MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1889. CREMATION.

Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 130, 3 June 1889, Page 2

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1889. CREMATION.

The rocont cremation of tho lato Marquii of Ely. has directed a good deal of attentioi in England to this method of disposing o: the dead. The body was conveyed to Eng land from tho Continent, and was incineratec at the Cremation Society's workß at Woking Threo hours after the body was placed ii tho fnrnace, the ashes were placed in i Daulton nrn, 15 inches in height and ', inches in diameter, enclosed in a polishec oak case. There was, it is admitted, nothing offensive or revolting about the procesß Almost simultaneously with this praotica example, tho eminent surgeon, Sir Henri Thompson, has published a small volnme entitled " Modern Cremation," in which h< warmly advocates this method of dealing with the dead. It is some 15 years sinc< this eminent soiontist first shocked anc scandalised society by advocating the sys tern, but since then tho public mind at Hom< has become familiarised with the idea, anc as the World remarks, " that it is j signal departure from established ÜBage an< custom has ceased to be aocepted in itself as i valid argument for its summary condemna tion." The same journal also says that "with the exception of a few insignificani bigots, nobody now maintains, in spite of ifcf remote historical connection with Paganism, that there is anything anti-Christian oi irreligious in it. Moreover, its legality if established beyond all question, and when it can be effected without causing a nuisance the incineration of abody ia allowed to be anoi loss legitimate and lawful mode of disposing of it than interment. ' ' Another great autho rity, Sir Lyon Playpair, asserts that " ii most of our chnrcbyards the doad aro harm> ing the living by destroying the soil, fouling the air, contaminating water springs, anc spreading the seeds of disease," while Sii Henry Thompson assorts it to be "unquoa tionable that the poisons of scarlet fever typhoid fevor, 8mallpox ; diphtheria, malig nant cholera, and phthisis are transmissabk from the buried dead by moro than one mode, and hence that by the mere act oi interment we sow broadoast the germs oi pestilonco whioh long maintain their vitality and are, many of them, destined at sonu futuro timo to fructify in premature deatl or ruined health to thousands." Now, w< i fear that publio opinion in Wellington if perhaps not quite so far advanced as t( tolerato the addition of a Crematorium tc the Destructor, although we fully expeci ' that many now living will live to see crema tion largely, if not altogether, replao< ordinary interment as a means of disposing ol the dead amongst all civilised communities 1 Tho advance of sanitary science is nn doubtodly strongly in that direction, althougl the movement may be slow and gradual We are not, however, going to call upon th< ¦City Council to provide means of cremation even for those who prefer it to burial, oa of the proposed new loan, but amongs the items which are to bo provided foi out of that loan is a new cemetery and the scientific evidence which wi have quoted above, although primarily intended in advocacy of cremation as a sub' stitute for burial, also affords strong argu ments to show the danger of continuing t< inter our dead in the midst of the living. I: the time has not yet come for converting th< dead into inoffensive ashes and innoxiom gases within a few hours, it certainly hai come in Wellington for ceasing to inter then in a locality where all the evils to the living which Sir Lton Platfair and Sir Henri Thompson indicate as the consequences ol interment, must affect the publio health ii an aggravated form. Cometories may noi bonoodod a few years hence. Our children'c children may wonder that they were evei required or tolerated, but just at present a new cemetery and the cessation of inter ments in those already existing, is absolutely essential to the maintenance of the public health. The question of whore one is to bo obtained may be difficult tc answer, but it must be solved. If we remember rightly, a committee of the Citj Council some years ago devoted considerable time to trying to find a suitable place, and ultimately reported in favour of Rosenoath, the promontory between Oriental and Evans' Bays. This site is, wo understand, still obtainable, but it is said to be objectionable on account of the shallowness of tho soil ovorlying tho solid rock. Otherwise it would soom to possess many advantages. Whatover site is selected, howovor, the choice should be made without delay, and while we continue to bury our dead, it shonld bo ai such a distance from the houses of the living, and in snoh a situation, as to reduce to a minimum the dangers which we have quoted high authorities for as attending the practice of interment.