CREMATION OF THE DEAD

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5301, 18 July 1928, Page 1

CREMATION OF THE DEAD

“ANCIENT DRUID” OF ’EIGHTIES-

A WELSHMAN’S STORY. Th© recently published statement regarding tihe proposal to establish a crematorium 'n Christchurch has brought from a. correspondent to the Wellington Dominion a curious and interesting story jvliich lie supports with a photograph of the person concerned, and a Quaint medall on which was “struck” by that man to commemorate the happenings described. “About forty-five years ago there was living in Llantresant, Noith Wales,” writes the correspondent, “a wonderful doctor named' Price, who was consulted by patients from all over Europe. At the time I write of

■he was about 95 years of age, hayingbeen born in 1789, but he was in complete possession of his faculties, and quite active. “T.h’s aged doctor had a child which died in 1883 at the age of 11 months, and being a fully accredited M.D., the father gave a certificate of death which he duly registered'. “Dr. Price had always asserted that he was a direct descendant of the ancient Druids, and lie kept up the rites and ceremonies of the Druid priests On the death of his child he made it public that at a, certain hour he proposed to cremate the body according to the. rites of his forefathers. When the time came hundreds of people ha.d assembled to watch proceedings. “Dr. Price had had a ton of coal stacked, and on it he poured paraffin oil. He then placed the child’s coffin on the. coal. Nobody interfered until, the doctor was about, to put a torch to the. pile, when policemen rushed up, put the fire out, a.pd took possession of the child’s body. They gave the aged doctor a rather rough handling and finally placed him in the lock.up. “In due course the doctor was brought before the court, but the police found to their surprise that there was nothing in British la.w to prevent cremation, and Dr. Price was acquitted'. “The publicity given to the ca e and the doctor’s defence aroused the curiosity of the public, and he was deluged with invitations to lecture in different parts of the country. 1 went to hear him and he gave a graph'c description of the old Druid rites. In his lecture Dr. Price put great sires; upon the sanitary nature of the- disposal of the dead by cremation. Many churchyards, especially in .small centres. were seldom added to. although in use for hundreds of years ; consequently dozens of remains were burled in the . same plot at different times, human skulls and bones often being thrown out by grave-diggei s. Dr. Price insisted that this displayed great, disrespect for the dead and at the same time a grave danger to the public health. He maintained that this opening up of old graves wa,s the cause of many epidemics of sickness and disease that were often described as ‘visitations from God.’ He played upon the feelings of the people, and when there arose an agitation for new cemeteries he advocated cremation of the dead not only from the health point of view, but as showing more respect for the departed ones, since their ashes could be preserved in urns. Dr. Price predicted that in 25 years every town in England would ’have a crema tori us—and he was not. far wrong.”