The Portland daily press., 1873-08-21
Spirit of the New York Press.

The Evening Mail speaks of 'sDisgracing
the Spirits as follows:
We have the utmost respect for many of
the spirits OF the departed, but we cannot but
regard with contempt, many of those still in
the body, who profess to be on intimate terms
with them. If any one desires to see con-
spicuous exhibition of some of the most dis
heartening weaknesses of human nature, he
can not find it better than by attending one
of the conferences of the so-called Spiritual
lists. Nothing could be further from the Sc
rene c0mposure, the celestial charity, and the
pervadng spirit of peace and good will which
we fOndly imagined characterized the life of
the departed, than the tone and manners
which prevail at these assemblies.
Those who take part, large proportion of
whom are women, seem to be peculiarly sub
ject to the infirmities of the human sphere of
existence. In the first place they appear very
generally to be in morbid condition of the
brain and nerves which gives them an eccen-
tricity closely resembling insanity, and we do
not like to think that the spirits of the depart
ed select as their associates such unhealthy
specimens of their brethren and sisters in the
flesh. Logic and fairness in discussion seem
to be ignored, and personalities and abuse are
deplorabiy prevalent.
Yesterday there was a meeting of Spirit
ualists at Robinson Hall, at which one old
"Omdht diIOi ihuuiSiuS III dh iilodhC tiiduC
and calling young woman a liar, had to be
put out. The young woman then lost her
temper and INDUCED in violent language,
when daughter of the old woman that had
been eliminated ''took hand in'' the wordy
fight, used extremely strong language, shook
her fists at the young woman and was
compelled to beat hasty retreat by the
threats of the audience. Finally the whole
meeting broke up in disorder and confusion.
Nnxx fnct hot sc oh fsv.,a hat
these half-craZy people, with their question:
able moral theories and practices and un-
questionable tempers, were dscountenanced
as representatives of the deniZens of higher
sphere. They disgrace the sphere in which
they exist, to say nothing of their impudent
claims to intimacy with the intelligences of
better world. Whatever may be the different
views Of intelligent people regarding the spir-
itual life, there can be but one opinion of the
people who profess to have the management
of all means of communication between it
and this earthly sphere.
The Post discourses of preachers and the
Dead-head system as follows:
The Rev. Robert Collyer, of Chicago, has
written letter to one of the newspapers of
that city concerning the pay of the clergy.
Assuming that the preacher of to-day is pay
ed what he earns, Mr.. Collyer's opinion is
that the preacher should be willing to paw
the full price for whatever his necessities or
his tastes require, When he travels on a
railroad he should no more expect reduction
on his fare than the shoemaker or the tailor,
and so on in all his purchases.
Irrespective of the question of fact involved
in this letter, namely, as to whether the self
sacrificing labors of the clergy are properly
rewarded, it is certainly true that as class
their condition would be bettered by readus-
ting their financial relations with the world
Every one remembers the case of the parson
who habitually borrowed five dollar gold
piece to carry in his breeches pocket during
the Sunday services. The notion underlying
this apparently trivial act is sound one1
A certain measure of seltrespect and person
al pride are inseparable from the formatlon
and maintenance of manly character. and
these oualities of mind are f0stered largely by
a feeling of independence and equality In the
matter of money.
In addition to these merely personal and
;mmaterial effects, the abolition Iof the Gus
tom of treating the clergy as a respectable
class of mendicants would tend to substitute
for variable and uncertain Income a sniff
cient and fixed means of support This. af-
ter all, is the substantial and necessary good
likely to follow from the change suggested by
Mr.. Collyer. A bank officer, for example,
knows at the beginning of his services what
his pay for the year will be. He therefore
adjusts his expenses to his income, and it he
fails to make the one cover the other, has no
one to blame but himself. But the preacher,
especially if living in the country, whose
nominal salary is put down to the lowest
figure by reason of the fact that margin is
allowed for chance gifts, cannot tell how
much money he may have in his possession
at the end of the year, and therefore is per-
picked and pestered all the while in his en-
| deavor to "make both ends meet. Aside
from the tendency OF the prevalent system 70
weaken the preachers character, since the
amount of bis salary depends largely upon