Cremation of the Dead: Its History and Bearings Upon Public HealthEassie, William
History
Cremation of the Dead: Its History and Bearings Upon Public Health
Eassie, William
Cremation -- History; Funeral rites and ceremonies
[174] Since the publication of Sir Henry Thompson's work, and the
reports of the active propaganda which is being carried on abroad,
a great number of articles, favourable or well inclined to the
practice, have appeared in the public press: for instance, in
the 'Daily News,' 'Telegraph,' 'Standard,' 'Morning Advertiser,'
'Globe,' 'Saturday Review,' 'Court Journal,' and numerous
illustrated and other papers. The 'British Medical Journal,'
'Lancet,' 'Medical Press and Circular,' 'Medical Record,' 'Sanitary
Record,' 'Students' Journal and Hospital Gazette,' &c., have also
borne witness to its value as a sanitary measure. Both Church and
Nonconformist journals have moreover written in its favour, and
several able articles have appeared in the periodicals, for example,
in the 'Dublin University Magazine' and 'Westminster Review.'
Most valuable assistance, demanding special notice, has also been
rendered to cremation by that highly scientific periodical, 'Iron.'
The process has also been made the subject of discussion in various
debating societies, and in May 1874 the Cambridge University Union
adopted a motion by 101 votes to 42 in favour of introducing it into
England.
The Cremation Society of London, which is intended as a parent
society with which others in any part of the land can be affiliated,
was founded on January 13, 1874, by some of our most representative
men, and shortly after a declaration[175] was issued to the public
which had the effect of proving to the founders of the Society
how very prevalent and how widely spread was the antipathy to the
present mode of burial. The aim of the Society is to promote the
substitution of cremation for burial, by diffusing information on
the subject, by co-operating with foreign Societies, and by raising
funds to obtain an apparatus of the most approved kind, together
with a suitable site, so that, for those who desire the performance
of cremation after death, ample means should be available for the
purpose. The letters of adhesion to the scheme which have been
already received have come from every class of society, from Peers
to the humblest commoners.
[175] 'We disapprove the present custom of burying the dead, and
desire to substitute some mode which shall rapidly resolve the body
into its component elements by a process which cannot offend the
living, and shall render the remains absolutely innocuous. Until
some better method is devised, we desire to adopt that usually known
as Cremation.'
The conditions of membership are:--
I.--Adhesion by signature to the above declaration.
II.--The payment of an annual subscription of one guinea, or a
single payment of ten guineas.
In order to carry out the above objects it has been resolved to
raise funds for the purpose of carrying into operation the practice
of cremation through the agency of cemetery companies, parochial and
municipal authorities, or other public bodies.
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