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if they so desire, can view their loved ones in dignified surroundings.
This is in sharp contrast to the gruesome conditions which prevail in outof-date
mortuaries, Barking's included.
A man cannot be so old as I am without having learned how difficult
it is, and, I may say dangerous, to try to interfere with the customs and
usages of any country which have to do with marriage and death, and I
certainly have no intention of trying to coerce people and make it obligatory
for them that their loved ones, when they have passed away, shall rest for
the time being in a public mortuary. This idea, however, is growing and
whilst on the one hand I would not do anything to force people to do this
or to do that, I do think that we should give every facility to those who are
willing for their relatives and friends to rest under conditions which are
suitable to the occasion.
Our houses of to-day, of necessity, are built not overlarge and some
of our houses at the present time are overcrowded. This makes it highly
desirable that when we are making provision for mortuary accommodation
such provision should be of the very highest order. It should be designed
in such a style as to reflect all the respect which we have for the dead.
In the proposed new mortuary, it is envisaged also that refrigeration
facilities will be available, a very desirable feature during summer months.
THE WELFARE OF THE AGED
There is an increasing awareness of the need to give greater attention
to the general welfare of the aged, and the following extract of a letter
I have written to an architect recently gives some idea of the problems
which have to be tackled, and in particular those relating to homes:—
"It is with pleasure that I learn you are turning your attention
to houses for aged people, and I do look forward to taking an interest
in this work, even as you have privileged me to take an interest in
other work you have carried out.
"It is, I think, wise for us to begin to study the size of the
problem with which we are dealing. Towards the end of the last,
and at the beginning of this century 4.5 per cent. of the population
were 65 years or over, whereas now there are no less than 11 per
cent. of the population over this age. To a certain extent this is due
to preventive medicine which has increased the expectation of life
generally, to improved social welfare, and, to a certain degree, it is
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