Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-01-25


u For late City News, see third page.
For Market Reports and Marine News, see
fourth page.
Rev. Mr.. WHITES LECTURE ON SPIRITUAL.
EsM.-Plymouth Church was crowded on Sunday
evening by those eager to hear the continuation Of
the subject preached upon week before, namely
''Tbe Witch of Endor, or Ancient Divinations and
Modern Spiritualism."
The speaker, in his previous discourse, had
sought to establish the following positions:
That we are in danger of encouraging in our
hearts and secret practices, ;that which we con.
demn in our more public conduc;
That it is useless wicked und dangerous 10 seek
to learn from departed spirits, through wizards
or mediums, that which We cannot obtain from
Jehovah himself
That men do not seek communications from de-
parted spirits until they have ceased to have com
munications from Jehovah.
That the narrative relative 10 the Witch of En-
dor shows thatth practice of communicating with
departed spirits is no new theory.
That ancient divination was the same thing as
Modern Spiritualism.
That neither in Ancient Divination, nor in Mod
ern Spiritualism do we Gud any proof of real COM
municatiOns with departed spirits good or bad.
He then laid down the following broad and bold
platform upon which to build:
That all responses from spirits of the departed
through human media, were delusion or an i'm
position; that there has never been single well
authenticated case Of the voluntary agency of spir-
its in the history of the world, and he had no be
lief in any direct intercourse of the living with the
dead, either in the cases of witches necrOmancers
clairvOyants or media of any kind whatever
However much this intercourse may have been
feared, desired, or believed, by great and good
msu, on the Bench in the Pulpit, in Legislative
Halls or elsewhere, he called in question the whole
evidence. The raising of the Prophet Samuel tC
confront Saul, was ! special miracle performed by
God to warn and punish the King. This, how
ever, is the very key note of Modern Spirituasm
The assumption that the witch did, by her owl
God-gi7en powers, bring up Samuel face to face
with Saul, is supported aud defended by the Spir
itualists as very ctidal But if this was so, why
after 5000 years of increasing light, and with the
aid of mesmerism, magnetism, clairvoyance ant
splLllusAl My CduuOl UuE SuCu
stance be now shown to US. Let them, by theil
magic powers, bring up IN Propria persona, An
drew jackson to help James Buchanan out of hi!
difficulties and overwhelm him with a prophets
prediction.
Many ofthe pretences Of the Spirituslsts are nj
facts at all, We know by the confessions of many
who have owned up after a course of impostuIe
and it is a known fact that many of the mediums ar
either sheer decevers or egregiously deceived
This we know by the abjuration of some of tb
most prominent in both the above classes stil
there are many facts connected with the "manifes
tations' which are known to be facts and which ar
ofinterest and importance in their place, and man.
OF the performers are honest in their views, ant
sincere in the pursuit of their supposed duty.
/. These facts may be divided into two classes-th
physical, merely, and those which show more in
teliigence.
Connected with the first clasg, instances and cir
cumstances were cited of mysterious table tip
pings, furniture movings and humping knocks
both in this country and in Europe, ten, twenty
or thirty years ago, as wonderful and unacccunta
bic as any which have been brought forth here O
elsewhere, by spiritualists. In these cases no NE
diums or circles were employed, and no dark night
and darker rooms were necessary TO success
These wonderful performances were examined an
. carefully studied by eminent men of science an
: letters. English divines and French Savans q
deavored to unrayel the mystery, but were at Ia:
obligedto confess that they ( N Arago anon
: the resD could find no cause or reason whateve
for them, aud instead of taking to themselves th
honor of sagely pronouDcing them Spiritual maj
ilestations,' they simply acknowledged their entir
ignorance ofthe subject, and concluded that uudt
certain conditions physical powers reside in IL
: human body, capable eff producing such eGec
without personal contact, the nature of that poEt
being unknown.
Similar occurrences have doubtless taken plaC
" within the last five years and been attributed
SpiTitualism, but there has been so much brougI
: forward that is apochrsphal; so many facts mani
factured for purpose so much of superstition an
: ignorance, and sefshness mixed up with the tru
i SO much of deception and hypocrisy, and frau
unquestonable; so much of imposition and init
ton, that it is no small task to sift the wheat fro
$ the chaf Bat so wonderful has been the progress
deyelopmentin in physical science that we need haV
! NJ fear or haste to eliminate these mysteries
Truth and light are coming on apace when the.
things, noBI Iunaccoultable, shall be cleared up
: We must rot jump to conclusions in the dark, al
attribute to spirits all that we cannot understar
ourselves
But passing to the second and higher class
manifestations, such as speaking and writing, vii
essays upon every department of science and al
professions and occupations -commerce-agricu
ture-manufactures- history philosophy
ernment-politics, and religion, he must say tn
|. they were all delusion and an imposition; tai
they had nofoundation in fact; were conducive |
no good end and were destructive of bodily hesltl
: mental soundness, the Order-og society, domest
happiness and spiritual prosperity. Of this, v
have the evidence of some of those who have bee
most active in the cause and who have afterwart
. confessed that they were deceived or deceivers
. The speaker then quoted from published con
munications of the spirits and from words of Il
greatlea and-itis said-the strongest man in IL
Spiritualist ranks in which It Is most emphatical
stated that communications through mediums al
not reliable and many Of them confused, contradi
tory and absurd
The discourse closed with an appeal 70 all, o.
and young, to trust, not in this blind faacy, but
the plain teachings Of the Bible, not giving way
superstitious fears or ider fancies of the unknow
future, and not seeking fellowship or favor wit
witches, OWNERS ghostly oracles or spiritual met
iums. H
: POLICE CoURT-January 24th.-James Hennes
sey, for the theft of an axe-helye from Nelson Mon