SPIRITUALISM.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2212, 9 June 1870, Page 2

SPIRITUALISM.

The following is the conclusion of our re* port of Mr Meers’s lecture : He regretted time would not allow him to make further extracts from his diary, and everyone must feel convinced that it was quite impossible in an evening’s address to do full justice to such an important subject. In addition to the experiences he had narrated, he had been present at seances when the keys of a pianoforte had been played upon without mortal contact, and when the instrument has been closed and locked ; he bad at the same time heard a chorus of heavenly voices singing as no mortals can sing ; on other occasions had seen heavy pieces of furniture moved about and floated in the air by an invisible agency ; had seen spirit forms of various degrees of excellence, from the poor d graded soul of the ignorant blasphemer, who had when in the flesh neglected to exercise the nobler instincts of his nature, and passed Ins mortal career in vice and selfish* ness, to spirits from spheres of most dazzling beauty and brilliancy ; had listened to spirits talking in audible voice for a period of two hours duration, answering questions of the most vital importance concerning our national and spiritual welfare and profession ; and having listened to such lectures, he asked was he ever likely to forgit them, who taught the religion of the soul the whole duty of man, the love and goodness of Jehovah, who had no feeling of vengeance or hatred towards the creature he had made so full of imperfections, and yet so wonderful withall. Beferriug to the subject of mediums, the lecturer explained' that mediums so called, were persons with natures sufficiently sensitive to external or spiritual influence as to come under the control of spirits either : embodied or disembodied. Thus it was found that, as a rule, those persons made tlie best mediums who could' be easily acted upon biologically under the influence of the mesmerist, as in both cases it was (he spirit of the operator directing or controlling the patient, and by that means conveying the idea, and that idea was received, illustrated, and translated according to the education and capacity of the recipient. Referring to the objections made to spiritual* ism, Mr Meers cited from the Spiritual Ma(ja~inc and other works the testimony of Professors Gunney, Britton, Gregory, De Morgan, Judge Owen, Mr Varley, Mr D. Boucicault, and Mr G. S. Hall, in favor of it. He hail heard men of education say spiritual* ism was of the devil; but it was evident to him that they kuew nothing about it. How could persons so uncharitable as these expect to know spirits but of the same low type as themselves. Ho said, fearlessly, ■if persons desired spiritual knowledge, they must be as a little child, unassuming, free from prejudice ; and it mattered not whether their couimunica* tion came by raps, table movements, writing impression, or coversation, the devil would have nothing to do with it. If there were any present who would like to test the truth of what ho had asserted, let them sit round their own table—a 100 tabic was the best.— and place their bauds on the top of it, and sit for half an hour every evening, until they uot some manifestations, but at the same time their thoughts should he pure ami fi---aspirations heaven ward ; it would soon he discovered that the devil only dwelt in the hearts of those who made a place for him. Mediums wore useful iu a variety of ways; Some were for automatic writing, some "wore clairvoyant, or heard spirits, and others were what were termed clairadiant, or heard spirits speak, while others received impressions biologically ; but by far the most were what were calb d physical mediums ; and in their presence spints could do many wonderful things—such as moving heavy pieces of furniture, playing musical instruments, and speaking in audible voices, &o. Ho hul once heard it asserted iu Knox Church that the best evidence of the falsity of spiritualism was that Christ knew nothing about it. His cnnversrtions with Moses and Elias must have been forgotten. But'siipposiiigsufh an argument to be good,' steam power, electricity, <fcc,, must be ignored. He thought they would agree with him, when he said that if any new theory in nature or science brought before the world had truth on its side, it would live in spite-of the most determined opposition ; but if false, if would soon die. But spiritualists had no fear of such an untimely end of their theory. It had been estimated on good authority that they were already 18 millions strong, and were gaining converts at the rate of a million per annum. The next referred to the philosophy of the theory, and concluded by stat? ing that he had contented bimsclf by giving liis earliest experiences', believing thqt they M ould be be§t understood by his a dience, The lecturer answered a number of questions, bearing on the points touched on iq