g- 
being undertaken. Since the above charge ‘was given, several 
cremations have been carried out in this courtry. Captain Han: 
ham cremated his wife and his mother in a crématorium which he 
erected in his private grounds in Dorset, and a year later he was 
publicly cremated in the same place. The Cremation Society of 
England, which was founded in 1874, soon after obtained a piece 
of ground at Woking, upon which a crematorium was built. Since 
Mr. Justice Stephen’s charge, several cremations have taken place 
in it. The Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers have appointed 
@ committee with the view of considering the propriety of erecting 
a crematorium at Ilford. Now, although the rules that have been 
drawn up by the Cremation Society of England are most excellent 
and stringent, and would effectually prevent any foul play, the 
company possesses no monopoly in cremating, so that any one who 
may desire can cremate another without even a burial certificate 
being required. This state of things ought not to last. If crema- 
tion is legal, then it should be doubtless under strict governmental 
control. There is a subject in connection with burial which I think 
should be mentioned, viz., the dread which many people have of 
being buried alive. I once heard a person say ‘‘ that he should 
like to be exposed on a church tower for a week after his death, so 
that there should be no possibility of his being in ‘any fort ofa 
trance at the time of burial.”” Of course, shut up in a closed coffin, 
would produce an almost immediate suffocation. Under the 
crematory process, no fear of premature burial need be thought of. 
The economical question of burials is a serious and a pressing one. 
Cemeteries are most expensive establishments to keep going, and 
at the same time occupy a large amount of ground which might be 
otherwise more profitably used. The sanitary side will have to be 
some day if not shortly, seriously considered. The air over 
_ cemeteries is much contaminated, and from this cause many 
epidemics have arisen. The water also becomes polluted from 
percolating through burial grounds. Water thus impregnated often 
runs into streams from which drinking water is used. In eon- 
_ cluding, I may say that I have tried to give you a concise history 
_ of the past and present burial systems. The disagreeableness of 
_ the subject has led comparatively few people to take any energetic 
_ practical interest in it. The question cannot be shelved fora much 
longer period, as it carries with it important sanitary and 
_ economical considerations. Iam not here to advocate any one pet 
_ cause, but nevertheless you must have gathered from what has 
been said that the present mode of conducting cemeteries, the 
_ presence of brick graves, vaults, and impervious coffins, need only 
_ to be thought about for a few moments, with an ordinary amount 
_ of reasoning, to be condemned in almost unqualified terms. The 
