Chapter V: Appendix: Page (4)

One of the witnesses of the labouring classes, who had acted as secretary to an extensive burial society, gives the following account of the causes which operate to produce the delay.

What is the average length of time they remain unburied?—Never less
than a week. If they die in the middle of the week they are
generally kept until the Sunday week. I have known instances,
however, where they have been kept as long as a fortnight.

What have been the causes of this retention of the body?—In general
it has been the want of money to defray the dues. In some cases,
however, the widow has been reluctant to part with the corpse.

In what proportion of cases has this occurred?—It may have been in
one case in thirty, as far as I can recollect.

§ 44. Mr. Baker, the coroner, stated to me that he has met with some cases where inquests have been promoted in consequence of suspicions excited amongst neighbours on account of the delay of interments; it turned out that the deaths had been natural, and that the delay had arisen from the difficulty of procuring money to defray the funeral expenses. Mr. Bell, who for several years acted as clerk to Mr. Stirling, the late coroner for Middlesex, even cites several dreadful cases of children found dead in the metropolis, in which, on inquiry, it was proved that the deaths were natural, but that the bodies had been actually abandoned in consequence of the difficulty of raising the money for interment, and the reluctance to apply for parochial aid.

§ 45. The nature of the expenses of interments in London, and their operation on the whole practice, are most fully developed in the examination of Mr. Wild.

Supposing the expenses of interment reduced, and the conveniences
increased, do you think that there would be much or any reluctance
to early interment, on account of any general feeling of dislike on
the part of the survivors to earlier removals or interments?—No, I
do not think there would be any reluctance.

In cases where the obstacles arising from the expense and the
inconvenience preventing the attendance of friends do not exist, is
there a frequent reluctance expressed to early interment?—It is not
frequent. Sometimes, but very seldom, the deceased may have
expressed a wish not to be hurried out of the house soon after he
was dead.

Do you find that there is less delay amongst the higher and middle
classes?—There is certainly much less delay amongst them; but with
them the corpses are early placed either in lead or in double
coffins, and the delay is of less consequence.

Amongst the poorer classes, is not the widow often made ill during
the protracted delay of the burial?—Yes, very often. They have come
to me in tears, and begged for accommodation, which I have given
them. On observing to them, you seem very ill: a common reply is,
“Yes, I feel very ill. I am very much harassed, and I have no one to
assist me.” I infer from such expressions that the mental anxiety
occasioned by the expense, and want of means to obtain the money, is
the frequent cause of their illness. My opinion is, that unless the
undertaker gave two-thirds of them time or accommodation for
payment, they would not be able to bury the dead at all.

Do you consider that funerals in general are made unnecessarily
expensive?—Yes, they are, even under their present system
unnecessarily expensive. The average price of funerals amongst the
working classes for adults will be about 4_l._ This sum generally
provides a good strong elm coffin, bearers to carry the corpse to
the grave, pall and fittings for mourners. For children the average
cost is 30_s._, but these charges do not include ground and burial
fees.

Are they so even when the funerals are provided by burial societies,
and made the subject of special attention?—In benefit societies and
burial clubs there is generally a certain sum set aside for the
burial, which sum is, I consider, frequently most extravagantly
expended. This arises from the secretary, or some other officer of
the club being an undertaker. When a death takes place the club
money is not paid directly: it is usually paid on the club or
quarterly night following. The member dying seldom leaves any money
beyond the provision in his club to bury him, consequently the widow
or nominee makes application to the secretary, who tells her that he
cannot give any money to purchase mourning for herself and family
until the committee meets; this may be three months after the death;
but, says the secretary, “give me the funeral, I will advance you a
few pounds upon my own account;” so that the widow is obliged to
submit to any charge he may think fit to make. I do not mean to be
understood that this is always the case—I am sorry to say it is of
frequent occurrence.

In general, are not the expenses of burial in the Dissenters’
burial-grounds less than those of burial in the grounds belonging to
the Established Church?—On the average one-third less.

On the occasion of burial in Dissenters’ burial-grounds, is any
question ever raised as to whether the deceased was a subscribing
member of the community to which the grounds belong?—No question is
ever asked.

Of corpses of the labouring classes whom you yourself have buried in
the burial-grounds of Dissenters, how many will have been of
subscribing members of the community to which the grounds
belong?—Not one in twenty.

Then the preference arises from the greater cheapness of the burial
in those grounds?—Yes, and the greater convenience. The burial,
instead of being fixed at one particular hour, as in cases of
burials in the Church, may be had within a range of three hours.
This convenience has a great influence on the choice of places of
burial.

Have burials in the Dissenters’ grounds been increasing of
late?—Very much: their places of burial are in general no better;
they are, indeed, in some instances worse than the grounds belonging
to the parish churches, but they would, probably, have enlarged and
improved them, and, at the rate at which they have proceeded, they
would soon have three-fourths of all the burials;—chiefly on account
of the increased cheapness and accommodation attendant on their
burials.

Are the ordinary expenses and inconveniences of funerals generally
severely oppressive to persons of the middle classes?—Very
generally: it often occurs that a poor widow is crippled in her
means through life by the expense of a funeral. An ordinary funeral,
burial fees and all, will cost from 50_l._ to 70_l._, which will
deprive her of 5_l._ a year from ten to fourteen years, besides the
interest.

Without any deductions of the solemnity, for how much less might
such a funeral be performed?—For about 50 per cent. less. Indeed, I
have proved that practically for some time past.

Is not much of the accompaniments of funerals which, as at present
conducted, are deemed part of the solemnity, questionable in its
effect as well as appropriateness? Is it not the effect of custom,
rather than any choice or wish of the parties?—Merely customary: the
term used in giving orders is, “provide what is customary.”

Are you aware that the array of funerals, commonly made by
undertakers, is strictly the heraldic array of a baronial funeral,
the two men who stand at the doors being supposed to be the two
porters of the castle, with their staves, in black; the man who
heads the procession, wearing a scarf, being a representative of a
herald-at-arms; the man who carries a plume of feathers on his head
being an esquire, who bears the shield and casque, with its plume of
feathers; the pall-bearers, with batons, being representatives of
knights-companions-at-arms; the men walking with wands being
supposed to represent gentlemen-ushers, with their wands:—are you
aware that this is said to be the origin and type of the common
array usually provided by those who undertake to perform
funerals?—No; I am not aware of it.

It may be presumed that those who order funerals are equally unaware
of the incongruity for which such expense is incurred?—Undoubtedly
they are.

What is the cost of porters, the men who bear staves covered with
black?—The cost of the mutes varies from 18_s._ to 30_s._ In some
cases of respectable persons, where silk scarfs or fittings,
including hat-bands and gloves, are used, 5_l._ 5_s._ is charged to
families for those fittings. To parties in moderate circumstances,
two guineas would be charged for the fittings and the pay.

What is the charge for the person who walks with a scarf?—The usual
charge to a respectable family would be a guinea, besides fittings,
scarfs, gloves, and hat-bands, which would altogether amount to
about two guineas and a half for this man.

What is the charge for the plume of feathers borne on the head
before the hearse?—The charge for the feathers would be about two
guineas; then there is the man’s gloves, scarf, and fittings, which
make it about three guineas and a-half.

What is the charge per man bearing batons?—The charge, including
silk fittings, will be about 22_s._ each man.

What is the charge for each man bearing a wand?—About the same
price.

How many men of this description would be required for what is
deemed a respectable funeral?—About twenty men; for if the coffin be
a leaden one it would require about eight men to bear it.

What other charges are there of the same kind?—There are velvets
attached to the hearse, including feathers, and feathers to the
horses, which makes from ten to fifteen guineas more.

What is charged for the pall?—From one to four guineas would be
charged for the use of the pall.

What is it usual to give to the clergyman?—A silk scarf of three
yards and a half, a silk hatband, and black kid gloves.

What may be the expense of this?—About two guineas to the parties.

Is anything usually given to the clerk?—Yes, the same as to the
minister.

Is anything given to the sexton?—Yes, they do in respectable
families, or rather the undertaker does so, for his own gain. The
cost of the whole,—minister, sexton, and undertaker, will be about
seven guineas to a respectable family, but it is usual to compound
the matter by giving them money; I generally give the minister
18_s._, and the clerk 15_s._, and the sexton, perhaps, 15_s._

Is such an array as that described adopted in the case of the
funerals of tradesmen as well as of other classes?—They have
frequently the same number of men.

A clergyman’s widow, who has solicited aid for her sons, whom she
has found it difficult to educate, states that the expenses of her
husband’s funeral were upwards of 110_l._ On being asked how she
could incur such an expense, she states that she considered it her
duty to have a respectable funeral, and ordered the undertaker to
provide what was respectable; that she knew not what she ordered in
that condition, and merely gave general orders. Now is not this a
frequent case, and is not the undertaker’s usual interpretation of
respectability that which is expensive, the parties knowing little
about it?—Yes, that is frequently so.

In the case of funerals of persons of moderate respectability
costing, say about 60_l._, how many of such men as those described
would there be attending it?—About fourteen.

For a curate, or person of that condition, would there be that
number and array?—Yes.

What would be the expense of the funeral of a person of the
condition of an attorney?—From 60_l._ to 100_l._; but this would not
include the expense of tomb or monument, or burial-fees.

If a person of such a condition were buried, would it be of about
twenty attendants, with such an array as that described?—Yes; for
such a person the cost would be about 100 guineas, exclusive of the
burial-fees.

There would then be the same number of attendants as those
mentioned, about twenty men?—Yes, about twenty men.

The funeral being ordered of an upholsterer, is it not usually
provided by an undertaker?—Yes.

In how many cases of funerals will there be “the second profit?”—In
nearly two-thirds of the cases of burial in the upper classes.

Is the same observation applicable to the funerals amongst the
middle classes?—Yes; I think in nearly the same proportion.

How much of the profit will be the profit of the upholsterer?—Nearly
half: if the funeral costs 50_l._ to the upholsterer from the
undertaker, it will cost about 100_l._ from the undertaker to the
family.

Is there much credit given in the business to respectable
families?—Not much; for as soon as letters of administration are
taken out the funeral expenses are discharged.

The average expense of the funeral of an adult of the labouring
class being about 4_l._, exclusive of the burial fees, and that of a
child about 30_s._, what may be stated to be the ordinary expense of
the funeral of a tradesman of the lowest class, as ordinarily
conducted?—Of the very lowest class—of a class in condition not much
beyond that of a mechanic, the funeral expenses might be from 10_l._
to 12_l._

What would be the ordinary expense for the funeral of a child of a
person of this class?—The ordinary expense would be about 5_l._

What would be the ordinary expense of the funeral of a tradesman of
a better class?—From 70_l._ to 100_l._

What do you consider would be a low average for the ordinary expense
of the whole class of tradesmen’s funerals?—About 50_l._ would, I
consider, be a low average for the whole class.

What may be considered the average of ordinary expenses of the
funerals of children of the class dying below 10 years of age?—About
14_l._

Might 100_l._ be taken as the average expense of the funeral of a
person of the condition of a gentleman?—No; they range from 200_l._
to 1,000_l._ I think that 150_l._ would be a low average.

What may be considered the ordinary expense of the funeral of a
child of this class?—About 30_l._ would be the average.

What may be the ordinary expense of the funerals of persons of rank
or title?—The expense varies from 500_l._ to 1500_l._ A large part
of this expense has, however, commonly been for the removal of the
remains from town to the family vault by a long cavalcade moving by
very slow stages; but the conveyance by railway makes as much as
500_l._ difference in the expense of a funeral of this class.

What may be the average expense of the funeral of a child of this
class?—About 50_l._

Do you believe it to be practicable, by proper regulations, greatly
to reduce the existing charges of interments?—Yes; a very great
reduction indeed may be made, at least 50 per cent.

May it be confidently stated that under such reductions, whatever of
respectability in exterior is now attached to the trappings, or to
the mode of the ceremony, might be preserved?—Oh, yes; I should say
it might, and that they could scarcely fail to be increased.

§ 46. Mr. Dix, an undertaker, who inters from 800 to 1000 persons annually, of whom about 300 are of the class of independent labourers, being questioned on this topic, stated as follows:—

The lowest average expense of a poor man’s burial, from extensive
evidence, is stated to be about 5_l._; but that is where it is done,
as it usually is, second or third hand. I frequently perform
funerals three deep: that is, I do it for one person, who does it
for another who does it for the relatives of the deceased, he being
the first person applied to.

The people then generally apply to the nearest person?—Yes, they do.
Everybody calls himself an undertaker. The numerous men employed as
bearers become undertakers, although they have never done anything
until they have got the job. I have known one of these men get a new
suit of clothes out of the funeral of one decent mechanic.

§ 47. The conclusions in respect to the unnecessary expense of funerals appear to be applicable, with little variation, to the most populous provincial towns. In the rural districts the expense of funerals of the class of gentry appears to be even more expensive. In most of the provincial towns the expense of the funerals of the more respectable class of tradesmen does not appear to be much less than in London. In Scotland, the expenses of the funerals of persons of the middle classes appear, from a communication from Mr. Chambers, to vary from 12_l._ to 25_l._ In Glasgow the expenses of funerals of persons of the middle class appear to vary from 12_l._ to 50_l._

§ 48. To persons of the condition of the widows of officers in the army or navy, or of the legal profession, or of persons of the rank of gentry who have but limited incomes, the expenses of the funerals often subject them to severe privations during the remainder of their lives. The widow is frequently compelled to beg pecuniary assistance for the education of her children, which the superfluous expenses of the funerals of the adult members of the family would have supplied; and these expenses are incurred often in utter disregard of express requests of the dying, that the funerals should be plain, and divested of unnecessary expense. The expenses are often incurred equally against the wishes of the survivors. The cause of this appears to be that the funeral arrangements, and the determination of what is proper, and what customs shall be maintained, fall, as shown by the evidence, to those who have a direct interest,—and when the nature of their separate establishments are considered, are commonly acting under a strong necessity,—in maintaining a system of profuse expenditure. The circumstances of the death do not admit of any effective competition or any precedent examination of the charges of different undertakers, or any comparison and consideration of their supplies; there is no time to change them for others that are less expensive, and more in conformity to the taste and circumstances of the parties. An executor who had ordered a coffin and service of the “most simple description,” conformably to the intentions of the deceased, expecting the coffin to cost not more than five pounds, having, under peculiar circumstances, occasion to call for the bill previously to the interment, found, to his surprise, that instead of five the charge for the coffin amounted to nearly twenty pounds. “What,” he says, “could be done? we could not turn the body out of the coffin: I would have paid double rather than have disturbed the peace of the house on that solemn occasion, by a dispute, or by an objection either to that charge, or to the disgusting frippery with which those who attended the dead were covered against their tastes.” The survivors, however, are seldom in a state to perform any office of every-day life; and they are at the mercy of the first comer. The supplies of the funeral goods and services, are, therefore, a multiform monopoly, not apparently on the parts of the chief undertakers, or original and real preparers of the funeral materials and services, but of second or third parties living in the immediate neighbourhood,—persons who assume the business of an undertaker, and who obtain the first orders. The reason why the charges are seldom or ever disputed after interment is that, however severe or extortionate they may be, it would be more severe for the widow, or survivor, or friends, to scrutinise the items, or resist the payment of the total amount. Nor can it be expected of any individual to break through such customs, however generally they may be disliked. All isolated efforts to simplify the supplies and use of the goods and _materiel_,—all objections to the demands for them are exposed to the calumny that proper respect to the deceased is begrudged. A late right reverend bishop, who thought it a moral duty to resist an extortionate charge for such service, and he did so even in a court of law,—the well-intended, but isolated effort, was fruitless. Another reason for the impunity of the extortion is, that much of the funeral expenses are from trust-funds of the higher and middle classes, who influence the practice of the lower classes; and the trustees have but weak motives and means to defend them. In so far as the funeral expenses are concerned, such funds, as will appear in respect to the funds raised for burial amongst the labouring classes, are an exposed prey.

§ 49. If there be any sort of service, which principles of civic polity, and motives of ordinary benevolence and charity, require to be placed under public regulation, for the protection of the private individual who is helpless, it is surely this, at the time of extreme misery and helplessness of the means of decent interment. On inspecting the condition of the whole class of persons engaged in the performance of the service of undertakers, it may be confidently stated that the class who only act as agents, could not suffer, and must gain morally and socially, and ultimately pecuniarily by a change that would be beneficial to the public. No class can be otherwise than benefited by change, from an occupation in which they are kept waiting and dependent on profits which fall to them at wide and irregular intervals. Notwithstanding the immensely disproportionate profits of these persons in some cases, and the immense aggregate expenditure to the public, there appear to be very few wealthy undertakers. They are described by one of them, “as being some few of them very respectable, but the great majority as men mostly in a small grubbing way of business.” In this trade we have now the means of knowing to an unit, from the mortuary registration, the amount of service required; and we have some means of obtaining a proximate estimate of the number of persons engaged in its performance.

§ 50. The number of deaths per diem in the metropolis (inclusive of the death of those who die in the workhouses, whose interment being provided for by the parish and union officers, are not cases for every-day competition) is on an average of three years 114. The number of persons whose sole business is that of undertakers, whose names are enumerated in the Post-office Directory for the year 1843 for the metropolis is 275. Besides these there are 258 “undertakers and carpenters,” 34 “undertakers and upholsterers,” 56 “undertakers and cabinet-makers,” 51 “undertakers and builders,” 25 “undertakers and appraisers,” 19 “undertakers and auctioneers,” 7 “undertakers and house-agents,” 3 “undertakers and fancy cabinet-makers,” 2 “undertakers and packing-case makers;” making in all no less than 730 persons for the 114 deaths, or between six and seven undertakers waiting for the chance of every private funeral. But these are masters who, whether they act as agents or principals, have shops and establishments, and the list does not include the whole of them, as the Directory is not understood to include all the masters residing in bye-streets and places. Some have two and three funerals per diem, and some eight or ten; and it is apparent, even under the existing imperfect arrangements, the undertaker’s service might be better performed by forty or fifty than by the 275 principals, who have no other occupation, and whose establishments and expenses, as well as the cost of their own maintenance, must, if the business be equally distributed, be charged on little more than two funerals a-week. If the business be not equally distributed, and a minority have (as will have been perceived) a much larger share of the funerals than the rest, the majority will be the more severely driven, as they are in fact, to charge their expenses on a much smaller number of funerals. When the additional number of tradesmen of mixed occupations are brought as waiters for the chances of employment, the number of burials distributed amongst them all is reduced to 10 funerals to every master in 11 weeks, or less than one a-week each. It is stated, that much larger numbers than are named in the Directory retain the insignia of undertakers in their shop-windows, for the sake of the profits of one or two funerals a-year. They merely transmit the orders to the furnishing undertaker, who supplies materials and men at a comparatively low rate; and it is stated that the real service is rendered by about sixty tradesmen of this class, who compete with each other in furnishing the supplies to a multitude of inferior tradesmen, probably exceeding 1000, amongst whom the excessive profits arising from extortionate charges are thus irregularly distributed. The profits of these agents or second parties are often, however, divided with others by the system (which pursues the head of the family to the last) of corrupting servants for their “good word” or influence by bribes or allowances, against which the only effectual defence is care to secure purchases at prices so low as to preclude them. Physicians of great eminence have expressed their horror at the facts of which they have been informed, of large sums of money having been promised and given to head servants to secure to the particular tradesman the performance of the funeral. The undertakers who were questioned on the subject admitted explicitly that such is “an occasional but not an universal practice,” and that such sums as 10_l._, 20_l._, and even 50_l._, have been known to have been given for such orders, according to the scale of expense and profit of the funeral. One undertaker stated that whenever a medical man took the trouble to bring him an order for a funeral, he always, as a matter of course, paid him a fee; and he believed it was a common practice. It was, however, only the inferior practitioners who brought these orders. Physicians usually carefully abstain from giving any recommendations of tradesmen in such cases.

§ 51. Such being the state of the service as respects the multitude of principals; the state of the service as respects the inferior dependents is, that as at present conducted it is, as far as it goes, demoralizing. The journeymen, who form the superfluous retinue of attendants for whom so much expense is incurred, gain very little by their extravagant pay. “They are,” says one master undertaker, “kept long waiting, and are taken away to a distance from their homes, and are put to great expense in drinking at public-houses, and acquiring very bad habits.” The accounts given by undertakers themselves of the conduct of the men composing the hired retinue of funerals, as at present conducted, are corroborative of the following instance given by a gentleman who was a witness of the scene described:—

“If the relatives of one who has been honoured with what is called a
respectable funeral could witness the scenes which commonly ensue,
even at the very place where the last ceremony has been performed,
they would be scandalized at the mockery of solemnity which has
preceded the disgusting indecency exhibited at the instant when the
mourners are removed. An empty hearse, returning at a quick pace
from a funeral, with half a dozen red-faced fellows sitting with
their legs across the pegs which held the feathers, is a common
exhibition. But let the relatives see what has preceded the ride
home of the undertaker’s men. In the spring of 1842, two friends
walked into a village inn about twelve miles from London, for the
purpose of dining. One had recently sustained a severe domestic
calamity. The inn is generally distinguished for its neatness and
quiet. All now seemed confusion. The travellers were shown up-stairs
to a comfortable room. But the shouts, the laughing, the rapping the
tables, the ringing the bells, in an adjoining room were beyond
endurance; and when the landlady appeared with her bill of fare, she
apologized for what was so different from the ordinary habit of her
guests. “Is it a club feast?” “Oh, no, gentlemen; they are the
undertaker’s men—blackguards I should say. They have been burying
poor Lord——; he was much beloved here. Shame on them. But they will
soon go back to town, for they are nearly drunk.” The travellers
left the house till it was cleared of these harpies.”

§ 52. Men of the class who are every day to be seen stopping in parties at public houses on their return from the places of burial, are intrusted without care or selection to perform what may be shown to be important sanitary and civil ministrations of enshrouding and preparing the body for burial. The impressions created by the bearing of these coarse, unknown, unrespected, irresponsible hands, add to the revolting popular associations with death.

The extent of the public interests affected by so much of the practice of interment, as the undertaker’s service embraces, will be better appreciated in a subsequent stage of this report, and after the consideration of the facts unfolded in the course of an examination of the influence of the expenses of funerals specifically on the states of mind, social habits and economy of the labouring classes in towns of England.

_Specific Effects of the Expenses of Funerals, and Associations to
defray them amongst the Labouring Classes._

§ 53. The desire to secure respectful interment of themselves and their relations is, perhaps, the strongest and most widely-diffused feeling amongst the labouring classes of the population. Subscriptions may be obtained from large classes of them for their burial when it can be obtained neither for their own relief in sickness, nor for the education of their children, nor for any other object. The amount of the twenty-four millions of deposits in the savings’ banks of the United Kingdom is 29_l._ each depositor. Judging from particular investigations, it would appear that upwards of 5_l._ of each deposit may be considered a sum devoted to defray the expenses of burial, and about as much more to provide mourning and other expenses. From six to eight millions of savings may be considered as devoted to these objects.

§ 54. The following is an answer to some inquiries on the subject from the secretary of the St. Martin’s Lane Provident Institution, an institution in which the deposits amount to 1,168,850_l._, and the depositors, amounting to upwards of 32,000, comprehend some of the most frugal and respectable of the labouring classes:—

As you wished me to mention any facts within my knowledge, arising
out of this institution and its concerns, bearing upon the question
of _sepulture_, I would first state, that the average _annual
number_ of deaths occurring amongst our depositors (now about 32,000
in number) in the course of the last nine years, has been 231;
these, taking the last of such years for an example, are divisible
under the classes shown by the subjoined statement. By reference to
this statement it will be seen how large a class of our depositors
consists of individuals of the poorer or labouring population; and
amongst that class, in regard to the question of _sepulture_, from
the opportunity afforded me of inspecting the charges made for
funerals, I should say that the expenses incurred for the funeral
and interment alone are seldom so little as 4_l._, generally amount
to 5_l._ and upwards, and not unfrequently exceed 6_l._

It is, I may observe, no uncommon practice for parties to leave
deposits in their names, about the amount I have stated, for the
very purpose of providing for the expenses of their interment, so as
to ensure for themselves, under any change of circumstances, a
decent burial; this feeling has prevailed so strongly in instances
within my own knowledge, that, upon the happening of the death, the
party has been found to have died at last an inmate of a poor house,
and destitute of every kind of property, save only the little fund
appropriated for the purpose I have stated. This feeling is not
confined solely to the poorest class of our depositors: an instance
lately occurred in which a depositor to the amount of 32_l._, made a
special request that 20_l._ of this money might, in the event of her
death, be paid only to _her undertaker_ on production of his account
and of _her burial certificate_, and the balance to be paid to her
relatives. The depositor died in the following year, and her wishes
were accordingly carried into effect, with the concurrence of a
relative, to whom it appeared she had communicated the arrangement
she had thus made in regard to her money deposited with this
institution.

──────────────╥────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total Number ║
of Deaths in ║Total Effects of such deceased Depositions, certified as
the Year ║ under the following Amounts, viz:—
ending 31st of║
March, 1842. ║
──────────────╫─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬────────
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Amount
║ £50 │£100 │£200 │£300 │£400 │£450 │£600 │£800 │to £1000
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ and
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │upwards.
──────────────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼────────
232 ║ 133 │ 32 │ 23 │ 10 │ 1 │ 5 │ 6 │ 6 │ 16
──────────────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴────────

Occurrences such as those above alluded to are not unfrequent. Those who, as paupers, have led a life of dissipation, and have saved nothing for other objects, have yet reserved and concealed a small hoard to provide interment in a mode agreeable to their feelings. Besides the immense amount of money reserved for this purpose in the savings’ banks, it forms the great object of the benefit clubs: in most large towns there are burial clubs instituted for no other purpose. In the town of Preston nearly 30,000 persons, men, women, and children, are associated in six large societies for the purpose of burial; the chief of these clubs comprehends 15,164 members, and has since its commencement expended upwards of 1,000_l._ per annum, raised in weekly contributions, from a halfpenny and a penny to three-halfpence and two-pence per week. A benevolent officer, in giving an account of this club, expresses a hope that it may be practicable, in connexion with it, to get up some provision for the living, in the shape of medical attendance for the sick, an object which appears to have been entirely lost sight of in these societies. Besides the burial societies, of which the funds are deposited in the savings’ banks, there are others in which the funds are placed out in the hands of private persons, traders, who pay interest upon them.

§ 55. As an example of the allowances in the provincial clubs, it may be mentioned, that on an examination of the rules of 90 friendly societies at present existing in the borough and town of Walsall, comprising upwards of 5000 members, it appeared that the allowances insured for funerals were as follows:—that

For the Funeral │ For the Funeral
of the Husband. │ of the Wife.
22 societies pay £10│36 societies pay £3
12 8│16 5
8 7│14 4
3 16│9 8
│3 6
│3 7

The burial allowances in the others were not specified.

§ 56. It must be premised, that it appears to be a serious error to regard the arrangements of all of this class of clubs as the arrangements of the poor people themselves; the arrangements are evidence only of the intensity of their feelings on the subject of interment, of their ignorance and their extensive need of information and trustworthy guidance.

There are, for example, in Westminster, Marylebone, Finsbury, the City, and the Tower Hamlets, districts of the metropolis, about 200 of such societies, composed chiefly of the labouring classes, comprising from 100 to 800 members each, possessing aggregate amounts of deposits of from 90_l._ to 1000_l._ each; raised in contributions of from three-halfpence to two-pence per week, and paying on the death of a member from 5_l._ to 10_l._ Besides these, there are clubs of a higher description, mostly amongst the smallest class of tradesmen, where the sums insured extend to sums as high as 200_l._, payable at the member’s death, and are understood to be chiefly devoted to the payment of the funeral expenses. The burial clubs for the labouring classes are generally got up by an undertaker and by the publican at whose house the club is held. The state of feeling addressed in the formation of these societies is denoted by the terms of the placards issued at the joint expense of the publican or of the undertaker, or rather of some mechanic or person of another trade, who gets the business done by an undertaker. These placards are frequently headed “In the midst of life we are in death;” and the addresses are in such terms as the following, which is taken from “The United Brothers’ and Sisters’ Burial Society,” held at the Old Duke William public house, Ratcliffe Highway:—

“In contemplating the many vicissitudes and changes incident to all
persons of every station in life, and the many anxieties that crowd
about our advancing years, more particularly the labouring class,
through the uncertainty of employment, by long illness, or for want
of friends reduced to extreme distress, and after a long and
miserable life, and in expectation of that awful change which we
must one time or other undergo, without ever providing for a decent
interment, it will be some alleviation to our sufferings to remember
that we bring no pecuniary burthen on our commiserating friends and
relations, that at least we have divested our suffering families of
that anxiety respecting our mortal remains which would add another
pang to their already lacerated hearts: it too frequently occurs to
the sorrow of many a feeling heart, who mourns over the deplorable
loss of a beloved husband, wife, or friend; to obtain this desirable
object, this society offers to the public, on easy terms, advantages
worthy the consideration of persons in all stations of life.”

The terms of insurance are—

“That to defray the necessary expenses of printing books, bills,
&c., that members of the first class, if under the age of 55 years,
shall pay 1_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ per month to the box
and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary; and members of the second
class, under the age of 55 years, shall pay 6_d._ entrance, and
6_d._ per month to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary;
and every person above the age of 55 years, and members of the first
class, to pay 2_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ 6_d._ per month
to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary; and every member
of the second class to pay 1_s._ entrance, and contribute 1_s._ per
month to the box, and 2_d._ per quarter to the secretary. No more
than 20 members will be admitted above the age of 60 years. They to
be free in 12 months; nor shall any article that may be hereafter
made exclude them.”

The benefits insured are to be—

“That at the death of a free member, immediate notice shall be given
to T. Scotcher, undertaker, who shall perform the funeral, and he
shall inform one of the committee, and the first meeting night after
the burial, his or her relation, next of kin, or nominee, on
producing satisfactory evidence, will be entitled (if a member of
the first class) to the sum of 10_l._; if a member of the second
class, and above seven years, to 5_l._; if under the age of seven
years, to 3_l._; but when the stock of this society amounts to
150_l._ in the public funds, if a member in the first class admitted
ten years, 12_l._ will be allowed; and if a member admitted ten
years in the second class, 6_l._ will be allowed, deducting all
arrears on the books; and for the credit of the society, the
committee shall see the undertaker’s bill discharged.”

The publican is secured by a provision that the box shall not be removed to any other public house; and the office of “J. Scotcher, undertaker and founder of the Society,” is made permanent. An arbitrary rule, in such terms as the following, is so couched (the officers being judges) as to suppress complaint. This rule is common to other societies:—

That if any member charge the committee, or any member thereof, or
trustees, or secretary, with any improper practice in the management
of the society, and cannot make it appear just, he or she shall be
fined 5_s._, or be excluded.

It is to be observed that the high and exclusive spirit of some of the rules would seem to show how little the body of the members are consulted in the preparation of them. Thus, in the “Ancient Friendly Society,” it is provided that “if any man sits down to drink with the stewards to pay sixpence, whether a member or not.” It is provided in the rules of the “Loyal United Friends,” that “if any person sit down to drink with the committee he is to pay sixpence;” and it is the same with a large proportion of the others.

In what is called an “improved burial society,” of the date of 1841, called the East London Burial Society, held at the Swan public house, Bethnal Green, the terms are:—

That the members of this society shall pay their contributions
weekly or monthly, and shall pay 1_d._ per quarter extra, to defray
other expenses attending the society. Every member shall pay 1_d._
per week for the first class, from two to fifty-five years; the
second class, from ten to fifty-five years, 2_d._ per week; the
third class, from ten to fifty-five years, shall pay 3_d._ per week.

Richard Crafer appears to be the president, and William Duggan secretary; then Richard Crafer afterwards appears as the undertaker. With respect to him the following is inserted as a fundamental rule of the society:—

That Richard Crafer, being the founder of this Society, shall be the
undertaker, and no future articles shall remove him, so long as he
gives general satisfaction to the society, and in case of his death,
his eldest son shall claim the same for the benefit of the widow,
and at her decease the same shall devolve on the eldest son living.

Mr. William Duggan is appointed secretary, and for his attendance
and services he shall be allowed the sum of 1_d._ per quarter, for
as many members as there are on the society’s books: he will assist
the society with his best advice, and register good and healthy
members, and post the books. He shall be allowed 3_d._ each for all
notices he may deliver on the society’s business, but not obliged to
go more than two miles from the club-house.

This is preceded by the usual rule, that—

Any member _coming_ to the society’s meeting-house in liquor, so as
to disturb the proceedings, shall be fined 1_s._, and ordered to
leave the room; and should any member charge the committee,
secretary, president, trustees, or landlord with any unjust
proceedings relative to the society, and cannot substantiate the
same, he or she shall pay a fine not exceeding 10_s._ to the stock,
or be excluded.

In the society of “United Brewers and Draymen,” of which J. Guy is secretary and undertaker, one of the fundamental rules is, that—

At the funeral of a member, the secretary shall provide fittings for
porters and six pall bearers, for which he shall be allowed 1_l._,
whether they are used or not, provided such member dies and is
interred within three miles of any meeting-house.

The particulars of the provision commonly held out, is stated in the following rule of the General Burial Society:—

That the landlord for the time being shall be treasurer, and when
there is sufficient cash, above what is necessary to supply the
exigencies of the society, the same shall be vested in the public
funds, in the names of the trustees appointed by the committee. The
landlord, as treasurer, &c., shall give proper security for the due
performance of his offices.

An evil entailed beyond the excessive amount of subscriptions paid for an object that is but poorly obtained, is the impulse given by it to the vice of drinking; to the destruction of real friendly sympathy amongst the working classes, by making the announcement of the death to be received as the demoralizing announcement of a coming carousal. Such expenses can only be incurred in the absence of proper feeling, in the face of destitute orphan children. The secretary of one of the better ordered burial clubs, a working man, thus speaks of the regulations which tend to drinking. He was asked—

What number of members have you?—Two hundred, who pay sixpence per
month.

What is the publican’s advantage out of this?—The allowance is
sixpence spending-money from each committee-man. I do not like this,
and have wanted to change the place of meeting to a coffee-house,
for the members frequently add a shilling to the sixpence
spending-money, and are then not in a condition to begin business;
but I find it is part of the rules of this, as well as of the other
societies, that they shall be held at public houses.

On the occasion of the funeral is there no drinking?—Yes, there is;
that is another great evil, and I wish there was a way of remedying
it. The family provide themselves with drink, and the friends coming
also drink. I have known this to be to such excess, that the
undertaker’s men, who always take whatever drink is given them, are
frequently unfit to perform their duty, and have reeled in carrying
the coffin. At these times it is very distressing. The men who stand
as mutes at the door, as they stand out in the cold, are supposed to
require most drink, and receive it most liberally. I have seen these
men reel about the road, and after the burial we have been obliged
to put these mutes and their staves into the interior of the hearse
and drive them home, as they were incapable of walking. After the
return from the funeral, the mourners commonly have drink again at
the house. This drinking at the funeral is a very great evil.

Besides the regulations of meeting which lead to expenditure for drinking, besides express regulations for allowances of drink, the “funeral allowances” are sometimes read by the publican to mean “expenditure” with him. The officers of a club in Liverpool having been summoned before Mr. Rushton, the magistrate, for the non-payment of a sum allowed by the rules, for funeral expenses, the steward of the club attended, and in answer to the claim, stated that the complainant had refused to take 4_s._ worth of whiskey at the house where the club meetings were held, a quantity which had been used and allowed in that and other clubs, as forming part of the “funeral expenses.” Notwithstanding the usage, the magistrate refused to sanction the steward’s reading of the term; and decided that the whole of the payment of expenses must be in money and not in whiskey.

It is difficult to ascertain the amount spent in drink, but it appears from the amount cited of the expenditure in the 90 societies at Walsall, that the required allowance was 2_d._ per month, in others 3_d._, and the aggregate sum spent in those clubs (if it were only limited to the rule), must have amounted to 981_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._; but besides these prescribed portions of drink, there are prescribed annual feasts, at from 2_s._ 3_d._ to 3_s._ 6_d._ per member, amounting to an annual sum of 257_l._ 10_s._, making a total of 1239_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ per annum, expended in such expenses. Besides these, there are decoration expenses, in which one society alone expended between 70_l._ and 80_l._ Seventeen of the societies had lost 1500_l._, and one of them 600_l._, through various causes (such as the defalcations of secretaries), either directly or indirectly, attributable to an inefficient system of management. If the one year’s expenditure on drink, feast, and decoration money, were placed out in the savings’ bank, at interest, together with the amount of losses from mismanagement, the amount due to the contributors, to this small group of societies, would, at the end of 10 years, have amounted to the sum of 5328_l._ 19_s._ 3_d._

§ 57. To prevent frauds, some of the rules provide that the secretary shall see the body. For this service, in the society called the “Frugal Society,” where 7_l._ is allowed for the interment, a fee of 2_s._ 6_d._ is allowed to him, and 4_s._ if he have to go from two to five miles for the purpose. It is to be observed, that this is the usual fee provided by such societies for any inspection of the body.

The publican is generally made the treasurer, and usually the money is placed by him into the hands of his brewer, by whom from four to five per cent. interest is paid for its use as capital. In other instances it forms a capital for the publican himself; in some instances it is lent to other tradesmen. Though failures of societies have occurred from the failure of those to whom their funds have been lent, they do not appear to have been so frequent as the failures from the erroneous bases in respect to insurance on which they are generally founded.

§ 58. Believing that if the sums insured for burial in most of the burial clubs were received in money, the premiums paid by the members of these clubs are excessive, as compared with the premiums paid in the higher classes of insurance offices, I have submitted a number of their regulations, which may be considered specimens of the common terms of assurance, to Mr. Jenkin Jones, the actuary of the National Mercantile Life Assurance Society. His conclusions, which are confirmed by Mr. Griffith Davies, the actuary of the Guardian Office, show that for a risk, for which, if the Northampton tables were taken as the basis of the assurance, that in the large society at Preston, where an annual premium of 3_s._ 9_d._ would be taken for one risk by an assurance office, 7_s._ 10_d._ is taken from the contributors by the club. The General Friendly Society, for a risk for which 3_s._ 9_d._ would suffice on the Northampton table, receives 11_s._ 5_d._ Instead of an average premium of 5_s._ 2_d._, the “Friendly Society” takes 11_s._ 1_d._ If we add 25 per cent., to the premium that would be charged according to the Northampton rate (which is supposed to represent a higher mortality than the average) for expenses of management, including books, stationery, &c., and to cover the loss of interest occasioned by weekly or monthly contributions, instead of annual premiums payable at the beginning of each year, in nearly all these clubs the poor man pays an excess for burial of, at least, one-third,—besides the expense of liquor more than he would otherwise drink, which he is induced to take at the time of his multiplied attendances to pay his weekly subscriptions. There are various causes (which it would require a long report to specify) for the failure of these clubs, and for the loss of the savings devoted to their objects. The chief manager, the undertaker, has commonly an immediate interest in the admission of bad lives, which bring him quick funerals. The younger members often begin to perceive that they are subjected to unduly heavy charges, and when they are in the majority, they break up the society and divide the stock among them equally, and the older members who have contributed from the commencement are mercilessly deprived of the consolation for which they have during a great part of their lives made the most constant sacrifices. Independently of the excessive rates charged by these societies, the principle upon which the charges are made is a very unjust one, viz.—that of charging the same rate to each member, without reference to age.

§ 59. It will be seen from the following table that the “Friendly” Society’s premium (11_s._ 1_d._) is rather more than double the average of the Northampton (5_s._ 2_d._), and the premium by the Northampton rates for ages 15 and 45 are 3_s._ 10_d._, and 7_s._ 9_d._; the premiums of the “Friendly” Society, therefore, according to their own average, ought not to be more for these ages than about twice these amounts, or for age 15, 7_s._ 8_d._; age 45, 15_s._ 6_d._; but members between these ages pay alike (11_s._ 1_d._), the younger member therefore pays 3_s._ 5_d._ _more_ than he ought, and the older member 4_s._ 5_d._ less than he ought.

─────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────
│“Friendly” Society │ Average Premium │ Premium according
Age. │ Premium. │ according to the │to the Northampton
│ │ Northampton Rate. │ Rate.
─────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────
│ _s._ _d._ │ _s._ _d._ │ _s._ _d._
7–45 │ 11 1 │ 5 2 │
15 │ │ │ 3 10
45 │ │ │ 7 9
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