CREMATION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 10

CREMATION

APPROVAL OF THE SYSTEM

MINISTER TO MAKE INQUIRIES

■An indication that for the future greater attention may be devoted to cremation rather than cemeteries as a method of burial was given ill the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon by the Minister of Public Health.

Tho question arose incidentally out of a question asked by Jh\ A. Rnri-is of the Minister of Public Health as to what steps he intended to tako to end the deadlock which had arisen between the Ojiehunga Borough Council and the Mount, ltoslcill Koad Board over the acquisition of a cemetery. The Hon. G. W. Bussell replied that under the Cemeteries Act the local authority had the right to purchase land for a cemetery, «nd tho consent of the Government was not required to the establishment of tho cemotery, except that tho law required that a cemetery should not be established within the boundary of a borough. As Minister of Public Health, he was responsible for dealing with cemeteries, but only when they became a mcnace to public health. The official inquiries nnule showed that the draTnago of tho heavy clay sub-soil at Mount Eoskill rendered it, so far as they could see at present, unsuitable for ccmotery purposes, but as Minister of Health he -would only have power to deal with the__ matter from the point of view that it liad becomo offensive by being used for cemetery purposes. Representations had been iuado to him by tho Onehiinga Borough Council, which had purchased the land, and by tho Mount Kosltill Road Board, which had control of the 'district, and ho proposed as soon as the session was over to visit the locality and to get an independent report from three specially selected expertsone on behalf of tho Public Health Department, an engineer, and probably one of the Crown lands Commissioners. If this report was favourable to the site as a cemetery, no doubt it would bo continued to he used, but if it were unfavourable, then, as Minister of Health, he woul'd ask the Onehunga. Borough Council to endeavonr to make arrangements for some.other site.

Mr. C. H. Poole asked the Minister whether the Department considered it desirable to extend the crematorium system in New Zealand.' Mr. Russell said that the question raised was. a very important one. There was. he believed, a very fine crematorium in the Wellington cemetery, but he was not aware how much it was used. Dr. Newman: About two a month. Mr. Russell s'nid he thought it was very desirable that the system of cremation should as far, as' possible be made available throughout tho conntry. He believed that in the thicETy-populat-ed country of Japan cremation was general. Here in the larger cities (?e cemeteries WTre of necessity being pushed farther anil farther out. ■ One of the results of this was to make tho cost of funerals very heavy upon the poorer people. The danger of putting cemeteries near the,cities must be evident. During the recess ho would make inquiries about the practice of cremation in the countries in which it was common. Next session he honed to brine down a report upon the subject, and if it was deemed desirable he would make arrangements for extending the practice of cremation

Mr. A. IT. Hindmarsh asked the Minister to consider fhe remission of the charge of 3s. remured on the statutory declaration, which was always required before a bodv could be cremated.

Mr. Russell-said he would make inquiries into the matter.