CREMATION FAVOURED.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 772, 22 March 1910, Page 5

CREMATION FAVOURED.

ON SANITARY GROUNDS. "I don't think there is a country in the world which would allow such insanitary conditions as prevail amongst us to-day." This is an extract from a letter read by Mr. E. Verne Richardson, 8.A., during a lecture under the auspices of the Cremation. Society in Sydney last week. . "In 1894," .says the letter, "a very severe epidemic of typhoid occurred in the suburb of St. Peters. It was confined to about 2% acres'of thickly-populated land, upon the northern side of the Church of England Cemetery. This is the low side, over which the infected soakage of the cemetery flows and percolates. The • conditions here were dreadful. Imagine a dividing open paling fence sft. high, running for about 150 yards between the graves of the dead and the houses of the living. , In order to lose no space, the graves were built within sis inches of the dividing fence, at a 2ft. higher level than the founda' tion of the houses, which were within 3ft. of them. One could run the hand along to tops of tombstones wlien going along the side entrance to the back. Imagine sitting down to dinner, and viewing the graves and tombstones through the open paling fence; sending one's children to the infant school within a few feet of' a mountain of infected graves! The epidemic of.typhoid 'that occurred at St. Peters and cost so many 'lives was ■entirely due to infected bodies buried in. the cemeteryi> They : infected the soil and soakage waters that percolated through the soil to the houses, sapping their foundations, and then wetting under the floorings,- when the vapour would rise into the rooms, and after being inhaled for a while would result in typhoid as soon as the blood was sufficiently disordered. I prepared a petition for the closing of the cemetery, signed by those residing on the infected or soakage side. ■ The Health Board recommended it to be closed, and this was done, although the Church, wanted it extended."