Since Prince Bismarck declared that he would not be adverse to a law regulating and permitting the practice of cremation in all parts of the empire, the leading physicians of Berlin and the members and officers of all the cremation societies of Germany have petitioned the national parliament—the Reichstag—to permit incineration in all cities of the empire, not restricting cremation to Gotha, as has been done heretofore. In Austria, opinion is about evenly divided for and against the practice. A deputation from the “Urne” Society of Vienna waited on the president of the Austrian cabinet to ask that cremation should be authorized. This society now comprises 800 members, amongst whom every class is represented; they have collected sufficient funds for the construction of a crematory apparatus. And what was the answer of the government to this request? The Minister of Austro-Hungary replied to the Urne Society for the Propagation of Cremation that incineration is forbidden in the empire because public opinion is against it. The committee of the Belgian chamber has favorably reported upon a petition for a law making cremation optional. The municipality of Paris lately decided to cremate the bodies which have been used at the School of Practical Anatomy and at Clamort. Over 3000 bodies a year are received at these two institutions for the purpose of dissection. The Municipal Council of Paris also recently authorized the erection of three crematories in the Père la Chaise Cemetery, according to the Gorini system, which are to be used for the purpose of cremating the remains of those persons who die of infectious or contagious diseases. They will be heated with wood, and are calculated to be capable of reducing the bodies of 50 persons per day at a cost of 15 francs inclusive of personal expenditure and the cost of an urn for the reception of the ashes. The Prefect of Police of Paris has endorsed the decree of the municipality, laying stress especially on the many advantages—sanitary and economical—of cremation. He stated that sufficient testimony had been recorded by Kuechenmeister and many other scientific authorities to demonstrate beyond a doubt that cremation is a protection against cholera, yellow fever, and small-pox epidemics. The furnaces at the Père la Chaise can be used eight hours a day. The total expense is estimated at 50,000 francs; and preparations will be made to burn 4500 bodies a year. The establishment of these crematories was brought about mainly through the efforts of M. Koechlin-Schwartz, mayor of the eighth ward of Paris; and the plan for their construction was submitted to the municipality in the name of the Commission of the Assistance Publique by M. Chaisoaing.