DISGRACEFUL BURIAL SCENE AT ONEHUNGA.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 202, 5 September 1874, Page 2

DISGRACEFUL BURIAL SCENE AT ONEHUNGA.

It is hard to believe that we live in a civilised country when we hear of such proceedings as those that attended the death and burial of the unfortunate man William Gamble, who was accidentally drowned by falling from the Onehunga wharf on Saturday night. A creditable correspondent informs us that the body of the deceased, after it had been recovereil by dragging, was put into a miserable shed, where it lay exposed to the attacks of rats, which eat away a large portion of the deceased’s face. After the inquest the body was taken to the grave-yard and buried by the sexton without a prayer, no Christian minister being present to perform the. last rites which even a pauper might reasonably hope to receive from his fellow-creatures. We can conceive of no proceedings more discreditable to our humanity than the treatment of this stranger—he was a recent arrival per Rooparell—that even the burial of a dog should only have been given him after his body had been partly devoured by

rats through the culpable neglect or brutal indifference of those whose duty it was to look after it. There does not seem to have been any suspicion that the deceased committed suicide; on the contrary, it was pretty clearly proved that his death was purely accidental. An attempt was made to show that he was drunk at the time he met his death, but even this was by no means proved, and there are those who saw him shortly before the accident who assert that he was perfectly sober. The gentleman who has informed us of the disgraceful finale recorded above states that shortly before the deceased lost his life he was seen outside the hotel with his coat off, kneeling on the ground praying. Our informant went up to him, and urged him to put on his coat, which he readily did. His miud then appeared to be wandering. Who can tell but that the same forbodiug which fore-shadowed his death indicated to him that not one of his fellow-creatures would be found ready to offer up a few words of prayer to their common Maker when his poor mortal remains were thrown into the ground. This proceeding requires some explanation by the police authorities in whose charge the body undoubtedly was both before and after the inquest.—Evening Star.