PROFESSOR DENTON'S FAREWELL LECTURES.

Sunday Night's Controversy.

ON Saturday and Sunday nights, Professor Denton, by arrangement with a local committee, gave two special lectures in the Lome-street Hall, tho first being a redelivery of " The Origin of Man," and the second a discourse on "The Scientific Evidence of Man's Future Existence." On both occasions the building was crowded to its utmost capacity, and on Sunday evening scores of people sought admission in Tain. Although the lecture on "The Origin of Mau " was substantially identical with the one previously delivered under that title, there were one or two noticeable variations. Thus, the speaker stnted.his divergence from Darwin in believing that the Ixisting forms of life could not have been produced without design, any more than a boulder by rolling down a bill oould be fashioned into a bust of the Duke of Wellington, nose and all; he emphasized nnd reiterated his opinion that man was not descended from any living species of ape or monkey ; he dismissed the subject of man's antiquity with a passing allusion ; he omitted much that he had previously stated in describing Hacckel's plates, shewing the development of human and "animal embryos, besides forgetting to strike the analogy botweeu the gills of fish and the lungs of land animals, and neglecting to me the illustration of the ripe and unripe apple as indicative of the respective chances of man and the brute creation to existence after death. . On Sunday night he began his lecture on " The Scientific Evidenco of Man's Future Existence" by asserting that orthodox Christianity hopelessly failed to ailord any reasonable ground of a future life, and thence he went on to discuss the common boliefs with regard to the state of tho soul after death, the approach ot a great judgment day, bofore which the resurrected dead would hive to appear, and thier final trial and despatch to one of two Btates—either heaven or hell. if the so j)s of men sped either to heaven or hell immediately the earthly ties were loosened, he considered it a work of supererogation to recall them thence at some future date lor judgment, and as the bodies of men after death passed through countless forms of being, aud entered largely into the composition of other men, he foresaw a great struggle for the bodily particles which so many had owned, Still, assuming that this could all be amicably arranged, the trial was a formidable obstacle to common-sense. If every man's case occupied only a minute|the proceedings would last millions of years, and tbe resurrected and waning wicked ones would consequently have ample time for committing fresh crimes. These fanciful doctrines were only calculated to fill thinking people with astonishment and disgust, and to dispose them to accept materialism iv preference to such extravagant and contradictory beliefs. Science, however, had come to the relief of man, and was now penetrating the vast domain of the future life, giving us facts upon which we could rely. There was iv every egg of animal life a spirit that pushed tbe being it produced along its line of life in the direction of its eventual development—man—and every blade of gross had its spirit equally aa man had his. Death did not de.troy the spirit, but simply brought it a little nearer the great destiny that awaited it in another sphere of existence, For every organ of our bodily frame the spirit had a correspondent organ—spirit eyes, spirit ears, spirit arms, spirit legs, and a spirit brain. Clairvoyance, the troth of which was grounded upon a m»Bs of evidence to which he conld .0 nothiog like justice, was nothing more nor less than the unconscious use ot the spirit eyes, and clairaudience was only the exercise by the spirit nf its (acuity of hearing. Instances could be multiplied of peoplo having seen in impenetrable darkness, through biick walls, and over distances that baffled all our artificial aids to vision. He bad himself successfully tested ihe thing scores of times, and without the least possibility of fraud or mistake. He had never known a man who bad made a thorough investigation of clairvoyance tbat did not become a believer in its reality. After citing several manifestations of clairvoyant power that had come under his own observation, the lecturer said that clairaudience was similarly demonstrable. It was strange.bat nevertheless true, that we did not see each other with the bodily eyes. The outward case—the embodiment of the man was, alone discernible, and the man himself"lay inside, aud was only recognisable by the eyes of the ipi'it Some people btcame clairvoyant _in their waking moments, some ia their sleep, others in the deeper sleep of 'meimerism, and others again in the still deeper sleep of trance. At those times the spirit awoke to activity, aud displayed its powers, and so, too, in the hour of death, when the ear,hly cord was loosening, toe spirit gave proof of its destiny. In tbis way were we able to account for the strange reports of enlarged powers of vision, and extended knowledge that the dying frequently communicated. As the great Germau poet Schiller was approaching the final struggle, he gasped out, "Many things are growing plain and clear to me," and it was iacomprehenaib'e that that should bo tho cry of a man descending to annihilation. It was rather the joyful exclamation of one to whom the gates of tbe future life were ajar. In tbat life the condition of things would bo in harmony with the of the spirit. It was a bright world, adapted as nicely to spirit life as this physical globe was adapted to animal life, and spirits were just as real to one another as man was to man. These spirits could exhibit _ their forms to us under favourable conditions, and be had himself seen spirit hands times out ol number, had felt them within his own, ond had taken casts of them as well. The lecturer then proceeded to quote the evidence of scientific and eminent men generally, as to the truth of his statement that spirits visited the earth, communicated with mortals, and made themselves visible to the bodily eye, naming, amongst otheis, Professor Hare, Mr Ciookes, Mr A. R, Wallace, M. Nicholas Wogner, professor of and chemistry in the University of St, Feteraburg, Dr. Zollner, professor of physics iv the university of Leipsic, and William Howrtt, the poet. He had himself been convinced of the truth of these spiritual manifestations from irrefragable evidence obtained in his own house, from members of his own family. He had seen materialisations and spirit hands in broad daylight; he had induced a spirit to take a pencil out of his hand an<l draw spirit hands on paper, he had got impressions of spirit hands upon flour and soft clay, and upon melted paraffin, when by pouring cement upon the impressions in the paraffin he had obtained lasting casts. In this way he had taken casts in broad daylight ot five different sizes of fingers.when the only persons present beside himself were a lady and her huaoand, wboßo hands were placed upon a table dr.wn up in front of them, and at tbe some time be had got pencilled communications on the inside of a slate from departed friends when no one was near the table upon which the slate and pencil lay. In these cases ho recognised both tho writing and tho signatures. He had, too, in bis possession a document written by a spirit in a closed slate in the presence ot folly 300 people, It was s'gnedbythe split of H. H. Rowse, and was addressed to a brother, a chief of police, who happened to be present in the rsumbly, and ' who, by allowing a cor. • parison of the writing to bo made with that of letters written by the deceased six years previously, was convinced of its genuineness. The speak'r went on to refer to death as a thing that should be welcomed rather than shunned by the aged and miserable, and as a hippy release to everyone, instead of being regarded as the bugbear which vicious prie3fs had represent'd it to be in order to scare a credulous world into entrusting them with enormous powers, Tho lecturer concluded by denouncing the popular idea of the Deity as that of a wrathful and vindictive Being, by condemning the drinking and smoking habits of the co'onists, and by urging his hearers to close the public housos, and enlarge and keep open our library and Museum, Professor Denton then retired from the stage, and immediately afterward Mr G. A. Brown mounted it amid applause. Hearing the noise, the former gentleman made bis re-appearance, and was also greeted with applause. Mr Brown then stated his desire to put a few questions. He said that Professor Ddnton had been lecturing during thepatt few weeks on the law of evolntion.and he would just like to know from him, therefore, at what stage of his development man had become possessed of his spiritual nature. _.•■■_.,_ Professor Denton replied that he had aheady stated that all things -from a blade of grass upward—had a spiiitual nature. Mr Brown: But when had the spirit its beginning?

Professor Denton said that if the gentleman had listened to his lecture on "The Origin of Man" he would not have needed to put the question. He had compared man and the lower forms 10l life to ripe and unripe apples plucked from a tree and planted in the ground. The unripe apple, not having reached its proper development, decayed, and became lost, but the ripe apple having attained its maturity lost only its outer covering, while tbe seeds germinated and sprung into renewed life. So with the spirit of any of the lower forms of creation, and the spirit of man, He alone had reached the stage at which immortality became possible. Mr Brown reminded Profesior Denton that be had stated that eveiy egg contained a spirit, just as man possessed a spirit. Then came the question—Did the spiritual or material come first? Which was lint in existence? Wn the spiritual man formed first, or the material man ? It struck him i . hat Professor Denton would have to drop a link here. j

Professor Denton answered that he failed to see any missing link, or to perceive any need to drop one. He took the ground that there was an , infinite spirit of the Universe by virtue ot which man and all other forms of life came into existence, and by virtue of which all life passed along a line of development until it reached its most perfect form iv man. He did not see any missing link thei c.

Mr Brown asked the audience to bear in miad that scientific men were supposed to demonstrate everything they accepted as true, aod, therefore, should not fall back upon faith whon asked for proof, Professor Denton was now drawing upon his ond their faith without giving them a single fact to rely upon, Professor Denton replied that if the gentleman had attended and heard his lectures on geology he would have had plenty of facts given him to rely upon. Instead of asking bim that night to bring before thorn the facts which would convince them of the truth of spiritualism, Mr Brown misrht as well have asked him to present before them in that room the whole history of the planet in order to persuade them that geology was true. The facts Were to be obtained by investigation, and he bad never known a man go earnestly into tbe subject who had not cjmc out a thorough believer in its reality. Mr Brown remarked that Professor Denton had told them, of materialisations he bad witnessed, of spirit hands that he had felt, and of casts that he had made. Ho had also discoursed learnedly upon bones, and had supported his theory of evolution by reference to these remains, Could he not find them one spiritual relic upon which to rest ?

Professor Deaton, in reply, said that he had quoted the evidence of scientific men, His questioner, he believed, was a lecturer on Christianity, and he defied him to bring forward in favour of the truth of its doctrines one-huudredth part cf the testimony that he had adduced in favour of Spiritualism. Re could very well leave the subject here. The persons who thought as did tbe person who was debating with bim, and who rejected such evidence as he gave as unsatisfactoiy, would -have to wait until after death for better proof. If they thought the devils did all the business, he would like to have some information regarding these devils and some evidence as to their teality.

Mr Brown: Are you positive that it is not so ?

Professor Deaton said that if he wore told that people lived in the moon who wore golden garments, and who could each eat 501hs ot flesh in a minute, he might say that he did not believe it, and ask for evidence. So with these reputed devils.

Mr Brown pointed out that when Professor Denton wanted to give proof of man's origin he went back, but tbat whe_ he had to establish bis present immortality he went forward. Why did he assume certain things ? There might bo, nr.d possibly were, spiritual beings in existence, but why did he assume from this that mau was immortal, and that the spirits he ►poke of were the spirits of men ? Frifiisor Denton answered that he bad given initauces of writing by spirits having been identified with tbat done by the departed being when in the flesh. The facts of tbis kind that he had were abundant and indubitable.

Mr Browa contended that the mere writing ot names and communications by professed spirits of departed men did not prove their professious'to be true. We haa even among-t ourselves very clever forgers. Professor Denton : And therefore we can never identify a man's handwriting. I suppose tbat is his argument. Mr Brown : We have forged ao clever that they arc never detected. Professor Denton : And consequently they are never found out. A short contention ensued on this point of possible forgery, after which Professor Denton hurriedly explained thot he had to go by the inailstumtr at midnight, and consequently would have to leave. The kind of thing they bad been just listening to had lasted long enough. It the man who opposed him could bring forward any hostile evidence, or discuss the subject in an argumentative way, he could meet him, but it was idle to continue a purposeless discussion, when he had oaly an hour or two in which to make his arrangements for departure. Professor Denton then retired amid mingled applause and hisses, while Mr Brown, perceiving that the audience were disinclined to wait any longer, also left the platform. This ended the debate.