Wizards of Prophesy Who Forecast The Obvious

NZ Truth, Issue 1241, 12 September 1929, Page 1

Wizards of Prophesy Who Forecast The Obvious

IN the ordinary coursTe of events most people would' take little , notice of either Mr. Field's or Mri Taylor's little attempts at'forecasting eai-thquakes and so forth except for the fact that. a really severe earthquake, as everybody, ; knows, has recently left , its legacy Vof shattered buildings and jumpy nerves, .v; Both'Mn Field and Mr. Taylor-im-mediately laid claim to haying foretold the 'quake and, having focussed. attention on -themselves' in this manner, proceeded <to stay m- the , limelight by issuing further forecasts. -„ 'The result . was that nervy people began to get extremely wor- : ried and' even calmer folk suffered aquaimbr two m case the gloomy mighty pro,ye cor-. ■.-.■.

In view of the public interest m th e

Prognostications

matter,'<"^.Zv Truth" vtb'oktlie, trouble* to' make; enqu iries f rbm th e recognised aciehtific , authorities as .' :.tp what the scientific claims of the, two gentlemen might be. „.;■■'•;.;•,., -,

Mr. Field.rit was found, is not unknown- to the, I^ew. Zealand Institute of Scientists; indeed, •ho threw a bombshell into their camp as far back as 1921 when the Government Astronomer received the following 1 extraordinary telegram : ■—-. .. • . • ;

"Sending Royal Astronomical : Society solution Sun's rotation., Results boundless arid astounding. Proof absolute.'Better notify Press. Writing. F. :R; Field." . , '."."■

Just think of that! How the Royal Astronomical Society m conservative old England must have gasped!

Mr.' Field may or may not have been brooding over the matter, because he kept a stony v silence so far as the N;Z. Institute is concerned until May, 1925, when he again brought himself under their notice. He was armed ; with voluminous letters^ about' what he had successfuliy forecasted/and how, it 'had 'all:: come to- pass? but hot much; about what he, hadn't successfully forecasted. The institute- is composed of several professors and scientists. In effect, they said to themselves: ''This man :Field is not a recognised scientist; but for all that he may have made a discovery so we will listen to what he has to say and maybe we will learn something.v., ,■■:■;;:■. ;c-.^.--;; ;.; ■■„■■,/:; ;■:':■:;•:-.■ •.-• They, wrote to Mr. Field and 1 asked him "to send m; a list of his prognostications, for twelve months f ahead. .The following list came to hand:--- '.. ". . .'. : ; ■•. '■' . '. „■ ■' ';•' ■ . -,;■"'' ; ■In New Zealand, -wrote , -Field, s as elsewhere, . there, will he j .remarkable alternations' of heat v and cold, storm

Sdith Wie Oracle

and calm. ; The ,Summer : will be unusually hot at tihiefi,' winters at times unusually cold. .The number of rainy days will' not be excess! ve| but the rainfalls heavier.' v / :

For a month :'from this v date Ngauroiioe and Whjte Island.. are likely tb" become more active thiin usual,, and to shqw.at times their- marked periodicity m discharge that I predicted. 18 months ago, and; that was then found by the P;M; ; at Taupp to: exist; ;; ' ''•

The next earthquake to be felt at Wellington -is likely to occur close to niidnight ;pf the , 30th instant- ; It and y'olcahic, activity would be more pfono'unced but for conditions -producing stormy weather.-v ..','.; '•■■..■■■ ;

1 Another likely, time ''•:' for an earthquake near Wellingtoh is during the last week in -July, Tiut .for mitigating conditions referred to, one. or both of tn'ese earthquakes would be: worse-, than the recent ones: v : •, w

An earthquake. of greater severity may: be expected about August of next year (1926); Probably thia will -be felt most "af'.'sorne places just \N. ; ipr S. of Cook .Strait th^t is- not being disturbed by shocks m ' the .meantime; ; ;L6cal conditions would readily shoV what part is in ''greatest danger. . ;. •;•/

"|^.Z. Truth's", 'draclea cannot cast a horoscope, neither are they oh ...speak ing terms with Mars nor do they Warm their toes by the- Solar Heat system, but they could rriak e : a 'rough guess at: most of the stuff quoted. > - • - , •.

. ; Halving received this illuminating document on August T, '1925, the institute set up a, committee consisting of Dr. Adams, of the Governnierit Scientific Staff, arid Professor SoTn'erville, 6t VictbiTia College, to consider' it.

THEY SEE EARTHQUAKES COMING

The Qm Predictions Are Objects of Mirth

IMmiMMIONMAimrH THE SEERS TO SEE

■.; v " ; (By"N.Z. Truth's" Special Commissioner.) .., consult the oracle. If he does not please yotti go to the opposition oracle, he may? have something better. -, r ' ' / , ; For instance, accotding to Mr, Frederick R. 'Field, of Auckland, who is by Way of being an\oracle on everything from a needle to art K^ '■■i--" :^i^ : &"7wf -rtteA^fe- prospect, then take a few^shares m Mr. Joseph Taylors patent aeroplaney with its wpnderful combination of all the aeroplanic virtues, which if materialised, would easily waft you away to a ha^^^ ' •

These gentlemen went into the matter ..ten days afterwards and .they .came to the. conclusion that there might perhaps be a con- /.■'■■ neotion with deaths under anaesthetics, storms, earthquakes and White Island not to ■ mention the other sundries, although it was not apparent. They sought a. little more light and asked the Institute to get Mr. Field to furnish "a complete statement of the scientific 'basis of his theory. The facts and the hypothesis, and a reasoned discourse explaining his: deductions, and so far, as relevant, the interrelatioa w o|9rsUia^«w4o.us iieldsi^ip ,which ; ''jfe^6iSims' v "t6' ? h'^ pro-" dicsuicris.^ ■ ; . . . Oh October 30. 1925. Mr. Field replied that he would do his best to supply the information asked for, but stating that it was' rather a big order, for it was really impossible to deal with the matter except m a fairly; voluminous way. ,If Mr. Field has been working on ' volume ever since, the Institute v ' is likely to get something to consider when it comes to hand," for that was nearly four years ago and the information has not been received yet. L.et readers now consider the claims and accomplishments of the other oracle, Mr. Joseph Taylor, of Nelson. The scientific authorities had heard of Mr. Taylor, but really knew little

about him. "Truth" had .to have i-e---course to a personal interview. ... Mr) Taylor I ' is ! an elderly, beney.oientlookihg ; gentlemah ■ with' the~ burning light'' of a zealot in' 'his,' eyei v, ,

For two hours "N.Z. Truth's" representative talked with him, or at least listened to him. Suns, moons, stars, planets, earthquakes, storms, spiritualism, philosophy and aeroplanes all

joined m the giddy whirl of words that Mr. Taylor spun. . He authorised his listener '=^to .-..! state to the world at large" that his' theory is: "The; astronomical

origin of all great -storms and 'quakes, which are brought about by differential gravitational strains caused chiefly by planetary positions and action coupled With at-

mospherical and meteorological disturbances ;;;and / volcanic^ and thermal pheribmena, although, the geologicarfactdrs of the. latter, are not to be ignbiFe4." '■■ ; V . Mr. Taylor %Yii^ be only too pleased to argue ; this theory before any committee m New, Zealand or the world. , When the theory w,as referred to Professor Farr, ;.•*>£ Canterbury College; he ' merely : smiled t .- and -remarked: '!There is a slendei ; . possibility that planetary action may have some slight bearing and .the matter has long been .investigated, but we candidly <Jq ijotj know and cannot prove anything." ■..;: ;In ii?!-<i<iition^to.-fhis ; „pvedilecti.9ri;.Jtpr producing earthquakes Mi% Td'ylbr isa man of partS;' He has published a little, trfcatise on "Sun Spots," a copy of which he pre-sented-to "Truth's" i-epresentative. . In this production he eyide.ntly grew bored with the inadequacy' of ordinary prope and sought to drive the point home by means of the. poetical art. Listen to the lilt and music of verse. | one: — What most people think are sunspots Are not. spots upon the sun, „ But are knots of tiny planets, Which; perchance, are seen as one. • Verse ten strikes a more robust note and informs us: ■ For there cannot^ be a solid Where it is so blooming^hot— "In the Universal furnace: In the astral .melting pot..'

When "Truth's" representative managed to sandwich a remark m between the balloons and planets and moons, to the effect that Mr. Field had. claimed v to discover the secret of the. "sun's", rotation, Mr. Taylor exclaimed: "Ha, he .is wrong. As a matter of fact I have discovered that the sun does, not rotate at. all, but is stationary." •

In fifty years up to 1909, he had been a local preacher arid "student for the Methodist Ministry, a Unitarian minister, agnostic, journalist, and secularist lecturer, spiritualist and theosophist, pantheist and scientific monist, technical lecturer, geologist •'..'; and mining engineer,, an absolutist, or true univei> §alist.

he has been' since and just what^e;c^ms;»^|;be.'noWj^"TKUtb^ f ,isnpt quite sure butj' without a shadow of doubt, like the Frenchman m the

Psychic Powers

play, he is "a very remarkable fellow," as the following psychic experience which he record.s Avill beai' out: — '. ."Not unfrequently is the injunction of a positive and active character. Once I was scommanded to run along 'the street with- all my might, and without knowing why.. ; "As a matter of fact, I was commanded to rise from prayer m my own house at the Parsonage, Collingwood, m this provincial district of Nelson, New Zealand, and wasimpelled to rush off into town. ' ' "I instantly obeyed, without waiting, for an. explanation, and soon after I saw the reason for the urgency; for m front of an. hotel stood a crowd of men found a. man who had just had his neck jerked out with a blow on the chin during ai fight. \ '" "The man was lying in' ! a state of utter collapse m the middle of the street, and some were evidently m consternation, fearing there was a case of murder. Without knowing who the man was,: and without stopping to speak to any one, I . forced my way through the crowd; and m spite of blows from some who tried to knock me back, I seized the man's head and piiUed his neck m.

"He has. of ten since said he 'owes his life to me. And, as to the jnan who struck at 'the parson for interfering,' the very next time this sturdy Irishman met me m Collingwood he insisted on kissing me.": . : . Not the least interesting feature of the book is a picture of Mr. Taylor with a hmrk' above his head which purports to be a psychic Aura emanating from him.- :■.•".-. ' .....-.■'■ Most x ; emarkable of all, however, is

Wonder Aeroplane

the aeroplane that he. has invented and which ; he has been . endeavoring to get on the market since 1914. . vThat he has not succeeded is a reproach to the enterprise of the busi ness" nien and statesmen of the . cbuhtry, for truly never hais such a 'plane been devised arid there is no telling where it will fly, to or how, if only it can be made. And there's the rub. ' -Mr. Taylor estimiates that it will ;take a meagre £ 9000 to make the first model. . . . J This extraordinary machine, -to use Mr. Taylor's own descriptionj is a "Combination airship which combines m a single sti-ucture the 'principle of the dirigible airship, aeroplane, hydroplane, motor- car* gyroscope, and lifting and steering prqpellerk" '. .' The unfortunate: part about the matteris that inventors overseas are: coming out every day; 'with the won-,: derful properties,, embodied m Mr. Taylor's invention and are: not giving hinvany credit. ; >v' . . • Mr." Taylor is hot going to, let the matter rest. ' He is forming: a company with £ 30,000 capital. \ far he has . hot secured ariy sharehold^rsi. but there is a nice place already typed where the names of the proyisibnal directors will ga — when, they materialise. . It was when Mr.?; Taylor started to emphasise the wonderful . benefits that iw.ould accrue to "Truth's" representative if he woiiJd become interested m the venture, that the latter decided to leave.* . '. : ; ". ,V.-,; : -.. J; ; . .-•. ■■'•' -