HIS HONOUR ON BURIAL GROUNDS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 855, 29 June 1910, Page 4

HIS HONOUR ON BURIAL GROUNDS.

« AND PRIVATE CEMETERIES. In the course of a judgment delivered yesterday in a Supreme Court cose, the Chief Justice (Sir Eobert Stout) made some interesting remarks on the history of cemeteries in New Zealand. "Tho first law dealing with cemeteries generally in the Wellington district," said his Honour, "was a Cemeteries Ordinance passed in 18G3. It, however, inado no provision for dealing with land set apart as private burial grounds. Tho Cemeteries Act of 1877 (the first general cemeteries Act) also made no provision for private grounds. In 1882 a new Cemeteries Act was passed, and it mado provision inter alia for private grounds, similar to the law of the Cemeteries Act, 1908. Dealing with private land, Section 82 of this Act ordains that interment may take plnco in any privuto placo heretofore used for burials, but nn such interment shall be mado without tho consent of a magistrate or two justices (if in a borough), without tho additional consent of a Mayor or two councillor?. . . . "In the early days of the colony there were no public cemeteries. Providing such grounds waa supposed to be a fort of phurch function, and the different religious bodies provided grounds in connection with their churches. It was only after several years that the colonists began to provide public cemeteries. In 1851 the first Burial Ordinance of the province of Wellington was passed. It provided only for a cemetery for the town of Wellington. In 1857 another public cemetery was set apart in the Hutt district, and so, as the province developed, public cemeteries were set apart, and reserves were made by the Crown for the purpose. In other provinces there was provincial legislation. Along with public cemeteries, there were burial grounds belonging to many churches in the various districts." __ m ___^__