Mr Miner Stephen.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4349, 8 December 1882, Page 3

Mr Miner Stephen.

Mr Milher Stephen, whose name is now a household word in Australia, arrived by

the mail steamer Australia on Tuesday. He has decided to go on to Napier, as Mrs Stephens is desirous to. see her brother,"Mr John Hindmarsh, of Napier. During his stay there he will exercise his " gifts of healing," returning to Auckland early in March next. He is sixty years of age, of affable and courteous address, and of medium height, slightly built, but with abundance of energy, and charac terised by much mental force and vigour. For fifty years he has never suffered any illness, and he attributes this to living a

temperate and fastidious life. He was the first Acting-Governor of South Australia. Mr Stephen is an English barrister, and also a member of the bar of New South Wales and Victoria. By creed he is a member of the Church of England, though of the Broad Church school, and disavows any connection with Spiritualism, save " the Spiritualism of the Bible." Mr Stephen states he is not

a mesmerist, and has not mesmeric power. v He does not profess to cure anything and t^eTerythinjj, a great deal depending upon . 'the receptivity of the patient, and he or jshe being en rapport with the operator. The poor, he. states, are much more readily benefited, as they are trustful and thankful, while the well to-do class are more fastidious, flighty, and sceptical, and in that respect it is pretty much now as it was of old. He anticipates great results in '.New Zealand from climatic and other

causes.

Mr Stephen says he first became aware ;i of possessing these gifts about two and a «" half years ago. He was at the time ; engaged in professional duties on circuit Am New South Wales. He had always .'.;■*•'keen a prayerful man, and his attention >had been directed to the 12th chapter of ■""-Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, and the following passages:—" Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. There are diversities of gifts bat,the same Spirit; and there are differences of administration, but the game Lord ; and there are diversities of operations, bat it is the same God which worketh all in all. For to one is given by the Spirit the work of wisdom, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit." Mr Stephen says four out of every five clergymen would deny that the " gifts of healing " were jn existence in the world since Apostolic times, yet there was strong historic proof of their existence, and individuals possessing them, from the days of Vespasian downwards. On discovering his newly-acquired power he gave up bis profession, determined to devote the remainder of his days to ameliorating the sufferings of humanity, and in this resolve r Mrs Stephen cordially concurred. That step not taken from any mercenary; motive, as would be easily seen when he stated that he received for his last day's work in Court a fee of eighty guineas, 1 He took premises in Sydney, and '-ike crowd of people who thronged 'theri^^be cured by him blocked up the approaches, so that policemen had to be stationed .on the pavement to keep order. His exhibitions for public healing were performed in the presence of clerical, medical; or Other visitors, who were freely invited to be present. The medical pro-.-fession were somewhat hostile, contending j* thatany remedial results of his peculiar treatment were only temporary, and the result of an excited imagination rather than anything else. The following are in the list treated :— Blindness* rheumatism, gout, hip disease, disease and curvature of spine, cancer, cancerous tumours, lengthening of leg, sciatica, affections of brain and chest, bronchitis, erysipelas, neuralgia, paralysis, asthma, lumbago, perished nerve, and St. Vitus' dance. He has 500 testimonials as to the success of his treatment from all classes of patients, and fully. 10,000 cases have passed through his hands within the last two and a half years. In tome cases where a permanent cure has not been effected, considerable' relief has been obtained, while a percentage of the failures has arisen from the subsequent misconduct of the patients in living in defiance of the roles of health. During his present mission he has lengthened about forty legs, and has among the trophies of his power, in his. luggage, cancers and cancerous roots in .vials, which he has succeeded in extirpating and. curing the sufferers, and bne.of the -lame ones who went away rejoicing made Mr Stephen a present of his walking stick. He has also a block- boot, about seven inches high, in his possession, for which the owptMias^no further use, as her leg has been length- ; eDM r Stephen's public exhibitions of the

gifts of healing generally extend over two and a half hours, as many as sixty people being treated during that time. He cannot be interrupted during the exercise of his powers, as the effort requires great mental concentration and determination of will. It is necessnry that the audience should be at least fourteen feet distant, as the aura extends that distance. The methods of treatment are three-fold : Ist. By touching, or breathing upon, the persons affected. 2nd. By commanding the disease to leave without the act of touching the person. 3rd. The use of adjuncts, magnetised water to be taken internally, magnetised oil to be used ex ternallj', and the use and wearing of magnetised fabrics. At nigbt sittings, when the gas has been turned down, clairvoyants have informed Mr Stephen that they have seen luminous sparks emitted from his hands and fiogers. He magnetises water by the simple process of placing his hands in it, and when tbe water has attained a gentle warmth he withdraws them, when the water-is ready for us for curative purposes.—Herald.