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New Zealand Mail, Issue 422, 13 March 1880, Page 23

The question of burying the dead is one which is surrounded by the most hallowed and endearing associations. In all time the disposal of the dead has occupied the serious attention of all nations, except the most degraded and brutal. So far was this carried by many nations of antiquity that their tombs, indicating the respect they paid to the departed, constitute the most authentic records we have of their manners and customs, and of the advances they made in the long march, of civilisation. The sepulchral remains of the ancient Egytians, the Incas of

Peru, together with the tumuli and cave-tombs of Northern and Southern Europe, including the British Isles, bear testimony, at once sure and reliable, oi states of society that existed long anterior to the remotest period of written history. But, however interesting it might be to the antiquarian to pursue these studies, it is not the business of the journalist, nor is it the purpose of this article, to do so. "We propose to take a strictly utilitarian view of the subject. What men did, and how they disposed of the remains of their departed friends in bygone ages, may be intensely interesting, but the question as to what we should do in this important matter is far more useful. Fortunately we are not left to grope in the dark. Since the rise of sanitary science, this may be said to be on« of those vexed questions that have been satisfactorily disposed of, so far as intra-mural burials are concerned. All authorities now agree that the practice so long prevalent—and unhappily still continued in this city, in defiance of all experience and scientific testimony —is in the highest degree injurious to the living. A moment's consideration will suffice to convince the most unobservant that the presence of burying-grounds in towns, and in the immediate vicinity of human dwellings, is in direct violation of the laws of health, is calculated to engender disease, and indicates a recklessness on the part of those in authority, and must inevitably result in the most serious consequences to all. Experience has taught mankind that the laws of health cannot be neglected with impunity. It is an established fact that all decaying .animal and vegetable substances give off gases which are highly poisonous. Wo sooner does an animal die (and the principle obtains in human beings as in all other bodies) than the process of decomposition sets in. This can -only be arrested by extreme cold or chemical agency. The component parts and constituent elements of the body separate, and return to the sources from which they were originally derived. No sooner does this " putrefactive fermentation " begin, than danger to the living ensues, and the danger increases as the process of decomposition continues and intensifies. Cases of blood poisoning, arising from the incautious handling of bodies in various stages of decay, are, unfortunately, too well known to the medical faculty. So well is this fact recognised, that in tropical and sub-tropical climates hunters will not even skin an animal that has been dead more than a few hours. The greater the amount of heat the more rapidly does decomposition set in. "When bodies are buried the process of disintegration is not stayed, but the elements are retained by the soil, at least to some extent. Should the soil happen to be porous, as is the case in and about Wellington, these dangerous ingredients filter through it, and are carried down by the water which percolates through the earth, and ultimately find their way into the lower levels, producing dangerous drains and water-springs, which, however pure and limpid to the eye. nevertheless contain the seeds of disease and death. Of course, the nature of the soil has much to do with the subject now under consideration. A sandy soil or loam is more absorbent : a clayey soil, most impervious to liquids, and a shingly one, least re tentive of all. We have been induced to make these remarks because we believe our Wellington cemeteries, from the elevated nature of their position, from the porous character of the soil, and from their close proximity to the city, cannot be otherwise than most injurious to the health of the citizens. Had the founders of this city tried to place the public cemeteries in the most dangerous position possible, they could not have succeeded better. The drainage from every part of these places comes into the city. It is probable those who fixed upon the present cemetery sites thought little about the subject, and perhaps knew less. But it i s useless for us to blame the " Fathers of Wellington" for so flagrant a violation of the first principles of sanitary science, while we, with greater light, and infinitely fewer difficulties to contend with, go on from. year

to year perpetuating their mistake, and increasing the danger. Since the passing of the Cemeteries Act by the Parliament of Great Britain, in 1850, there are few towns of any size or importance that have not abandoned intra-mural burials. The old burying-grounds have been closed, and public cemeteries established at a distance from the masses of population —generally in some secluded place. Arrangements are also made for the conducting of funerals at the cheapest possible rate, for the benefit of the poor. The grounds are well laid out, planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers, and the whole placed under the care of duly appointed officials. The public cemeteries near Paris have long been celebrated, and many in the United Kingdom and America are more like public gardens than burying-grounds. There are also many public cemeteries in Australia which, for seclusion, beauty, and careful preservation, rival those of the great cities of the old and new worlds. Some time since a movement was made to establish a public cemetery at a convenient and safe distance from Wellington : a commission was appointed, and, if our memory serves us rightly, the Minister of the day wae, as usual, interviewed. But there the matter rests. What were the peculiar difficulties in the way, if any, we do not remember ; but oue thing is clear, we are no nearer obtaining the object in view than we were three or four years ago. It is a remarkable fact that all the sanitary improvements so long talked of in this city, have ended only in talk. Witness the drainage schemes Other towns have taken up these matters since they were projected here, have entered upon them in earnest, and they are now nearly or quite completed. What other communities have accomplished can be done here if only the resolution to put the shoulder to the wheel is come to. Let it be distinctly understood that the question of the removal, or rather the closing, of the cemeteries within the city boundary is one of vital importance and cannot be much longer delayed. The health and safety of the citizens demand that no time should be lost. As to the absolute necessity of such a step, modern sanitary science gives forth no uncertain sound. With a voice, dear as the blast of a silver trumpet, she delivers her warnings. It will be the height of wisdom on our part to attend promptly to her kindly admonitions. Whatever the difficulties in the way, they must be grappled wi{Ji. . > & =5