │ │ / │ / │ - │ │ 32 │ 24 │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 31 │ - │Average term of premature │ │ │ - │ loss of life as compared │ │ │ - │ with the experience of │ 7 │ 15 │ - │ Carlisle or the county of │ │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 8 │ - │ │ │ - │Annual proportion of deaths │ 1 in 31·1 │ - │ to the mean population │ │ - │ │ │ - │Average age of all who lived │ 24 │ - │ in 1841 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Proportion of widows to every│ │ │ - │ 100 of the population above│ 12 │ 15 │ - │ 17 years old │ │ │ - │ │ —— │ —— │ - │ │ │ - │Rate of increase on │ 4·36 │ - │ population since 1831 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Excess of number of births to│ │ - │ every 10,000 of the │ │ - │ population above the │ 84 │ - │ proportion of births in │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ - │ │ │ - │Positive numbers of births in│ │ - │ excess above the proportion│ 20,003 │ - │ of births in Hereford │ │ - └─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ - ┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ CONNAUGHT. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┬───────────────────┤ - │ │ RURAL. │ TOWN. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┤ - │ │ Houses. │Families.│ Houses. │Families.│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │First Class houses │ ·5│ ·6│ 7│ 10│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │“Good farm-houses, or in │ │ │ │ │ - │ towns houses in a small │ 8│ 8│ 30│ 33│ - │ street, having from 5 to 9 │ │ │ │ │ - │ rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“A better description of │ │ │ │ │ - │ cottage, still built of │ 39│ 39│ 36│ 33│ - │ mud, but varying from 2 to │ │ │ │ │ - │ 4 rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“All mud cabins having only │ 51│ 50│ 25│ 22│ - │ one room” │ │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ Males. │Females. │ Males. │Females. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Average age at death │ 26·1│ 24·3│ 22·6│ 22·4│ - │ │ / │ / │ - │ │ 25 │ 23 │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 24 │ - │Average term of premature │ │ │ - │ loss of life as compared │ │ │ - │ with the experience of │ 14 │ 16 │ - │ Carlisle or the county of │ │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 15 │ - │ │ │ - │Annual proportion of deaths │ 1 in 28 │ - │ to the mean population │ │ - │ │ │ - │Average age of all who lived │ 23 │ - │ in 1841 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Proportion of widows to every│ │ │ - │ 100 of the population above│ 12 │ 17 │ - │ 17 years old │ │ │ - │ │ —— │ —— │ - │ │ │ - │Rate of increase on │ 5·58 │ - │ population since 1831 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Excess of number of births to│ │ - │ every 10,000 of the │ │ - │ population above the │ 117 │ - │ proportion of births in │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ - │ │ │ - │Positive numbers of births in│ │ - │ excess above the proportion│ 16,624 │ - │ of births in Hereford │ │ - └─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ - ┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ IRELAND. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┬───────────────────┤ - │ │ RURAL. │ TOWN. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┤ - │ │ Houses. │Families.│ Houses. │Families.│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │First Class houses │ 1·3│ 1·4│ 15·9│ 21·│ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │“Good farm-houses, or in │ │ │ │ │ - │ towns houses in a small │ 16·8│ 17·2│ 43·6│ 46·6│ - │ street, having from 5 to 9 │ │ │ │ │ - │ rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“A better description of │ │ │ │ │ - │ cottage, still built of │ 41·9│ 41·7│ 26·8│ 21·7│ - │ mud, but varying from 2 to │ │ │ │ │ - │ 4 rooms and windows” │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - │“All mud cabins having only │ 40·│ 39·7│ 13·7│ 10·7│ - │ one room” │ │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ │ Males. │Females. │ Males. │Females. │ - ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Average age at death │ 29·6│ 28·9│ 24·1│ 24·3│ - │ │ / │ / │ - │ │ 29 │ 24 │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 28 │ - │Average term of premature │ │ │ - │ loss of life as compared │ │ │ - │ with the experience of │ 10 │ 15 │ - │ Carlisle or the county of │ │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ │ - │ │ / │ - │ │ 11 │ - │ │ │ - │Annual proportion of deaths │ 1 in 30·3 │ - │ to the mean population │ │ - │ │ │ - │Average age of all who lived │ 24 │ - │ in 1841 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Proportion of widows to every│ │ │ - │ 100 of the population above│ 12 │ 16 │ - │ 17 years old │ │ │ - │ │ —— │ —— │ - │ │ │ - │Rate of increase on │ 5·25 │ - │ population since 1831 │ │ - │ │ │ - │Excess of number of births to│ │ - │ every 10,000 of the │ │ - │ population above the │ 90 │ - │ proportion of births in │ │ - │ Hereford │ │ - │ │ │ - │Positive numbers of births in│ │ - │ excess above the proportion│ 74,016 │ - │ of births in Hereford │ │ - └─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ - -The proportion of widowhood (which would generally be attended by its -proportion of orphanage) to the short duration of life in the worst -conditioned districts is submitted as confirmatory of the principles -expounded in the General Sanitary report on the condition of the -labouring population in Great Britain. Vide p. 188, _et seq._ - -Conformity of the rate of increase of population with the ages of the -living and dying was not to be expected in the returns where the -emigration from the different provinces is (probably) variable; but in -the two provinces where the household condition appears to be the worst, -and the proportion of mud cabins the greatest, there we find the -mortality is the highest. - -Where the pressure of the causes of mortality is the greatest; where the -average age of death is the lowest, and the duration of life is the -shortest, there the increase of population is the greatest. The -proportion of children is great because life is short and the generation -transient; the middle aged and the aged are swept away in large -proportions; and marriages are disproportionately early. But, says a -political economist in an essay in support of Mr. Malthus’s original -view, “The effect of wars, plagues, and epidemic disorders, those -terrible correctives, as they have been justly termed by Dr. Short, of -the redundance of mankind on the principle of population, sets its -operation in the most striking point of view. These scourges tend to -place an old country in the situation of a colony. They lessen the -number of inhabitants, without, in most cases, lessening the capital -that is to feed and maintain them.” What I apprehend the actual facts -when examined, place in a striking point of view, is the danger of -adopting conclusions deeply affecting the interests of communities, on -hypothetical reasonings, and without a careful investigation whether the -facts sustain them: the facts themselves, when examined, show that (be -it as it may with war) epidemic disorders do _not_ lessen the number of -inhabitants; and that they _do_ in all cases that have been examined -lessen the capital that is to feed and maintain them. They lessen the -proportion of productive hands and increase the proportion of the -helpless and dependent hands. They place every community, new or old, in -respect to its productive economy in the position which the farmer will -understand by the like effects of epidemics upon his cattle, when in -order to raise one horse two colts must be reared, and the natural -period of work of the one reared is, by disease and premature death, -reduced by one-third or one-half. The exposition already given, _vide_ -General Report p. 176, _et seq._ p. 200, of the dreadful misery and -disease-sustaining fallacy which erects pestilence into a good, is -further illustrated by the effects of the proportions of the dependent -populations of Ireland. Thus in England, the population above 15 and -under 50 years of age in every ten thousand is 5025, and this five -thousand have 3600 children below 15 years of age dependent upon them. -In Ireland, the population above 15 years of age is 4900—in other words, -there are 125 less of adults in every ten thousand; and this smaller -proportion of living adults, with eight or ten years’ span less of life -or working ability, have 4050, or four hundred and fifty more children -dependent upon them. In England there are 1,365 persons in every ten -thousand, or 13½ per cent. above 50 years old to exercise the influence -of their age and experience upon the community. In Ireland there are -only 10 per cent., or 1050 in every ten thousand of the population above -50 years of age. - -It appears from a report which the Census Commissioners give on the -sanitary condition of Dublin, that the mortality in the different -localities of that city varies with their physical condition in the -lower districts, and coincides with the description already cited in the -general report, from the report of Dr. Speer, the physician to the -Dublin Fever Hospital (_vide_ General Sanitary Report, p. 96). The like -consequences follow to the lower Irish population settled in the English -towns with the like habits, which permit them to accumulate refuse round -their dwellings, and live in an atmosphere compounded of the miasma of a -pigsty and a privy, and the smoke of a chimney in a crowded room. The -Census Commissioners of Ireland have endeavoured to obtain returns of -the chief causes of the mortality; and it appears from the report upon -them, that hitherto, notwithstanding all that has been said and written, -that fever has returned nearly decennially in periods, irrespective of -any general distress in that country, and has extended its ravages to -classes who were exposed to the miasma, but who suffered no distress. -“Cases of starvation,” it is stated, “have been registered from returns -at almost every age, 79 of them took place in the rural district, or 1 -death in 11,539 of the general mortality of the open country, and minor -towns and villages: 18 in the civic, or 1 in 13,009 of the deaths in -towns of or above 2000 people; and 20 occurred in hospitals; the -patients having been admitted when suffering from want of food, or in -such a destitute condition as subsequently produced death from -exhaustion. Including the deaths in hospitals with those in the civic -districts, to which they properly belong, it appears that the deaths -from want and destitution in the larger towns have been 1 in 7240 to the -total mortality of these places. During the first 5-year period, these -deaths were on an average but 6 per annum, and in the last 5-year period -(that ending June, 1841) they had increased to the yearly average of -18.” - -The dependency of the duration of life upon the physical condition of -the population, and the connexion of several classes of moral and -economical facts, with the proportionate mortality, may be further -exemplified. Taking the four counties in Ireland in which the -proportions of mud hovels are the greatest; and the four counties in -which the proportions of such tenements are the least;[44] I have added -the average ages of death as additional proofs and exemplifications of -the conclusions stated in pp. 128 and 129, and other parts of the -General Report. - - ──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────── - │ The four Counties where the average - │ proportion of mud hovels, as - │ habitations, is the lowest. - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - │ Down. Wexford. Kilkenny. Monaghan. - Proportion per cent. of │ - families occupying │ - habitations which are mud │ 24·7 29·4 30·9 31·5 - cabins having only one │ - room[45] │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 29 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportion of deaths from │ - epidemic disease to every │ 36 28·5 36·8 40·4 - 10,000 of the population │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 35·5 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Average age of all who have │ - died during the 10 years │ 33·6 34·10 33·2 31·4 - ended 6th June, 1841 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 33·4 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Average age of all the living │ 24·10 25·10 24·8 24·2 - in 1841 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 24·11 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportions of births to the │1 in 33·4 1 in 34·3 1 in 33·6 1 in 32·5 - population │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 1 in 33·4 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Increase per cent. of the │ 2·7 10·6 7·9 2·5 - population since 1831 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 5·0 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Per cent. of the population, │ 39·7 35·6 37·8 40·9 - 15 years and under │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 38·8 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Above 50 years │ 12·0 12·5 10·9 10·9 - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 11·6 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportion per cent. of male │ - and female population, 17 │ - years and upwards. │ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Unmarried │ 42 44½ 45½ 41 - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 43¼ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Married │ 49 47 45½ 49½ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 47¾ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Per cent. of the population 5 │ - years old and upwards, who │ 27·5 41·3 51·2 51·3 - can neither read nor write │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 42·8 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportions of crimes[46] of │ - violence or passion to each │ - 10,000 of the population on │ - an average of 8 years to │ - 1812:— │ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Murders and Proportions│ ·11 ·20 ·44 ·55 - Manslaughters │ - Positive │ 31 35 83 88 - Numbers. │ - Proportions │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ ·32 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Rapes and │ - Assaults, with Proportions│ ·06 ·15 ·22 ·35 - intent to commit │ - Positive │ 15 22 31 58 - Numbers. │ - Proportions │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ ·17 - ──────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────── - - ──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────── - │ The four Counties where the average - │ proportion of mud hovels, as - │ habitations, is the highest. - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - │ Kerry. Mayo. Clare. Cork. - Proportion per cent. of │ - families occupying │ - habitations which are mud │ 66·7 62·8 56·8 56·7 - cabins having only one │ - room[45] │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 61 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportion of deaths from │ - epidemic disease to every │ 50·2 51·0 53·1 43·3 - 10,000 of the population │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 47·8 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Average age of all who have │ - died during the 10 years │ 24·10 23·2 24·5 28·8 - ended 6th June, 1841 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 26·8 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Average age of all the living │ 23·1 23·0 22·9 24·0 - in 1841 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 23·5 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportions of births to the │1 in 28·8 1 in 28· 1 in 28·7 1 in 31·8 - population │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 1 in 29·9 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Increase per cent. of the │ 11·7 6·2 10·9 9·9 - population since 1831 │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 8·7 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Per cent. of the population, │ 42·4 43·1 42·4 39·7 - 15 years and under │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 41·9 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Above 50 years │ 9·4 9·4 8·7 10·4 - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 9·5 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportion per cent. of male │ - and female population, 17 │ - years and upwards. │ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Unmarried │ 37 36 40½ 42 - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 39 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Married │ 55 56 51½ 50 - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 53 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Per cent. of the population 5 │ - years old and upwards, who │ 70·4 79·0 63·1 65·6 - can neither read nor write │ - │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ 69·7 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Proportions of crimes[46] of │ - violence or passion to each │ - 10,000 of the population on │ - an average of 8 years to │ - 1812:— │ - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Murders and Proportions│ ·71 ·87 1·08 ·52 - Manslaughters │ - Positive │ 166 271 249 316 - Numbers. │ - Proportions │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ ·72 - ──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────── - Rapes and │ - Assaults, with Proportions│ ·71 ·51 ·46 ·28 - intent to commit │ - Positive │ 166 159 108 178 - Numbers. │ - Proportions │ \--------------\/--------------/ - │ ·44 - ──────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────── - -The general sanitary condition of the population of Scotland and the -pressure of the preventible causes of death appears to be lower than in -England, and higher than in Ireland, and so it appears from the recent -census is the average age of the living. - -It may be conceived that the low average age of the living in these -cases is ascribable mainly to an increasing proportion of children -incidental to an increasing population. Not so, however: the average age -of the living is more powerfully influenced by disturbing causes -affecting the population of adults, each with accumulated years, than by -causes affecting the infantile population. One adult of 50 years added -to the living is equal to the addition of 50 infants, and so with the -average ages of deaths. The average ages of the living appear to have -increased and not diminished with the increasing population. Be the -sanitary condition of the poorest classes and the amount of disease and -death what it may, as compared with former periods (and there is direct -evidence that it is in populous districts increasing), there has been -some improvement in the residences of the middle and higher classes; -household drainage and cleanliness has in some districts been improved; -the quantity of town and land drainage and cultivation has of late -increased in various proportions in each country; and the decrease in -the causes of mortality appears to have been followed by an increase of -the average age of the living, of particular classes at the least, -sufficient to present an increase, though a dreadfully slow one, in the -average age of the adults living. The increase of the proportion of -adults may be represented as follows:— - - ───────────────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────── - │ England. │ Ireland. │ Scotland. - ───────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────── - │ 1821 1841 │ 1821 1841 │ 1821 1841 - Percentage of │ │ │ - Population of 15 │ 39·09 36·07 │ 41·06 40·44 │ 41·0 36·4 - Years and under │ │ │ - Over 15 Years │ 60·91 63·93 │ 58·94 59·56 │ 59·0 63·6 - ───────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────── - │Yrs. M. Yrs. M.│Yrs. M. Yrs. M.│Yrs. M. Yrs. M. - Average age of each │=25·3= =26·7= │=2·37= =24·0= │=25·1= =25·9= - living individual │ │ │ - ───────────────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────── - -In abundance of employment, in high wages, and the chief circumstances -commonly reputed as elements of prosperity of the labouring classes, the -city of New York is deemed pre-eminent. I have been favoured with a copy -of “_The Annual Report of the Interments in the City and County of New -York for the Year 1842_,” presented to the Common Council by Dr. John -Griscom, the city inspector, in which it may be seen how little those -circumstances have hitherto preserved large masses of people from -physical depression. He has stepped out of the routine to examine on the -spot the circumstances attendant on the mortality which the figures -represent. He finds that upwards of 33,000 of the population of that -city live in cellars, courts, and alleys, of which 6618 are dwellers in -cellars. “Many,” he states, “of these back places are so constructed as -to cut off all circulation of air, the line of houses being across the -entrance, forming a _cul de sac_, while those in which the line is -parallel with, and at one side of the entrance, are rather more -favourably situated, but still excluded from any general visitation of -air in currents. As to the influence of these localities upon the health -and lives of the inmates, there is, and can be, no dispute; but few are -aware of the dreadful extent of the disease and suffering to be found in -them. In the damp, dark, and chilly cellars, fevers, rheumatism, -contagious and inflammatory disorders, affections of the lungs, skin, -and eyes, and numerous others, are rife, and too often successfully -combat the skill of the physician and the benevolence of strangers. - -“I speak now of the influence of the locality merely. The degraded -habits of life, the filth, the degenerate morals, the confined and -crowded apartments, and insufficient food, of those who live in more -elevated rooms, comparatively beyond the reach of the exhalations of the -soil, engender a different train of diseases, sufficiently distressing -to contemplate, but the addition to all these causes of the foul -influences of the incessant moisture and more confined air of -under-ground rooms, is productive of evils which humanity cannot regard -without shuddering.” - -He gives instances where the cellar population had been ravaged by fever -whilst the population occupying the upper apartments of the same houses -were untouched. In respect to the condition of these places, he cites -the testimony of a physician, who states that, “frequently in searching -for a patient living in the same cellar, my attention has been attracted -to the place by a peculiar and nauseous effluvium issuing from the door -indicative of the nature and condition of the inmates.” A main cause of -this is the filthy external state of the dwellings and defective street -cleansing, and defective supplies of water, which, except that no -provision is made for laying it on the houses of the poorer classes, is -now about to be remedied by a superior public provision. - - Years. Months. - The average age of the white population living in New 23 3 - York, according to the census, is - But the average age of all who die there is only 20 0 - -Or an excess of deaths over the ages of the living of more than three -years and three months; denoting, if the like excess prevailed from year -to year, an increasing pressure of the causes of mortality. If the -mortality be the same from year to year the chances of life would appear -to be lower in New York than in Dublin, where, according to the data -given by the Census Commissioners, it would appear to be 25 years 6 -months. - -In America little attention and labour appear to have been bestowed in -any of the rural districts on general land drainage. Yet nature inflicts -terrible punishment for the neglect of the appointed and visible -warnings and actual premonitory scourges, amongst which are the -mosquitoes and the tribes of insects that only breed in stagnant water -and live in its noxious exhalations. The cleansing and the general -sanitary condition of the American towns appear to be lower than in -England or Scotland, whilst the heat there at times is greater and -decomposition more active; pestilence in the shape of yellow fever, -ague, and influenza is there more rife, the deaths in proportion to the -population more numerous, and the average age of death (so far as there -is information) amongst the resident population much lower. - - Years. Months. - The average age of the whole of the living population - in America, so far as it can be deduced from the 22 2 - returns at the periods given in the census, is only - -Notwithstanding the earlier marriages, and the extent of emigration, and -the general increase of the population, the whole circumstances appear -to me to prove this to be the case of a population depressed to this low -age chiefly by the greater proportionate pressure of the causes of -disease and premature mortality. The proportionate numbers at each -interval of age in every 10,000 of the two populations are as follows:— - - United States of England and Wales. - America. - Under 5 years 1744 1324 - 5 and under 10 1417 1197 - 10 and under 15 1210 1089 - 15 and under 20 1091 997 - 20 and under 30 1816 1780 - 30 and under 40 1160 1289 - 40 and under 50 732 959 - 50 and under 60 436 645 - 60 and under 70 245 440 - 70 and under 80 113 216 - 80 and under 90 32 59 - 90 and upwards 4 5 - —————— —————— - 10,000 10,000 - - Average age of all the living 22 years 2 months 26 years 7 months. - -Here it may be observed, that whilst in England there are 5025 persons -between 15 and 50 who have 3610 children or persons under 15; in America -there are 4789 persons living between 15 and 50 years of age who have -4371 children dependent upon them. In England there are in every ten -thousand persons 1365 who have obtained above 50 years’ experience; in -America there are only 830. - -The moral consequences of the predominance of the young and passionate -in the American community are attested by observers to be such as have -already been described in the General Sanitary Report as characteristic -of those crowded, filthy, and badly administered districts in England -where the average duration of life is short, the proportion of the very -young great, and the adult generation transient. - -The difference does not arise solely from the greater proportion of -children arising from a greater increase of population, though that is -to some extent consistent with what has been proved to be the effect of -a severe general mortality; the effects of the common cause of -depression is observable at each interval of age: the adult population -in America is younger than in England, and if the causes of early death -were to remain the same, it may be confidently predicted that the -American population would remain young for centuries. - - Years. Months. - The average age of all alive above 15 in America is 33 6 - The average age of all alive above 15 years in England 37 5 - and Wales is - The average age of all above 20 years in America is 37 7 - In the whole of England the average of all above 20 41 1 - years is - -The difference at the different stages of age appear also to prevail in -proportion to the different pressure of the causes of disease and -mortality in different districts in England: _e. g._ In the town -parishes of Middlesex the average age of the living above 15 years is 35 -years and 10 months; but in Hereford it is 39 years and 2 months. In -Middlesex the average age of the adult population, that is of all above -20 years, is 38 years and 8 months; whilst in Hereford it is 42 years -and 1 month. - -The comparative amount of disease and death elsewhere it need scarcely -be said, in no way affects the positive amount of evil in this country, -or dispenses with the duty of adopting such practical measures as may be -preventive of a single one of the cases of preventable deaths which -abound in masses in the large districts having the least unfavourable -averages. - -The instances have been adduced to exemplify the suggestions of -amendment in the mode of measuring the amount and influence of -mortality, and more especially to show the importance of giving the -average age as well as the numbers of deaths and the average age of the -living in each class of the community. - -The subsequent district returns and the notes extracted from the reports -made by the local registrars to the Registrar-General, in corroboration -of the General Sanitary Report, will show the immense importance to the -community of the facts that require investigation. It cannot be too -urgently repeated that it is only by examinations, case by case, and on -the spot, that the facts from which sound principles may be correctly -distinguished. They can only be well classed for general conclusions and -public use by persons who have large numbers brought before their actual -view and consideration, and who have thus brought before them -impressively the common circumstances for discrimination, which no -hearsay, no ordinary written information will present to their -attention. The attainment of this immensely important public service -might properly have been submitted as a principal instead of a -collateral object, to the improvement of the practice of interment, for -the appointment of such a small well qualified agency as that proposed, -§ 225, of some five or six trustworthy officers of public health for -each million of a town population with the requisite powers and -responsibilities for ascertaining the actual amount of the preventible -causes of death, and informing the local officers and the public of what -is to be done for their removal. - -The districts are placed in the order of the average age of death of the -whole population during the year 1839, commencing with the highest -average. - - ──────────────────┬───────────┬─────────────────────── - │ │ - │ │ - │ │ Number of Deaths of - District. │ Class. │ each Class. - │ │ - │ │ - │ │ - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┬────────┬────── - │ │ │Children│ - │ │Adults.│ under │Total. - │ │ │ 10. │ - │ │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │ │ No. │ No. │ No. - Greenwich. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 62│ 18│ 80 - 80,811. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 150│ 97│ 247 - │Artisans, │ 947│ 414│ 1,361 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 141│ 110│ 251 - │Paupers │ 109│ 21│ 130 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,409│ 660│ 2,069 - │Averages. │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,780 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Camberwell. │ │ │ │ - Population, │Gentry │ 58│ 23│ 81 - 39,867. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 111│ 86│ 197 - │Artisans, │ 137│ 134│ 271 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 98│ 37│ 135 - │Paupers │ 92│ 6│ 98 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 496│ 286│ 782 - │Averages. │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 709 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Hackney. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 50│ 11│ 61 - 42,274. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 134│ 94│ 228 - │Artisans, │ 117│ 120│ 237 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 80│ 102│ 182 - │Paupers │ 46│ 4│ 50 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 427│ 331│ 758 - │Averages. │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 995 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. George. │ │ │ │ - Hanover Square. │Gentry │ 110│ 28│ 138 - Population │ │ │ │ - 66,433. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 112│ 79│ 191 - │Artisans, │ 528│ 344│ 872 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 18│ 17│ 35 - │Paupers │ 77│ 12│ 89 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 845│ 480│ 1,325 - │Averages. │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,260 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Rotherhithe. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 6│ │ 6 - 13,916. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 12│ 2│ 14 - │Artisans, │ 70│ 14│ 84 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 78│ 121│ 199 - │Paupers │ 33│ 5│ 38 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 199│ 142│ 341 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 385 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Olave. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 4│ │ 4 - 18,427. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 55│ 46│ 101 - │Artisans, │ 603│ 215│ 818 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 5│ 14│ 19 - │Paupers │ 47│ 4│ 51 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 714│ 279│ 993 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 519 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Kensington, │ │ │ │ - (including │ │ │ │ - Chelsea). │Gentry │ 193│ 50│ 243 - Population │ │ │ │ - 114,952. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 204│ 120│ 324 - │Artisans, │ 559│ 619│ 1,178 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 202│ 181│ 383 - │Paupers │ 106│ 36│ 142 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,264│ 1,006│ 2,270 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 2,782 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Islington. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 83│ 35│ 118 - 55,720. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 151│ 121│ 272 - │Artisans, │ 177│ 260│ 437 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 106│ 27│ 133 - │Paupers │ 49│ 10│ 59 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 566│ 453│ 1,019 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,177 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Martin in the │ │ │ │ - Fields. │Gentry │ 23│ 4│ 27 - Population │ │ │ │ - 25,195. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 60│ 47│ 107 - │Artisans, │ 165│ 137│ 302 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 89│ 112│ 201 - │Paupers │ 68│ 4│ 72 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 405│ 304│ 709 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 601 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Poplar. Population│Gentry │ 16│ 7│ 23 - 31,091. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 44│ 40│ 84 - │Artisans, │ 235│ 240│ 475 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 19│ 10│ 29 - │Paupers │ 45│ 3│ 48 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 359│ 300│ 659 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,106 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Marylebone. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 156│ 40│ 196 - 137,955. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 198│ 172│ 370 - │Artisans, │ 682│ 759│ 1,441 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 347│ 324│ 671 - │Paupers │ 288│ 73│ 361 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,671│ 668│ 3,039 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 3,511 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Stepney. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 64│ 9│ 73 - 90,657. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 169│ 104│ 273 - │Artisans, │ 568│ 591│ 1,159 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 203│ 274│ 477 - │Paupers │ 189│ 28│ 217 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,193│ 1,006│ 2,199 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 2,502 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Mary, │ │ │ │ - Newington. │Gentry │ 79│ 13│ 92 - Population │ │ │ │ - 54,607. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 75│ 64│ 139 - │Artisans, │ 325│ 420│ 745 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 75│ 76│ 151 - │Paupers │ 64│ 6│ 70 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 618│ 579│ 1,197 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,620 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Pancras. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 151│ 49│ 200 - 129,711. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 349│ 286│ 635 - │Artisans, │ 622│ 674│ 1,296 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 269│ 354│ 623 - │Paupers │ 232│ 49│ 281 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,623│ 1,412│ 3,035 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 3,264 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - West London. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 12│ 4│ 16 - 33,629. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 83│ 103│ 186 - │Artisans, │ 393│ 381│ 774 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 149│ 17│ 166 - │Paupers │ 99│ 16│ 115 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 736│ 521│ 1,257 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 698 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Whitechapel. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 17│ 4│ 21 - 71,758. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 142│ 130│ 272 - │Artisans, │ 741│ 637│ 1,378 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 116│ 313│ 429 - │Paupers │ 166│ 37│ 203 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,182│ 1,121│ 2,303 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 2,103 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. James │ │ │ │ - Westminster. │Gentry │ 27│ 9│ 36 - Population │ │ │ │ - 37,407. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 68│ 66│ 134 - │Artisans, │ 161│ 190│ 351 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 52│ 83│ 135 - │Paupers │ 81│ 15│ 96 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 389│ 363│ 752 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 844 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - East London. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 14│ 3│ 17 - 39,655. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 134│ 164│ 298 - │Artisans, │ 265│ 391│ 656 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 36│ 10│ 46 - │Paupers │ 87│ 11│ 98 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 536│ 579│ 1,115 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,235 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Holborn. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 36│ 9│ 45 - 39,720. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 144│ 164│ 308 - │Artisans, │ 231│ 353│ 584 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 21│ 6│ 27 - │Paupers │ 105│ 32│ 137 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 537│ 564│ 1,101 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 969 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Shoreditch. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 63│ 23│ 86 - 83,552. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 153│ 150│ 303 - │Artisans, │ 498│ 802│ 1,300 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 150│ 75│ 225 - │Paupers │ 234│ 49│ 283 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,098│ 1,099│ 2,197 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 3,058 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - City London. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 32│ 12│ 44 - 55,967. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 247│ 244│ 491 - │Artisans, │ 213│ 270│ 483 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 77│ 29│ 106 - │Paupers │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 569│ 555│ 1,124 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,210 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. John & St. │ │ │ │ - Margaret, │ │ │ │ - Westminster. │Gentry │ 37│ 14│ 51 - Population │ │ │ │ - 56,718. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 82│ 102│ 184 - │Artisans, │ 458│ 581│ 1039 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 38│ 24│ 62 - │Paupers │ 97│ 19│ 116 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 712│ 740│ 1,452 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,730 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. James, │ │ │ │ - Clerkenwell. │Gentry │ 52│ 15│ 67 - Population │ │ │ │ - 56,709. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 99│ 109│ 208 - │Artisans, │ 324│ 533│ 857 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 82│ 17│ 99 - │Paupers │ 76│ 14│ 90 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 633│ 688│ 1,321 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,771 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. George in the │ │ │ │ - East. Population│Gentry │ 18│ 3│ 21 - 41,351. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 66│ 72│ 138 - │Artisans, │ 313│ 481│ 794 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 62│ 14│ 76 - │Paupers │ 93│ 14│ 107 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 552│ 584│ 1,136 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,404 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Giles and St. │ │ │ │ - George. │Gentry │ 66│ 32│ 98 - Population │ │ │ │ - 54,250. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 119│ 114│ 233 - │Artisans, │ 280│ 584│ 864 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 42│ 20│ 62 - │Paupers │ 208│ 34│ 242 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 715│ 784│ 1,499 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,622 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Strand. Population│Gentry │ 47│ 21│ 68 - 43,894. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 129│ 132│ 261 - │Artisans, │ 299│ 382│ 681 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 26│ 19│ 45 - │Paupers │ 15│ 5│ 20 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 516│ 559│ 1075 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 957 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Lambeth. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 141│ 64│ 205 - 115,883. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 340│ 452│ 792 - │Artisans, │ 452│ 704│ 1,156 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 113│ 68│ 181 - │Paupers │ 173│ 38│ 211 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 1,219│ 1,326│ 2,545 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 3,782 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. George, │ │ │ │ - Southwark. │Gentry │ 32│ 9│ 41 - Population │ │ │ │ - 46,622. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 66│ 53│ 119 - │Artisans, │ 371│ 591│ 962 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 35│ 15│ 50 - │Paupers │ 22│ 6│ 28 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 526│ 674│ 1,200 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,574 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Luke. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 21│ 6│ 27 - 49,982. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 62│ 52│ 114 - │Artisans, │ 391│ 569│ 960 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 85│ 49│ 134 - │Paupers │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 559│ 676│ 1,235 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 2,271 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Bermondsey. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 3│ 5│ 8 - 34,847. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 66│ 59│ 125 - │Artisans, │ 202│ 373│ 575 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 24│ 26│ 50 - │Paupers │ 62│ 14│ 76 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 357│ 477│ 834 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,151 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - Bethnal Green. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 39│ 11│ 50 - 74,087. │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 110│ 136│ 246 - │Artisans, │ 468│ 874│ 1,342 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 69│ 19│ 88 - │Paupers │ 76│ 19│ 93 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 762│ 1,059│ 1,821 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 2,674 - ══════════════════╪═══════════╪═══════╤════════╪══════ - St. Savior´s. │ │ │ │ - Population │Gentry │ 9│ 1│ 10 - 32,980 │ │ │ │ - │Tradesmen │ 45│ 43│ 88 - │Artisans, │ 250│ 248│ 498 - │ &c. │ │ │ - │Undescribed│ 89│ 198│ 287 - │Paupers │ 23│ 9│ 32 - ──────────────────┼───────────┼───────┼────────┼────── - │Totals and │ 416│ 499│ 915 - │Averages │ │ │ - │ │ No. of Births│ 1,143 - ──────────────────┴───────────┴────────────────┴────── - - ──────────────────┬─────────┬───────┬───────── - │ │Average│ - │ │Age at │ Average - │ Deaths │ Death │ Age at - District. │ from │of all │ Death, - │Epidemic.│who die│including - │ │ above │Children. - │ │ 21. │ - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ │ │ - │ │ │ - │ │ │ - │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ No. │Years. │ Years. - Greenwich. │ │ │ - Population │ 9│ 62│ 48 - 80,811. │ │ │ - │ 42│ 54│ 31 - │ 227│ 56│ 36 - │ │ │ - │ 35│ 58│ 30 - │ 17│ 62│ 52 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 330│ │ - │ │ 57│ 36 - │ Age of Living│ 28 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Camberwell. │ │ │ - Population, │ 11│ 58│ 38 - 39,867. │ │ │ - │ 35│ 54│ 28 - │ 54│ 51│ 26 - │ │ │ - │ 13│ 61│ 42 - │ 7│ 62│ 56 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 117│ │ - │ │ 57│ 34 - │ Age of Living│ 27·5 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Hackney. │ │ │ - Population │ 6│ 61│ 47 - 42,274. │ │ │ - │ 21│ 52│ 29 - │ 35│ 55│ 27 - │ │ │ - │ 36│ 60│ 25 - │ 1│ 67│ 61 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 99│ │ - │ │ 57│ 31 - │ Age of Living│ 26·10 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. George. │ │ │ - Hanover Square. │ 12│ 59│ 45 - Population │ │ │ - 66,433. │ │ │ - │ 23│ 50│ 29 - │ 130│ 47│ 27 - │ │ │ - │ 3│ 61│ 32 - │ 8│ 59│ 51 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 176│ │ - │ │ 50│ 31 - │ Age of Living│ 28·3 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Rotherhithe. │ │ │ - Population │ 1│ 57│ 49 - 13,916. │ │ │ - │ 2│ 50│ 40 - │ 2│ 51│ 40 - │ │ │ - │ 50│ 52│ 19 - │ 3│ 68│ 56 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 58│ │ - │ │ 54│ 30 - │ Age of Living│ 26·7 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Olave. │ │ │ - Population │ │ 64│ - 18,427. │ │ │ - │ 24│ 48│ 25 - │ 107│ 43│ 30 - │ │ │ - │ 7│ 50│ 16 - │ 8│ 59│ 54 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 146│ │ - │ │ 45│ 30 - │ Age of Living│ 27·0 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Kensington, │ │ │ - (including │ │ │ - Chelsea). │ 17│ 60│ 45 - Population │ │ │ - 114,952. │ │ │ - │ 33│ 50│ 30 - │ 223│ 53│ 24 - │ │ │ - │ 47│ 58│ 30 - │ 24│ 61│ 44 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 344│ │ - │ │ 55│ 29 - │ Age of Living│ 27·5 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Islington. │ │ │ - Population │ 11│ 61│ 42 - 55,720. │ │ │ - │ 43│ 50│ 26 - │ 108│ 47│ 19 - │ │ │ - │ 9│ 61│ 46 - │ 3│ 60│ 49 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 174│ │ - │ │ 54│ 29 - │ Age of Living│ 26·11 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Martin in the │ │ │ - Fields. │ 2│ 57│ 46 - Population │ │ │ - 25,195. │ │ │ - │ 22│ 45│ 24 - │ 82│ 48│ 26 - │ │ │ - │ 42│ 51│ 21 - │ 4│ 65│ 60 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 152│ │ - │ │ 52│ 28 - │ Age of Living│ 28·4 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Poplar. Population│ 2│ 61│ 43 - 31,091. │ │ │ - │ 18│ 51│ 26 - │ 80│ 53│ 25 - │ │ │ - │ 2│ 63│ 36 - │ 2│ 64│ 53 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 104│ │ - │ │ 55│ 28 - │ Age of Living│ 25·10 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Marylebone. │ │ │ - Population │ 20│ 59│ 46 - 137,955. │ │ │ - │ 57│ 51│ 27 - │ 251│ 48│ 23 - │ │ │ - │ 104│ 54│ 27 - │ 61│ 54│ 42 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 493│ │ - │ │ 52│ 28 - │ Age of Living│ 27·9 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Stepney. │ │ │ - Population │ 3│ 65│ 56 - 90,657. │ │ │ - │ 47│ 53│ 31 - │ 247│ 48│ 23 - │ │ │ - │ 101│ 56│ 22 - │ 28│ 63│ 54 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 426│ │ - │ │ 53│ 28 - │ Age of Living│ 26·6 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Mary, │ │ │ - Newington. │ 6│ 62│ 50 - Population │ │ │ - 54,607. │ │ │ - │ 23│ 50│ 26 - │ 162│ 52│ 22 - │ │ │ - │ 31│ 59│ 30 - │ 1│ 60│ 55 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 223│ │ - │ │ 55│ 28 - │ Age of Living│ 26·8 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Pancras. │ │ │ - Population │ 15│ 61│ 45 - 129,711. │ │ │ - │ 108│ 50│ 27 - │ 287│ 47│ 22 - │ │ │ - │ 199│ 55│ 23 - │ 47│ 61│ 50 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 656│ │ - │ │ 53│ 27 - │ Age of Living│ 26·10 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - West London. │ │ │ - Population │ 2│ 58│ 38 - 33,629. │ │ │ - │ 41│ 49│ 22 - │ 186│ 46│ 22 - │ │ │ - │ 23│ 47│ 38 - │ 26│ 64│ 55 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 278│ │ - │ │ 49│ 27 - │ Age of Living│ 27·7 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Whitechapel. │ │ │ - Population │ 58│ 47│ 4 - 71,758. │ │ │ - │ 42│ 50│ 26 - │ 261│ 48│ 25 - │ │ │ - │ 107│ 58│ 16 - │ 38│ 63│ 51 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 448│ │ - │ │ 51│ 26 - │ Age of Living│ 26·2 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. James │ │ │ - Westminster. │ 1│ 57│ 42 - Population │ │ │ - 37,407. │ │ │ - │ 23│ 51│ 26 - │ 59│ 46│ 21 - │ │ │ - │ 28│ 52│ 20 - │ 7│ 58│ 49 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 118│ │ - │ │ 51│ 26 - │ Age of Living│ 28·2 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - East London. │ │ │ - Population │ │ 63│ 50 - 39,655. │ │ │ - │ 76│ 53│ 23 - │ 145│ 51│ 21 - │ │ │ - │ 1│ 50│ 38 - │ 18│ 65│ 57 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 240│ │ - │ │ 54│ 26 - │ Age of Living│ 27·0 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Holborn. │ │ │ - Population │ 3│ 58│ 47 - 39,720. │ │ │ - │ 75│ 52│ 24 - │ 149│ 50│ 19 - │ │ │ - │ 2│ 54│ 41 - │ 35│ 60│ 46 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 254│ │ - │ │ 53│ 26 - │ Age of Living│ 27·2 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Shoreditch. │ │ │ - Population │ 14│ 65│ 47 - 83,552. │ │ │ - │ 63│ 47│ 23 - │ 271│ 51│ 19 - │ │ │ - │ 34│ 57│ 37 - │ 56│ 57│ 46 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 438│ │ - │ │ 54│ 26 - │ Age of Living│ 26 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - City London. │ │ │ - Population │ 3│ 63│ 43 - 55,967. │ │ │ - │ 84│ 48│ 23 - │ 94│ 50│ 22 - │ │ │ - │ 15│ 58│ 39 - │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 196│ │ - │ │ 51│ 25 - │ Age of Living│ 27·7 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. John & St. │ │ │ - Margaret, │ │ │ - Westminster. │ 9│ 55│ 42 - Population │ │ │ - 56,718. │ │ │ - │ 47│ 46│ 20 - │ 264│ 48│ 21 - │ │ │ - │ 9│ 56│ 49 - │ 17│ 57│ 46 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 346│ │ - │ │ 50│ 25 - │ Age of Living│ 26·11 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. James, │ │ │ - Clerkenwell. │ 8│ 60│ 46 - Population │ │ │ - 56,709. │ │ │ - │ 50│ 49│ 23 - │ 183│ 50│ 19 - │ │ │ - │ 6│ 59│ 44 - │ 2│ 60│ 50 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 249│ │ - │ │ 53│ 25 - │ Age of Living│ 25·11 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. George in the │ │ │ - East. Population│ │ 63│ 54 - 41,351. │ │ │ - │ 29│ 49│ 23 - │ 158│ 46│ 18 - │ │ │ - │ 3│ 60│ 46 - │ 14│ 61│ 52 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 204│ │ - │ │ 51│ 25 - │ Age of Living│ 26·6 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Giles and St. │ │ │ - George. │ 15│ 60│ 40 - Population │ │ │ - 54,250. │ │ │ - │ 44│ 52│ 26 - │ 221│ 51│ 17 - │ │ │ - │ 9│ 53│ 35 - │ 53│ 54│ 46 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 342│ │ - │ │ 53│ 25 - │ Age of Living│ 27·9 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Strand. Population│ 8│ 59│ 40 - 43,894. │ │ │ - │ 58│ 51│ 25 - │ 178│ 48│ 21 - │ │ │ - │ 4│ 55│ 28 - │ │ 65│ 49 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 248│ │ - │ │ 51│ 24 - │ Age of Living│ 27·3 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Lambeth. │ │ │ - Population │ 19│ 58│ 37 - 115,883. │ │ │ - │ 174│ 50│ 21 - │ 245│ 49│ 19 - │ │ │ - │ 27│ 59│ 35 - │ 37│ 56│ 44 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 502│ │ - │ │ 52│ 24 - │ Age of Living│ 26.2 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. George, │ │ │ - Southwark. │ 5│ 61│ 45 - Population │ │ │ - 46,622. │ │ │ - │ 18│ 54│ 30 - │ 248│ 53│ 20 - │ │ │ - │ 10│ 50│ 30 - │ 2│ 58│ 45 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 283│ │ - │ │ 53│ 23 - │ Age of Living│ 26·5 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Luke. │ │ │ - Population │ 3│ 56│ 38 - 49,982. │ │ │ - │ 17│ 49│ 25 - │ 306│ 49│ 20 - │ │ │ - │ 17│ 58│ 35 - │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 343│ │ - │ │ 50│ 22 - │ Age of Living│ 25·11 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Bermondsey. │ │ │ - Population │ │ 51│ 20 - 34,847. │ │ │ - │ 16│ 48│ 25 - │ 144│ 51│ 18 - │ │ │ - │ 6│ 45│ 21 - │ 15│ 57│ 47 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 181│ │ - │ │ 51│ 22 - │ Age of Living│ 24·7 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - Bethnal Green. │ │ │ - Population │ 4│ 61│ 46 - 74,087. │ │ │ - │ 56│ 53│ 24 - │ 369│ 51│ 18 - │ │ │ - │ 6│ 57│ 44 - │ 19│ 65│ 49 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 454│ │ - │ │ 54│ 22 - │ Age of Living│ 25·2 - ══════════════════╪═════════╤═══════╪═════════ - St. Savior´s. │ │ │ - Population │ 1│ 52│ 47 - 32,980 │ │ │ - │ 17│ 52│ 26 - │ 93│ 45│ 22 - │ │ │ - │ 65│ 51│ 15 - │ 4│ 59│ 40 - ──────────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────── - │ 180│ │ - │ │ 48│ 21 - │ Age of Living│ 27·3 - ──────────────────┴─────────────────┴───────── - - ──────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────┬───────── - │ │ │Excess in - │ │Proportionate│Number of - │Years’ Average │ Number of │ Deaths - District. │premature loss │ Deaths to │ above a - │ of Life by │ Population. │ Healthy - │ │ │standard. - │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┬────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │Deaths│ Deaths │ │ - │above │ of all │ │ - │Age of│Classes.│ │ - │ 21. │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │Years.│ Years. │ No. │ No. - Greenwich. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 80,811. │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 8 }│ │ - │ 6│ 3 }│ 1 in 39 │ 159 - │ │ │ │ - │ 4│ 9 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 5│ 3│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 45 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Camberwell. │ │ │ │ - Population, │ 4│ 1 }│ │ - 39,867. │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 11 }│ │ - │ 11│ 13 }│ 1 in 51 │ 100 - │ │ │ │ - │ 1│ }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 5│ 5│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 44 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Hackney. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 1│ }│ │ - 42,274. │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 10 }│ │ - │ 7│ 12 }│ 1 in 56 │ 155[47] - │ │ │ │ - │ 2│ 14 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 5│ 8│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 42 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. George. │ │ │ │ - Hanover Square. │ 2│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 66,433. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 10 }│ │ - │ 15│ 12 }│ 1 in 501 │ 272[48] - │ │ │ │ - │ 1│ 7 }│ │ - │ 3│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 8│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 53 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Rotherhithe. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 5│ }│ │ - 13,916. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ }│ │ - │ 11│ }│ 1 in 41 │ 79[49] - │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 20 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 9│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 36 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Olave. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 18,427. │ │ │ │ - │ 14│ 14 }│ │ - │ 19│ 9 }│ 1 in 19 │ 229[50] - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 23 }│ │ - │ 3│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 17│ 9│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 36 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Kensington, │ │ │ │ - (including │ │ │ │ - Chelsea). │ 2│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 114,952. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 9 }│ │ - │ 9│ 15 }│ 1 in 51 │ 582[51] - │ │ │ │ - │ 4│ 9 }│ │ - │ 1│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 7│ 10│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 41 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Islington. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 1│ }│ │ - 55,720. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 13 }│ │ - │ 15│ 20 }│ 1 in 55 │ 261 - │ │ │ │ - │ 1│ }│ │ - │ 2│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 10│ │ - │ Births │ 1 in 47 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Martin in the │ │ │ │ - Fields. │ 3│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 25,195. │ │ │ │ - │ 17│ 15 }│ │ - │ 14│ 13 }│ 1 in 36 │ 200 - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 18 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 11│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 4 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Poplar. Population│ 1│ }│ │ - 31,091. │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 13 }│ │ - │ 9│ 14 }│ 1 in 47 │ 186 - │ │ │ │ - │ │ 3 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 7│ 11│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 28 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Marylebone. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 3│ }│ │ - 137,955. │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 12 }│ │ - │ 14│ 16 }│ 1 in 45 │ 857[52] - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 12 }│ │ - │ 8│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 11│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 39 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Stepney. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 90,657. │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 8 }│ │ - │ 14│ 16 }│ 1 in 41 │ 620[53] - │ │ │ │ - │ 6│ 17 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 11│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 36 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Mary, │ │ │ │ - Newington. │ │ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 54,607. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 13 }│ │ - │ 10│ 17 }│ 1 in 46 │ 338 - │ │ │ │ - │ 3│ 9 }│ │ - │ 2│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 7│ 11│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 34 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Pancras. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 1│ }│ │ - 129,711. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 12 }│ │ - │ 15│ 17 }│ 1 in 43 │ 934[54] - │ │ │ │ - │ 7│ 16 }│ │ - │ 1│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 12│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 46 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - West London. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 4│ 1 }│ │ - 33,629. │ │ │ │ - │ 13│ 17 }│ │ - │ 16│ 17 }│ 1 in 27 │ 337[55] - │ │ │ │ - │ 15│ 1 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 13│ 12│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 48 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Whitechapel. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 71,758. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 13 }│ │ - │ 14│ 14 }│ 1 in 31 │ 768[56] - │ │ │ │ - │ 4│ 23 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 13│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 34 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. James │ │ │ │ - Westminster. │ 5│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 37,407. │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 13 }│ │ - │ 16│ 18 }│ 1 in 50 │ 251 - │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 19 }│ │ - │ 4│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 13│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 44 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - East London. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 39,655. │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 16 }│ │ - │ 11│ 18 }│ 1 in 36 │ 372 - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 1 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 13│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 32 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Holborn. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 4│ }│ │ - 39,720. │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 15 }│ │ - │ 12│ 20 }│ 1 in 36 │ 367 - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ }│ │ - │ 2│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 13│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 41 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Shoreditch. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 83,552. │ │ │ │ - │ 15│ 16 }│ │ - │ 11│ 20 }│ 1 in 38 │ 732[57] - │ │ │ │ - │ 5│ 2 }│ │ - │ 5│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 13│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 27 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - City London. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ }│ │ - 55,967. │ │ │ │ - │ 14│ 16 }│ │ - │ 12│ 17 }│ 1 in 50 │ 403 - │ │ │ │ - │ 4│ }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 14│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 46 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. John & St. │ │ │ │ - Margaret, │ │ │ │ - Westminster. │ 7│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 56,718. │ │ │ │ - │ 16│ 19 }│ │ - │ 14│ 18 }│ 1 in 39 │ 521[58] - │ │ │ │ - │ 6│ }│ │ - │ 5│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 14│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 33 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. James, │ │ │ │ - Clerkenwell. │ 2│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 56,709. │ │ │ │ - │ 13│ 16 }│ │ - │ 12│ 20 }│ 1 in 43 │ 474 - │ │ │ │ - │ 3│ }│ │ - │ 2│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 14│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 32 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. George in the │ │ │ │ - East. Population│ │ }│ │ - 41,351. │ │ │ │ - │ 13│ 16 }│ │ - │ 16│ 12 }│ 1 in 36 │ 408[59] - │ │ │ │ - │ 2│ }│ │ - │ 1│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 14│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 29 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Giles and St. │ │ │ │ - George. │ 2│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 54,250. │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 13 }│ │ - │ 11│ 22 }│ 1 in 36 │ 528[60] - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 4 }│ │ - │ 8│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 14│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 33 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Strand. Population│ 3│ }│ │ - 43,894. │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 14 }│ │ - │ 14│ 18 }│ 1 in 41 │ 413[61] - │ │ │ │ - │ 7│ 11 }│ │ - │ │ │ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 15│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 46 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Lambeth. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 4│ 2 }│ │ - 115,883. │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 18 }│ │ - │ 13│ 20 }│ 1 in 46 │ 979[62] - │ │ │ │ - │ 3│ 4 }│ │ - │ 6│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 15│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 31 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. George, │ │ │ │ - Southwark. │ 1│ }│ │ - Population │ │ │ │ - 46,622. │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 9 }│ │ - │ 9│ 19 }│ 1 in 39 │ 492[63] - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 9 }│ │ - │ 4│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 16│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 30 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Luke. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 6│ 1 }│ │ - 49,982. │ │ │ │ - │ 13│ 14 }│ 1 in 40 │ 538 - │ 13│ 19 }│ │ - │ │ │ │ - │ 4│ 4 }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 12│ 17│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 22 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Bermondsey. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 11│ 19 }│ │ - 34,847. │ │ │ │ - │ 14│ 14 }│ │ - │ 11│ 21 }│ 1 in 42 │ 364[64] - │ │ │ │ - │ 17│ 18 }│ │ - │ 5│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 17│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 30 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - Bethnal Green. │ │ │ │ - Population │ │ 1 }│ │ - 74,087. │ │ │ │ - │ 9│ 15 }│ │ - │ 11│ 21 }│ 1 in 41 │ 791[65] - │ │ │ │ - │ 5│ }│ │ - │ │ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 8│ 17│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 28 │ - ══════════════════╪══════╤════════╪═════════════╪═════════ - St. Savior´s. │ │ │ │ - Population │ 10│ }│ │ - 32,980 │ │ │ │ - │ 10│ 13 }│ │ - │ 17│ 17 }│ 1 in 36 │ 422 - │ │ │ │ - │ 11│ 24 }│ │ - │ 3│ }│ │ - ──────────────────┼──────┼────────┼─────────────┼───────── - │ │ │ │ - │ 14│ 18│ │ - │ Births│ 1 in 29 │ - ──────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────┴───────── - - - No. 12. - EXAMPLES OF ORDINARY UNDERTAKERS’ BILLS IN THE METROPOLIS. - - No. 1. £. _s._ _d._ - Elm coffin, lined, ruffled, mattrass, sheet, and pillow 3 11 0 - Leaden coffin, plate of inscription, 5 men with ditto 6 15 0 - Outside case, brass engraved plate, 5 men with ditto, & 9 9 6 - making-up - Pall 7_s._ 6_d._, 2 porters, scarfs, staves, covers, 2 5 6 - bands, & gloves, 38_s._ - Four gentlemen’s crape scarfs, bands, and gloves 6 12 0 - Seventeen silk ditto ditto 41 5 0 - Hearse, 4 horses, feathers and velvets for ditto 5 16 0 - Five coaches, pairs, ditto for ditto 9 15 0 - Six coach cloaks, bands, and gloves, 60_s._, truncheons 3 6 0 - & wands 6_s._ - Eighteen pages and bearers, silk bands, and gloves 11 14 0 - Attending and assistance, 63_s._; scarf, band, and 5 18 0 - gloves for minister, 5_s._ - Hatband and gloves for clerk and sexton, 30_s._; 1 13 6 - grave-digger, &c. 3_s._ 6_d._ - Paid vault dues 4_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._; letters 20_s._; 5 17 0 - fetching company 4_s._ 6_d._ - Two crape bands and gloves for servants 20_s._; 8 silk 6 0 0 - do. do. 5_s._ - Thirty-four men’s allowance 28_s._ 1 8 0 - ————— —— —— - £ 121 5 0 - ————— —— —— - - - No. 2. - - Elm shell, lined, ruffled, mattrass, sheet, and pillow 3 8 0 - Leaden coffin, plate of inscription, and 5 men with 6 3 0 - do., & making up - Outside case, engraved plate, 5 men with ditto 8 13 0 - Pall 7_s._; 2 porters’ scarfs, staves, bands, and 2 7 0 - gloves - Lid of feathers 21_s._; 3 men with do., and bands and 3 6 0 - gloves 45_s._ - Hearse, 4 horses 2_l._ 14_s._; feathers and velvets for 5 0 0 - ditto, 2_l._ 6_s._ - Two coaches, pairs 2_l._ 14_s._; ditto ditto 1_l._ 3 16 0 - 2_s._ - Three coachmen’s cloaks, bands, and gloves 1 11 6 - Ten pages and bearers 40_s._; bands and gloves for 7 4 0 - ditto. 5_l._; truncheons and wands 4_s._ - Eight gentlemen’s cloaks 8_s._; 4 crape bands, &c., 8 14 0 - 40_s._; 6 silk ditto 6_l._ 6_s._ - Two bands and gloves for clerk and sexton 30_s._; 2 2 7 0 - ditto for private servants 17_s._ - Attending 21_s._; 18 men’s allowances 18_s._; letters 2 4 0 - of invitation 4_s._ - Paid dues 7_l._ 14_s._ 6_d._; pew-opener, &c. 2_s._; 7 18 6 - fetching company 2_s._ - ————— —— —— - £ 62 11 0 - ————— —— —— - - - No. 3. - - Covered coffin, lined, ruffled, plate of inscription, 4 19 0 - mattrass, sheet and pillow - Pall 7_s._ 6_d._; 2 porters, gowns, staves, and for 1 19 6 - bands & gloves 30_s._ - Four gentlemen’s cloaks, crape bands and gloves 1_l._ 2 18 0 - 18_s._; attending ceremony 20_s._ - Hearse and coach, pairs 3_l._ 12_s._; velvets for ditto 5 4 0 - 21_s._; 2 cloaks and bands 11_s._ - Six pages, bands, gloves, truncheons, wands, 62_s._; 3 11 0 - fetching company 9_s._ - Paid 10 men’s allowance 25_s._; stone 10_s._; turnpike, 1 19 0 - gravedigger 4_s._ - ————— —— —— - £ 20 10 6 - ————— —— —— - - - No. 4. - - Smooth elm, polished nails, inscription, lined, 4 10 0 - mattrass, sheet, and pillow - Pall 7_s._; 4 crape bands; 6 ladies’ hoods and gloves 2 17 0 - Attending 5_s._; dues at church 18_s._; 5 men’s 1 9 6 - allowance 6_s._ 6_d._ - ————— —— —— - £ 8 16 6 - ————— —— —— - - - To the Executor of —— ——, Esq. - Dr to —— ——. - - For the Funeral of —— ——, Esq., died 19th February, - aged 80, N. 5 and 84 B., Cemetery, All Souls. - - To a 6 ft. × 22 elm coffin, lined and ruffed with fine 2 10 0 - cotton - Wool bed 0 10 6 - Fine sheet and pillow 0 18 0 - Lead coffin, solder, and workmanship 6 18 0 - Lead plate of inscription 0 5 0 - Inch and a half oak coffin, made to receive the above, - covered with fine black cloth, 3 rows of brass nails, 15 15 0 - 4 pair of large handles, star and serpent, and - finished with rays - Brass plate of inscription 2 8 0 - To the use of the best velvet pall 0 10 6 - Three crape hatbands 0 12 0 - Three crape scarfs 3 0 0 - Silk scarf, hatbands, and gloves, the Rev. Mr. Lynarn 2 6 0 - Seven silk scarfs 10 10 O - Seven silk hatbands 4 7 6 - Five silk scarfs, hatbands, and gloves, Rev. Mr. Rue, 11 10 O - Mr. Hawes Smith, Rule Field - Eleven pair of kid gloves 1 18 6 - Two porters, with silk dressings 0 16 0 - Two hatbands and gloves for ditto 0 15 0 - The plume of ostrich feathers 1 1 0 - Man carrying ditto 0 6 6 - Silk hatbands and gloves for ditto 0 7 6 - Hearse and four 3 10 0 - Feathers and velvets for ditto 2 18 0 - Three mourning coaches and four 10 10 0 - Feathers and velvets for ditto 2 14 0 - Four coachman’s cloaks 0 4 0 - Silk hatbands and gloves for ditto 1 10 0 - Eight hearse pages, with truncheons 1 16 0 - Silk hatbands and gloves for ditto 3 0 0 - Six coach pages, with wands 1 7 0 - Silk hatbands and gloves for ditto 2 5 0 - Silk hatband and gloves for clerk at the ground 0 12 6 - Four hatbands and gloves for servants of the two 2 10 0 - carriages - One hatband and gloves for terrace beadle 0 10 6 - One hatband and gloves for man servant 0 7 6 - Four pair of habit gloves 0 12 0 - Attending the funeral 1 1 0 - Silk hatband and gloves 0 16 0 - Twenty-six men’s expenses as customary 1 19 0 - Turnpikes 0 6 6 - Paid dues at the cemetery 22 7 6 - Silk scarf, hatband, and gloves (Mr. Owen) 2 6 0 - Paid for the bell 0 6 6 - ————— —— —— - £ 130 16 0 - ————— —— —— - - The Funeral Expenses of Mary Maria ——, - - Performed by ——, ——. - - Nov. 15, 1834. £. _s._ _d._ - - 5 ft. 9 inch. 17 elm, lined, ruffed super linen 2 5 0 - Tufted mattrass 0 14 0 - No. 10 shroud, sheet, cap, and pillow 2 5 0 - Stout lead coffin, soldering up 7 7 0 - Lead plate ditto 0 5 0 - Six men with lead coffin 0 18 0 - Two men attending on the surgeons 0 6 0 - Making up—plumbers 0 5 0 - Elm case, covered with fine black cloth, set 2 - rows all round, No. 1 nails; 4 pair cherub tin 7 7 0 - handles, gripes and drops; 8 screws, black - Brass engraved plate, fine lacquered 2 12 6 - Six men in with case moving down stairs 0 18 0 - - Nov. 21:— - - Best pall, lid of feathers 1 8 0 - Four fine cloaks 0 6 0 - Nine rich silk bands for gentlemen 6 6 0 - Nine pair gentlemen’s best kid gloves 1 16 0 - Two porters and furniture 16_s._ 0 18 0 - Featherman, 2 pages and wands 0 12 6 - Hearse and 4 horses 2 12 0 - Feathers and velvets for ditto 3 3 0 - Six hearse pages and truncheons 1 5 0 - Mourning coach and four horses 2 12 0 - Feathers and velvets for ditto 1 1 0 - Two coach pages and wands 0 8 6 - Two coachmen’s cloaks 0 2 0 - Two velvet hammercloths 0 6 0 - Attending funeral 0 7 6 - Fifteen silk bands for 2 porters, 8 pages, 3 6 0 0 - feathermen, and 2 coachmen - Fifteen pair gloves for ditto 1 2 6 - Paid dues at St. Margaret’s 2 9 6 - Lead fees ditto 0 16 7 - Bell and searchers 0 8 0 - Bearers 0 3 0 - Sexton 0 3 0 - Extra digging 0 15 0 - Grave-maker 0 3 0 - Men’s allowance, coffin case and funeral 0 12 6 - — —— — - 5 10 7 - ———— —— —— - £ 60 19 1 - ———— —— —— - - - _Exposition of the English Law in respect to Perpetuities in Public - Burial Grounds._ - - [From the decision in the case of Gilbert _v._ Buzzard and Boyer, - 2nd Haggard’s Reports of Cases argued and determined in the - Consistory Court of London, containing the Judgments of the Right - Hon. Lord Stowell.] - -In what way the mortal remains are to be conveyed to the grave, and -there deposited, I do not find any positive rule of law, or of religion, -that prescribes. The authority under which the received practices exist, -is to be found in our manners, rather than in our laws: they have their -origin in natural sentiments of public decency and private affection; -they are ratified by common usage and consent; and being attached to a -subject of the gravest and most impressive nature, remain unaltered by -private caprice and fancy, amidst all the giddy revolutions that are -perpetually varying the modes and fashions that belong to the lighter -circumstances of human life. That bodies should be carried in a state of -naked exposure to the grave, would be a real offence to the living, as -well as an apparent indignity to the dead. Some involucra, or coverings, -have been deemed necessary in all civilized and Christian countries; but -chests or trunks containing the bodies, descending along with them into -the grave, and remaining there till their own decay, cannot plead either -the same necessity, or the same general use. - - * * * * * - -The rule of law which says, that a man has a right to be buried in his -own church-yard, is to be found, most certainly, in many of our -authoritative text writers; but it is not quite so easy to find the rule -which gives him the right of burying a large chest or trunk in company -with himself. That is no part of his original and absolute right, nor is -it necessarily involved in it. That right, strictly taken, is to be -returned to his parent earth for dissolution, and to be carried thither -in a decent and inoffensive manner. When these purposes are answered, -his rights are, perhaps, fully satisfied in the strict sense in which -any claim, in the nature of an absolute right, can be deemed to extend. - - * * * * * - -It has been argued, that the ground once given to the body is -appropriated to it for ever; it is literally in mortmain unalienably; it -is not only, the _domus ultima_, but the _domus æterna_, of that tenant, -who is never to be disturbed, be his condition what it may; the -introduction of another body into that lodgment at any time, however -distant, is an unwarrantable intrusion. If these positions be true, it -certainly follows, that the question of comparative duration sinks into -utter insignificance. - -In support of them, it seems to be assumed, that the tenant himself is -imperishable; for, surely, there can be no inextinguishable title, no -perpetuity of possession, belonging to a subject which itself is -perishable. But the fact is, that “man” and “for ever” are terms quite -incompatible in any state of his existence, dead or living, in this -world. The time must come when “_ipsæ periere ruinæ_,” when the -posthumous remains must mingle with, and compose a part of, that soil in -which they have been deposited. Precious embalmments, and costly -monuments may preserve for a long time the remains of those who have -filled the more commanding stations of human life; but the common lot of -mankind furnishes no such means of conservation. With reference to them, -the _domus æterna_ is a mere flourish of rhetoric; the process of nature -will speedily resolve them into an intimate mixture with their kindred -dust; and their dust will help to furnish a place of repose for other -occupants in succession. It is objected, that no precise time can be -fixed at which the mortal remains, and the chest which contains them, -shall undergo the complete process of dissolution, and it certainly -cannot; being dependent upon circumstances that vary, upon difference of -soils, and exposures of seasons and climates; but observation can -ascertain them sufficiently for practical use. The experience of not -many years is required to furnish a sufficient certainty for such a -purpose. - -Founded on such facts and considerations, the legal doctrine certainly -is, and has remained, unaffected; that the common cemetery is not _res -unius ætatis_, the property of one generation now departed, but is, -likewise, the common property of the living, and of generations yet -unborn, and is subject only to temporary appropriations. There exists in -the whole a right of succession, which can be lawfully obstructed only -in a portion of it, by public authority, that of the ecclesiastical -magistrate, who gives occasionally an exclusive title, in such portion, -to the succession of some family, or to an individual, who has a fair -claim to be favoured by such a distinction; and this, not without a just -consideration of its expedience, and a due attention to the objections -of those who oppose such an alienation from the common property. Even a -bricked grave, granted without such an authority, is an aggression upon -the common freehold interests, and carries the pretensions of the dead -to an extent that violates the rights of the living. - -If this view of the matter be just, all contrivances that, whether -intentionally or not, prolong the time of dissolution beyond the period -at which the common local understanding and usage have fixed it, is an -act of injustice, unless compensated in some way or other. In country -parishes, where the population is small, and the cemetery is large, it -is a matter less worthy of consideration; more ground can be spared, and -less is wanted; but, in populous parishes, in large and crowded cities, -the indulgence of an exclusive possession is unavoidably limited; for, -unless limited, evils of most formidable magnitude take place. -Churchyards cannot be made commensurate to the demands of a large and -increasing population; the period of decay and dissolution does not -arrive fast enough in the accustomed mode of depositing bodies in the -earth, to evacuate the ground for the use of succeeding claimants: new -cemeteries must be purchased at an enormous expense to the parish, and -to be used at an increased expense to families, and at the inconvenience -of their being compelled to resort to very incommodious distances for -attending on the offices of interment. - -In this very parish three additional burial-grounds are alleged to have -been purchased, and to be now nearly filled. This is the progress of -things in their ordinary course; and if to this is to be added the -general introduction of a new mode of interment, which is to ensure to -bodies a much longer possession, the evil will become intolerable, and a -comparatively small portion of the dead will shoulder out the living and -their posterity. The whole environs of this metropolis will be -surrounded with a circumvallation of church-yards, perpetually -increasing, by becoming themselves surcharged with bodies, if indeed -land-owners can be found who will be willing to divert their ground from -the beneficial uses of the living to the barren preservation of the -dead, contrary to the humane maxim quoted by Tully from Plato’s -Republic:—“Quæ terra fruges ferre, et, ut mater, cibos, suppeditare -possit, eam ne quis nobis minuat, _neve vivus neve mortuus_.” - - - No. 13. - -[Illustration: - - VIEW OF THE EXTENT OF INTRA-MURAL BURIAL GROUND PROVIDED, AS COMPARED - WITH THE QUANTITY REQUIRED FOR THE METROPOLIS, AT THE STANDARD OF - 110 PER ACRE.—Vide Report, § 159, § 160, § 161, § 171. - - The plan represents the statistical facts and proportions of space - after the mode used by Mr. Sopwith, the engineer. Each square of the - subjoined plate represents an acre. The extent of squares coloured - shows the extent of ground occupied by each religious denomination. - The blank spaces show the extent of deficiency of public ground for - the burial of the population in single graves. -] - - BURIAL FEES.—_A Return of the Amount of the Burial Fess received by - the Clergymen of several of the Parishes of the Metropolis was - given in to the Committee of the House of Commons by the Bishop of - London. The following Table gives the same Amount of Fees divided - by the Returns of the Number of Burials, in the Years 1830, 1831, - and 1832, returned from the several Parishes, to an order of the - House of Commons made in the Year 1834._ - - - ┌────────────────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬────────────┐ - │ PARISHES. │No. of │No. of │No. of │Average│ Amount of │ - │ │Burials│Burials│Burials│of the │Burial Fees │ - │ │ in │ in │ in │ three │ in 1838. │ - │ │ 1830. │ 1831. │ 1832. │Years. │ │ - ├────────────────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼────────────┤ - │ │ │ │ │ │£. _s._ _d._│ - │St. James, │ 1,063│ 1,168│ 1,087│ 1,106│ 329 0 0│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Botolph, │ 248│ 300│ 319│ 289│ 36 1 2│ - │ Bishopsgate │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George the │ 158│ 218│ 147│ 174│ 70 12 6│ - │ Martyr │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. John, │ 815│ 893│ 984│ 897│ 123 7 0│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George in │ 705│ 681│ 802│ 729│ 101 15 0│ - │ the East │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Bride │ 162│ 223│ 175│ 187│ 51 6 8│ - │St. Giles and │ │ │ │ │ │ - │ St. George, │ 1,296│ 1,669│ 1,934│ 1,633│ 1,038 4 0│ - │ Bloomsbury │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Dunstan, │ 115│ 113│ 122│ 117│ 39 9 2│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Clement │ 395│ 524│ 494│ 471│ 121 14 9│ - │ Danes │ │ │ │ │ │ - │Bethnal Green │ 617│ 951│ 1,064│ 877│ 71 4 0│ - │St. Botolph, │ 140│ 169│ 160│ 156│ 60 8 4│ - │ Aldersgate │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George, │ 1,224│ 1,389│ 1,389│ 1,334│ 597 17 0│ - │ Hanover Sq. │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Giles, │ 231│ 225│ 307│ 254│ 87 9 6│ - │ Cripplegate │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Andrew, │ 587│ 586│ 847│ 673│ 306 0 1│ - │ Holborn │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Catherine │ 36│ 33│ 40│ 36│ 75 3 6│ - │ Cree │ │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Olave, Hart │ 22│ 19│ 28│ 23│ 60 8 0│ - │ Street │ │ │ │ │ │ - │Allhallows │ 50│ 64│ 66│ 60│ 31 9 6│ - │ Barking │ │ │ │ │ │ - │Total │ 7,864│ 9,224│ 9,965│ 9,016│ 3,202 0 2│ - └────────────────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴────────────┘ - - ┌────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬─────────────┬────────────┐ - │ PARISHES. │ Amount of │ Amount of │ Average │ │ - │ │Burial Fees │Burial Fees │Burial Fees, │Average Fee │ - │ │ in 1839. │ in 1840. │ 1838–9–40. │per Burial. │ - │ │ │ │ │ │ - ├────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┼────────────┤ - │ │£. _s._ _d._│£. _s._ _d._│£. _s._ _d._ │£. _s._ _d._│ - │St. James, │ 298 0 0│ 246 0 0│291 0 0[66]│ 0 5 3│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Botolph, │ 42 7 2│ 23 9 10│ 33 19 4│ 0 2 3│ - │ Bishopsgate │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George the │ 59 5 10│ 59 0 8│ 62 19 8│ 0 7 3│ - │ Martyr │ │ │ │ │ - │St. John, │ 93 19 8│ 105 13 7│ 107 13 5│ 0 2 5│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George in │ 101 8 6│ 74 8 6│ 92 10 8│ 0 2 6│ - │ the East │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Bride │ 51 2 0│81 2 4[67]│ 61 3 8│ 0 6 7│ - │St. Giles and │ │ │ │ │ - │ St. George, │ 768 4 0│ 870 15 0│ 892 7 8│ 0 10 11│ - │ Bloomsbury │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Dunstan, │ 24 0 8│ 35 5 10│ 32 18 7│ 0 5 8│ - │ Westminster │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Clement │ 112 19 10│ 86 3 4│ 106 19 4│ 0 4 6│ - │ Danes │ │ │ │ │ - │Bethnal Green │ 67 4 0│ 62 3 6│ 66 17 2│ 0 1 6│ - │St. Botolph, │ 58 2 8│ 45 10 0│ 54 13 8│ 0 7 0│ - │ Aldersgate │ │ │ │ │ - │St. George, │ 423 8 2│ 488 11 2│ 503 5 5│ 0 7 7│ - │ Hanover Sq. │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Giles, │ 66 6 10│ 56 14 10│ 70 3 9│ 0 5 6│ - │ Cripplegate │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Andrew, │ 324 14 1│ 223 15 2│ 284 16 5│ 0 8 6│ - │ Holborn │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Catherine │ 43 16 6│ 56 13 6│ 58 11 2│ 1 12 6│ - │ Cree │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Olave, Hart │ 37 4 0│ 32 2 0│ 43 4 8│ 1 17 7│ - │ Street │ │ │ │ │ - │Allhallows │ 7 19 0│ 15 16 6│ 18 11 8│ 1 6 2│ - │ Barking │ │ │ │ │ - │Total │ 2,580 2 11│ 2,563 5 9│ 2,781 16 3│ 0 6 2│ - └────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴─────────────┴────────────┘ - - N.B.—This List specifics only the Clergyman’s Fees, not those paid to - the Churchwardens, Clerk, or Sexton. - - PAROCHIAL BURIAL-GROUNDS IN THE METROPOLIS. - - ┌──────────────────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┬─────────┬───────┐ - │ │ │Estimated│ Annual │No. of │ - │ PLACES OF BURIAL. │Population│Extent in│Number of│Burials│ - │ │ in 1841. │ Square │Burials. │ per │ - │ │ │ Yards. │ │ Acre. │ - ├──────────────────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────┤ - │Allhallows Barking, Great │ 1,924│ 825│ 50│ 293│ - │ Tower Street │ │ │ │ │ - │All hallows, Bread Street │ 263│ 100│‘Scarcely│ │ - │ │ │ │ any’ │ │ - │Allhallows, Lombard Street │ 516│ 350│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used.’ │ │ - │Allhallows, London Wall │ 1,620│ 615│ 24│ 189│ - │Allhallows, Staining Lane │ 502│ 619│ 20│ 156│ - │Allhallows-the-Great, Thames │ 672│ 346}│ 50│ 319│ - │ Street │ │ │ │ │ - │Allhallows-the-Less, ditto │ 181│ 412}│ │ │ - │Alphage, St. London Wall │ 976│ 388│ 50│ 624│ - │Andrew’s. St │ 35,301│ 4,840│ 250│ 250│ - │Andrew’s, St. Burial-ground, │ │ 9,258│ 312│ 163│ - │ Gray’s Inn Lane │ │ │ │ │ - │Andrew’s, St. Undershaft │ 1,163│ 265│ 70│ 1,278│ - │Andrew’s, St. Wardrobe, and │ 3,596│ 657│ 100│ 737│ - │ St. Ann, Blackfriars │ │ │ │ │ - │Anne, St. and St. Agnes within│ 513│ 1,650│ 70│ 205│ - │ Aldersgate │ │ │ │ │ - │Ann’s, St. Limehouse │ 19,337│ 24,500│ 150│ 30│ - │Anne’s, St. Soho │ 16,480│ 2,732│ 200│ 354│ - │Augustine’s, St. and St. │ 1,070│ 3,700│ 30│ 39│ - │ Faith’s. │ │ │ │ │ - │Bartholomew, St. the Great │ 3,414│ 783│ 100│ 618│ - │Bartholomew, St. the Less │ 744│ 183│ 8│ 212│ - │Benet, St. Fink │ 383│ 277│ 6│ 105│ - │Benet, St. Paul’s Wharf │ 588│ 297│ 36│ 587│ - │Bennet, St. Sherehog │ 145│ 145│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used.’ │ │ - │Botolph, St. Aldersgate │ 5,906│ 1,918│ 250│ 631│ - │Botolph, St. Aldgate │ 9,525│ 1,545│ 250│ 783│ - │Botolph, St. Bishopsgate │ 10,969│ 3,034│ 250│ 399│ - │Botolph, St. by Billingsgate │ 278│ 266│ 3│ 55│ - │Bride’s, St. Fleet Street } │ 6,126│ 1,472│ 130│ 427│ - │ Ditto, Ground in Farringdon │ │ │ │ │ - │ Street } │ │ │ │ │ - │[68]Bridewell Chapel │ 529│ 2,400│ 10│ 20│ - │Broadway Chapel of Ease to St.│ │ 7,220│ 500│ 335│ - │ Margaret’s and St. John │ │ │ │ │ - │Catherine, St. Coleman Street │ 322│ 388│ 36│ 449│ - │Catherine, St. Cree, or │ 1,740│ 1,100│ 100│ 440│ - │ Christchurch │ │ │ │ │ - │Chapel Royal, Tower │ │ 525│ 4│ 37│ - │Charlton Church │ │ 2,150│ 30│ 68│ - │Chelsea Hospital Burial-ground│Vide St. │ 6,696│ 55│ 40│ - │ │ Luke. │ │ │ │ - │Chelsea Old Church │Vide St. │ 1,210│ 6│ 24│ - │ │ Luke. │ │ │ │ - │Christ Church, Blackfriars │ │ 8,448│ 520│ 298│ - │ Road │ │ │ │ │ - │Christ Church, Newgate Street │ 2,446│ 1,934│ 30│ 75│ - │Christ Church, Spitalfields │ 20,436│ 6,413│ 350│ 264│ - │Clement, St. Danes │ 15,459│ 1,736│ 100│ 279│ - │Clement, St. Danes, 2nd │ │ 1,422│ 300│ 1,021│ - │ Ground, Portugal Street │ │ │ │ │ - │Cripplegate Poor-ground, │ │ 1,400│ 100│ 346│ - │ Warwickplace, St. Luke’s │ │ │ │ │ - │Dionis, St. Backchurch │ 806│ 132│ 20│ 733│ - │Dunstan, St. Fleet Street │ 3,266│ 851│ 208│ 1,182│ - │Dunstan, St. in the East │ 1,010│ 600│ 150│ 1,210│ - │Dunstan, St. Stepney │ 63,723│ 21,795│ 200│ 44│ - │East India Company’s Chapel │ │ 6,447│ 60│ 45│ - │ Yard, High Street Poplar │ │ │ │ │ - │Edmund, St. the King │ 391│ 164│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used.’ │ │ - │Ethelburga, St. │ 669│ 240│ 30│ 605│ - │Fulham Church │ 9,319│ 12,000│ 200│ 81│ - │George’s, St. Bloomsbury │ 16,981│ 12,100│ 300│ 120│ - │George, St. Botolph Lane │ 235│ 76│ 2│ 127│ - │George’s, St. District Church,│ 39,868│ 11,640│ 100│ 42│ - │ Camberwell │ │ │ │ │ - │George, St. Hanover Square, │ 66,453│ 21,200│ 1,200│ 240│ - │ Burial-ground, Uxbridge Road│ │ │ │ │ - │George, St. in the East │ 41,350│ 15,000│ 500│ 161│ - │George, St. the Martyr │Vide St. │ 12,100│ 200│ 80│ - │ │ Andrew’s.│ │ │ │ - │George, St. Burial-ground, Old│ 46,644│ 1,368│ 130│ 460│ - │ Kent Road │ │ │ │ │ - │George, St. the Martyr, │ │ 4,050│ 470│ 562│ - │ Southwark │ │ │ │ │ - │Giles, St. Camberwell │ 39,868│ 16,000│ 500│ 151│ - │Giles, St. Cripplegate │ 13,255│ 4,700│ 200│ 206│ - │Giles, St. in the Fields │ 37,311│ 4,958│ 400│ 390│ - │ Ditto, Burial-ground, St. │ │ 24,200│ 1,560│ 312│ - │ Pancras │ │ │ │ │ - │Greenwich Church │ 29,755│ 2,740│ 700│ 1,236│ - │[69]Greenwich Hospital │ │ 22,480│ 300│ 65│ - │ Burial-ground │ │ │ │ │ - │Gregory, St. by St. Paul’s │ 1,444│ 1,095│ 100│ 442│ - │Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley│ │ 6,000│ 36│ 29│ - │ Street │ │ │ │ │ - │[69]Guy’s Hospital Ground, │ │ 3,120│ 85│ 132│ - │ Snow’s Fields │ │ │ │ │ - │Hackney, South │Vide St. │ 3,300│ 100│ 145│ - │ │ John │ │ │ │ - │Hackney, West │Vide St. │ 6,534│ 200│ 148│ - │ │ John │ │ │ │ - │Helen, St. Great │ 659│ 779│ 30│ 186│ - │Holy Trinity, Brompton │ 9,515│ 26,524│ 100│ 18│ - │Islington Chapel of Ease │ │ 17,659│ 416│ 114│ - │James, St. Chapel of Ease, │ │ 3,500│ 350│ 484│ - │ Clerkenwell │ │ │ │ │ - │James, St. Clerkenwell │ 56,756│ 2,000│ 400│ 968│ - │James, St. Burial-ground, Ray │ │ 800│ 150│ 907│ - │ Street, Clerkenwell │ │ │ │ │ - │James, St. Clerkenwell, 2nd │ │ 1,000│ 300│ 1,452│ - │ Ground │ │ │ │ │ - │James, St. Duke’s Place │ 964│ 338│ 15│ 215│ - │James, St. Garlickhithe │ 520│ 162│ 20│ 598│ - │James, St. New Church │ │ 8,100│ 260│ 155│ - │James, St. Piccadilly │ │ 4,840│ 60│ 60│ - │ Ditto, Burial-ground, │ │ 26,620│ 624│ 113│ - │ Hampstead Road │ │ │ │ │ - │John, St. Baptist, Savoy │ 414│ 600│ 50│ 403│ - │John’s, St. Chapel of Ease │ │ 26,000│ 1,560│ 290│ - │John’s. St. Chapel, Walworth │ │ 6,400│ 150│ 113│ - │John’s, St. Church, Waltham │ │ 3,600│ 15│ 20│ - │ Green │ │ │ │ │ - │John’s, St. Clerkenwell │Vide St. │ 315│ 200│ 3,073│ - │ │ James │ │ │ │ - │ Ditto, Burial-ground, │ │ 1,079│ 12│ 54│ - │ Benjamin Street │ │ │ │ │ - │John, St. the Evangelist │ 108│ 7,260│ 500│ 333│ - │John, St. the Evangelist, │ │ 9,740│ 250│ 124│ - │ Horslydown │ │ │ │ │ - │John, St. the Evangelist, │ │ 5,924│ 400│ 327│ - │ Great Waterloo Street │ │ │ │ │ - │John’s, St. Hackney │ 37,771│ 31,000│ 700│ 108│ - │John, St. the Baptist │ 367│ 363│ 12│ 160│ - │John, St. High Street, Wapping│ 4,108│ 6,600│ 250│ 183│ - │John’s, St. Hoxton │ │ 6,050│ 600│ 480│ - │John, St. Zachary │ 183│ 905│ 6│ 32│ - │King’s Road, Chelsea │ │ 4,840│ 130│ 130│ - │Lawrence, St. Jewry │ 625│ 200│ 35│ 847│ - │Leonard’s, St. Ground, Hackney│ │ 2,000│ 225│ 544│ - │ Road │ │ │ │ │ - │Leonard’s, St. Shoreditch │ 83,432│ 8,000│ 300│ 181│ - │Luke’s, St. Burial-ground, │ │ 1,240│ 200│ 781│ - │ Bath Street │ │ │ │ │ - │Luke, St. Chelsea, New Church │ 40,179│ 19,360│ 468│ 117│ - │Luke’s, St. Old Street │ 49,829│ 9,287│ 500│ 261│ - │Magnus, St. │ 239│ 44│ 6│ 660│ - │Margaret’s. St │ │ 5,000│ 50│ 48│ - │Margaret, St. Lothbury │ 189│ 291│ 12│ 300│ - │Margaret, St. Pattens, with } │ 553│ 81│‘Closed’ │ │ - │ St. Gabriel, Fenchurch │ │ 473│ 4│ 41│ - │ Street } │ │ │ │ │ - │Mark’s, St. Kennington │ │ 8960│ 500│ 270│ - │Martin, St. in the Fields, │ │ 19,360│ 832│ 208│ - │ Burial-ground, Camden Town │ │ │ │ │ - │ Ditto, Burial-ground, Drury │ │ 1,269│ 40│ 153│ - │ Lane │ │ │ │ │ - │Martin, St. Orgars │ 353│ 99│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Martin. St. Outwich │ 135│ 123│ 12│ 472│ - │Martin, St. Vintry │ 288│ 450│ 3│ 32│ - │Mary, St. Abbotts, Kensington │ 26,834│ 6,620│ 330│ 241│ - │Mary, St. Abchurch, with St. │ 907│ 566│ 6│ 51│ - │ Lawrence Pountney │ │ │ │ │ - │Mary, St. Aldermanbury │ 751│ 313│ 30│ 464│ - │Mary’s, St. Burial-ground │ │ 2,776│ 200│ 349│ - │Mary, St. Aldermary │ 494│ 173│ 8│ 224│ - │Mary, St. at Hill │ 987│ 167│ 40│ 1,159│ - │Mary, St. at Bow │ │ 2,716│ 52│ 93│ - │Mary, St. Chapel, Hammersmith │ │ 8,960│ 20│ 11│ - │Mary, St. Haggerstone │ │ 7,260│ 100│ 67│ - │Mary, St. Lambeth │ 115,888│ 2,400│ 250│ 504│ - │Mary, St. Islington │ 55,690│ 7,450│ 750│ 487│ - │Mary, St. le-Strand, │ │ 473│ 90│ 921│ - │ Burial-ground, Russell Court│ │ │ │ │ - │Mary, St. le-Strand │ 2,520│ 200│ 12│ 290│ - │Mary. St. Love Lane │ │ 100│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Mary Magdalen, St │ │ 288│ 12│ 202│ - │Mary Magdalen, St. Bermondsey │ 34,947│ 9,184│ 600│ 316│ - │Mary’s, St. Newington │ 54,606│ 8,160│ 350│ 208│ - │Mary’s, St. Paddington │ 25,173│ 20,116│ 936│ 222│ - │Mary’s, St. Rotherhithe, and │ 13,917│ 11,800 }│ 345│ 139│ - │ Trinity District Church │ │ 200 }│ │ │ - │Mary, St. Somerset │ 375│ 389│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Mary. St. Staining │ 268│ 423│ │ │ - │Mary’s, St. Stoke Newington │ │ 3,000│ 50│ 81│ - │Mary’s, St. Whitechapel │ 34,053│ 4,219│ 150│ 172│ - │ Ditto. Workhouse-ground │ │ 2,776│ 200│ 349│ - │Mary, St. Woolnoth │ 317│ 33│‘Very │ │ - │ │ │ │ few’ │ │ - │Mary, St. Woolwich │ 25,785│ 12,800│ 600│ 227│ - │Mary-le-bone, St. │ 138,164│ 13,500│ 520│ 186│ - │Mary-le-bone, St. Old Church, │ 1138,164│ 12,000│ 36│ 87│ - │ High Street │ │ │ │ │ - │Mary-le-Bow, St │ 346│ 250│ 30│ 581│ - │Matthew, St. Bethnal Green │ 74,088│ 12,100│ 600│ 240│ - │Matthew, St. Friday Street │ 160│ 208│ 21│ 489│ - │Michael, St. Bassishaw │ 687│ 222│ 30│ 654│ - │Michael, St. Cornhill │ 454│ 240│ 6│ 121│ - │Michael, St. Queenhithe │ 647│ 266 }│ 30│ 342│ - │ Ditto, Burial-ground, │ │ 158 }│ │ │ - │ Trinity Lane │ │ │ │ │ - │Mildred, St. Bread Street │ 351│ 242│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Mildred, St. Poultry │ 280│ 84│ │ │ - │Nicholas, St. Acon │ 194│ 287│ │ │ - │Nicholas, St. Cole Abbey │ 254│ 67│‘Never │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Nicholas, St. Olave │ 431│ 334│ 20│ 290│ - │Pancras, St. Old Church │ 129,763│ 24,200│ 400│ 80│ - │Paradise Row Burying-ground │ │ 8,532│ 1,040│ 590│ - │[70]Paul’s, St. Cathedral │ │ 3,745│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Paul’s. St. Covent Garden │ 5,718│ 4,064 }│ 200│ 129│ - │ Ditto. Burial-ground │ │ 3,455}│ │ │ - │ contiguous to workhouse │ │ │ │ │ - │Paul’s, St. Deptford │ │ 12,000│ 360│ 145│ - │Paul’s, St. Hammersmith │ 9,888│ 6,888│ 200│ 141│ - │Paul’s, St. Shadwell │ 10,060│ 3,000│ 250│ 403│ - │[71]Penitentiary Burial Ground│ │ 432│ 10│ 112│ - │Peter, St. Cheap, corner of │ 227│ 96│‘Never │ │ - │ Wood St │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Peter, St. Cornhill │ 656│ 287│ 40│ 674│ - │Peter, St. District Church, │ │ 7,800│ 300│ 186│ - │ Walworth │ │ │ │ │ - │Peter-le-Poor, St. │ 559│ 48│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Peter’s, St. New Church, │ 3,565│ 1,210│ 50│ 200│ - │ Hammersmith │ │ │ │ │ - │Peter, St. Paul’s Wharf │ 341│ 292│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Poplar New Church │ 20,342│ 14,686│ 300│ 99│ - │Olave, St. Hart Street │ 816│ 462│ 36│ 377│ - │Olave, St. Jewry │ 168│ 306│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Olave, St. Silver Street │ 972│ 335│‘Never │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │Olave’s, St. Tooley Street │ 6,745│ 770│ 200│ 1,257│ - │Saviour’s, St │ 18,219│ 2,700 }│ │ │ - │ Ditto, Cross Bones Ground, │ │ 4,500 }│ 244│ 143│ - │ Red Cross Street } │ │ │ │ │ - │ Ditto. College Park Street │ │ 1,040 }│ │ │ - │Sepulchre, St │ │ 1,746 }│ │ │ - │ Ditto, in Church Lane │ 12,325│ 1,785 }│ 256│ 293│ - │ Ditto, in Durham Yard │ │ 702 }│ │ │ - │Stephen, St. Walbrook │ 322│ 306│ 50│ 791│ - │Swithin’s, St. Cannon Street │ 389│ 241│ 20│ 402│ - │ Ditto, 2nd Ground │ │ 66│ 24│ 1,760│ - │Temple Church, St. Mary’s │ │ 400│‘Very │ │ - │ │ │ │ few’ │ │ - │Thomas Apostle, St. │ 648│ 340│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ │ used’ │ │ - │[71]Thomas, St. Hospital │ │ 1,449│ 84│ 282│ - │ Ground, Snow’s Fields │ │ │ │ │ - │Trinity Church, Minories │ 579│ 302│ 7│ 112│ - │Vedast, St │ 427│ 108│ │ 179│ - └──────────────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┴─────────┴───────┘ - - PROTESTANT DISSENTERS’ BURIAL-GROUNDS AND OTHERS. - - ┌───────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┐ - │ │Estimated│ Annual │ No. of │ - │ PLACES OF BURIAL. │Extent in│Number of│ Burials │ - │ │ Sq. │Burials. │per Acre.│ - │ │ Yards. │ │ │ - ├───────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │ EPISCOPALIANS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │St. Leonard’s, Chapel, Bromley │ 270│ 52│ 932│ - │St. George’s, Chapel, New Road │ 3,250│ 125│ 186│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ PRESBYTERIANS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Gravel Pit Chapel, Hackney │ 3,300│ 100│ 147│ - │St. Andrew’s, Scotch Church │ 900│ 100│ 538│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ CONGREGATIONALISTS OR INDEPENDENTS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Independent Chapel, Greenwich │ 1,000│ 100│ 484│ - │Pulling’s Chapel, Deptford │ 400│ 50│ 605│ - │Wickliffe Chapel, Stepney │ 600│ 150│ 1,210│ - │Ebenezer Chapel, Shadwell │ 680│ 120│ 854│ - │Dr. Burder’s, Hackney │ 3,168│ 100│ 153│ - │Meeting House, Old Gravel Lane │ 60│ 4│ 23│ - │Esher Street, Lambeth │ 1,210│ 72│ 288│ - │Brunswick Chapel, Three Colts Street │ 480│ 72│ 524│ - │Collier’s Rents, Borough │ 970│ 50│ 249│ - │Abney Chapel, Stoke Newington │ 780│ 36│ 223│ - │Mile End Chapel │ 2,420│ 52│ 104│ - │Trinity Chapel, Poplar │ 1,200│ 36│ 145│ - │Stockwell Green │ 725│‘Very │ │ - │ │ │ few’ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ BAPTISTS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Enon Chapel, Woolwich │ 112│ 25│ 1,080│ - │Worship Street Chapel │ 720│ 30│ 202│ - │Regent Street, Lambeth │ 320│ 12│ 181│ - │Cox’s, Dr., Chapel, Hackney │ 824│ 26│ 153│ - │Maze Pond │ 650│ 10│ 74│ - │East Street Chapel │ 140│ 2│ 69│ - │Hammersmith │ 2,420│ 30│ 60│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ WESLEYAN METHODISTS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Methodist Chapel, Woolwich │ 1,226│ 100│ 395│ - │City Road Chapel │ 2,148│ 150│ 338│ - │Stafford Street, Peckham │ 336│ 16│ 230│ - │Wesleyan Chapel, Hammersmith │ 2,430│ 18│ 36│ - │Southwark Chapel, Long Lane, Borough │ 780│‘Very │ │ - │ │ │ few’ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ ROMAN CATHOLICS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Parker Row, Dockhead │ 300│ 100│ 1,613│ - │Moorfields │ 120│ 30│ 1,210│ - │Poplar │ 833│ 140│ 813│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ QUAKERS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Long Lane, Bermondsey │ 2,728│ 60│ 106│ - │Coleman Street │ 4,759│ 35│ 35│ - │Hammersmith │ 1,210│ 1 or 2│ 6│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ JEWS. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Mile End Road │ 4,840│ 52│ 52│ - │North Street, Mile End Road │ 24,200│ 200│ 40│ - │Chelsea │ 4,800│ 22│ 22│ - │Grove Street │ 10,890│ 30│ 13│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ FOREIGN. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Swedish Chapel │ 450│ 10│ 108│ - │ │ │ │ │ - │ UNDESCRIBED. │ │ │ │ - │ │ │ │ │ - │Union Chapel, Woolwich │ 1,500│ 100│ 323│ - │Cannon Street Road │ 2,400│ 550│ 1,109│ - │Paradise Row, Lambeth │ 8,532│ 1,040│ 590│ - │New Bunhill Fields, Islington │ 4,300│ 520│ 585│ - │Ebenezer Chapel, Long Lane │ 265│ 20│ 365│ - │Bunhill Fields │ 18,150│ 600│ 160│ - │Zion Chapel, High Street, Borough │ 210│ 2│ 46│ - │Poplar Chapel │ 8,000│ 52│ 31│ - │Maberly Chapel │ 270│ 3│ 54│ - │Brook Street, Ratcliffe Highway │ 700│ 2 or 3│ 21│ - │Millyard Chapel │ 960│ 1│ 5│ - │Whitfield’s Chapel, St. Pancras │ 4,650│ 300│ 312│ - │York Street Chapel, Lock’s Fields │ 1,860│‘Very │ │ - │ │ │ few’ │ │ - │Denmark Row, Cold Harbour Lane │ 400│ │ │ - │Salem Chapel, Woolwich │ 360│‘Seldom │ │ - │ │ │ any’ │ │ - │Little Alie Street, Goodman’s Fields │‘Small’ │ 6│ │ - └───────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘ - - GENERAL BURIAL-GROUNDS. - - ┌───────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┐ - │ │Estimated│ Annual │ No. of │ - │ PLACES OF BURIAL. │Extent in│Number of│ Burials │ - │ │ Sq. │Burials. │per Acre.│ - │ │ Yards. │ │ │ - ├───────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │[72]Bunhill Fields, City │ 8,000│ 1,000│ 605│ - │[72]Bunhill Fields, New │ 3,250│ 1,560│ 2,323│ - │[72]John’s, St., Borough │ 1,440│ 142│ 477│ - │[72]London, North East │ 24,200│ 250│ 50│ - │[72]Sheen’s New Ground │ 9,680│ 600│ 300[72]│ - │Spa Fields │ 14,520│ 1,560│ 520│ - └───────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘ - - CEMETERIES. - - ┌───────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┐ - │ │Estimated│ Annual │ No. of │ - │ PLACES OF BURIAL. │Extent in│Number of│ Burials │ - │ │ Sq. │Burials. │per Acre.│ - │ │ Yards. │ │ │ - ├───────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ - │Highgate Cemetery │ 101,640│ 220│ 10│ - │Nunhead ditto │ 242,000│ 208│ 4│ - │East London ditto, Beaumont Square, │ 26,620│ 850│ 154│ - │ Mile End │ │ │ │ - │City of London and Tower Hamlets ditto,│ 135,520│ 624│ 22│ - │ Mile End │ │ │ │ - │West of London and Westminster ditto, │ 193,600│ 254│ 6│ - │ Earls Court, Brompton │ │ │ │ - │South Metropolitan ditto, Norwood │ 193,600│ 180│ 5│ - │Kensal Green. All Souls’ Cemetery │ 222,640│ 800│ 17│ - │Abney Park Cemetery │ 145,200│ 200│ 7│ - └───────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘ - ------ - -Footnote 43: - - Art. ‘Mortality,’ Ency. Britan., last edit., p. 524. - -Footnote 44: - - The county of Dublin is left out as having a disproportionate amount - of suburban population. - -Footnote 45: - - The census, which gives not only the description of the houses, but - the different description of buildings or sizes of farms, shows that - in both groups of counties they are nearly of the same size, but the - farms are rather the largest in the best conditioned group. In both - sets, 93 per cent. of the farms are under 30 acres; upwards of 40 per - cent. of them from 1 to 5 acres only; 35 per cent. of them from 5 to - 15 acres; 13 per cent. from 15 to 30 acres; and about 7 per cent. only - above 30 acres; so that the chief differences would apparently be in - their houses. - -Footnote 46: - - By my colleagues and myself, the uncertainty of the returns of - commitments, or of convictions, as data to judge of the amount of - crime committed in any district, was demonstrated in § 1 to § 4 of our - Report as Commissioners of Inquiry into the condition of the - Constabulary Force in England and Wales; but that uncertainty attaches - perhaps in the least degree to the higher classes of crimes. - -Footnote 47: - - Mr. W. B. Robinson, the Registrar for West Hackney District, describes - the condition of the houses where the greatest mortality prevails as - “bad, with murky superficial gutters within a yard of the front doors. - Supply of water bad, quite insufficient for health, and that only - three times a week; cleanliness not prevailing. Shacklewell is, beyond - doubt, the most healthy village in the district, or, I may say (after - nearly 30 years’ practice here), within the same distance from London - (two miles). The only parts of the district that are particularly - unhealthy are the streets I have named, together with Hartwell street, - Dalston; but all these require three things only to render them not - less healthy than the other parts of the neighbourhood: 1. Proper and - effectual drainage, and removal of superficial drains and gutters. 2. - A constant supply of water, so as to wash away impurities in the - drains, and enable the inhabitants to preserve a greater degree of - cleanliness, &c. 3. That the houses should be kept in better repair, - and frequently limewashed; and the privies should be more frequently - emptied, and not allowed to run over; and that any stagnant ditch, - within a certain distance from houses, should be covered over.” - -Footnote 48: - - Mr. E. Jay, Registrar of Hanover-square District.—Name any particular - streets, courts, or houses which, from the number of deaths occurring - therein, and the nature of the diseases, appear to you to be - unhealthy.—“I should therefore say that the most unhealthy streets, - &c., in my district are Oxford-buildings, Brownstreet, Toms-court, - Thomas-street, Grosvenor-market, Grosvenor-mews, George-street, and - Hart-street; and to these, perhaps, may be added North-row, and - Dolphin-court, and Providence-court, also the north end of - Davies-street, adjoining Oxford-street. I have observed small-pox - always to exist, when prevalent anywhere, in No. 24, George-street - (Grosvenor-square); and much sickness and mortality have occurred in - No. 18, Oxford-buildings. Oxford-buildings consist of 18 inhabited - houses, containing many wretched families, principally Irish - labourers; it was improved lately, in consequence of the exertions of - humane individuals, but is still the seat of great poverty and vice. - The ventilation here is so bad, that even visiting the houses is a - disagreeable duty, from the foul air breathed even for a short space - of time. The supply of water is good, and the drainage is reported by - those who attend to the subject to be perfect, as it is throughout the - parish; but the bad effluvia show that there must be some defect in - this point. Three families frequently live in one room, some of the - houses containing upwards of 50 persons; many of them live almost - entirely on potatoes and herrings, and beer when they can get it. Want - of fuel in many cases in winter. Brown-street.—Occupied by the poor - and working class; the rooms very small, badly ventilated, and - cleansed; the damp kitchens, with frequently stone-doors, are lived - and slept in. Living is bad, from the poverty which prevails here. - Hart-street.—Many poor families reside here, often in great want. - Tolerably well drained. Toms-court.—Contains eight houses; inhabitants - in a wretched state in many cases, partly from want of employ, partly - from intemperance. Small-pox and epidemics have raged here. - George-street.—Some of the houses here are inhabited by working men of - a better class, but it also contains others in a wretched condition, - in point of cleanliness and ventilation, and much privation is - suffered by the inhabitants. Grosvenor-market.—This spot is - particularly close, being built almost in _cul de sac_; the houses are - dark, badly ventilated, and most unhealthy; the food of some of the - poorest principally potatoes; a large slaughter-house situated here - adds to its unhealthiness; great want of fuel in winter. - Grosvenor-mews.—Here the inhabitants are very thickly crowded, and - among the children there is always much mortality; in one house, at - the time of taking the census, there were 80 persons. The inhabitants - consist of coachmen and their families, as do many of the mews in this - district. This class is frequently intemperate: they live over - stables, are ignorant of the necessity of free ventilation, and many - appear to suffer in consequence. New comers from the country complain - of the want of free air, to which they ascribe their deteriorated - health. Thomas-street.—Some of the houses in bad condition, and - inhabited by the poorest families. No attention to ventilation. Supply - of butchers’ meat casual and infrequent. Pneumonia and bronchitis are - frequently fatal in these poorer districts; and he who enters the - damp, dark, underground kitchen, in which all the occupants live and - sleep, in which the room is made more close by a fire required for - their cooking, the atmosphere is loaded with moisture from wet clothes - hung across the narrow space to dry, and probably some child ill of - disease, sees that such a state of surrounding circumstances shuts out - all chance of recovery in at least the majority of cases.” - -Footnote 49: - - Mr. G. Pitt, the Registrar of the Rotherhithe District, - states:—“Hanover-street contains about 35 or 40 houses, in a very old - and dilapidated state. The houses have generally six or eight rooms - each, and sometimes as many families of the poorest kind, chiefly - Irish. As the street has no thoroughfare, and is on an incline of at - least 10 feet, it is badly drained. The water and filth constantly - remaining in the street, it is most unhealthy. The same remarks apply - in all respects to Spread Eagle-court, except that the houses stand - upon level ground. Norfolk-place and Kenning’s-buildings are exposed - to the most offensive exhalations of about 150 feet in length of open - sewer, which receives the filth of the whole surrounding - neighbourhood. Typhus prevailed here at one time to a most serious - extent. The persons who occupy the houses above described are - labourers, with uncertain employment, and their earnings of course - irregular. Their food of the coarsest kind, with habits by no means - temperate.” - -Footnote 50: - - Mr. W. Stainer, the Registrar of St. Olave District.—In what parts of - your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, - 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest, in proportion to the - population?—“In the densely populated courts and alleys where there - are open drains and sewers, and the inhabitants are living in dirt, - stench, and a state of wretchedness to be conceived only by those who - have witnessed it. Prior to the year 1841 several very unhealthy - courts existed, in which some of the earliest cases of Asiatic cholera - occurred on the first appearance of that disease in the metropolis, - but these have been removed, and the ground now forms the site of the - termini of the Brighton and other railways. There are large open - sewers completely stagnant through or near them, the smell from which - in summer is so dreadful that it is extraordinary how human beings can - bear it. The supply of water is scanty. The inhabitants are not more - dirty than might be expected from their circumstances.” - -Footnote 51: - - Mr. James Pursey, the Registrar of St. Mary, Paddington.—In what parts - of your district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from - small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, - cholera, influenza, or fever (typhus)?—“Kent’s-place, Church-place, - North-wharf-road, Dudley-street, Green-street.” And state generally - the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to - drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“There being no sewer, the - drainage is bad. A good supply of water may be had if proper - receptacles were set up. Filthy condition; Kent’s-place particularly; - so much so, that the medical officer stated to me that he intended to - write to the guardians thereupon.” - - Mr. T. W. C. Perfect, the Registrar of St. Peter’s, Hammersmith.—“All - that part of the district called Mulberry-hall, consisting of various - courts and alleys; South-street, in an unfinished state; High-bridge, - including New-street; Foundry-yard; Trafalgar-street and - Henrietta-street; the New-road, and all the houses erected, and now - building in Mr. Scott’s park. Always damp and aguish.” - - Mr. W. Larner, the Registrar of the North-west District.—In what parts - of your district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from - small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, - cholera, influenza, or fever (typhus)?—“Chelsea Workhouse, - Leader-street, Oakham street, Little College-street, Arthur-street, - and Britton-street. The above streets are not supplied with sewers to - drain the surface, and, consequently, the waste water of the houses is - carried away by cesspools on the respective premises attached to each - house. Generally supplied by water being laid on from the Chelsea - Water-works Company. In general, a want of cleanliness. According to - the returns on taking the census in 1841, it was found to be the case - that very many of the houses in the above-mentioned streets (the - principal of which are only four-roomed houses) contained 10, 12, and - in some cases more persons; therefore, it may be inferred from those - returns it oftentimes occurs that three, four, and frequently more, - sleep in the same rooms in these streets.” - -Footnote 52: - - Mr. Edward Joseph, the Registrar of the Rectory District, - states:—“Calmell-buildings, to which I allude, is a narrow court, - being about 22 feet in breadth; the houses are three stories high, - surrounded and overtopped by the adjacent buildings; the drainage is - carried on by a common sewer running down the centre of the court, the - receptacle for slops, &c. from the houses on both sides; the lower - apartments, especially the kitchens, which are under ground, are damp - and badly ventilated, light and air being admitted through a grating - on a level with the court. At all times, but especially so in warm - weather, a most offensive effluvia is perceptible everywhere. The - houses are 26 in number, and rented at about 20_l._ to 30_l._ per - annum; each contains 10 rooms, which the renters of houses let out to - families or individuals, who in their turn in many instances receive - as lodgers those who are unable to bear the expenses of a room; by - such means an immense per centage is added to the original rent. - According to last year’s census, the number of inhabitants in this - court was 944, of whom 426 were males, 518 females; of this number, - 118 were children under 7 years of age; 200 from 7 to 20 years; 439 - from 20 to 45; and 189 from 45 years and upwards. The number of - persons in one house varied from 2 to 70. Males employed, 261; - females, 163. Total number of the working population 424, leaving 520 - without occupation; the greater part of these were children and old - persons, dependent upon parochial relief and the assistance of others. - The following is a statement of the comparative mortality in different - parts of the houses, as it occurred during the past year:—In the - kitchens, 1 in 13; parlours, 1 in 37; first floor, 1 in 30; second - floor, 1 in 33; attics, 1 in 12.” - -Footnote 53: - - Mr. A. Barnett, the Registrar of the Limehouse District.—In what parts - of your district has the number of deaths registered in the years - 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842, been the greatest in proportion to - the population?—“In those parts of my district in which there exists - the greatest amount of distress, namely, the want of food, of firing, - of water, also of cleanliness, both of person and habitation, and, I - may add, of the district generally: as examples, may be mentioned the - districts surrounding Jamaica-place, Salmon’s-lane, Eastfield-street, - Limehouse-causeway, Three-colt-street, and the Tile-yard.” And state - generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and - houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, and cleanliness.—“The - drainage is frequently altogether wanting, in most cases very - imperfect; the supply of water insufficient, and want of cleanliness - very apparent.” - - Mr. T. Barnes, the Registrar of the Shadwell District.—In what parts - of your district has the number of deaths registered in the years - 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842, been the greatest in proportion to - the population?—“New Gravel-lane, and the several courts and alleys - communicating therewith, Angel-gardens, New-street, and - Labour-in-vain-street, Shadwell; Red Lion-street (including the - workhouse), Upper Well-alley, Cross-alley, and Upper Gun-alley, - Wapping. The drainage is bad; the supplies of water are insufficient. - In these parts of the district the density of population is great. In - many cases a whole family, consisting of seven or eight persons, sleep - in the same room.” - -Footnote 54: - - Mr. Worrell, the Registrar of the Gray’s Inn-lane District:—“To - ascertain and compare the healthy with the unhealthy parts of my - district, I have placed against each street the whole number of deaths - from all causes during the last five years. I have taken the number of - deaths from a population of 5000, resident in what I consider healthy - streets; and I have also taken the number of deaths from a population - of 5000, resident in streets which I consider unhealthy. The 5000 - occupying the best houses are composed of merchants, professional - gentlemen, and the richer class of tradesmen; they occupy 728 houses, - containing about 7800 good rooms; the streets are wide, well drained, - and have a plentiful supply of water. The 5000 occupying the unhealthy - streets are composed of the lower class of tradesmen, journeymen - mechanics, labourers, and costermongers; they occupy 431 houses, - containing about 2800 rooms, the best of which are little better than - the worst of the 7800 before mentioned; the streets are mostly - confined, the drains in a bad state, and in many places the - accumulation of filth renders the atmosphere foul, whilst the supply - of water is not very good. The number of deaths which I find in the - healthy-streets during five years, amongst a population of 5000, - amounts to 325; and, during the same period, amongst 5000 occupying - the unhealthy streets I find 613. No doubt, many of the residents in - the best houses go into the country, with the view of benefiting their - health, and there die; but certain it is that many more of the poorer - classes die in the workhouses and hospitals—so that, no doubt, amongst - a certain number of poor, at least two deaths occur to one amongst the - same number of rich. Having been a collector of rates upwards of 25 - years, and, as a house agent, having had much to do with the letting - of houses, I am thoroughly acquainted with the neighbourhood; and, - having taken an active part in collecting and distributing voluntary - contributions in times of distress and severe weather, I have been - enabled to judge of the condition of the poor and their habitations, - and I have always observed that sickness prevails much more in places - where sewers and drains are bad than in other parts where the - inhabitants are equally poor, but have more wholesome houses to live - in. Any suggestion here as to remedy may, probably, be considered out - of place, but, having had much experience as a Commissioner of - Pavements, as well as in several offices of local management during - the last 25 years, and having given much attention to the subject (an - evil which, in my opinion, affects the metropolis to an extent little - imagined), I have no doubt as to the means of remedy, and improvement - in the local administration living perfectly easy and effectual.” - - “In another classification he arranges, from descriptions of streets - with nearly equal population, the highest in each class; the relative - proportions, and average ages of deaths, are ascertained to be as - follows:— - - Population. Deaths. Average Age of Death. - Class 1 1432 97 35 - Class 2 1465 119 32 - Class 3 1448 157 25 - Class 4 1386 200 21 - - “The above statement proves that, out of a population of 1432 - occupying the best houses, 95 deaths occurred within five years, 29 of - which, at and under five years of age; and that out of a population of - 1386, occupying the worst houses, the whole number of deaths are one - hundred and eighty-nine, one hundred and four of which at and under - five years of age.” - -Footnote 55: - - Mr. F. Hutchinson, the Registrar of the South District:—State - generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and - houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“The drainage - of all or most of these courts and houses is exceedingly defective. - About a year ago, for instance, I thought it my duty to complain to - the local authorities respecting a privy in Hanging-sword-alley, that - had been full for a great length of time, and could not have been - used, but for a hole just below the seat, by means of which the fluid - contents flowed into the open gutter. The effluvia from these houses - arising from the defective state of the drains is most offensive. In - some houses there are only cesspools in the cellars, which are emptied - only once in from six months to three years. Water is supplied from - the New River three times a-week for about two hours. In many of the - houses, water-pipes have never been laid down, and in others the - Company have stopped the supplies, in consequence of non-payment. Some - of these places, and in particular Plumtree-court, are in a most - filthy state. Offal, accumulations of dirt, and the refuse of - vegetables, &c, lying in the gutters. The houses are generally - remarkable for their dirty and uncomfortable appearance, and are - mostly without any proper receptacle for dirt and ashes. The - population is very dense; 15 to 20, and, I am informed, sometimes 30 - persons, inhabiting one house, consisting of six rooms. The general - condition of the population is very bad, particularly as regards the - women and children, who are more confined to these localities than the - men, the latter being generally employed elsewhere during the - day-time. Many of the persons renting these houses suffer in pocket by - letting lodgings to parties who never pay; and in health, by thus - crowding their families, so as to induce disease and infectious - disorders.” - -Footnote 56: - - Mr. C. H. Rich, the Registrar of the Mile End New Town District, - observes:—“With reference as to the healthy and unhealthy streets in - my district, I have been carefully through my books, and I cannot - particularize any one place more than another. The drainage is very - bad; the hamlet is drained principally by surface drainage, which - empties itself into a ditch which is uncovered. It runs along the - north side of the hamlet, which makes it very unwholesome; there has, - within the last three years, been a sewer made (down High-street and - Well-street), which has much improved that part of the district. The - hamlet has been much improved within the last four years as regards - the paving of several of the streets which were in a most filthy - state; they are now under the commission. If Luke-street and - Underwood-street, which contain about 50 houses in each street, were - paved, it would be a great improvement, and no doubt beneficial to - health. For want of proper sewerage, the health of the hamlet is - generally bad.” - -Footnote 57: - - Mr. N. Bowring, the Registrar of the district Haggerstone West, - specifies as the seats of the greatest mortality,—“Philips-street, - Edward-street, Mill-row, Wilmer-gardens, and the upper part of Hoxton - Old Town (east side), in which the principal diseases are typhus - fever, consumption, inflammation of the lungs, and scarlatina. Two of - those places mentioned above, namely, Mill-row and Wilmer-gardens, are - without drainage; but at the back of the west end of Philips-street, - south side of Edward-street, and at the back of the upper end of - Hoxton Old Town, is an open ditch, almost a dead level, in which filth - of every description is thrown. I believe it is under the management - of the Commissioners of Sewers, but is seldom cleaned out; the stench - emitted, particularly in the summer months, is almost intolerable, and - is considered by the inhabitants as the sole cause of much illness and - death. Drainage very deficient. Water supplied three times a week. The - people generally of cleanly habits.” - -Footnote 58: - - Mr. George Pearse, the Registrar for the St. John the Evangelist - District, thus describes the condition of the places in the lower - districts, where the greatest mortality occurs:—“Great Peter-street, - Perkin’s rents, Duck-lane, and Old Pye-street, are the most densely - populated in the district. The houses in Great Peter-street, for the - most part, are very old, irregular, and uncleanly. Occupied by - tradesmen and small shopkeepers, together with labourers, mechanics, - and others of uncertain earnings. The houses in the other three - streets are often occupied by 10 or 12 persons in one room, most of - them of the lowest grade in society, such as mendicants, hawkers, - costermongers, lodging-house-keepers, thieves, and abandoned females - of irregular and intemperate habits. Their food chiefly consists of - salt-fish and other scraps, collected by the mendicants and disposed - of to the general dealers. The houses are, for the most part, very - low, filthy, and dilapidated, badly drained, and indifferently - supplied with water. There are other unwholesome nuisances arising - from the collecting and boiling bones, soap, and tallow, &c. - Holland-street, Medway-street, Marlborough-place. New Peter-street, - with several other avenues, surrounding an extensive waste (formerly - the site of Marlborough square) oftentimes nearly covered with - stagnant water. The houses are small, very dirty, and dilapidated, low - in situation, without any drainage, having stagnant waters back and - front; some in the occupation of the labouring class, and laundresses - low in the scale, irregular in their earnings and habits. Many cases - of typhoid fever have occurred here, and several recently. - Rochester-row, Strutton-ground, and Artillery-square, are thickly - populated by tradesmen of all kinds and others; they are without - sewerage or proper drainage; the first having an open ditch through - the centre for the greater part; and the occupiers of the latter are - under the necessity of pumping out into the open street (generally at - night) the offensive water that collects in the cesspools within their - dwellings. Part of Vauxhall-bridge road, which is contiguous to - Douglas-street, Bentinck-street and place, with sundry other small - streets or places communicating with them on the one side, and Upper - and Lower Garden-street, with Dean’s-place, on the other. The houses - are small and numerous; inhabited by labourers, laundresses, - costermongers, and others; without proper drainage, having open - ditches and stagnant waters in their vicinity. Typhus and scarlatina - have been frequent here, and several deaths therefrom have occurred - within the last few weeks. In Causton-street the houses are small, - populous, with courts or places occupied by labourers generally, and - an open ditch in front. Ship-court, with Cottage-place, is situated - very low; composed of small, ill-ventilated, dirty, dilapidated - houses; thickly inhabited by labourers and others of very low and - irregular earnings and habits; adjoining several large dilapidated - premises, with extensive wastes or yards used as pig and cow-yards, or - for the purpose of collecting slop-soil and other filth, left - evaporating in the open air, without sewerage or proper drainage. - Vine-street, with Champion’s-alley, York-buildings in Grub-street, on - one side, and Scott’s-rents on the other, for the most part are small - old houses, peopled by the labouring classes, with bad drainage, and - the wharfs in Millbank-street, for the deposit of slop-soil and other - nuisance.” - -Footnote 59: - - Mr. J. Verrall, the Registrar of the St. John’s District.—“The - following places appear to me to be unhealthy from the absence of all - habit of cleanliness in most of the inhabitants; the want of drainage; - the ruinous condition of the houses; the number of lay-stalls, in - which filth of all kinds is accumulated, and the number of pigs kept - in the neighbourhood,—King-street, Queen-street, Gold-street, - Ship-street, Hilliard’s court, and Pruson’s island. In the following - places (in addition to the foregoing) the houses appear unhealthily - crowded and very dirty, with inadequate means of ventilation, namely, - Church’s-gardens, New-court, Crown-place, Miner-court, Macord’s-rents, - Ellis-court, Petrie-court, Hampton-court, Rycroft’s-court, and - Matthew’s-court.” - -Footnote 60: - - Mr. George Lee, the Registrar of the St. Giles’ South District reports - generally, as to the condition of the worst parts of the district, - that they are characterized by insufficient drainage, indifferent - supply of water, cleanliness neglected. - - Mr. John Yardley, Registrar of St. George, Bloomsbury District.—“They - are places without a thoroughfare to (two of them are built many feet - below the surface of the street adjoining), and surrounded with houses - of much greater height.” - -Footnote 61: - - Mr. W. Fitch, the Registrar of the St. Clement Danes’ District, - describes the houses of the lower classes as excessively crowded.—“The - number of persons sleeping in the same rooms are generally the whole - family, from two to six persons, and often more. I beg to observe, - that where persons occupy different rooms in one house they are - generally very particular in keeping the doors of their rooms closed - for the purpose of preventing others passing up and down stairs - overlooking their abode, thereby causing a very great check to - ventilation. Washing clothes, and placing them to dry in the rooms - during the night, is another inconvenience the wretchedly poor are - labouring under in many parts of my district, and this to a great - extent.” - -Footnote 62: - - Mr. C. Mears, Registrar of Waterloo-road, No. 1 District.—In what - parts of your district has the number of deaths registered in the - years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion - to the population?—“In the undermentioned parts:—Whitehorse-street, - Wootton-street, Windmill-street, Windmill-row, Little Windmill-street, - and courts, Isabella-place, Broadwall, Cornwall-road and place, - Cottage-place, Commercial road, Bond-place and Commercial-buildings, - Princes court, Eaton-street, Brad-street, Roupell-street, New-street, - Mitre-place, John-street, Salutation-place.” And state generally the - condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to - drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“In the above places there - is very imperfect drainage; very few have any communication with the - sewers. The houses have cesspools, and the water runs to waste and - settles on the surface, leaving the lower parts of the houses damp. - Supplies of water tolerably good; cleanliness, indifferent.” - - Mr. J. Green, Registrar of Waterloo-road, No. 2.—In what parts of your - district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from small-pox, - measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, cholera, - influenza, or fever (typhus)?—“Juston-street, Hooper-street, - Whiting-street, Apollo-buildings, courts and streets adjacent, - Charles-street, Harriot-street, Frazier-street, Lucretia-street, James - street, Barnes-terrace, Granby-place and Granby-gardens, Burdett - street, Francis street.” And state generally the condition of those - unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of - water, cleanliness.—“In the above-named streets the drainage is very - imperfect, and much filthy water is thrown often into the streets. A - plentiful supply of water. Many pay but little attention to - cleanliness. Densely populated. In many houses from four to eight or - nine in one room.” - -Footnote 63: - - Mr. R. Bell, the Registrar of the Kent-road District:—In what parts or - your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, - 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion to the - population?—“There are many close, filthy courts in this district; in - these, the deaths are uniformly the highest; and the local - registration does not correctly show this fact, for the people - inhabiting them are very poor, and in extreme illness are often - removed either to the workhouse or the hospitals, and they die in - those places.” And state generally the condition of those unhealthy - streets, courts, and houses as to drainage, supplies of water, - cleanliness.—“Drainage,—open gutters choked, and pits of stagnant - water. Supplies of water—good supply from water works. Cleanliness—as - a general rule they seldom attend to this, unless they expect a visit - from the medical or other officers: they excuse it by stating that - they have to work for their living. The people live very close in - small rooms; have often more than one bed in a room. Beds are made of - straw and shavings to sleep on, and a great number sleep on the floor; - from three to ten persons in a room; almost every room is a - sleeping-room.” - - Mr. J. Bedwell, the Registrar of the Borough-road District;—In what - parts of your district has the number of deaths registered in the - years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion - to the population?—“My district, formerly nearly a square, bounded on - the west by about 50 houses in Blackfriars-road; on the south, by - about 70, in the Borough road; on the east, by about the same number - in Blackman-street, and partly on the north by Wellington-street; I - find the greatest number of deaths in proportion to the population in - the small streets within the above quadrangle. Drainage very - deficient; supply of water plentiful; cleanliness little attended to - by a great number. The density of population extreme. Small houses - with a family in each room. We have lodging-houses in the Mint where - from 50 to 150 sleep nightly; 10 large beds in one room in some of - them.” - -Footnote 64: - - Mr. J. Paul, the Registrar of St. James’s District.—In what parts of - your district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from - small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, - cholera, influenza, or fever (typhus)? And in what parts have epidemic - diseases been most fatal?—“I do not know. Neither small-pox, - scarlatina, measles, whooping-cough, diarrhœa, nor influenza has been - peculiarly localized. My experience of a longer date as surgeon to the - poor of the district leads me to believe that cholera, dysentery, and - typhus fever have been more prevalent in London-street and its - vicinity, and the Tar-yard. In both these places drainage is bad; and - the inhabitants of the former locality obtain their supply of water - from a running ditch—a common receptacle for everything, where a - hundred cloacina empty themselves. Drainage is bad in many parts of - the district; lots of small houses are built; streets of a better - description unfinished; their proprietors, who look only to the cash - returns, pay little attention to the drainage or cleanliness. There - appears to be no remedy for these calamities. The supply of water is - now pretty good.” - -Footnote 65: - - Mr. George Reynolds, the Registrar of the Church District, in answer - to the question, In what parts of your district has the number of - deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been - the greatest in proportion to the population? states. “In - Beckford-row, Elliot-row, Alfred-place, Camden-gardens, Pitt-street, - Pott-street, Camden-street, Wolverley-street, New York-street, and - Ponderson-gardens.” And state generally the condition of those - unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of - water, cleanliness.—“The places I have named are entirely without - drainage. Supply of water, one hand-cock to many houses. Cleanliness, - great want of.” Name any particular streets or parts which, according - to the facts that have fallen under your notice, appear to you to be - healthy, and with reference to the points adverted to in the preceding - question, compare the healthy with the unhealthy portions of your - district.—“My entire district, I think, would be in a much more - healthy condition had we efficient drainage; instead of which, even - this, the main road of the parish, is without a sewer, notwithstanding - the Commissioners of Sewers have been repeatedly memorialized, and the - following fact brought under their notice, that the cellars of the - houses do not extend to the depth of 3 feet 6 inches below the level - of the carriage-road, and yet there is an average of 18 inches of - water during the greater part of the winter season, that many persons - are obliged to use the pump for many hours daily to preserve their - property.” He gives the following letter from a medical officer of - great experience:— - - “289, Bethnal-green-road, October 31st, 1842. - - “Dear Reynolds,—As you are aware, I have attended many of the - inhabitants of this road and its vicinity, and I do not hesitate - to say that many of their diseases are to be attributed entirely - to the want of drainage. They are—1st, febrile diseases; 2nd, - diseases of the respiratory organs; 3rd, nervous diseases; 4th, - diseases of the digestive organs; and lastly, cachectic diseases. - Of the first kind, the very numerous cases of fever in the - undrained districts that occur shortly after the autumnal rains, I - take in the light of cause and effect. Rheumatism (acute and - chronic) are the result of sleeping in houses the walls of which - absorb the surface water and elevate it by capillary attraction to - the height of two or three feet. The diseases of the respiratory - and digestive organs are above the average number, and are - attributable to the same cause. The nervous diseases I attribute - to the poisonous gases exhaled from putrifying matter. They - are—1st, epilepsy. In two families this disease attacked every one - of the younger branches of the family, and they were cured by - removal to another district. Many cases of spasm of a particular - muscle, as one or two of the muscles of the face, the large muscle - in front of the neck, and even some of the muscles of the arm; - also frequent cases of the most inveterate hysteria, have been - temporarily relieved by removal, and have returned again on their - return home. Of the cachectic diseases, some are produced, others - aggravated, by this cause. Scrofula is of this latter description. - The cases of the children in your own family show that it is - impossible to prevent suppuration when the patient is constantly - breathing a humid atmosphere. This has also been the case with one - of your immediate neighbours. That form of scrofula termed tabes - mesenterica, I think, is, in many cases, brought on entirely by - the same cause. Want of time prevents my extending the example of - diseases attributable to this cause. - - “I am, dear Reynolds, yours truly, “T. TAYLOR.” - - Mr. James Murray, the Registrar of the Hackney-road District, in - answer to the question, In what parts of your district, has the number - of deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 - been the greatest, in proportion to the population? states, “The - greatest number of deaths registered, in proportion to the population, - have occurred in all the streets leading into Old Cock-lane, - especially the courts therein, and in all the streets leading into the - Hackney-road as far as Strout’s-place, viz., Old Nichol-street, New - Nichol-street, Half Nichol-street, Vincent-street, Mead-street, - Turville-street, and courts therein, Collingwood street, Old - Castle-street, Virginia-row, Austin-street, Gascoigne-place, and - Weatherhead, Nova Scotia, Green Gate, and Cooper’s-gardens, and - Wellington-row.” In what parts of your district has the greatest - number of deaths occurred from small-pox, measles, scarlatina, - hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, cholera, influenza, or fever - (typhus)?—“The greatest number of deaths from the diseases named have - occurred in precisely the same parts of my district, especially in the - courts and in those anomalous assemblages of small cabins built on low - and undrained ground, called gardens.” And in what parts have epidemic - diseases been most fatal? - - “Epidemic diseases have been most fatal wherever the greatest number - of people are congregated on the smallest space, which is again the - identical spot mentioned above, with the exception of Wellington-row - and the gardens, where the deaths appear to be chiefly caused by their - low, damp, and almost swampy condition during winter. Pneumonia being - there the prevailing cause of death, with occasional instances of - putrid sore throat.” And state generally the condition of those - unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of - water, cleanliness.—“These streets and courts have generally an - imperfect drainage, suitable only to a former state. These drains are - very near the surface; and some of the houses are built over them, so - as to communicate a dampness prejudicial to health. The gardens herein - mentioned appear to be entirely without drainage. The supply of water - in the streets is generally good, but in the courts and in the gardens - is derived from a main, to the cock of which the inhabitants have - common access while the water is on, and have to fetch it in pails to - their houses, which mode of supply I consider to be insufficient for - health or cleanliness. The population is very dense, in some cases - amounting to nearly 30 persons in a single house. As an average, an - enumeration district may be taken, 57 houses, 580 persons. On taking - in a larger district, 30,000 people congregated on a spot about half a - mile square. The houses are universally let out in rooms, a custom - apparently introduced by the French refugees; the houses built by whom - are all on the Edinburgh Old Town or French fashion, with large rooms - on each floor, intended for a family, with a common staircase. A - single room now generally contains a family, with tools of trade, bed, - and kitchen, which, coupled with uncleanly habits, occasions a - constant effluvium, very oppressive, and, I doubt not, unhealthy. In - the larger houses, the lowest grade live in damp under-ground - kitchens.” - -Footnote 66: - - The Average for the previous six Years was £405. - -Footnote 67: - - Increase of 1840, from two tablets. - -Footnote 68: - - Extra-Parochial. - -Footnote 69: - - Private. - -Footnote 70: - - Collegiate. - -Footnote 71: - - Private. - -Footnote 72: - - Private. - - - - - LONDON: - Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, Stamford-street. - For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Changed ‘of great part’ to ‘of a great part’ on p. 235. - 2. Silently corrected typographical errors. - 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 5. 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