The Spiritualist newspaper > No.288, March 1st 1878

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LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 1st, 1878.
UNPROVED SPECULATIONS.
All that Spiritualists have asked of disbelievers for years
is a fair hearing and the full publication in opposition
journals of our proved facts, without our necessarily insisting
upon the reception of our theory. This desired fair hearing
which the outside world has not had the honesty or love of
truth to give to Spiritualists, we have willingly awarded to
Theosophists. Nay, more; when they have given us
columns upon columns of speculation—all words, words,
words—without one single fact to substantiate them, we
have accepted their plan of putting the cart before the horse,
the theory before the evidence that the theory is true, so
now think that our Theosophical friends should spare us
from further speculations, and briefly give cumulative
.evidence, if they have it, in support of any one of the points
of their doctrine. What proof have they of the alleged
conditional immortality of man ? What proof of the
existence of sub-human spirits ? What proof that men by
will-power can produce any of the manifestations called
spiritual ?
The latter field of research seems likely to be more
profitable in its results than the others, for if spirits out of
the body can produce certain phenomena, those in the body
ought to be able to do so in the same way. We saw this
long ago. and in The Spiritualist of September 15th, 1871,
published a long article showing the desirability of experi¬
mental research in this direction, and recommending the
promoters of the Psychological Society to undertake the
work. But such research belongs to Spiritualism proper,
and necessitates no 11 new departure.”
The chief claim of the Theosophical Society originally lay
in quite a different direction. It set forth that the great
majority of the phenomena were not produced by human
spirits, and, in the words of- the president, Theosophists
recognised “in most of the physical phenomena called
spiritual, the agency of elementary spirits, who often falsely
personated persons not communing with the circles.”
Colonel Olcott, in his opening presidential address, further
said—“ Our Vice-President [Mr. Felt] promises, by simple
chemical appliances, to exhibit to us, as he has to others
before [Who?], the races of beings which, invisible to us,
people the elements .... What will the Spiritualists say,
when through the column of saturated vapour flit the
dreadful shapes of beings whom, in their blindness, they
have in a thousand cases revered and babbled to as the re¬
turning shades of their relatives and friends ? Alas! Poor
Spiritualists 1” Naturally, after this programme, an official
communication from the Theosophical Society was expected
by us, telling how—
A thing with horny eyes was there,
With horny eyes like the dead;
Its long thin nose was all of horn;
Its ears were like thin cases, torn
Erom the feet of kine ; its jaws were hare,
And fishbones grew instead of hair,
Upon its skinless head !
But, sad to say, the dreadful shapes have not yet been
seen in the column of saturated vapour. The smoke may
have been there in abundance, but no imps.
Of late there seems to have been a change of front among j
the Theosophists. Instead of their original elementary
“ black spirits and white, blue spirits and gray,” much is
now said about unfortunate human beings who have “ lost j
their trinity,” who are perishable; and a doctrine of condi¬
tional human immortality has been launched,'unaccompanied j
by any evidence of its truth.
If disbelievers said to Spiritualists—“We desire to j
witness your facts, and to examine your evidence, but as !
yet do not care to give attention to your conclusions,” the j
position would be universally felt to be an honest one. But t
111 the position of English Spiritualists to Theosophists has
| j been much fairer, for they have listened to speculations and
11! doctrines set forth at great length, without as yet an atom
j j of experimental or produced evidence in their support.
II j It is now high time to cease endless and profitless talk about
! I matters of doctrine, and to bring the facts and experiments
|| to the front.
I j j A few Spiritualists whose minds are not strong enough
! j to appreciate the value of the free discussion of all subjects
! 11 whatever, and who base their opinions upon the speculations
III of men, rather than upon facts, have had their minds disturbed
j 11 by the free spirit of inquiry abroad. Such may take heart,
! i for the well-established phenomena 'of haunted houses are
II i amply strong enough in themselves, to establish the Spirit-
j j ualistic doctrine of the occasional return to earth of the
j spirits of the departed. No spirit-of-the-medium theory
) will cover the ground, for, as a rule, no medium is there.
( No elementary-spirit theory meets the facts, for it will
j scarcely be argued that one set of spirits takes the trouble
to manufacture a sham spirit—the spirit of the departed
| person who visibly haunts the house.
BRITISH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPIRITUALISTS.
j SEANCES FOR INQUIRERS.
( On Wednesday, 13th February, one of this series of dances took
j place at 38, Great Russell-street, London. Mr. Eglinton was the
j \ medium, and nine persons were present in the circle. Mr. Eglinton’s
| { sleeves were sewn together, and the thread passed through the back of
> the coat, according to the method of “nearly absolute tests,” with
I which several experienced Spiritualists have on previous occasions been
I (i satisfied. Apparently the present circle, the conditions of which were
) j completely harmonious, were perfectly satisfied with this “ test,” as some
i | j called it. This sewing took place at the second or cabinet” division
of the seance, an abortive dark sitting having taken place around the
table, at which nothing occurred, except a very slight upward motion
] of the table. A short time after the medium had been placed in the
j cabinet the usual voices were heard, and the usual “ manifestations ”
i took place of motion of the book cover, playing on the “fairy bells,’’
! projection of large white hands in front of the curtain, writing on a
clean piece of paper (provided by a gentleman present), and cutting off
the point of a pencil by a knife provided by another gentleman and
i handed into the cabinet by me. Nearly every person in the circle
I stepped into the cabinet immediately after a hand had been shown, and
ascertained the fact that the medium was asleep. Just when leaving
the cabinet their dress was pulled, or they were touched by some
object, which was compared to fingers by some in the circle.
The message given by Joey was of the usual character, being “Joey,
God bless you ; ” and was written in sight of the circle, a gentleman
| present steadying the paper whilst the pencil moved on it. The mani¬
festations shown at this circle were of afar better character than those
| observed on many previous occasions, and the circle of inquirers seemed
very pleased at the repetition, in a good light, of phenomena which
have been often described. C. Carter Blake,
Member of Seance Committee in charge*
| A new weekly Spiritualist newspaper, The Voice of Truth, has just
! been started in the United States, and can be had post free throughout
| the United Kingdom from The Spiritualist branch office, for fifteen
I shillings a year.
j Flexible Features to Spirit Forms.—Several correspondents, who
i have not read our articles with care, write that we assert that
j materialised spirit forms have no flexible features; but this has never
been stated in these pages. When the medium is held or tied in one
j place, forms with flexible features often appear in another; but, in the
hundreds of times we have seen those features in a good light, they
have always, in the lines of the eyes and nose, strongly resembled those
j of the medium. We are searching now, and have searched for years,
for a “ recognisable ” living spirit face, produced off the premises of
the medium, in a strong light, and bearing no resemblance to the
medium, but such faces have never yet had life in them in our presence.
Nevertheless, this does not prevent others, who have had different ex¬
perience, testifying differently. What we want is, cumulative evidence
that a medium—say a boy—can give a seance off his own premises in
the presence of educated critical witnesses, and produce a living head
of an old man—for instance, that of the late Duke of Wellington—in a
strong light, so that every wrinkle of the Duke’s face can be seen by
everybody present as he talks.