In "Flashes from the Spirit Land," on page 366, a spirit says :—

"Fortunately for the spirit, the law of mine and thine is not in existence in the spirit world. There is plenty for all there as there is here. Your false customs make it right for one person to have more than enough while his neighbor is starving. It is not so in the spirit world, but the blessings of the Infinite Spirit are free for all, and no one can claim more as their own than they can appropriate. There is no hoarding there; you can have all you need and no more."

The full force of this statement is only seen when it is remembered that the spirit world is the model upon which;it is stated this present one should be formed. In Judge Edmonds' book on "Spiritualism," on pages 504 to 509, is page 106 a representation of the kind of government existing in the spirit world. On page 506 it is said:—

"With us, we require no judges to condemn, no chains to bind, no prisons to incarcerate the offender. The judge of the offence and the executioner of the law reside together in the heart of the convict, and instinctively perform their function. Every man is a law unto himself,:" On page 508 is the incitement given to copy this government of the spheres in the earth life:—"Now, child of earth! pause thus on the threshold of eternity and ask yourself if man on earth is not capable of making his mortal existence an epitome of that darkness on the one side or of that brightness on the other? . . . Tell me if wisdom shall thus speak from on high to mortal ears in vain?"

These principles are found in connection with much that might be endorsed by most persons, and it is this blending of what is true with the false, and thus imposing upon the unwary, that the chief danger in this matter lies. In the "Spiritual Age," edited by Mr. A. E. Newton, of Boston, there appeared a few years ago, an editorial article in which the following passage occurred:—

"There is a wide-spread and universal belief among all classes and all religious sects at the present day that some wonderful developments are soon to be manifested to the world, which shall materially revolutionise the existing phases of church, society, and state."

"We tell you, spiritualists, that upon the base of the doctrines there put forth (in spiritualism) you shall yet see reared the grandest political structures the world ever saw."

In an article headed "The Angel Movement," is the following announcement:—

"New phase in Spiritualism! Great national symbolic out wrought spiritual manifestations! All sects and denominations, creeds, parties, nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples, now existing on the face of the earth, to be dissolved and pass away, and a new, divine, governmental order to arise instead."

A writer on the "Mission of Spiritualism" says :—

"It remains for us to apply the principles of a rational spiritualism to the practical reformation of the world. . . . The race has been doomed to bear a thousand crosses to the mournful scene of its crucifixion. Spiritualism comes at last to deliver humanity from the bondage of this death. Let the quickened spiritual nature, freed from its long incarceration in the dungeons of ignorance, sensuality, superstition and crime, assume the government of the world, that we may be saved from the corruption of flesh and sense.

page 107

"Spiritualism comes to lay—broad and deep, on the eternal principles of Nature and the Soul—the foundations of new institutions, and to preside at the inauguration of the Divine Order, and the Celestial Life on earth."—"Spiritualism Unveiled," pp. 57, 58.

In "Penetralia," by A. J. Davis, is a representation of a Council held in the spheres, at which fourteen resolutions were passed. The second runs thus :—

"Resolved,—That all true liberty and happiness are predicated upon the twofold principle of individual sovereignty, and collective reciprocity; therefore, that all religious systems and all forms of government, opposed to the practical enjoyment of such self sovereignty as the basis, are essentially barbarous—and vitally antagonistic to the real needs of the man and woman of the nineteenth century."—p. 248.

Here, "self-sovereignty," that is, the right of everyone to do as he pleases, is said to be the essential feature in the government needed by the people of the present century; and that anything opposed to this is "barbarous and vitally antagonistic" to the needs of men. That there is a political object in view in the enunciation of these views, is very evident from a portion of the sixth resolution, which reads thus :—

"'The Harmonial Philosophy' points the pathway to organic and constitutional freedom; and, therefore, that every harmonial philosopher should use his political influence to put in office, only such minds as will legislate according to Nature and Reason, and work for equal justice and universal liberty."—p. 248.

The thirteenth resolution of this Council, reads as follows:—

"Resolved,—That the commercial and mercantile relations instituted among men, and perpetuated by the present social disorder, are those of extreme selfishness, leading directly and inevitably to indigenee, larceny, oppressive monopolies, war, slavery, disease, delusive doctrines, professional drones, and to the development of diversal unproductive classes, the effects of which cannot be removed and prevented by any change short of a harmonial dispensation—overthrowing, by its mighty power, all superstitions, liberating equally man's affections and his reason from the slavery of error and fear—harmonising the law of self-sovereignty with the parallel law of social reciprocity."—Ibid. pp. 251, 252.

In these statements there is the purest Communism, clothed in a mass of verbiage. "Self sovereignty" is the grandiloquent expression under which the right of every man to do as he pleases, and help himself to the goods of page 108 others as he pleases, is expressed. On page 300, the language becomes bolder. He says :—

"Let all men take courage. The long midnight age of despotic combinations is fast departing. But, like a mighty Saurian-lizard of primeval origin, it will struggle desperately before it dies. You will be summoned to the field of battle. The Individualism of man is to be resurrected. The few will profoundly respect and fight for it; while the many will side with institutionalism. But one man will put ten thousand such to flight; and the victory will be sure and speedy on the side of humanity."

A writer in the Spiritual Age says:—

"We all believe that the real underlying ideas foreshadowed by what is popularly called 'Spiritualism,' look forward to the political, material regeneration of society, as well as to a spiritual revolution, and it is high time that some public, formal action, looking in this direction, were taken. . . . Let us assume a political attitude, and make the world feel that we are no longer to be trampled on with impunity."—"Spiritualism Unveiled," p. 58.

The same writer, in speaking of the new government, denominates it—

"A political institution, such as the world has never yet seen, and of which now it has not the remotest idea."—Ibid. p. 59.

Defining the purpose of spiritualism, a spirit says:—

"The first great object is to convince sceptics of the immortality of the soul, disrobe death of its terrors, give to men a rational religion, and unite all men in one grand, sublime faith, in which angels, or spirits of the dead, hold intercourse with living men; thus raising the condition of the material world up to that of, and in harmony with, the spiritual.

"The design is, through this increase of knowledge and spiritual elevation, to crush, destroy, and break in pieces, all the existing forms of government on the face of the whole earth, . . . and in place of them build up one common form of government in all the earth . . . . . . In this form of government, which will be a Theocratic Democracy, every man will be his own ruler, and his natural demands his Highest Law."—Ibid. p. 59.

There can be no mistake as to the political intention expressed by this spirit. Every form of government on earth is to broken up, crushed and utterly destroyed, and a form of government set up in which "every man will be his own ruler, and his natural demands his highest law." That government will be characterised by the very quintessence of anarchy. Chaos—dark and dismal—will indeed have covered the civilisation of man, when that sad day page 109 arrives. And, yet, there are not wanting signs to show that a determined effort will be made to bring it on. In harmony with the above, the following from A. J. Davis is very much to the point. He says:—

"There are already hundreds of thousands of churches dedicated to the gods; but there are not ten consecrated to mankind. Governments are made to defend the rich; and to subjugate the poor. . . . Institutions are made, by the strong, to maintain power. Individuals, therefore, have but one course to pursue—namely, to rebel against institutions, and take the penalties."—"Penetralia," p. 302.

He says again :—

"The Conservative may cry aloud for the safety and sanctity of institutions. But heed him not! His voice cometh not from the open field, not from the mountain's top. Far from it. On the contrary, his cries proceedeth from the wilderness of crime and marshes of despotism, which are tenfold more dangerous than the everglades of Florida. Hark ye! American Republicism will be transformed into Tyranny, unless individual man declareth himself independent of all political and ecclesiastical institutions."—"Penetralia," p. 303.

"The only certain plan whereby to prevent the establishment of political and ecclesiastical despotism is this, a universal education of our people to revere and practise the principles of absolute individual liberty. All faith in a miraculous, arbitrary, despotic Revelation Must be Carefully Removed, and placed upon Father-God and Mother-Nature. The inner Light, the religion of Justice in the soul of each, must become the rule of faith and practice. American Theology . . . would then die—never to breathe again, never to know a resurrection."—Ibid. pp. 306, 307.

Let us hear A. J. Davis again. He says:—

"The first government was Anarchy. . . . The last will be even so. . . . The Individualism of mankind will at last stand out even more absolutely against Institutions than at the first."—"Penetralia," p. 313.

page 110

"Progressives as we are, we declare ourselves openly in favour of no government. The people are governed too much. They will rebel. They will gradually become ungovernable. They will demand at each other's hands absolute, supreme, individual sovereignty.

"I am well aware that, to a timid Conservative, and to those who breathe in the atmosphere of Institutionalism, all this bears the impress of original anarchy. They fear that confusion will be worse confounded. Such minds would urge me to beware of extreme radicalism. They would preach against Individualism as tyrants protest against Republicanism. But I tell you that Individualism will eventually develop out of Democracy—just as Republicanism was developed out of Monarchy—naturally, as blooming summer comes out of rigid winter."—Ibid. p. 315.

A convention of spiritualists was held in Boston, on March 10th, 1857, one object of which, as expressed in their call for the conference, was "To consider the wisdom of taking incipient steps towards forming a new confederation, wherein distinctions of clime, of colour, and of sex will be no bar to equality." The account of a similar convention, held in New York, is given in the "Spiritual Telegraph" of June 20, 1857. The report of this convention says their "object is to overturn the inharmonies and evils of the present condition, and in their place to establish a new social order on the earth." This "new social order" is more fully set forth in the "Telegraph" of June 13th, 1857, under the head of "Practical Spiritualism, its Purposes and Plans." The writer says:—

"For the last four years, a movement has been going forward, comparatively unobserved by the public at large, whose central purpose is no less than the entire regeneration . . . . . .of the whole human race . . . . . .It is hardly to be supposed that an enterprise so startling to the world as the last eight years have proved the spiritual movement to be, would have for its grand end anything like the presentation of mere phenomenal exhibitions, &c. . . . All these, indeed, and more in the same line, have been and still are very useful, and are not in the least to be undervalued; but if the movement itself rested in them as an end, it would seem that the end itself was quite unworthy of such a grand commencement, such a wide-spread interest, and such hopes and aspirations as have already been created.

"The great purpose of the spirit-world, then, is of a much broader nature, and a more thoroughly practical spirit . . . . . .It aims, in short at the establishment of a new social order on the earth, through whose mediatorial harmony alone the divine truth and its page 111 good can descend only upon and into a waiting and responsive race . . . . .

"It also the purpose of spiritualism to so educate a class of persons in certain practical functions, that they shall become pivots of groups in the coming new social order . . . . . .About two hundred and fifty persons have already been selected. . . . These persons are scattered all over the United States and the provinces.

"Another purpose of the movement is the establishment of a New System of Government. It is a combination of the two elements of Monarchy and Republicanism, making, therefore (partly because of the combination, and partly for other reasons), a new idea in government. It has already matured its plans to quite an extent."—'Spiritualism Unveiled," pp. 59, 60.

In a work called the "Educator," and previously quoted from, certain questions are given by the spirits to be put to every man who is selected to be a "pivot man." If there is the slightest hesitancy or reserve in answering these questions, the candidate is at once to be rejected. The third of these questions is as follows :—

"Do you love these fundamental principles .... more than all things else? Are you willing to announce your allegiance to these fundamental principles, even though it may separate you from church, from State, from home, from land, from children, from the companion of your bosom? If the person questioned hesitates, then he is unfit for the struggle; he ought not to be engaged; for when the storm comes .... this man will be missing."—Pp. 412-8.

"When .... the people are ripe for action, let the decisive blow be struck . . . . . The next political revolution will be the grandest the world has ever witnessed."—Pp. 334-5.

The foregoing is startling, and needs no comment to make it plain. A solemn oath is exacted by the spirits binding the leaders in this new Political Movement. Rome never required more entire submission than these spirits demand to their will. The spirits say:—

"The hour is at hand when the revolution must come. . . It will be a fearful crisis—an hour when the passions of men will be page 112 excited to an extent seldom, if ever known before. This Association proposes to place in the hands of its general agent a series of instructions which will be of the greatest use in that hour of peril."—"Educator," p. 403.

"Prominent persons will be placed at the helm of the new ship of State, whose motto shall be Eternal principles, not parties."

The principles upon which this new government is to be established are thus stated in the "Educator":—

"1. Man is immortal. 2. It requires two persons, male and female, to constitute a whole man. 3. Each man, and each woman, if you please, has a perfect right, under all circumstances, in all conditions, and in whatever locations, to do as he or she pleases, 4. Government is but a temporary arrangement, to be outgrown with the greatest possible speed. 5. The highest possible government is interior, and may at all times, in all places, and under all possible circumstances, be safely obeyed. 6. God ... is man and man is God No clearer idea of the divine existence can possibly be communicated to the mind, than in the statement that He is one grand universal man."

Dr. A. B. Child, when speaking at a picnic at Abington, Mass., as reported in the Banner of Light, for August 5, 1865, said:—

"The time is speedily coming when every one who has opposed, scorned, reviled, and persecuted spiritual communion, will be brought to the altar of sacrifice; will suffer sorrow, regret, affliction. ... It will be a bitter cup, but a necessary remedy for the sickly morals and religions of men. It is in the power of the spiritual world to make any poor man rich in one day—to make any rich man poor in one day—to make a well man sick in a moment of time, or to make a sick man well—to take life or to continue it—to make woe in the human heart, or joy and gladness there. . . Imminent and immediate dangers to earthly prosperity hang over all opposition to spiritual communion. Mark page 113 well, and you will soon see that the destruction of property, of health, even of physical life, will follow close upon the heels and overtake all the obstinate, persistent warriors against sin and the devil—all the military of the church militant—all who revile and scoff and say all manner of things falsely against spiritualism—against sins, sects, creeds, beliefs not their own. Disasters on sea and land, fires, failures, accidents, diseases and early deaths, will fall thick, and fast, and heavy, to harrow the peace and happiness of every bosom that is persistently turned with opposition and bitterness against this holy influx, that comes down from heaven to earth, to tell us of the uses of sin and sorrow; to tell us of the realities of the world from whence man gets all his blessings; to tell him of the world whence he came, and whither he is going. . . .

"Ay, more than blessed are ye, for a new era is beginning; a new religion is coming; a new day of morals is dawning; a new road for human progress is making; it is the road that the toiling hands of spiritualism have graded, over lowlands and through highlands, over the swamps of humility, and the mountains of pride. It is a straight road, it is a level road; it is a grand highway for all humanity; it is onward for ever. Then take courage, and be comforted; be not weary, for the work of spiritualism is the work of well doing. Relax no effort—seek to change no purpose in this great design, for it must make a revolution in the morals and religions of men, that shall be a signal epoch in the history of the world's future, for the world's happiness."