CEMETERY CHARGES

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 109, 10 May 1932, Page 3

CEMETERY CHARGES

TWO'FEES TO BE PAID

CORRESPONDENT'S COM-

PLAINT

A correspondent, "Be Just to the Dead," refers again to the question of cemetqry charges, and contends that the fees are excessive^ A case is cited as follows:— i

"A daughter, by dint of. denying herself many necessities, saved about £I£, the cheapest price she could get to enclose the plot and'keep green the memory of her poor old father, one of the pioneers of New Zealand, who fell on evil days and died an old age pensioner. After giving the order to the masons to go on with the work, she was told that it could not'be commenced until another £4 was paid to the City Council, as the grave had not been purchased.' " Cemetery charges were paid at the time of burial, and she naturally thought that included the price of the plot, but is now told it was for digging the grave." < ■ The writer contends that the fee for grave digging is altogether «xcessive, and that as the land was purchased at a low rate the Tevenue to the council from, burial and purchase fees is much too great. writer concludes: "I am sure that the attention, of the Mayor and councillors has only to be drawn to this matter to get their sympathy and have thes& -exorbitant charges reduced, especially as the plots are already occupied. In times like the present we are ail asked to spend as much as possible to keep men employed, and here is a case where £12.wi1l not be spent owing to the person not being able to find an extra £4 to keep tidy a grave already occupied. I. trust that others similarly situated—and there must be numbers—will take this matter up, and that our Mayor will make a public statement why these heavy charges are extorted, and why enclosures are refused, especially wnen parents have been resting in, their graves many yosirs. TEES TO BE PAID. There are two'charges in respect of each burial, for the interment and for the purchase.of the plot, giving right of burial m that plot in perpetuity. The interment charge varies, according to the age of the deceased, ranging from 7s 6d for a stillborn child to £2 for an adult, with a higher charge for burials on bundays and certain specified holidays, and according- to depth of grave Ihe fee for tho purchase of plots ranges from. £4 for a small plot npwards, according to dimensions. The bylaws require that both interment and purchase fees shall be paid before the burial, but in eases where the relatives o± the) deceased are in difficult circumstances arrangements for payment by instalments are often made.' In addition ,to that, the council recently approved of a recommendation made by tna Cemeteries Committee, that when a person desires.to secure a non-purchase plot a declaration, signed by a Justice oi the Peace,, a doctor, or a minister of religion, should be forwarded to the effect that the finances of the applicant are such that the plot cannot be purchased. The rule is that until a plot is purchased no headstone, masonry,, or enclosure work may be done at a grave but though the purchase fee- may not be paid at the time of the burial the plot may be purchased at a later date. The standard fee for cremation is £4 on week days and £4 10s on Sundays and holidays. A terra-cotta urn is provided. -No further charge- is made1 if the ashes areremoved by friends or for the interment of the ashes in unreserved grave space, but a fee of 10s 6d is charged for burial in a grave already owned by relatives of the deceased. For a plot of ground 4ft by 2ft for the reception of urns the fee is half the ordinary fee for graves. All fees are re-v quired to be paid in advance.