The Case for Spirit Photography

An accusation of a damaging, and, as I believe, of an entirely unfounded / character, has been brought forward by Mr. Harry Price against Mr. Hope, / whose name has for more than seventeen years been associated with the / strange phenomenon which has been called spirit photography. I will deal / later with this accusation with which the Society for Psychic Research / has unfortunately associated itself by publishing the report of it in / their official journal. Before touching upon it I should wish to take / a broader sweep and to show the overpowering weight of evidence which / exists as to the reality of Mr. Hope's most remarkable gift.

If a man were accused of cowardice it would be natural that his defender / should not confine himself to the particular case, but should examine the / man's whole career and put forward instances of valour as an argument / against the charge. So also if a man is accused of dishonesty a long / record of honesty would be his most complete defence. Therefore in / considering the case of Mr. Hope, and the value of his mediumship, one / must not limit one's investigation to a single case, where errors of / observation and of deduction may creep in, but must take a broader view / which will embrace an account of a long series of cases, vouched for by / men and women of the highest character, and incompatible with any form / of fraud. If the reader will have the patience to follow my facts and my / argument, I hope to make it clear to any unprejudiced mind that there is / overwhelming evidence that we have in Mr. Hope a man endowed with most / singular powers, and that, instead of persecuting and misrepresenting / him, it would be wiser if we took a sympathetic view of his remarkable / work, which has brought consolation to the afflicted, and conviction to / many who had lost all belief in the independent life of the spirit.