Year: 1868

Spirirualisn In Legal Analysis-Have We q


New Greed or IN Attractive Delu.lons


The Spiritualistic adoption and money pift
suit Of Lyon against Home, which has been
proceeding for some time past in the Vice
Chancellors Court, London, was brought to q
conclusion on the lst of May. The testimony
and legal arguments on both sides are reported
at length in the HERALD to-day, the exhibit,
taken with the narrative already published in
our columns, completing the record of case
extraordinary in its general aspect, and which
may be of very serious import in its effects
on the social relations Of the world, as at
present constituted under civil rule and con-
trolled by religious belief. The plaintiff, Mrs.
Lyon, lady sevehty-fve years old, seeks to
recover a very large sum of money from Mr..
Home, the Spiritualist, to whom she donated
it, after adopting him as her son, indu-
enced and directed to both these acts
by the presence and advice of the spirit,
as she then believed, of her deceased husband;
evoked, conjured, called, commanded-or what
ever else the use of the alleged mysterious
force may be termed by the Spiritualists
recross the dividing line between eternity and
time, seven years after his decease in the body,
and again take part in sublunary transactions.
recting her acts of testamentary cash disposal
and family ilial union towards Home at Spirit
ual meetings, or sSances held at his place Of
residence in London. She was much consoled
by the operations and results of the unknown
agency at the moment; but it appears as if the
everyday materialism of the world or the
effects of fresh air and outdoor exercise in
duced such a change of late in her physical
organization that she commenced to view the
matter in more economic regard, and hence
seeks to recover about sixty thousand pounds
sterling, and regain self-control of her own
proper brain and nervous organization.


Mr.. Home testified personally during the
trial, and the exact sciences, animal magnet
ism, electricity, the laws of attraction and
repulsion, with the probability of trick by
superior system of charlatanism, were all used
in support Of or against his position. Vice
Chancellor Gifard reserves his decision till
next term, being, we presume, without prece-
dents or 'rulings" on which to base an imme-
diate judgment.


In the meantime the questions remain
were the Rochester ''knockings" the premo-
nitions of new religion, or are there indi-
viduals of such physical organization and tenn
permanent as that they can by the mere force of
will and its sympathetic direction induce rea-
soning humanity to accomplish ante-mortem
acts which may have very disturbing results
on the relationship and inheritances of famiies2
The premature Generalization of man, or the
perfection of practical and profitable humbug
by professorship, are thus being weighed by
the English Judge just at a moment when our
terrestrial globe is agitated to its centre by
most violent convulsions of nature, and appears
as if it had been unhinged at certain points Of
its formation. Is the anchorage of religious
faith about to be drawn also, and are we to
have a new belief by spiritual dispensation2
Judge Giffard will say.