Departed “Spirits."

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 71, 14 March 1914, Page 5

Departed “Spirits."

CRABBING AT A Oh"GST,

WHEN A MATCH WAS LIGHTED.

For some time past (says the Daily Telegraph) Mr Charles Bailey, who holds a great reputation among spiritualists, especially in Melbourne, as a “medium,” has been giving seances in Sydney at Leigh House, in Castlereagh Street. Ho is under a salaried engagement to Mr It. Towns, to give a lecture on Sunday evening, and'also two seances each week. One of these seances is termed an “apport seance,” during which Mr Bailey claims that he has produced live birds from India, a bird’s nest from the same country, and archaeological tablets from Babylon. On another night in the week he gives a “materialised seance,” i when he brings before his audience j departed people. These materialised spirits appear in the dark in luminous form, and the audience iiave no difficulty in seeing them.

The incidents recorded below are vouched for not only by Mr Towns, but also by three other men who were present at the seance. BAILEY IN THE CABINET. “Mr Bailey was under engagement to me,” said Mr Towns last night, “and by reason of his assurances, combined with those of other people, 1 at first believed that his ‘apports’ and ‘materialised spirits’ were genuine. Lately I began to suspect fraud, so I determined to investigate the seance this evening by grabbing the form of the departed spirit. If 1 could pass my hands through the spirit ray doubts would be lulled to rest. If my hand could clutch the spirit—well, I would know that there was fraud 'somewhere.

“Shall We Gather at the River?” “On this occasion there were 45 ppople present, who had paid an admission fee of 5s each. When we first entered the room there was plenty of light. There were chairs around the walls of the room, with two rows of chairs in the centre. Bailey took Ids position in what he called a ‘cabinet.’ This was merely one of the corners of the room screened off by two red curtains, which could be drawn apart to show the medium. When we first saw Bailey he was sitting on a chair in this so-called ‘cabinet,’ and he addressed the people, explaining what was about to take place. He said to us. ‘1 would like you people to understand that it would lie dangerous to the health of the medium to produce a light or make any noise while he is in the trance. Any sudden shock would bring death to the medium.’ He * gave ‘us clearly to understand that his life was in our hands. He also explained tin -

the spirits of departed people would appear before them, clothed and visible to the naked eye. He would be in a trance, and during that trance he would cause the spirits to appear. “He told us to put out the lights, and then said, ‘Sing something.’ i led off with the hymn, ‘Shall We Gather at the River?’ At his suggestion we joined hands so as to complete what he called ‘a magnetic circle.’ A Feminine Spirit Appears. “After we had sung two verses the curtains of the cabinet were drawn aside by Bailey and at the same moment a ‘spirit’ appeared in a luminous form. We could see that it was shaped like a woman, though the facial features were not distinguishable.

“A member of the audience asked, ‘Who is this lady?’

“Mr Bailey in deep tones replied. This is the departed spirit of a lady who was once in a convent in Gee-

long.’ “A lady asked; ‘Can the spirit talk?’ “Mr Bailey said. ‘.Vo. Some mediums produce spirits who speak, but that is very rare. I m only a physical medium.’ ”

Continuing, Mr Towns said that I Bailey produced the luminous forms of four others “spirits.” One of these was a child, but this they could hardly distinguish. Another of the luminous personages was described was a dancer who died in Sydney a few years ago. This “spirit” did what Mr Towns described as “a fantastic wriggle, and performed a jig before the audience.” Seizing the Spirit. The final scene was exciting in the extreme. Mr Towns describes it in the following words: “When Bailey announced the last ‘spirit’ 1 was sitting near the cabinet, and I made a grab at the ghostly apparition. My hand came in contact with some flimsy material like mosquito netting. At the same moment I called for a light, and Mr Cherry struck a match which, however, remained alight only a few seconds. It sufficed to show that I had hold of one end of the mosquito netting and that Bailey was pulling hard at the other end with one hand, while with the other he was trying to put on his elastic-side hoot which he had apparently taken off under cover of the darkness. Another match was struck and the gas was lighted. There was at once intense excitement, in the midst of which 1 exclaimed, ‘Bailey, I have got you this time,’ Bailey thrust the mosquito netting under his coat, and buttoned it up, placing his arm across it. I called out to the people, ‘Search this man! If he has any material hidden under his coat he is a fraud; if not, then I will proclaim his genuineness.”

Bome of the audience cried out, ‘Don’t insult him; don’t handle him roughMeanwhile Bailey was pushing hard to reach the door, and the crowd thronged tightly around him. Bailey "ailed out, ‘Don’t touch me, or I will have you up for assault.’ Some of the people said, ‘Give the man a "banco to explain.’ I offered to let Bailey go into the: corner and make my explanation he desired. But ho •efused. He threw open the door and ran down the stairs, .without his hat. He fled up the street, chased by some of the women, and took refuge in a residence in the city.” An'attemnt was made by a representative of “The Daily Telegraph” to .ecure an interview with Mr Bailey, but admission to the house in which be took refuge was refused.

MEDIUM DAILEY’S STATEMENT. “THE SPIRITS ARE REAL.” Mr Bailey’s reply was as follows: “I wish to state,” he said, “that ny demonstration was absolutely Pennine. The ‘spirit’ was actually uateriaiised. The statement that Mr Towns had seized upon some drapery, he other end of which was in my lands, is absolutely false. A handkerchief 1 had was torn through the ■'entre during the struggle. The statement that I had taken off one toot is partially true. I had a corn ni the ball of the foot and as I had teen walking about all day it was painful. ■ To ease the pain I slipped iff my boot at the commencement of .he meeting. I was. in the act of nutting it on again when a portion of the audience mobbed me. When I stood up someone kicked mo in the spine, and I had obtained a medical certificate of the fact. “A gentleman in the audience, a

stranger to me, accompanied me in my (light from the hall is> a doctor’s resilence. He went with me into the surgery, and a sod me if I had any objection to being searched. 1 willingly agreed, and took my clothes off. He made a careful and thorough search, which, however, revealed no hidden material. He noticed the handkerchief which had been torn in the struggle at Leigh House, and asked me to let him take it to a chemist to ascertain whether it had been chemically treated in any way. To this I readily consented. He returned from the chemist’s with the announcement that it had not been dealt with in anv way.”

Mr M. Champion, of Bondi, the gentleman referred to as having accompanied Mr Bailey when he left Leigh House, entirely supported the above statements.

Mr Bailey declares his intention of remaining in Sydney, if he can secure Mr Stanford’s permission, and to give further demonstrations to prove that, his psychic phenomena are genuine.