PARK AND CEMETERY. 
290 
SOME FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF CREMATION 
Mr. Albert C. Freeman, the London 
architect whose book, “Crematoria in 
Great Britain and Abroad,” has been 
noted in these pages, in a recent con- 
tribution to the London Surveyor, 
presents the following interesting 
matter on the cost of cremation, that 
will be of timely interest to our read- 
ers : 
"When we come to consider that a 
cremation can be performed at less cost 
than burial within the earth, and with 
an equal amount of profit, there can 
be no denying that cremation can be 
made a source of remunerative trad- 
ing. In 1897 a sub-committee of the 
Camberwell Burials Committee held an 
inquiry to consider the question of 
cremation, and whether it was 
advisable that the power of 
providing crematoria should be 
given to local authorities. They 
passed, a resolution that it was 
desirable in the interests of the 
public health that the provisions 
of the Public Health Act. 1875, 
and the Public Health (Inter- 
ments) Act, 1879, should be so 
amended as to enable any local 
authority to acquire, provide, 
construct, and maintain a cre- 
matorium, and that the Local 
Government Board he urged to 
secure the necessary amend- 
ment in the law. 
“In view of the widespread 
and influential support this pro- 
posal received, thirty-nine town 
councils, ninety-nine urban dis- 
trict councils, and twenty rural 
district councils supported the 
proposal. The outcome of this 
inquiry was the passi.ng of the 
Cremation Act of England, 
which came into force on the 
1st of April, 1903. Since the 
passing of this act considerable 
progress has been made ; in 
1903, 476 cremations were per- 
formed; in 1904, 569; in 1905, 
604 ; and from the date of the 
first cremation down to the end 
of 1905 a total of 5,020. There 
at present five municipal 
first of which was erected at Hull. 
"To make the practice of cremation 
more popular, and to overcome the 
great difficulty which we shall shortly 
have to face, the municipal bodies 
throughout this country should take 
up the question in a serious manner. 
It has been said that the cost of these 
structures is so heavy that the authori- 
ties hesitate before laying out such 
sums of money. The expenditure 
which has been made upon several 
of the crematoria in existence is not 
justified. I have carefully considered 
the question of the cost of these struc- 
tures, and have arrived at the con- 
clusion that buildings of a pleasing 
character, with all the essential fit- 
tings — such as the furnace and cata- 
falque — can be erected at a cost of 
from £2,500 to £3,000. The accom- 
panying plan will illustrate the class 
of building I suggest, one, I venture 
to think, much more attractive both 
inside and externally than some al- 
ready in existence. In regard to the 
cost of cremation compared with that 
of earth burial a wrong impression is 
prevalent. To arrive at a comparison 
it is necessary to eliminate the cost of 
the funeral and coffin, these expenses 
being common to both modes of dis- 
posing of the dead. The following 
figures are a fair representation of 
the cost of disposing of a corpse after 
conveyance to the cemetery or cre- 
matorium respectively : 
EARTH BURIAT. 
£ s. d. 
Purchase of private 
earth grave in ordi- 
nary ground 5 8 6 
Interment fee 2 9 6 
Average cost of me- 
morial stone and kerb. 10 lo o 
s. d. 
5 0 
10 0 
to 6 
are 
•rematoria 
operation, the 
DESIGN FOR MUNICIPAL CREMATORY. 
To cost $12,500 to .$15,000. 
Total £18 8 0 
CREMATION. 
£ 
Cremation fee, includ- 
ing use of chapel, 
waiting room and all 
attendance 5 
Urn 
Chaplain’s fees for read- 
ing the service 
Purchase of niche in 
columbarium (in per- 
petuity from £3 13s. 
Gd.) say 5 5 0 
Memorial tablet 2 2 o 
Total £13 13 0 
“The charges for cremation 
are those made at Golder’s 
Green by the Cremation So- 
ciety of England. At Leeds a 
charge of £4 4s. is made for 
residents, which includes a plain 
urn ; for non-residents the 
charge is £5 5s. 
“At Manchester the following 
charges arc made : 
