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46
The Registrar and Superintendent of the Bradford Crematorium writes :"
I am sorry to say that progress is very slow considering the
" number of funerals we have. There would, however, be many more
" cremations if relatives would carry out the deceased's wishes."
Referring to the 19 cremations that took place at Leicester last year, the
Registrar and Manager of the Crematorium notes that three of them
" belonged to the working class, with whom cremation seems to be gaining
" favour."
As to the disregard of the wishes of deceased persons who desired that
their remains should be cremated, referred to above, although a written
request for cremation is not necessary or legally binding, it leaves no doubt
as to the testator's Avishes, and should relieve executors and others of the
responsibility of deciding. Any direction in a will as to how or where the
testator's body is to be disposed of has no binding force in law, and may be
disregarded with impunity. More often than not the will is not examined
until after the funeral of the testator, but it is open to a testator to make a
gift to his executor depend on his body being cremated or otherwise disposed of.
In such a case he should acquaint his executor with what he has done.*
On the 10th November last the Town Clerk received the following copy of
a Resolution passed by the Directors of the Manchester Crematorium, Ltd.,
on the 5th November :-
" That in the opinion of this Board it is desirable that there should be
" a Conference of the Officials and Boards of all the British Crematoria
" and any other persons or authorities interested in the question of crema"
tion with a view to considering how the matter (cremation) might best
" be popularised, and whether any mutual steps could be taken to
" generally help the progress of the movement throughout the country.
" That the Secretary convey this Resolution to the Burial Board of the
" City of London with the request that that Authority should make
" arrangements for and convene such a Conference."
The matter was duly considered by the Sanitary Committee, and the
Directors of the Manchester Crematorium were informed in reply that the
Committee did not see their way to recommend the Corporation to convene
a Conference as suggested.
The last Conference in this country on cremation was held at Leicester in
March, 1906, when a Provincial Sessional Meeting of the Royal Sanitary
Institute was opened for the consideration of the subject in all its bearings,
your Medical Officer being in attendance as the representative of the
Corporation.
The several towns in the United Kingdom where crematoria are erected are
shown in the accompanying Table, and the date of opening them indicated in
the first column.
* An epitome of the law relating to the disposal of a dead body, from " Cremation in Great Britain,"
published by The Cremation Society of England, 1909.