THE MOORE CASE

Observer, Volume XXIII, Issue 5, 18 October 1902, Page 2

THE MOORE CASE

Is there Method in His Madness?

THE case of F. T. Moore, who was convicted upon a charge of

threatening the life of the ActingPremier, released on the implied understanding that he would leave the colony, and who has now returned, is a somewhat remarkable one. The natural conclusion drawn by ordinary people in respect of such cases is that the man is mad. But even if it were not in evidence that three doctors have pronounced Moore sane, it would not be altogether prudent, certainly not at all gracious, to impute that person's declarations about visions and voices wholly to the influence of the moon. Men greater than Mr Moore have seen visions and heard voices.

Without trespassing on the higher domains of religious faith, or even citing the experiences of the earlier fathers of the Church, we may take the leading cases of Luther and John Bunyan, of Swedenburg and William Blake. Two of these, the first and third, have been founders of churches, while of the masculinity of the mind that conceived the Pilgrim's Progress, there can be no doubt. Blake, the poet and mystic, alone of these four representative types incurred the suspicion of madness, but Blake has a school, in which there are some hard headed people, which discerns in his writings things transcending the conceptions of the common genius of mankind.

The peculiarity about Mr Moore's case is that the visions and voices seem to have concerned themselves with the commonest and most mundane matters, instead of with those relating to our highest destiny. There is certainly a curious contrast between the spirit that led Christian through all his difficulties, and that which has been instructing Mr Moore in the proper conduct of the frozen meat trade, or how to fight the next election. Yet the difference is more apparent than real, for, after all, has not the centre of human interest shifted very much since the days of Bunyan ?

In those days, men habitually talked about their souls, whereas nowadays we leave all that to the parson*. There was no frozen meat, and not much of any kind of meat for the multitude then, and stocks and shares and mining scrip were things unknown almost. Now, however, men's real interests are centred in the market ; the dollar has virtually assumed the status of a diety, and even our passions are in great measure regulated by tlic pocket. Is it, then, so very unreasonable to assume that tlic "Visions and voices" that of old confined their attention to religioi s affairs should change with the times ':

It will, we hope, be understood Unit we are writing in no irreverent spirit. What we are trying to do is to account for a phenomenon which, so tin: doctors declare, cannot be explained on Ihe theory of lunacy. It is quite possible that Mr Moore may be re turned to Parliament — much stranger thing* have happened — and, if that should be the case, it would be necessary to have a criterion by which his ■actions conld be judged. Such criterion we have endeavoured to supply. Certainly, if we are to judgi; by results, there were men in several of our recent Parliaments more mad than Mr Moore is.