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56
A total of 831. for the year, compared with 568 during 1908.
In addition to the above, permission was given, subject to
certain conditions, for the erection of 24 temporary buildings.
MORTUARIES.
The necessity for a new central Mortuary was mentioned
in the report for last year and also in that for 1907, but the
building has not yet been commenced.
Plans and estimates have been prepared and an enquiry
held by the Local Government Board, so that the work of
erection should commence at an early date.
There has been some delay in obtaining the sanction of the
Local Government Board apparently owing to the fact that in
the plans a Post-Mortem room is included as well as a
Mortuary. It is of course essential to have a Post-Mortem
room and naturally the most useful and convenient place for
this room is to have it attached to the Mortuary, where the
bodies needing Post-Mortem examination are kept. Curiously
enough however, this most convenient and suitable arrangement
is contrary to Law. The Public Health Act siates:—
Sec. 143 "Any local authority may provide and maintain
"a proper place (otherwise than at a workhouse or at a
"mortuary) for the reception of dead bodies during the time
"required to conduct any post-mortem examination ordered
"by a coroner or other constitued authority, and may make
"regulations with respect to the management of such place."
When the Act was passed in 1875, I understand this Clause
was inserted at the last moment owing to an objection raised by
a member who suggested that "body snatching" would take
place from the Mortuaries for unnecessary Post-Mortem examination
and without any sanction. Such fears are of course
absurd, but as the Act is in force, the two buildings cannot
legally be combined. To overcome the difficulty it is proposed
to erect a fence to separate the approach to the Post-Mortem