THE GIFTS OF HEALING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6570, 7 December 1882, Page 5

THE GIFTS OF HEALING.

MB. MILNEB STEPHEN'S MISSION. MR. Milneb Stephen, whoae name is now a household word in Australia, arrived by the mail steamer Australia on Tuesday, as we stated yesterday, on a visit to this colony. He has d«cided to go on to Napier by the Manapouri to-day, as Mrs. Stephen is desirous to see her brother, Mr. John Hindmarsh, of Napier. During his stay there he will exercise his " gifts of healine," returning to Auckland early in March next.

As this gentleman will exercise his gifts here on his return some information concerning him may not be uninteresting to our readers, and with that object one of the members of our staff interviewed him yesterday. He is sixty years of age, of affable and courteous address, mil of medium height, slightly built, but wi'.h abundance of energy, and characterised by much n:iiutal force and vigour. For fifty year 3he has never suffered any illness, and he attributes this to living a temperate and abstemious life. He was the first Acting-Governor of South Australia, succeeding Mrs. Stephen's father, Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh, and is also a brother of Sir Alfred Stephen, ex-Chief Justice of New South Wales, and of the late Acting Chief Justice Stephen, who died in Auckland some 25 years ago. Mr. Stephen is an English barrister, ana also a member ol the bar of New South Wales and Victoria. By creed he is a member of the Church of England, though of the Broad Church school, and disavows any connection with Spiritualism, save "the Spiritualism of the Bible." He has seven children, all grown up, and comfortably settled in Sydney. One of his 6ons has attained some literary celebrity in Victoria as a novelette writer for the serials. Mr. Stephen states he is not a mesmerist, and has not mesmeric power. He does not profess to cure anything and everything, a great deal depending upon the receptivity of the patient, aud he orshe being en rapport with the operator. The poor, ho states, are much more readily benefitted, as they are trustful and thankful, while the well-to-do-class are more fastidious, flighty, and sceptical, and that in that respect it is pretty much now as it was of old. He anticipates great results iu New Zealand from climatic and other causes. WHEN HE ACQUIRED THE GIFTS OF HEALING.

Mr. Stephen says he first became aware of possessing these gifts about two and a half years ago. He was at the time engaged iu professional duties on circuit in New South Wales. He had always been a prayerful man and his attention had been directed to the 12th chapter of Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, and the following passages :—"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit; and there are differences of administration, but the same Lord ; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all m all. For to one is given by the Spirit the work of wisdom, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit." Mr. Stephen says four out of every five clergymen would deny that the "gifts of healing" were in existence iu the world since Apostolic times, yet there was strong historic proof of their existence, and individuals possessing them from the days of Vespasian downwards. On discovering his newly-acquired powers he gave up his profession, determined to devote the remainder of his days to ameliorating the sufferings of humanity, and in thi3 resolve Mrs. Stephen cordially concurred. That step was not taken from any mercenary motive, as would be easily seen when he stated that he received for his last day's work in Court a fee of eighty guineas. He took premises in Sydney, and the crowd of people who thronged there to be cured by him blocked up the approaches, so that policemen had to be stationed on the pavement to keep order. His exhibitions for public healing were performed in the presence of clerical, medical, or other risitors who were freely invited to be present. The medical profession were somewhat hostile, contending that any remedial results of his peculiar treatment were only temporary, and the result of an excited imagination rather than anything else. SPECIAL DISEASES TREATED. These are tolerably numerous, and with regard to some his power is greater than in others. The following are in the list treated : —JBlindncss, rheumatism, gout, hip disease, disease and curvature of spine, cancer, cancerous tumours, lengthening of leg, sciatica, affections of brain and chest, bronchitis, erysipelas, neuralgia, paralysis, asthma, lumbago, perished nerve, and St. Vitus' dance. He has 500 testimonials as to the success of his treatment from all classes of patients, and fnlly 10,000 cases have passed through his hands within the last two and a-half years. In some cases where a permanent cure has not been effected, considerable relief has been obtained, while a percentage of the failures has arisen from the subsequent misconduct of the patients in living in defiance of the rules of health. During his present mission he has lengthened about forty legs, and has among the trophies of his power, iu his luggage, cancers and cancerous roots in vials, which he has succeeded in extirpating and curing the sufferers, and one of the lame ones who went away rejoicing made Mr. Stephen a present of his walking stick. He has also a block boot, about seven inches high, in his possession, for which the owner has no further use, as her leg haß been lengthened.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASES. A case is cjiven in the Melbourne Age of a woman being cured of blindness and a short leg, of 30 years' standing. The particulars are givcD in a statutory declaration before Mr. George Webster, Police Magistrate, Sandhurst. The girl had been in the Melbourne Blind Asylum since 18G6. In another instance, a young woman, living at Parramatta, is said to have been cured of blindness of one eye in twelve seconds. Among Mr. Stephen's patients was the Duke of Manchester, who consulted him while passing through Sydney, for deafness of twelve years' standing, and partial blindness of one eye owing to a fall from a horse while hunting. Iu three minutes His Grace put his watch to his ear, and said he heard it tick, which he had not done for nearly 20 years, and in another minute he took up a newspaper and read it, saying he could see very much better with the iujured eye. A case is given of cure of curvature of the spine, in which the man's chin actually rested on his breast previous to treatment, yet was dealt with successfully by Mr. Stephen in the presence of j Judge Paul, of Queensland.

THE MODUS OPERANDI. Mr. Stephen's public exhibitions of the gifts of healiag generally extend over two and a, half hours, as many as sixty people being treated during that time. He cannot be interrupted during the exercise of his powers, as the effort requires great mental concentration and determination of will. It is necessary that the audience should be at least fourteen feet distant, as the aura extends that distance. The methods of treatment are threefold : Ist. By touching, or breathing upon, the persons affected. 2ud. By commanding the disease to leave without the act of touching the person. 3rd. The use of adjuncts, magnetised water to be taken internally, magnetised oil to be used externally, and the use and wearing of magnetised fabrics. He commences all his operations witli the following invocation : — "O, Almighty Creator of the Universe, Thou author of all good, and mercifal healer of all human diseases—both mental and bodily—we beseech Thee to look with compassion upon thy afflicted servants now present, and grant that Thy ministering angels may bring down from above such power to this instrument on whom Thou hast bestowed the ' gifts of healing,' that he may be enabled, with Thy blessing, to restore them severally to a state of bodily health, that thereby they may feel, as well as know, that Thou art always and for all eternity the same God of infinite love and mercy. Amen." I At night sittings, when the gas has been turned down, clairvoyants have informed Mr. Stephen that they have seen luminous sparks emitted from his hands and fingers. He magnetises water by the simple process of placing his hands in it, and when the water has attained a gentle warmth he withdraws them, when the water is ready for use for curative purposes. It is said his peculiar " gifts of healing' and mode of treatment greatly resembles the system adopted by Dr. J. R. Newton, of New York, for thirty years, but now retired from activo practice, although he still sends his power away by post, through the medium of magnetised fabrics. Mr. Stephen does this also, principally using red flannel and tisane paper, enveloped in silk, as the best

mediumi for storing the magnetism. Dr. Decanx, the mesmerist, now in Queensland, I told Mr. Stephen that he could not treat more than four persons a-day withoHt injuring his health, while the latter has treated sixty without feeling the worse for it. On different occasions he has cared from ten to fifteen persons in succession without touching them at all, but merely by mental effort. W« have given in the above narrative, as nearly as possible, the statements made by Mr. Stephen during his conversation with the reporter. Mr. Stephen will be back again, as already stated, in March, and the Auckland public will then have an opportunity of testing these statements of his by the actual results obtained. One thing is quite clear that he is sincere in the belief in his own peculiar powers, and has no lack of that faith which is said to be able to "remove mountains."