“1641. Do you recollect any circumstance which occurred there about the month of October, 1839?—Yes.” “1642. Will you state it to the Committee?—Some boys were at work there; a policeman on the railroad happened to see them in the act of taking some bones out of baskets, and got a policeman in the police force of the metropolis, and sent him in and seized the boys with a bag of nails and plates of the coffins, going away to sell them, and going to sell the bones.” “1643. To what purpose are the bones applied?—I do not know.” “1644. What is done with the wood of the coffins?—Burnt for their own private use.” “1645. By whom?—By the sexton.” “1648. MR. COWPER. Is it burnt in the sexton’s house?—Yes.” “1649. SIR WILLIAM CLAY. What was done with the iron or metal handles of the coffins?—They were burnt on the coffins when I was there, and were thrown out among the ashes about the ground anywhere.” “1653. MR. AINSWORTH. Who performs the burial service over the dead?—A gentleman of the name of Cauch.” “1654. Does he reside there?—No, he resides opposite.” “1655. What is he?—I do not know that he is anything; he has formerly been a shoemaker.” “1656. Does he put on a gown when he buries the dead?—Yes, a surplice.” “1657. What service does he read?—The regular Church service.” “1665. CHAIRMAN. Were you in the habit of performing this grave-digging without the use of spirits?—No; we were obliged to be half groggy to do it, and we cheered one another and sung to one another.” “1666. You found the work so disgusting you were obliged to be half drunk?—Yes.” And so on. Many of the revelations made to this committee are so revolting that they are best forgotten. It is, perhaps, only fair to say that this particular man’s evidence was contradicted by Mr. Thomas Tagg, the owner of the ground, but it was subsequently corroborated by other and disinterested witnesses. [Illustration: PEEL GROVE BURIAL-GROUND, BETHNAL GREEN.] [Illustration: VICTORIA PARK CEMETERY BEFORE BEING LAID OUT.]