MR. BRYNMOR JONES (Swansea District)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that on the recent burial of one William Griffith Jones in the churchyard of the parish of Llansamlet, in the county of Glamorgansihire, on an application being lawfully made to the vicar for his interment in a family grave, the vicar, on receiving notice of requirement 74 of a Nonconformist burial service, pointed to a corner of the churchyard then unused for burial purposes, and so situated that reasonable objections might be taken to the site by the relatives of the deceased; and that the vicar told the applicant, pointing to the place, that it was there that he buried the dead of such that bring him these papers; whether he is aware that in this case the relatives of the deceased submitted, in consequence of the vicar's words and actions, to the burial of the deceased in accordance with the rites of the Church of England; and whether he will take steps to compel the Vicar of Llansamlet and other priests of the Church of England in Wales to observe the law?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir M. WHITE RIDLEY,) Lancs, BlackpoolI gather from a letter I have received from the vicar that the facts of this case are substantially as stated by the honourable Member. An incumbent has a discretion as to the part of the churchyard in which a body shall be buried, but I apprehend he cannot lawfully use his discretion for the purpose of compelling persons to waive rights conferred upon them by Statute. Whether the conduct of the vicar in the present instance was or was not illegal appears to depend on facts on which I can pronounce no opinion. It seems, at any rate, a matter for regret that he should have acted as he did.