PREMATURE BURIAL.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14379, 12 June 1912, Page 3

PREMATURE BURIAL.

"WHAT UNDERTAKERS AND DOCTORS SAY. Tlio question of premature hurial lias been raised.of late in the shape of letters to "The Press," and doubtless many of those who read them did-so with shivery apprehension. Is premature burial at all general? According to two leading undertakers and a medical man seen by a ••i-rc"ss" representative yesterday, it is;" hot; In fact,' the , very _ remote, or as ono." of the undertakers said: "About ono "case occurs in fivo millions." Nono of the gentlemen seen-had known -or* heard of any cases of premature burial ever having occurred in this country. True, they ■said, there had been, many cases existing which might have given rise to tho impression of premature burial, but they explained the cause of this. One of tho undertakers _een, however," j raised a question which might form the subject of. comment, aud that is, that j when a doctor has been attending a j patient ho is not bound to examine or even see the patient in order to give the death certificate. The certificate contains the following words 'in brackets: "As I am informed," and it is only necessary for the relatives to go to tho doctor and inform him that the patient is dead, for them to obtain the certificate. The first undertaker seen by tho Pressman, said that if an undertaker knew his business, premature burial could not. possibly tako place. Personally, if ever he had the slightest doubt about thodeath of a person, or the person's friends asked him, ho made the eye-ball test—which was infallible. In a live person tho eye-ball was hard, but in a dead one, it was soft. Moreover, no matter how deep a trance, the eye-lids would quiver if touched. Besides that putrefaction immediately set in after death. No, he had never heard of a case of premature burial in this country, though he had been in business as an undertaker for twenty years. Pie considered, however, that the law should be altered in the direction of providing that no body should be buried without a certificate from a medical man that he had seen the body and that life had expired. Another undertaker said that he had never heard of any cases of premature burial 'in his experience, an experience that ranged over 40 years in Australia and Now Zealand. In fact the allegations that had bpen made were "utter absurdities." He did not think oneperson in five millions was buried alive. This gentleman explained tho causa in many instances of theso premature burial stories. A doctor has been attending a patient. In nine cases out of ten he knows the patient will not live long. "Death is suppos-*-l •to ensue and the relatives go to tho doctor and inform him that the patient is dead. The doctor, knowing the patient's condition gives the certificate and the relatives then go to the undertaker and order the coffin. "When they get back they find the"dead person alive. However, the pressman's informant said, the "second life" was but a fleeting spasm of a few hours at the very outside, and ho had never heard once of such a person recovering. He had buried many thousands of people throughout Australasia and he was positive that in no instance had he buried anyono alive- '*' Yes," concluded this informant, "the letter appearing in "Tho Press" with regard to premature burials is all rubbish. I admit that sor_ewbcre_ in the world people hay© been buried alive, but not in the ordinary way in civilised countries."

Finally the reporter sought out a medical man who said that a death certificate was never given unless the doctor had expectations of death, otherwise an inquest was held. He did not think it was necessary to alter the law so as to provide for* a-doctor examining the corpse before giving the certificate. The doctor said he had no knowledge of premature burial in New Zealand. If there were such eases they must be exceedingly rare.