§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)said, the Government had assented to his Motion which stood on the Paper as follows:—
To call attention to the state of the law as to the Disposal of the Dead; and to move that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the sufficiency of the existing law as to the Disposal of the Dead, for securing an accurate record of the causes of death in all cases, and especially for detecting them where death may have been due to poison, violence, or criminal neglect.He would, therefore, say only a few words to show the necessity for this inquiry. There were 16,000 deaths every year in which there were no certificates of death furnished, and 26,000 deaths in which the certificates were so loose and unsatisfactory that the Registrars were unable to classify them. There were also 8,000 cases of so-called still-born births in which no certificates at all were furnished. Therefore, there were 50,000 cases of death occurring every year in England alone in which there was not the slightest form of certificate. Under these circumstances, every Member of the House would agree as to the propriety of appointing the Committee which he asked for, and, as the Government had consented to it, he would not take up any further time, but would withdraw the Motion.
§ DR. ROBERT FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)said, he had intended to second the Motion. There were 40,000 people smuggled into their graves every year without a proper investigation as to the causes of their deaths. There was, therefore, a case for inquiry, and he thanked the Government for acceding to the Motion.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.