A TRIUMPH OF CREDULITY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1946, 23 March 1885, Page 2

A TRIUMPH OF CREDULITY.

(From the Liverpool Courier, Dec., t- . A correspondent, writing from 'fSfr ranga, New Zealand, at the beginijiK of last month, Bays;-" Such a marfpius thing has happened hero during. the last few days, that I must tell it to you, For some time the Spiritualists here have been holding soancea, and one of those who attended and presidod was a Mr Matravorn, who does his business horo -iii Tauranga, but as lie has a Maori wife he goes every Saturday to Makotu, twenty miles off, where his wife liven. A: fow-days ago, when lie was at Maketu, some of Hie residents naked him if'lie would give them a seance, which he did at His houso, and after going through certain ceremonies .he tried the divining rod with the alphabet, and when any spirits appeared he always asked them if they were good or bad spirits, but refused to have anything to do with bad spirits. After that seance was over it was decided by all presont to hold another meeting on the following Saturday. When Mr Matravers appeared that . day ho saw some of tho people, and asked if they were wining, and they one and. all refused to have anything more to do with it. This rather astonished him, but at lasthe got thaflfcy. tiL "Itseems that on the Mondayfpwo t days after Mr Matraver's seance,'those who had been at it thought that' they niighttry it tliemselyes; so on Monday they all met at Mr Butt's, house. 1 ' Mr Butt was a strong powerful man, six. feet high. There was also Mr; Carnachan, captain of the steamer, and some others (none of them I should say, would have any belief), They "all met, and everything went on satisfactorily till they tried a dividing rod with the alphabet.. Butt and Carnachan had hold of the rod,, and when it began to sway about they asked if there was a spirit. Answer: Yes' ■ Who-are you 'lam a soldier who died in India, at Marsten'; afid then Butt, thinking of the ; formula. that Matravers always used about being "good or. bad, asked the question and tlio answer was ' An evil one ?' Butt then said, 1 We don't want the like of you, send us your Oheif.' After waiting a few minutes both Butt and Carnachan felt an ejectvic shock going through them, whertlle rod began to sway. , Butt asked l ls thfero a spirit' Answer, 'Yes,' Butt who are you ?' Answer,' I am father of all evil.' /'': Butt laughed outright at tfiV absurdity/ and then said, 'lf you are -Father Evil, show some manifestations on™ f Directly he said the words.he was gripped on the shoulder, thrown into the air, and then sent under the tabled"'When the others recovered they piekfed him- up, finding him in a swoon and all twisted up. After a long time they succeeded in recovering hi in by using a. .good deal of : water. When he recovered consciousness Butt complained that something was gripping his shoulder, and when they took off his cloths they found the marks of three figers and a thumb, and whore ho' had bcon touched there wore great wales, and he still carries the.:,ihark on his shoulder. All present received, such a shock that they refuso to-havo anything more to do with. " Now, the question is,'how can such a poworful man do swung lip in tho air and then thrown as if he' ,were a child 1 I have heard the story from each 1 of them and I have sifted it; : and have at last como to the conclusion that ife is triw- ihevery particular a« I have given it to you, and I wish you would isk wm'e -of the learned men about ..it' and lei a thejLr bpuiion." . V»j t!'.'..i-.' !"*• HP