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and apart from any semi-religious or superstitious bias. It must 
have been far easier for these people to inter their dead, and 
surely it was not for want of land that cremation was in vogue. 
Then why was it ? 
The practice must have been instituted from some inborn 
consciousness that the earth was required for far nobler purposes 
than as a storehouse for the putrefying. Unluckily the Christian 
leaders decided upon discarding cremation and insisted upon the 
practice of inhumation: I am confident that the latter was not 
resorted to for reasons of health, but for reasons of simplicity, 
expediency, and economy, and I may add, distinction between 
Christians and Pagans. 
Iam sorry to say that I do not think that cremation will 
ever become universal, but I do think it is becoming more 
popular, and that in course of time we shall have a kind of 
half-and-half arrangement similar to that conducted by the 
Greeks and Romans. The system I favour is the earth-to-earth 
interment, and the use of wicker baskets in lieu of coffins; a 
further improvement would be to go back to the time of our fore- 
fathers, and dispense with either basket, coffin, or any covering 
whatever. 
It has been objected that cremation is a Pagan system: I 
admit this, but so is earth-burial or sepulture, so no argument 
lies against cremation here. The anti-christian argument is 
perhaps even more ridiculous; is there one passage in the Bible 
which tends to reject cremation? The objectors say that earth 
burial has at present the sanction of Christian religion, and 
therefore it is argued no other method bears that sanction, and 
that it is anti-Christian to propose any change. To this the 
utterance of the late Bishop of Manchester, is a fitting reply : 
‘No intelligent faith can suppose that any Christian doctrine is 
affected by the manner in which this mortal body of ours 
crumbles into dust and sees corruption.” 
I think I may safely say that sentiment is cremation’s worst 
enemy; but if the people who raise their voice against cremation 
from a sentimental point of view would carefully study the 
matter, sentiment would be entirely on the side of cremation, 
for it shrinks with repugnance from any vision, however 
transient, of the prolonged and revolting phases of decay, the 
corruption of the body. It is on the contrary, one of the great 
advantages in cremation that the dissolution of the body is a 
rapid and visible process, instead of being enveloped in mystery. 
‘The only serious objection that can be urged against cremation 
is that of the supposed immunity it would give to poisoners. 
This might be avoided by following the practice in France and 
Germany, and having a properly qualified inspector to certify in 
all cases to the fact that death has not been caused by foul play. 
