The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1850-02-16
From the New York Tribune.
That Rochester 'Knocking.'

1 VI, II
lucid summary of its contents with whatever lipbt
beside We were able 10 shed ON the subject II diI
not occur TO us that we thereby commended its
general views, much less endorsed the absolute
verify Of all lis claims and inculcatiuns Beloved
beIieie not every sprit stand, in our Riblc very
closely connected with the iuiuction Yyy tle sur
its whether they are Of God and we do not see
how any are To try that Of which they stubbornly
refuse 10 have anv lnowledpe The subject of
human intercours e with or reccption Of informa-
ton from the spiritual world is one of the very
deepcst interest TO every intelligent mind and i,
naturally the theme of innumernble frouds and
impostures But not Of these alone: unless His.
tory be fable and the Sacred Record especially
tissue Of fables, there have been real and mo.
mentous communications from the unseen world
as well as many more knayi,h pretences to !, or
bcwildcring hallucinations respecting il Wbeth.
or the ossumptiuns Of ,niritual agency IN ony
case If mysterious or marvellous occurrence are
true or false is n question Of the lyLest moment
to r.. .tional beings and, even though it be- conce
dpd that nine hundred and ninety mn, of ev,,v
thousand pretenccs 10 spiritual communicntiuu
were and are cheats or iurgles il is stjll wise and
rational to investigate any new claim that NAV
he prcscntcd with dispogition 10 iu,lpe dispass.
ionatclv and candidlv A very small per centape
Of such mineral as is aledred To be found here
will pay for working the hardest veins Of rock
and We cannot see how any one but an Atheist ar
confirmed Sadducee can fail 10 be interested in
such explorations
Inauirv. investigation we therefore commend
n crcdul0us swallowing down of whatever pur
ports 10 be dictated from the Land of Sonls is
quite another affair. We do not hesitate to saw
that no theory of collision or iurp'e or yeptriIo.
quism or hallucnaton sufices to account to o,r
mind for the conclusions sound, or knocking,'
which have been heard by hundreds Of the most
respectable aud sedate citizens Of Western New
York. We have no faith in AMI hardly notirpco
with the cool assumption that fraud or ftlschood
D,iiSt be NJ the bottom of any phrnomenon which
orr knowledge of Nature doe, not suffice Ia nIroye
in conformity with her laws: but We are very f,r
from believing in the verify Of whatever Inav he
uttered rs from di,embodied spirit. because we
cannot account by ascertaincd natural laws for
such utterancc. Investigation first. condor nj
WAYS; implicit filth i, If slow growth and NOT to be-
accorded except after very careful and tboroupb
scrutiny.
One other caution seems reouired LET usos-
sumo that there really is something in tli. .lpock
ng'-that it i, the product not Of ,muo.trrc ami
,ollu,ion nor Of mental illusion hut oI SOM, irGn
encc whereof our established mundane n I,lo.n,by
hts not vet taken coynzanre-nudit il stil renn,,ins
improved that no iuggle has been .,pcrinIu,rJ
upon the verify originally manifested in other
vo-.l,. there i, a great difference lntvern admir-.
TIM, that there Ina, been so,, y.,,.r,,s ,lo,,,,.
cm cyinccd. and that all which nuru.rtrd f., Lr
such was really what il seemed tr be An,lo,ry
would scach u. that shadow is u consequence Of
light-that real voices from the spiritual world
have at all time, been nimickel and parodiol by
charlatan- and ug,lers Of the orle. of Simon
Magu, and AppuluniuS of Tyaua Establish the
reality Of Supernatural manifestation. or even Of
popular belief that it is such. aul at once Craft
nul Greed begin to study how tLpy clu t,un il to
their private advantage. whether hy taking adyan.
tace Of the manifestation Itself or hy counterfeit
ing it Surprising the vcrltv Of surL uauIlc-,a-
tion established and seine ,,hrmer tlcrrupon pn
dcrtakc, to acquire money or consequence or noto-
rcty by means thereof, We may readily presume
that the influence whatever it may be world re-.
fuse to be subscryieut to such ends. and the sclc
mcr must resort To trick or S!ciyht If hand To =.
chcvn his purpose. Thus the establishment of
vcritablc in'imntion, from the unseen world would
hy no means prove that all which claim kindred
Herewith are vcri,irs, nor would the detection Of
dozen cown'cricitS prove that orcal manifesto.
u'hS hti preceded ana melted them.
And now tn 'ht H.l'E'd 'kev"iaiIouS, orwlat-
ever they NAV lC called at Rochester. Nuburu