A SECRET BURIAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1921, Page 5

A SECRET BURIAL.

ONLY THE WIDOWER ATTENDS.NO CLERGYMAN OR SERVICE. ECHO IN THE SUPREME COURT. By Telegraph.—Pteie Association. Auckland, Last Night. An extraordinary story < was told at the Supreme Court to-day, disclosing some peculiar circumstances surrounding the burial of an old woman who died at Tauranga a short time ago. The husband, Edward Mortimer Gillam Maurice, was charged with having made a false statement to the local registrar of deaths regarding a supposed witness of the burial, which the widower admitted. Counsel for the prisoner said Maurice was an ignorant man, and had bungled the instructions given to him by the registrar. He had failed to understand what he was told, and in completing the death certificate subsequent to the funeral he gat a man to sign the document as having witnessed the burial. At a later stags Maurice had declared to the registrar and other officers that the man had seen the burial. As a matter of fs«t the “witness” had beep in the cemetery prior to the funeral, had seen the open grave, and afterwards had seen the closed grave. The probation officer’s report was in prisonerif favor. Maurice had no previous convictions, and counsel thought the Court should take into consideration the fact that the accused had actually been in custody foi the last twelve days. His Honor: “I notice he conducted tb( funeral himself. That might mean poven ty." Counsel: “My instructions are that is desired to save the undertaker's axpenaes.* The Crown Prosecutor said it might hav» been on account of poverty or it inigho have been on account of pure callousness. It appeared that when prisoner was informed that a death certificate was required ho demurred at first, because of the distance he would have to bring a doctor. He arrived at the cemetery with the coffin, but without a clergyman, and no burial service w r as read and there were no witnesses other thr.n himself. The coffin was simply put into the grave and covered up. Afterwards he found he had no clergyman to certify to the burial, and as he had to have witnesses ho procured the signatures of two persons whom he found there. One of them had actually wanted to attend the funeral, hut when be asked the prisoner the time of the burial Maurice had replied that he did not know, as he was busy with the creamery. That had a hearing on his attitude of mind as to whether it was a case of pure ignorance or* whether he simply did not care. His Honor said there were no cirrum* stances showing an object for concealment. The object of the law was to prevent secret burials of persons who might have been done away with by some crime. The offence was not a light matter. Had prisoner been found guilty after trial he would probably have had a sentence or a very severe fine imposed. The case, however, would be met by a fine of £lO and the costs of the prosecution (£4 3®),