The Globe. SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1876.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 564, 8 April 1876, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1876.

We are certainly living in a time when matters are carried to extremes ; all classes of society are suffering from a plethora of over'anxiousuess, a feverish anxiety to push matters to a termination ; witness the proceedings of, and the avowed principles, of the very numerous secret societies, trades unions, religious sects and others. Forbearance and humility are words which have become almost obsolete, as far as meaning anything in the shape of a Christian spirit, and we have become accustomed to look askance upon statements into which such expressions find a place. The burial of the dead has always been a fruitful source of religious intolerance, engendering feelings of bitter hatred. We are continually reminded that sectarian ministers are in numerous instances devoid of the first principles of Christian charity, and have to peruse accounts of the most gross description, reflecting greatly upon not only those ministers, but upon the intelligence of the whole civilised portion of the human race. The funeral rites have been recently refused in two instances. In the first the Rev Mr Cross, a Minister of the Church of England at Eeefton, would not read the funeral service over Mr Hughes, a member of a Freemason’s Lodge. Can the mind of a man who has the cure of souls be so perverted as to cause him to abstain from reading over the perishable remains of an erring mortal the most beautiful service of the Church? The other case which is one of much more importance as not only the minister’s action in refusing the rites of the Church to the dead is to be considered but there is also that of the verdict of the Coroner’s jury, and the laws as regards suicide, it appears that a “ Mrs “ {Scott, of Takaka, was found the “ other day with a gun resting across “ her, and the top of her head blown “ off. The jury returned a verdict of “ determined suicide. It is a most “ painful case. The husband has “ been drinking some time, and went “ home on a Sunday in delirium “ tremens. The wife, who is twenty- “ nine years old, was confined the same “ day of her seventh child. Noassist- “ ance of any kind was left her little “ children. On the following Thura- “ day the suicide occurred. There is “ much indignation at the Rev 0. “ Moon, the English clergyman, refus- “ ing to read the Burial Service.” The impalement of the borly of a suicide has been abolished, but the deprivation of Christian rites is still in force, and we must say that (he verdict of the jury in this case showed as thorough a want of knowledge as to the attendant circumstances of this sad occurrence, as it did of the ignorance and prejudice which pervaded .the mind of the Rev C. Moon ; here are the details : —Mrs Scott, three days prior to her death, gave birth to a child. On the day of the birth of her child, her husband, who had been drinking hard, came home with delirium tremens, and no assistance of any kind was left her little children. Suicide indeed ! imagine the mental condition of this poor illused woman for three whole days, a drunken and brutal wretch constantly in her presence, and she suffering as woman only does sufter in these cases, unable to look after the wants of her little|ones ; is it at all to be wondered at that she was wrought up

to such n. pitch of excitement through the terrible misery of her position that she should seek the first means of relief from her sufferings that suggested itself? How many thousands of strong men give way to despondency and become momentarily insane, during which time they recklessly take the life which Gfod gave them ? Then comes the verdict of temporary insanity. But do these men suffer as Mrs. Scott suffered? but the jury could not conceive but that a poor weak woman, in the utmost state of debility, and more than probable suffering from puerperal mania, could be temporarily insane when the act was committed. In the words of the Southern Cross, noticing this outrage upon humanity, we say: “ Had the Eev Mr Moon, of Takaka, “ been wise with the benign wisdom “ of the Master whom he professes to “ serve, he should have disregarded the “ ill-judged verdict of the jury, and “ laid her to , her rest with such cere- “ monies as mark the burial of ‘ peace- “ parted souls.’ If ever the last re- “ mains of a woman deserved to be “ taken up tenderly, and sepultured “ with care, those of this poor, “ stricken, and sorely used woman “ should have been. And ive are glad “ to find that the Eev Mr Moon has “ been justly visited with the iudigna- “ tion of the people of the district be- “ cause he refused to read the burial “ service over the grave.”