CREMATION OF DEAD

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 July 1928, Page 2

CREMATION OF DEAD

A WELSHMAN’S STORY. The recently published statement regarding the proposal to establish a crematorium in Christchurch has brought from a correspondent a curious and interesting story which he supports with a photograph of the person concerned, and a quaint medallion which waS “struck” by that, man to commemorate the happenings described.

“About firty-five years ago there was living in Llantresant, North Wales,” writes the correspondent, “a wonderful doctor named Price, who was consulted by patients from all over Europe. At the time I write of he w’as about 95 years of age, having been born in 1789, but he was in complete possession of his faculties, and quite active. - “This aged doctor had a child which died in 1883 at the age of 11 months, and being a fully accredited M.D., the father gave a certificate of death which he duly registered. “Dr Price had always asserted that he was a direct descendant of the ancient Druids, and he kept up the rites and ceremonies of the Druid priests. On the death of his child he made it public that at a certain hour he proposed to cremate the body according to the rites of his forefathers. When the time came hundreds of people,had assembled to watch proceedings. , “Dr Price had had a ton of coal stacked, and on it he poured paraffin oil. He then placed the child’s coffin on the coal. Nobody interfered until the doctor was about to put a torch to the pile, when policemen rushed rip, put the fire out and took possession of the child’s body. They gave the aged doctor a rather rough handling and finally placed him in the lock-up. “In due course the doctor was brought before the court, but the police found to their surprise that there was nothing in British law to prevent cremation, and Dr Price was acquitted. • “The publicity given to the case and the doctor’s defence aroused the curiosity of the public and he was deluged with invitations to lecture in different parts of the country. I went to hear him and he gave a graphic description of the old Druid rites. In his lecture Dr Price put great stress upon the sanitary nature of the disposal of the dead by cremation. Many churchyards, especially in small centres, were seldom added to, although in use for hundreds of years; consequently dozens of remains were buried in the same plot at different times, human skulls and bones often beingthrown out by grave-diggers. Dr Price insisted that this displayed great disrespect for the dead and at the same time a grave danger to the piiblic health. He maintained that this opening up of old graves was the cause of many epidemics of sickness and disease that were often described as ‘visitations from God.’ He played upon the feelings of the people and when there arose an agitation, fqr new cemeteries, he advocated cremation of the dead not only from the health

point of view, but as showing more respect for the departed ones, . since their ashes could be preserved in urns. Dr Price predicted that in 25 years every town in England would have a crematorium —and he was not far wrong.’”