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46
The Parish Dead-house and Public Mortuary.
The number of bodies that have been taken to
the dead-house during the year was 46. Inquests
were held upon 29 cases, upon which post mortem
examinations had to be made.
Upon a Report on the Parochial Dead-house
and its inadequacy for the wants of the Parish, the
enlargement of the building by an additional room
has been decided upon—effecting a great improvement—so
that the old room can now be exclusively
appropriated to post-mortem examination, and the
new one used for the coffined bodies only
This arrangement is a step further towards a
proper Public Mortuary, which I have so long
advocated in former Reports, and in a special one
upon this matter in 1868. I ought to mention
that the Church of St. Mary Magdalene is now
provided with a Mortuary at the basement ; and
the Rev. R. T. West has inculcated the propriety
of inhabitants living in these highly populated
streets and those living in single rooms, removing a
corpse from a private or crowded dwelling. Several
families have already taken advantage of this
offer.
In concluding this Report, I must congratulate
the Vestry upon the satisfactory state of the health
of the Parish generally—for not only is there now
no prevailing epidemic, but the prospect of meeting
any impending one, and the powers at your disposal
for mitigating its danger were never better
than at the present time.