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LONDON:

PRINTED BY THOMAS SCOTT, WARWICK COURT,

HOLBORN.

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THE

Spiritual Magazine.

JANUARY, 1872.

THE PAST YEAR.

PERHAPS in no year since the advent of modern Spiritualism has its progress in England been so marked as during the year that has just closed. Both in London and the provinces local societies have been more than usually active; holding séances, meetings, lectures, and influencing public opinion through their local Press. In London the Spiritual Institute has enabled many to witness the facts of Spiritualism who else might not have had the opportunity of doing so, and has largely aided in spreading its literature and otherwise assisting inquirers.

Mrs. Hardinge followed up a series of successful lectures in the metropolis by a lecturing tour in the Northern and Midland Counties, and so brought a knowledge of Spiritualism home to thousands whose only previous ideas concerning it were derived from the misrepresentations of the newspapers. Many of the local journals, in reporting and commenting on these lectures, treated the subject more respectfully and in a more appreciative spirit than the Press has generally displayed. The Farewell Meeting to Mrs. Hardinge in St. George's Hall at the conclusion of her labours was one of the best attended and most influential that have been held in connection with Spiritualism in the Metropolis.

Spiritualism during the past year has not only advanced in a popular direction; its progress has been still more marked among men of science and general culture. The testimony to the facts of Spiritualism of men like Lord Lindsay, Mr. Varley, and Mr. Crookes, all Fellows of the Royal Society, and especially the experimental investigations of Mr. Crookes, attested by Vice-President of the Royal Society and by Mr. Serjeant Cox, and fully reported in the Quarterly Journal of Science, compelled the attention of scientific men to this new

N.S.-VII.

A

"Psychic Force," and called forth much criticism in scientific and other journals. The extent to which the scientific mind has been exercised in this matter was evidenced by its exciting the animadversions of several professors at the last meeting of the British Association, and by the "savage and tartarly" attack on Spiritualism and its Recent Converts " by Dr. Carpenter in the Quarterly Review.

Miss Houghton's Public Exhibition of her Spirit Drawings presented what to many must have been a new and interesting phase of spirit-mediumship, and has suggested the hint of an exhibition of a more extensive character, in which works of spirit art through many mediums, as well as direct spirit writings and drawings, should be represented. This would present many points of interest, and would probably be more attractive than one in which the productions of only a single medium were exhibited.

But perhaps the most important incident in the progress of Spiritualism in England during the past year has been the publication of the Report on Spiritualism of the Committee of the Dialectical Society. This Report is too recent and must be too fresh in the memory of our readers to require any comment in this place; but we may remark, as a striking illustration of the force of truth, that this committee of thirty-four gentlemen, who entered on their labours in the full conviction that they were about to unmask an imposture, after two years' investigation, were almost unanimous in asserting the reality of those facts which Spiritualists for more than twenty years have persistently affirmed, and which the Press for the most part has in its ignorance as persistently denied.

An evidence of the growing interest in Spiritualism may be found in the number of journals now devoted to its advocacy. When we began our labours twelve years ago we stood alone; we are now surrounded by quite a numerous family of Spiritualistic periodicals; and other journals more distantly related are throwing open their columns to a fair discussion of the subject.

While we rejoice at this and at every indication of the progress of Spiritualism, we may remind our readers that as a consequence we are now subject to the pressure of an increased competition and that if they consider we have done and are still doing a good work, we may fairly call on them to strengthen our hands and those of our publisher by exerting themselves to extend the circulation, and so increase the usefulness of the Spiritual Magazine.

During the past year many of our valued friends and fellowworkers have departed to the higher life. Our Obituary records

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