"Labby" and the Spiritualists.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 92, 7 March 1885, Page 5

"Labby" and the Spiritualists.

"Light," the organ of the Spiritualists, is indignant, says Labouchere in " Truth," at tny remark? upon Bglinton. Very pOßsibly j for I have not the slightest hesitation in asserting my conviction that the man is a rogue and a vagabond, who ought to be conveyed to prison, not for communicating with the unseen world, but for obtaining money under the false pretence that he does so. Like all Spiritualist humbugs, he is not prepared to perform hie feats under conditions which render jugglery impossible. This does not surprise me, for the stock-in-trade of all Spiritualists consists in evading such an inquiry. As for his slate- writing, Slade did just the same, and yet this Slade, having been caught in a horrible crime at Ontario, in Canada, confessed and explained his slate tricks. With regard to ghosts, nothing is more simple than to deceive half-a-dozen credulous persons by making them believe that they are in the presence of spirits. It is the easiest of easy tricks. It is done either by the medium personating the ghosts, or by means of a confederate. The medium requests his dupes to sit in a circle, and one grasps his right hand and the other his left. The medium then writhes, and manages to dlip away, leaving two to hold each other's hands, which, during his contortions, hehas brought together. The rest, of course, is not difficult. The spirit-hand trick is performed in this way ; the medium puts a hand made of a stuffed glove up his leg, and attached by an 'elastic string to his waist. When the dark stance commences, he gets the hand down to the end of his foot, extends his foot to the opposite side of the table at which he is sitting, and waves the stuffed glove about. If a little phosphorus be rubbed on it, the effect is better. When the performance has been gone through, all that the medium has to do is to let the hand spring back underneath his trouser. The floating trick is performed by taking off the boots and putting the hands in them. Ths hands are then waved about above a person's head, who grasps the boots and feels the arms of the coat, which he takes for legs. Of course so long as people are prepared to pay money for witnessing these tomfooleries, knaves will be found to practise them. According to "Light," Eglinton'B spiritualistic pretensions are vouched for by Mr Gladstone. What are the facts ? Mr Gladstone was a guest in the house where Bglinton performed the slate trick. The Premier stated that he did not know how it was performed. He would say probably the same thing were he to -witness the tricks of Mr Maskelyne at the Egyptian Hall. It is a common habit of Spiritualists to do some simple trick before a man of note ; if he cannot tell them how it is done, they poll him in as admitting all the Spiritualistic nonsense that he has never seen, and by means of which they made money out of fools.