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THE FALLACIES OF SPIRITISM.

In his inaugural address to the Medical Society of Victoria, Dr. Blair, its president, gave some particulars of the fallacies of Spiritism :

The several manias which afflict society are fickle in their mode of procedure. Like epidemics which desolate the land, they “ Have ebb and flow conditioning their march,” increasing in intensity up to a certain point, at which the people become sensible of their absurdity, and then gradually disappearing until not a vestige of their existence remains. The early part of the past year was somewhat sensational in the so-callod treatment of d’sease by the use of Spiritism, oyshe diagnosis and treatment of disease by the aid of a spiritual medium. Now, as the qualities of things are known by their effects, and these effects are constantly the subjectmatter of human experience, I will only refer to them en pemant. Time will not permit of many remarks to show the absurdity of this psev.do mvant, this spiritual diagnostician and therapeutist, who claims to be aide, by the aid of a lock of hair, piece of garter, or other adjunct of a sick person, without seeing the latter, to prescribe successfully for the most obscure and dangerous diseases. By way of applying the cruc al test, 1 wjll state two well authenticated cases ;—Case 1 ; A middle-aged female, who had had a uterine turgor of very large size for a number of years, but who had no other organic disease of any kind, sent a lock of hair to the spiiit--Ist medium for his opinion as to her condition. r i he diagnosis returned was that there was congestion of the liver and kidneys tenderness of the right side, and general debility ; but of the tumor, which was a very prominent object, there wai no mention. Case 2 : The fame of the spiritist doctor having penetrated the up-country districts, adigger, who had had an afccidcnt, and was not recovering according to his wish, sent a lock of his hair to M'lbourne for information. It so happened that the digger was a Scandinavian, a veritable male, with the fine llaxen hair of his race. His caligraphy, too, must have been peculiar, for the medical spiritist came to the conclusion that it was a female who uas the sender, and accordingly used the safe terms of congestion hero an i but added that the eapse of tbe patient’s ailment was the womb,, blit that, no doubt, after delivery, all the symptoms would vanish. Prssoriptions were given in both these cases, to be made of Coffin s or Fox’s herb’s. It is strange what an aversion the spirits seem to have to the British pharmacopceia.

“ How does a fickle fancy mle us, Pomp delude, and folly fool us.’’ In a letter published in a Melbourne preppy by a well-known spiritist, we have, the following interesting information. The letter ia too lonrj to, copy verbatim, but when deluded of verbosity, the sum and substance is as follows : I am a believer in spiritism, f. c., I believe in the communion of embodied and disemb died spirits, I am afflicted with bronchitis. 1 came to Australia £o get rid of it. The climate has improved but not cured mo, I was laid up or five times during this winter. I was in the room of a certain spiritist, who was instrumental in curing complaints of various sorts, and he informed me, Alter consulting his spirit adviser, that he could remove the cough, and ho was inhumed, through the spirit medium, that the cough could be cured by a spiritismal prescription. I told him I would take anything his spirit adviser would prescribe, He was then informed that two herbs would, prove beneficial, and although lip experienced some difficulty in receiving the impression of one of the herbs, he. eventually succeeded, but never having it, and not being that he possessed it, he inquired where it might be had, and the reply was, “In the room, beside him, among a lot of herbs, recently arrived from America,” We stepped to a corner of the room, and took up first one packet and then another, placing each to bis forehead ; and at length he exclaimed, “ This is it!” brought it forward, a d found it marked, “ pleurisy root,” the very article he never, employed, ajjul knew nothing of iis properties.' He then inquired tbd 'of the two hesha, so-

ceived the necessary information, with directions how they were to be prepared, weighed them and handed them to me. He afterwards asked as to the dose, and wrote down, under spirit direction, “a tablespoonful at bedtime, &c., &c.” This letter is beyond all comment. It is certainly equal to the evclamation of “Jumping Mopes:”—“He . . . . . understands while he Haps his ears impatiently, and takes a step forward.” Yet another phase of the healing art has cropped up in a class known as the “ peculiar people.” In the Lancet of April, 1872, a report of an elder of the church was committed for trial. Two of his children had died from small-pox. At the inquest, the mother was in the room with another child during the proceedings, sickening for smallpox. Notwithstanding the warnings she had already received, she still refused to call in medical aid, but placed her faith in the “elders of the church.” These latter, on being summoned, went through the idle form of laying their hands on (he child’s head and anointing it with oil. The child got rapidly worse and died on .'■unday morning. An inquest was held, when the coroner strongly animadverted on the conduct of the mother, and, in adjourning the inquiry, observed that remonstrances and arguments were thrown away upon such people, who should be controlled by legal restrictions, and treated as madmen and madwomen. lie ordered the ciders to attend at the next inquiry, and threw out a significant hint as to their legal culpability.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18730125.2.21

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Evening Star, Issue 3100, 25 January 1873, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
987

THE FALLACIES OF SPIRITISM. Evening Star, Issue 3100, 25 January 1873, Page 3

THE FALLACIES OF SPIRITISM. Evening Star, Issue 3100, 25 January 1873, Page 3

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