The Southland Times. FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1576, 10 May 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1872.

That the spirits of the dead do at times revisit the scenes of their earthly life, and hold converse with those who have not yet passed through " the ebon gates," is a belief that has had its votaries at all times and in all countries. Few there are, perhaps, who have not at times wished that it might be bo. A familiar voice, breaking the silence of the graye — a message from some dear friend, who has gone before to that mysterious land which we are approaching with steady if reluctant steps — how would not such an utterance be prized ! what golden lessons might it not teach ! It has been reserved for the age in which we live — the age which has pierced the Alps, and made Africa an island, linked the Old World and the New with instantaneous exchange of speech and thought ; nay, weighed the sun, and subjected to chemical analysis the atmosphere of distant Btars — to discover the grand secret, and open telegraphic communication with the world of spirits. To whom €ko tprrola/tioix nrao first maHfl, or>, if hint* scientific character sometimes claimed for the discovery is to be allowed, hy what process of inductive reasoning it was reached, remains unknown. No attempt has been made to claim the honor for any individual, nor has the method by which this stupendous addition to the sum of human knowledge was attained ever yet been described. But the fact remains, that however arrived at, the discovery of a systematic and easy means of bringing the world of disembodied spirits into communication with the world of living men and women, is firmly believed in, and actually made use of, by thousands, some say millions, of educated and uneducated persons in Europe and America at the present time. A gentleman of high literary culture, and considerable intellectual power, has lately been delivering to a Dunedin audience a lecture, which was listened to with the deepest interest for more than an hour, of which he gravely declares he was not the author, but merely the amanuensis of a higher intelligence using for the time the mechanism of his human frame to record its utterances! After this, few will be astonished to hear that the lecture dealt with the history of the human race for the last twenty thousand years, disclosing facts not found in any written records that have yet come to light, and pursuing the destinies of whole cycles of humanity into regions far beyond the moon. It is perhaps more surprising to find that far the greater number of "communications" from the spirit world are by no means of a character so lofty arid serious, but, on •the contrary/may often be described as commonplace, and even silly, frivolous, and absurd. The means by which this extraordinary power of holding converse with the unseen world has been placed within the reach of man, may be obscure as to their origin, but are by no means difficult to employ. No expensive apparatus is required ; no high or unuaual moral or intellectual qualification is insisted on. A circle of five or six individuals, if possible about the same number of each sex, sit around a common wooden table, with the palms of the hands in contact with the top surface. The presence of a " medium," known as such, is desirable, though not essential. The room, of a comfortable temperature, but rather cool than otherwise, is closed against all intrusion for an hour or more, and the company await in silence the coming of the spirits. After a time a cool wind, or something like it, is felt sweeping over the hands, and the manifestations begin. The first manifestations are probably table tiltinge, or raps. As soon as the manifestations are produced freely, one of the party addresses the table as an intelligent being, to the effect that three raps will be understood to mean " Xes," one to mean "No," and two, "Doubtful." _If the reply is by three raps or tilts, an alphabetical code is proposed and ! arranged, and from that time forward the communication is established. Manifesta-

tions once obtained, they generally become stronger and more intelligible at ench successive sitting, and usually one of the party; is Belected as a " medium," to whom the communications are specially addressed. Arrived at this point, there seems to be no limit to the degree of knowledge or of power which the medium may ultimately attain ; and no restriction as to the way in which the spirit messages are received, whether by direct mental illumination — written sentences, the medium merely holding but not guiding the pencil— or spirit voices'! in the air, audible to the medium though not to others — and, in- -a- thousand other ways. The mechanical means employed to obtain the manifestations in the first instance, are so extraordinary, not to say grotesque, when we consider the awful character of the problem to be solved, as in themselves to raise a smile of incredulity. The physical character of the manifestations themselves, when received, which are without exception sounds, movements, or other phenomena that might be produced by human agency, though not apparently under the circumstances, is also worthy of notice. But apparent incongruity of means to results, however striking, doea not necessarily prove tha; the means are inadequate. Nor does incredulity, however justifiable, amount to refutation. That the phenomena described, or some of them at least, are produced, cannot be denied. Nor will it suffice to say that they are simply the result of wilful imposture. For though wilful imposture Jias been detected again and again, and no doubt extensively prevails amongst professional mediums^ there are numerous instances in which th© good faith of the parties is ianquestionable, where manifestations of a remarkable kind have occurred. To what then are we to attribute these singular phenomena ? It is clear that the answer, "The agency of disembodied spirits," as a mere assertion,is worth no more than any other assertion, say the very opposite assertion, "that , they are not so produced." It rests with those who make it to establish its truth by solid reasons. This may be done in two ways — by argument directly tending to establish the fact • or by argument tending to show that the phenomena cannot be produced in any other way. Argument of the first kind we are not aware of ever being seriously attempted, and it is not easy to see on *what it could be based. The connection of the spirits with the manifestations is generally taken for granted, and then the spirits' own word taken for the fact. But arguments of the second kind we have in plenty, and it is they which weigh with the popular mind. " "What else could account for such inexplicable and astonishing results?" "How could the medium know such and such facts ?" Well, we might reply, even if we cannot tell you, that by no means proves the agency of spirits in the matter. You, have still to show that on positive grounds. But in fact we may go much further, and affirm that, putting aside instances of acknowlodgorl Impnituro, not a single instance has yet been made public of " spiritual manifestations" of an audible or visible kind, which could not be accounted for by the operation of a physiological law, known as the law of " unconscious muscular action, " the results of which are independent of the will, and often even of the knowledge, of the persons by whom they are produced, and who, producing them in the excitement or nervous exaltation of a spiritual seance, imagine that they are the recipients of influences from without. Tried in this manner, by simple mechanical tests, devised by the late Professor Faraday and others, the manifestations have uniformly either ceased altogether, or proved that they originated in unconscious muscular impulses, imparted by the very persons who imagined they were receiving im- | pressions from without. And with regard j to the exclusive, character of the informa- I tion supplied by the spirits, we will only remark that there is not a single authenticated case on record where the information so supplied was of any extent or any practical value, in which it could be shown that it was absolutely impossible for the medium (or what comes to the same thing in the end, the inquirer) to have already been aware of the facts. Of course it is hopeless to reason with those who have surrendered their minds to the dominion of a fixed idea ; or with others, too numerous, alas ! in spite of our boasted education, who are incapable of | perceiving what amounts to a logical l proof, and what does not. But for any one who, curious and yet unprejudiced, desires some light thrown on these extraordiuary phenomena, we recommend the simple test for any manifestations he may see or hear of, "Can they, on any conceivable supposition, originate, unconsciously or otherwise, with the medium or spectators?" We doubt not he wjli come to the conclusion that though it' may still be true that " millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth," their presence is not revealed to man by such means as the dancing of chairs and the tilting of tables in a half-darkened room. Not by such means may we dispel the mystery which veils — " The Shadow, cloaked from head to foot, Who holds the keys of all the creeds."