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39
INTRAMURAL BURIAL.
open putrefaction of human remains within places
of frequent resort, and in the midst of populous
habitations.
It is a very serious matter for consideration,
that close beneath the feet of those who attend the
services of their church, there often lies an almost
solid pile of decomposing human remains, coextensive
with the area of the building, heaped as
high as the vaulting will permit, and generally (as
I have shown) but very partially confined. And if
it be the case (as perhaps it may be), that the frequenters
of the place of worship to not complain
of any vitiation of their atmosphere, or perhaps do
not experience it, not the less is it true that such a
vitiation occurs, and (whether to the special detriment
of the congregation or not), contributes to
the overladen putrefactiveness of our London
atmosphere.
In respect of such vaults, I do not consider
that the mere cessation of burial in them will be
sufficient; seeing that at the present moment they
contain amongst them many thousand coffins, as
yet tenanted by the materials of decomposition;
and year after year, if left in their present state,
these will be poisoning the air with successive
instalments of their progressive decay. It seems
to me quite indispensable that some comprehensive
measure should be undertaken, for abolishing
at once and for ever all burial within the City of
London. Conjointly with the general application