SPIRITUALISM.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 286, 15 November 1884, Page 2

SPIRITUALISM.

A lecture on the above subject was delivered last night in aid of the funds of the Public Library and the Benevolent Society by Prof. Hugo. He began by saying that the human mind, whether civilized or barbarian, always showed a tendency to look with wonder and curiosity for a glimpse of the scenes heyond the veil of futurity. There were different ideas of the future, some people hoping there was immortality and others the reverse. Besides this hope of immortality there was a vast class of men who did not rely upon the intuitive speculative workings or expectations of the mind, but asked for facts—proofs and occular demonstrations—and this was the point where spiritualism or the philosophy of spiritualism to a certain extent disproved the general rules of religion and showed that religion was founded on physical evidence—* physical evidence which was strong enough to satisfy tiny positivist, and advocated a system of ethics, and that was a most rational one. The only creed which a physiognomist could choose would be the philosophy of spiritualism, although it was to a certain extent a speculative philosophy because it taught a reliance on deeds and acts. The effects of spiritualism fell under two classes —the physical and the mental manifestations of the physical. He would deal with the physical phenomena first. The real, and the only class of evidence that seemed to be direct proof of it was the communication of spirits. For instance a medium was enclosed in a dark cabinet, and while there he passed into a trance, and a little while after a spirit appears from the cabinet into a circle, and it was said that the spirits manufactured a material body out of the mesmerism, or a fluid which emanated from the medium. The spirits that then appeared were found to be most material and earthy, and in many seances they have been said to shake hands with those in the room. This looked decidedly absurd, to think that a spirit of minute organisation could be manufactured in such a short time as had been related and do as human beings did, and if that was really a fact men and women should never get married for the purpose of increasing population, because a fresh supply could come out of the atmosphere, and if the Germans and French went to war again they should employ the mediums in making soldiers to fight for them. He certainly thought the Government should offer a high reward for this wonderful means of raising and increasing population. The -thing looked absurd, and had they no other evidence, apart from the absurdity of the thing, it would be quite sufficient to any reflective mind to reject it as stuff and twaddle. The lecturer here quoted instances where these seances were humbug, and where the spirits had beentrapped and punished. He considered they deserved severe punishment, because it was not a proper thing for persons to traffic on the refined feelings of the human mind. What they therefore could glean with an unprejudiced eye from the exhibitions of materialisation which were always occuring by public mediums, was that the materialsation business was one of the grossest pieces of fraud and humbug ever put before a community, not only for deception but gain. Then they had slate writing, which was introduced by Dr. Slade. His method used to be to tie two slates together, and between the two was placed a small piece of pencil, and in the dark he would hold the slates under the table, and in a few minutes the slates were discovered to be written over with a simple message. Many people were led to believe in him, but he was ultimately discovered, and had to leave Germany. They then came to the spirit lights, some of which were made out of phosphorous, which the mediums kept in their pockets, and when everybody had their mouths open with wonder, and a little scared at being in the dark room, the phosphorous was produced by the medium, and made an excellent spirit light. But theie were other lights which could not be explained by phosphorous and were not necessary produced by spirits. They might be produced by some unknown force, by something emanating from the human organization, but it was a fact that they were not the result of trickery, but before they put it down to spirits they should wait and get more facts before coming to any conclusion. The same with the movements of ponderable objects such a large tables &c. They could not understand that, but perhaps there was an unknown sixth sense. But for all that why should they rush back to the medieval ages when they had an excellent means of settling philosophers, and explained that it was done by the Devil. People of the present age should not do that as they were improving in culture, civilization, and had extended their fellow-feeling, kindness and culture, even to the Devil and were civilizing him, as it were, and they could no longer be blaming him for things they could not comprehend, and thev ought not to put those down to spirits because that would only be substituting the spirits for the Devil. What they should have was more facts and evidences in order to get at a real solution of the matter. In the mental manifestations of spiritualism they found a great deal of twaddle and coarse trickery and also many unaccountable facts. Clairvoyance was the most peculiar phenomenon of all. People could go into a ca a’eptio state, and during that mesmeric state of the mind manifested forces quite different to their qualities when in their normal and ordinary state. This also required explanation. He had known clairvoyants even in New Zealand to speak and write in other languages, which it was impossible for them to do when in the normal state. He gave some remarkable instances of the performance of clairvoyants. He held that the concentration of one’s will to a great extent effected the mind of another, and thought at a seance when a clairvoyant was present, very likely all might not appear to be thinking of the same thing, yet he considered there was such a thing as an unconscious thought. |jFor instance a person might say one thing and at the same time be thinking of something totally away from the sub- . ject he was speaking on. There were, he thought, an upper and an under current of thought, and that was how influence could be brought to bear on clairvoyants, one might be thinking strongly on one subject and the others might be doing so though unconscious to themselves. In conclusion he advised them to get more facts, though not to go out of their road in seeking them, as this was a practical world, people were placed here to work the work of life, and not to rush away troubling their minds as to where they came from, or as to where they were going to.