SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPH,

BEING A

WEEKLY RECORD OF SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA.

No. 9.-VOL. I.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1857.

[PRICE 1d.

SPIRITUALISTS.

Arouse yourselves, a great work has to be accomplished; the Christian churches have to be shaken; the materialistic tendencies of the age have to be arrested; and how is it to be effected? By following the Spirit counsel as narrated in the following incident: ---

Visiting a gentleman this week, whose lady is one of the finest drawing mediums yet developed in England; in conversation we were stating some of the interesting instances we had had of Spirit visitants in connection with ourselves and friends; when I had related to me, an incident which had occurred that day, in the room we then were. A friend had called that morning, and stated that she had been a writing medium &c.; but that from various causes she had neglected the power: in the course of conversation, Bible direction was referred to, and it was said "suppose I try now." A Bible was brought, the hand was moved, the Bible opened, and the finger rested on the page and pointed to the words:

"STIR UP THE GIFT OF GOD THAT IS IN THEE!" Was not that a warning and a direction to the medium? Friends, let the words strike home to your intellects; do not pass it on to your neighbour, the warning is to YOU; it is a personal command. Say you--

6.

Say you,

My mediumship is very weak." Stir it up. "I am no medium." I will not believe it till you have roused yourself, sat at a

table twice a week, at least half an hour for three weeks; either by yourself or with a friend or two; if you have no rapping, try writing, by placing a blank sheet of paper before you and with pencil in hand, ask the blessing of God on what you are doing: the fewer the words the better, only feel the thought you put in words. If your hand move, let it do what it likes; possibly it may make what would be called scribling, go on, it is the first lesson for your hand in Spirit-penmanship or drawing; remember a penman usually tries a pen by scribling before he regularly uses it :-stir up the gift of God that is in thee -If you have done so, and no apparent result, so far as you are concerned; stir up the gift that is in thee, by occupying the same amount of time in writing your thoughts on Spirit power, in relating incidents you know of Spirit power, and sending them for publication. There is yet another way-do not be frightened at a laugh, quietly ask your friends have if they heard or read anything of Spirit-manifestations, and give them a little of what you know. Stir up the gift of God that is in thee-show yourself as one of that chosen band who "show their faith by their works."

Peckham. Aug. 1857.

J. JONES.

THE CUI BONO OF MODERN SPIRITISM.

V.

Experi. Our proposition is "the facts" (manifested as spiritual) are not traceable to known natural physics-I may go further and state, they are opposed to all our knowledge in that respect. The movement of a palpable substance pre-supposes force acting from a given direction, and upon the substance moved, while the law of gravitation attracts all substances to one centre, the earth- whatever in the slightest degree alters or changes these conditions, must therefore be opposed to natural law: is stronger than law: over-rides it, and is thus supernatural. I use the strict definitions of natural forces and attractions, and by their rules proceed to establish the extra-natural. Many times we have seen tables lifted into the air with hands resting on their tops, frequently without, often seen them run about the room without any visible aid whatever, heard musical instruments played by invisible powers,seen objects, tables particularly, turned over, feet upwards; seen the same objects turned over to an angle, fipin which, under ordinary cir

cumstances, they must have fallen quickly and noisily to the floor; instead of which we have witnessed them either return to their original position, or descend without damage, or sound; tell a man such things who has never seen them and he will set you down, or up, for juggler, playing a trick by slight of hand, or he will doubt your statement; or failing these, set you forth as one demented. Yet these things occur so often with us, that you and I are tolerably familiar with them; but similar statements come from every quarter of the civilized and enquiring world; hence a large portion of its inhabitants must be demented also, itself one vast bedlam whose maniacs are, Judges, Governors, Lawyers, (not easily deceived) Clergymen and Scholars gene rally; professors of Logic; men of high standing; clear-thoughted; noble-hearted; occupants of palaces and cottages. The voices of these men, like the rush of flooding waters, sweep over all denial with one clear sound, bearing testimony to these extraordinary facts from, everywhere. Thousands of believers in the existence of Almighty power, testify the same, while unbelievers have been turned by countless numbers from their unbelief through witnesing these phenomena. In the wake of attestations such as these, and our own experience, can we come to any other conclusion than supernaturalism?

Philo. Some discussion has of late taken place among the learned concerning the principle of gravitation, showing at least in their minds it is not a settled notion. May we not leave these phenomena at rest till a more certain elucidation of attractive power is developed ?

Experi. Is it necessary to ask whether substances in their natural state incline to and rest on the earth? The special inclination of bodies, being inverted by unknown agencies appears to me, sufficient for our purpose. It is in thorough opposition to all we know, and see, of natural tendencies and amply supplies the logic of supernatur alism. To this there can at present be no answer. Unenquiring obstinacy may deny the facts; and natural philosophers rest so entirely on what they know, as to be unable to conceive facts attested by the thousands who are not cramped entirely within the narrow compass of specialities. What we see we know: what you and I and others have witnessed are to us facts, though the rest of the world deny them. Those we are discussing are unknown to any natural specified law are opposed indeed to them in toto: and though some reasoners maintain they may be the result of unknown universal law, this is to place us only on the outer verge of probability, while the same principle of logic supplies supernatural agency under our definition,

The inversion of such natural laws as we are already acquainted with, are an addition of strength to our argument.

Philo. Do you forget the operations of that odyle force which Reichenbach discovered and whose subtlety is so exquisite are scarcely yet known: eliminated continually or interceptedly, may it not exercise a potent influence on these phenomena? Our researches in that direction are at present very limited.

Experi. Granted, yet if the force exists now, it always must have existed coincident with man: or human nature is undergoing imperceptible changes, and man's instincts and perceptions becoming more acute. Unless however we can establish this, we are justified in supposing these phenomena ought always to have manifested themselves to as full an extent as now. But granting further that the force is necessary, it may be only instrumental: to show it cannot be absolute we must take up our second proposition, "That the phenomenal teachings are everywhere alike in their main aspects, where seriousness pervades the enquiry. This proposition at once transports us into the region of mind. While our first rather limited us to physical facts, correspondent with these latter-except a few instances-we always have manifestations of intelligence, even where parties use ridicule, as the known author Mr. Lewes, who went and asked how many noses the ghost of Hamlet's father had?-the answer being nineteen. You will remember Mr. L. thought he had discovered a "humbug," or some absurdity, that gentleman never considering the Spirits were, to use a popular phrase, as "wide awake as himself; " he asked a foolish question and received a ridiculous answer, just as you or I or any friend would playfully answer a companion. Unless Mr. Lewes, who is undoubtedly a man of ability and character, knew of any deception being practised upon him, he should have asked whence came the answer? If it did not come from the medium it decidedly did from some undiscovered source. It was an answer apropo to the Lewes' mind at the moment, and reminds me of an anecdote equally apropo. A friend of mine had the misfortune of a drunken father, who, in his cups, would annoy his family. One day he went to the house of a relative to demand means for carrying on his debauchery; being refused, he picked up a large stone, intending to smash a window: the obfuscation however of his brains prevented his aim taking effect: the stone went up at a different angle to that intended, or rather, it took a perpendicular direction and speedily returning to the top of the inebriates cranium, floored and stunned him. Now it appears to me Mr. L. suffered an ob

fuscation of his usually clear intellect to accompany him on his visit: he threw the stone of ridicule and cunning for the windows of the influence, but not being able to see so clearly as he should, it descended and struck his own head; from the effects of the blow, he has not yet it appears recovered. Yet Mr Lewes is a philosopher, whose works entitle him to our esteem. Why dont he, as you and I have, search many times? We shall be grateful to him either to explode or substantiate by philosophical deduction the principles we are considering.

Philo. Like many others he may consider the subject below enquiry.

Experi. And like many others prove that he who aims at being wise has his weak side; that all philosophy never belongs to one mind and so furnish an additional reason for every man's endeavor to sift evidence for himself.-Till our next, I must now leave you.

W. TURLEY.

PROFESSOR GREGORY, ON SPIRITUALISM.

The above distinguished Professor, unlike many of his class, does not feel disposed to deny Spiritualism because he is unable to explain it, nor does he think it entirely beneath his notice because it is unpopular or sneered at by the would-be-scientific, who make such a flourish in and about the ninteenth century." The subject has occupied his attention for some time, and though some "possibilities" yet stand in his way for accepting these phenomena as of spirit origin, yet the candid acknowledgement of his own experience and obervations are, we think, worthy of a place in our columns.

Some time since he addressed a letter to Mr. S. B, Brittan (Editor of "The Spiritual Age.") which elicited some remarks from Mr Newton in the New England Spiritualist. Mr Newton being anxious to avoid the charge of "counting game before he caught it," represented the Professor as an opponent, which resulted in a letter from him explan atory of his real position. We extract the following from the New England Spiritualist for July 25th, in which his sentiments are expressed at greater length, together with Mr Newton's copious reply. The professor says:

In my letter I attempted to show that there is a great analogy between