22 



Such testimony as this ought to convince the most sceptical, I cannot 

 myself iei how cremation instead of burial ia the earth, should outrage 

 in any way religious feelings, but decently and reverently carried out 

 with those beautiful words, "ashes tD ashes, and dust to dint," I 

 believe it cou'd only add solemnity to that very impressive ceremony 

 for the ln-ial of the dead. I leave further dhcussion on this part of 

 the subject with our clerical friends, trusting they will gi^e m their 

 views and assistance, knowing what a power and influence they have in 

 the matter of the disposal of the dead. 



Medico-Legal Objection. — The last objection which I shall deal with 

 is, to my mind, the only reasonable one against cremation — the medico- 

 legal one— that is, if a body poisoned or murdered is burnt, all trace 

 of the crime is destroyed. This, of course, applies in cases where 

 suspicion has not been aroused until some time after death. To over- 

 come this objection, those who advocate cremation say we must have 

 greater care exercised in the giving of death certificates It is better 

 to provide the means of detecting crime before the disposal of a body, 

 rather than rely upon the slight chance of finding it out from an exhu- 

 mation. Hence, in France, Italy, Germany, and some other continental 

 countries, we find a "medicin verificateur" who examines every body 

 before it is buried or burned. With such an inspection it would be almost 

 impossible to overlook cases of poisoniog ; and it is recorded that at 

 Milan the parentR of a deceased child, after having received all certifi- 

 cates necessary for its burial, decided to have it cremated. The ex- 

 amination required by the rules of the Cremation Society there was 

 such as to reveal the fact that the child had been poisoned by eating 

 sweetmeats containing copper. This fact shows you that cremation 

 carried out with a strict inquiry as to the cause of death would be 

 more likely to prevent crime than to hide it. Rest assured the 

 murderer will not seek to dispose of a victim by this method if he 

 or she knows such inquiries must be made. With our present system 

 we are surrounded by dangers. Many bodies are buried without any 

 medical certificate at all ; and even with medical certificates there is a big 

 risk, because the medical man may not be called in till the case is in 

 extremis, and then gastro enteritis might easily simulate many cases of 

 poisoning. But when we consider the number of poisons that could be 

 detected on the body after exhumation we find there are practically only 

 four, viz., arsenic, antimony, lead, and mercury. All the vegetable 

 poisons, such as strychnine, prussic acid, morphia, aconite, etc., would 

 decompose very shortly after burial ; while the irritant poisons would 

 not escape notice at the time of inspection. 



Under our present burial system in England about 5 per cent, of 

 the deaths are certified to by the coroner, and 3 per cent, are buried 

 without any certificate. In Scotland the percentage of uncertified deaths 

 is even greater. 



Now, while this large percentage of deaths is allowed to be buried 

 without any certificate at all, it is surely inconsistent on the part of 

 those who object to cremation on the slender chance they have of dis- 

 covering crime by exhumation. 



In 20 years in England and Wales there have been 102 exhumations, 

 giving an average of five annually, and about one (1) to every 6,100 

 inquests. 



Of this 102, Sir H. Thompson gives the following details :— 

 Natural causes, 57 ; accident causes, 20 ; murder, IS ; manslaughter, 

 4 ; open, 8 — 102. And very few of these are cases of poisoning. 



I think, therefore, I have shown you that there is little protection 

 against murder under our present system of burial, and so near home 

 we are told by Judge Williams, speaking in Melbourne in November, 



