QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS. (Hansard, 21 March 1879)

THE EARL OF ONSLOW

rose to call attention to the Association called "The Cremation Society of England," and to ask Her Majesty's Government, Whether the practice of cremation is in accordance with the laws of this country; and, if so, whether they intend taking any steps to regulate the disposal of dead bodies at the crematorium now in course of construction by the Society at Woking? The noble Earl said, this was a question that involved considerable danger to the public at large. The subject of cremation had been before the public for some time; but it was now, he thought, for the first time actually assuming a tangible shape, which was evidenced by a build- 1407 ing now in course of erection at Woking —a building called a crematorium, the object of which was the destroying of the bodies of the dead by fire. The chimney, which was intended to conduct the gaseous products of cremation off was of considerable height, was commenced since the 21st of February last, and efforts were being made to press its construction forward with all possible speed. The Cremation Society was founded in 1874, and its last Report, which was published in 1877, stated that the Council was made up of noblemen and eminent professional men well known in society. He had failed to discover the names of these noblemen and eminent scientific gentlemen; but if any of their Lordships were members of that Council, he had no doubt they would come forward and claim their share of responsibility in this matter. The only name that appeared in the Report was that of Mr. Eassie, the secretary—a gentleman whose name was well known in connection with sanitary matters. The Society alleged that they had taken eminent legal advice, which satisfied them that the process of cremation was legal, and justified them in asking for subscriptions from the public. He happened to have a copy of the legal opinion referred to, which was signed by Dr. Tristram and agreed to by Mr. Meadows White. These learned persons said, among other things, that besides not having been recognized by law, the burning of the dead would, in many points, be in contravention of the Burial Acts. He thought the House would agree with him that this was hardly an opinion in favour of the process supported by the Society. A deputation had waited on the Home Secretary in connection with this subject some time ago, and he had no doubt the advice of the Law Officers of the Crown had been taken on the question. He understood that the Society had first endeavoured to obtain land in the Great Northern Cemetery for the erection of a crematorium; but that being consecrated ground the sanction of the Bishop of Rochester had to be obtained. The reply of the Bishop was that he had no power to sanction such a mode of disposing of the dead. Failing in this, the Society had gone to Woking, where they had purchased ground which was not in the same relation to ecclesiastical authority, 1408 and on this they were erecting buildings, which would speedily be completed. Apart from the nuisance that might be caused to persons in the neighbourhood by the proceedings of this Society, a question of great public importance was involved; because, after the body had been consumed by fire, it was impossible by any posthumous inquiry to ascertain what might have been the cause of death. It had been proposed that that portion of the body which was most liable to be poisoned should be separated and preserved under seal in a jar; but this safeguard would be inadequate, for there were poisons which permeated the entire body; and poisoning was not the only kind, of death by violence. Moreover, the existing statistical arrangements of the country were intimately connected with the process of interment, and any disarrangement of them would cause great inconvenience. He hoped Her Majesty's Government would take steps to test the legality of the Cremation Society's proceedings upon the first occasion that offered, and to surround them, if they proved to be legal, with the same precautions as were adopted in the case of interment.

§ EARL BEAUCHAMP

said, he thought the noble Earl, in calling attention to this question, had discharged a public duty, because the practice to which he had referred was one which ought not to be adopted without full consideration, and without receiving due sanction. In reply to the noble Earl, he thought the more convenient course would be to read to the House a letter addressed by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the Secretary of the Cremation Society on the 21st February last, in answer to a communication from that Society. The letter had been laid before the other House. In that reply, the Secretary of State said that, without entering into the question of legality, or whether or not the system of cremation was in accordance with the public feeling, or with respect due to the dead, he must point out that the system of cremation was entirely novel in this country, and that, whether or not the law forbade it altogether, public interest required that it should not be adopted until many matters of great social importance had been duly considered and provided for. The Secretary of State went on to say, 1409 Burial can be followed by exhumation, but the process of cremation is final; the result of the practice would therefore be that it would tend, in cases where death had been occasioned by violence or poison, to defeat the ends of justice. There would no longer be an opportunity for that examination, which in so many cases has led to the detection and punishment of crime. The practice of ordinary burial has become interwoven with the legislative arrangements of the country, and is closely connected with various safeguards respecting death, with the statistics of death, and with the evidence of death. The conclusion arrived at by the Secretary of State was that he could not acquiesce in the continuance of the undertaking of the Society to carry out the practice of cremation, either at their works now in progress at Woking or elsewhere in this country, until Parliament had authorized such a practice by either a special or a general Act, and that if the undertaking was persisted in, it would be his duty either to test its legality in a Court of Law, or to apply to Parliament for an Act to prohibit it until Parliament had had an opportunity of considering the whole subject. Within the last few days the members of the Cremation Society had had an interview with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and had promised that they would not proceed further with the works until Parliament had consulted on the matter.