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39
CREMATION.
On the 24th March, 1906, a Provincial Sessional Meeting of the Royal
Sanitary Institute was opened at Leicester for the consideration of Cremation
in all its bearings, your Medical Officer being in attendance as the representative
of the Corporation. The Chairman of the Council of the Institute
presided, and a feature of the proceedings was the paper on Cremation read by
the Medical Officer of Health for Leicester, in which was given full particulars
concerning the Crematorium established by the Corporation of Leicester.
Dr. Millard also delivered an interesting address on the progress of Cremation
in this and other countries. From this we learn that this method of disposal of
the dead is steadily growing in favour. In Paris alone the total cremations
amounted to 3,147 to the end of the year 1903, and it has since been considerably
increased. In the United States of Americano less than 3,160 took
place in one year, 1902; in Germany for the same year the figure was 1,074.
The total for Great Britain for each year since cremation received legal
sanction will be seen in the Table accompanying this Report on page 41.
The Conference was a most successful one, being attended by representatives
of most of the Municipal and Private Crematoria, and resulted in valuable
information and suggestions being brought forward.
The opportunity was taken of exhibiting the drawings of the Corporation's
Crematorium at Ilford, together with the details of the progress of the work.
The growing feeling in favour of cremation as a means of disposing of the dead
is further shown by the increase that has taken place in the number of bodies
so dealt with at the City of London Cemetery, Little Ilford. Whereas only 9
cremations took place there in 1905, the number had increased to 23 during
1906. It will be seen from the Table referred to above that a similar increase
occurred at nearly all the other Crematoria mentioned therein.
This is doubtless due, in a great measure, to the low fees charged as
compared with the expenses of earth burial. Moreover, there is every
indication that the prejudice against cremation on sentimental grounds is
decreasing yearly, the numbers of cremations that have taken place annually
in the United Kingdom within the last ten years having doubled. It may
surprise many to hear that since this method of disposal of the dead received
legal sanction in 1884, nearly 6,000 cremations have been carried out in the
United Kingdom.
The number of Crematoria established are steadily increasing, six having
been opened during the last four years, and others are contemplated. Twelve
are now in operation in England and one in Scotland.