Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1853-04-19
Chr . a lip spy.
TUESDAY. APRIL 10. 1853.
The Boaton Courier ON spIrIluaIisn.


pediency of providing legal restraints against the
practice of ''Spirilua Rappings."
The Boston Courier. in reference to the matter
says
1--WE have laws to punish gambling, and laws
which assign the House Of Correction to persons
who use any juggling. Now the vile quackery
in eseslon Is gambling and juggling at the same
time and both of the very worst sort. II the evil
cannot be reached by existing laws, it is serious
enough TO call for new enactment.
Now ii is true that many foolish things have |
been done under the name of s'Spirual manifss-
tatiOns, and several cases of insanity have oc-
cugred in connection with "SpirituaIism;" but
ihe enactment Of penal statute TO suppress
this so called spirualism is in estimation nei-
Their requisite or wise.
In the State Luna,ic Asylum there are three
patients, who are alleged 10 be insane from the
excitement caused by "spiritual rappings;" but
there are twenty three who said TO have be-
come insane from Religious excitement Now
will the Courier argue that because theology some
times produces arrangement in weak minds and
that because the preachers who deal out the fiery
fumiaations which produce those alterations take
meney from their auditors, therefore penal law
should be made to suppress theological manifes-
tarions There are sixteen individuals in The hos
pital whose heads were turned by those peculiar
manifestations which are comprehended under
the general term of love. Would the Courier
therefore desire to see Draconan law establish
ed to suppress love. There are already laws to
nunSh icif love hnt fhoea c,sos cc;
not so caused. There were very foolish things
said by the parties no doubt, and it is very likely
that presents of jewels &c. were made in several
OF the cases; this constitutes Juggling and gam
bling according TO the logic of the Courier there.
fore, to be consistent, 1t must approve of lawto
suppress both theology and love, as well as spr.
itualism.
When Drew, the celebrated English metaphy-
stefan was asked if he believed in ghosts, he quiz
city replied " have not examined the subject,
and therefore have no evidence upon which to
base an opinion either pro or CON- This man
was philosopher, not aafogey. He had more
sense than even to smile at this question; and
certainly was too wise TO 10 think of prosecuting
the credplous old women who held firmly to the
faith in ghosts
We do not know anything practically about the
spiritual Rappings." We are not so willing to
believe in transcendental possibilities as some of
our neghbors, and do not suppose that spirits have
anything to do with those manifestations; but we
believe that they may be the abnormal manifesta-
tons ofcertaln unknown, undiscovered laws of ma
ture, which yet shall be as well understood as the
laws OF gravitation, We may be mistaken, but still
we are credulous enough to suppose that we don't
know everything, and shall moi for some time 10
come. We think it is preposterous to class all
the splruallsts, so called, either as knayes or
dupes. There are many persons of high charac-
ter and great intelligence, who are investigating
these phenomena, not as mediums or believers.
but simply as students They declare themselves
to be unable TO explain these wonderful phenom.
ena, and we think, in that case, that both gno-
rant editors and fast Legislators might pause, be-
fore They persecute and defame This subject
has already attracted the attention of The New
York Evening Post, which paper expresses the
following sentiments:
'iOur contemporary, Of the Washington Globe,
calls Us the ''vndlcator or apologist of the rap
pers, because we do not believe that occurrences
which have been witnessed bv thousands of
nelghbors and friends, are either a deluson or M
lmposture on the one hand, or spiritual revela-
lion on the other, prelerrng that they should be
investigated scientifically, as men of sound minds
are IN The habit of trying any other facts. That
some men make use of ''the rappings" TO accom-
phsh their own purposes, is more than likely
hat lhah ast III,
turned to the uses ofsel6shness; but the fraud of
few Is no reason why we should invoke the PEN
allies OF u law against the faith Of the many.
We met few years since, with highly re-
spectacle old lady in New Jersey, who question
ed US very seriously about tho stories she had
seen 10 The newspapers, of men WIN sent long
messages from New York to New Orleans, and
got an answer in ten minutes We assured her
That we had done as much ourselves, when she
rolled up her eyes. and flung out her arms, with
an expression of utter incredibly exclaiming.
that for her part, she did not believe that ANYBODY
could send letter two thousand miles and bach
IN ten minutes, unless he had sold himself 10 the
devil. We would not compare our cotemporary
10 the old lady, but we forced to saw that.
like her, he first mistakes his premises. and then
draws wrong conclusion. He assumes that all
the strange phenomena cassed under the head Of
spiritual rappings,' are the nlerest decenlions
and thereirom concludes that the courts should
deal with those who are concerned ii PRODUCING
them. Now, to US, they appear as singular and
abnormal Developments OF some undiscovered
natural agent-singular but not peculiar, howev-
eT, TO these iimes-which should be submitted TO
scientific, rather than Judicial inquest
The truth is,that our knowledge of nature and
It's power is as yet exceedingly limited. We have
picked up few pebbles of truth here and there
on tue shores of great ocean, use the illustra-
ton OF Newton, but of the treasures and wonders
o. she oeep ,tseif we are ignorant. All the vast
neio IN which electricity and magnetism play SO
important part, is quite closed to us, and we
are only beginning to discern that it exists. Eve
ny day reveals a little more of IL 10 ne. eysrv
day explodes some mystery into simple fact ~
nature; every day gives us glimpses of lndiscoy.
cred regions and agencies and it is therefore al.
together unwse, because we cannot vet exnlain
all SIC curious things we meet to set them down
as impositions and falsehoods These very shirt.
ual rappngs, for instance, have certain analopies
with great facts of science that we do know. which
render it probable that the laws by which thew
are regulated will sooner later be discovered;
and until then we deem it best to wait, before ex-