MR. BRIGHT'S LECTURES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 17, 19 January 1878, Page 2

MR. BRIGHT'S LECTURES.

TO THE EDITOU O*' THE * EVENING MAIL.'

Sir, if the subject at the head of this letter is not worn quite threadbare I should like to say a few words on the lecture of Thursday on Spiritualism.

la spite of the lecturer's evident careful preparation of his subject, his apparent earnestness, and his excellent delivery, at times rising to the point of eloquence, [ think io will be generally admitted that MiBright failed in impressing his audience with this new belief.

Mr Bright is apparently one of that very numerous clas3 who are very good at putting down the belief of others, but when they at* tempt to set up a new belief they signally fail. So Mr Bright, rejecting Christianity, clings, as an evidence of a future state, desperately to Spiritualism, whatever that may mean, and rests his faith on manifestations which are said to havo taken place (generally in America by the bye) of spirits from another world.

Mr Bright is too clever a. man not to bo struck wiiii the absurdity of the manner of those alleged manifestations, and he very adroitly replied to the sneers to which their relation always gives rise by saying that the ordinary occurrences of nature are many of them very paltry ami absurd, and that we, poor mortals, should nor judge the spiritual world by our own small estimate of what is paltry, and what is the reverse. But in reply to this 1 would ask Mr Bright why are all these alleged occurrences ridiculous in their nature (tbat is to us, of course, for if they are for our benefit they must either sink or rise to our level)? Why are noue above it? Are not circumstances surrouudiug us, paltry and grovelling as we admit our ordinary lives to be, sometjmes tragic? Are not noble actions sometimes done in this world of ours, something better and nobler Jihan for instance "sneezing," or "eating and drinking," as put by the lecturer, and could not these spirits, if they should have occasion to return to the world, pourtray such scenes instead of playing so poor a part as is generally iuiputed to them.

To ahow to what straits Mr Bright was put to support his cause I may mention that ho

quoted from the Spectator, which he described properly asone of the most thoughtful of English journals, and what forsooth did the Spec'ator say? Why merely that in view of the fact that many evidently very sincere and honest men believed in Spiritualism, the matter should receive earnest investigation. One word before concluding. Mr Bright made a very earnest appeal to his audience not to condemn Spiritualism on a priori grounds, an appeal which I consider quite unnecessary, but surely it is not unreasonable to expect that before believing in this new and startling doctrine we should have put before us a little more evidence than the shreds and tatters which its adherents are only able to supply.—l am, &c, H.