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Journal of the Society for Psychical Research V21 1923-24

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Journal of the Society for Psychical Research V21 1923-24 JOURNAL OF THE iety for Psychical Resea VOLUME XXI 1923— 1924 For Private Circulation anions^ Members and Associates only THE SOCIETYS ROOMS 31 TAVISTOCK SQUARE, LONDON, W.C.i. All rights reserved Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/journalofsociety21soci — — 1^-— No. CCCXCI.—Vol. XXI. January, 1923. • , ? > i \ » ? > . " > 'J '> V JOURNAL OF THE Society for Psychical Research. NOTICE OF MEETING. A CONVERSAZIONE WILL BE HELD IN THE SOCIETY'S ROOMS, 31 TAVISTOCK SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. i, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7th, 1923, ni 4 p.m. Tea will be provided between 4 and 5 p.m., and it is hoped that one or two short communications may be read // is 7-equested tliat all Alevibers and Associates wlio intend to be present unll inform the Secretary heforeliand, so tliat site may arrany^e about tile tea. Members and Associates who wish to bring a friend are asked to apply to the Secretary for a ticket not later than Jannaiy 31, 1923. N.E. Members and Associates ivili be admitted on signi/ig their names at t/ie door. Visitors ivill be admitted on productio>i of an invitation card signed by a Memlier or Associate, Each Member or Associate is alhnved to invite one friend. • ^215034 2 Journal Society for Psychical Research. Jan., 1923. ^ of NEW MEMBERS. Bracht, Federico, C'aiigallo 466, Buenos-Aires, Argentine Bepublic. Clark, Major Stanley, c/o Culliford and Clark, 80 Bishopsgate, London, E.G. 2. Cromer, Katharine Countess of, 29 Marlborough Place, London, N.W. s. Gibbes, Miss Beatrice, 24 Sloane Street, London, S.W. L Hyland, Charles W., 300 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, East, Tnuisviial. Martin, W. T„ Ora Cabessa P.O., St. Mary, Jamaica. Pollock, Dr. Alexander N., c/o Mascard, 280 Bath Street, Glasgow. MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL. The 195th Meeting of the Council was held at 31 Tavistock Square, London, W.C., on Wednesday, November 29th, 1922, at 2.30 p.m. ; Mr. J. G. Piddington in the chair. There were also present : Captain E. N. Bennett, the Hon. Everard Feilding, Sir Lawrence Jones, Miss M. Radclyffe-Hall, Mr. W. H. Salter, Mrs. W. H. Salter, Mr. Sydney C. Scott ; and Mrs. Henry Sidgwick and Dr. V. J. WooUey, Hon. Secretaries. The Minutes of the last Meeting of the Council on the communications from the British College were read. Proposed by Mr. J. G. Piddington and seconded by Mr. " W. H. Salter : That the Hon. Secretaries and the Hon. Treasurer of the Society be requested to draw up a Statement to be offered to Light and jninted in the Journal in connexion with the Price-Hope controversy." Carried nem. con. The 196th Meeting of the Council was held at 31 Tavistock Scjuare, London, W.C., on Tuesday, December r2th, 1922, at 3.0 p.m. ; the Rt. Hon. Gerald W. Balfour in the chair. There were also jsresent : Mr. W. W. Baggally, Sir WilUam F. Barrett, the Hon. Everard Feilding, Sir Lawrence Jones, Sir Oliver Lodge, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Salter, Mr. Sydney C. Scott, Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, and Dr. V. J. Woolley ; also Mr. E. J. Dingwall, Research Officer, and Miss I. Newton, Secretary. Jan., 1923. Meetings of the Council. 3 The Minutes of the last two Meetings of the Council were read and signed as correct. Seven new Members were elected. Their names and addresses are given above. The monthly Account for November, 1922, was presented and taken as read. The Council filled the vacant place among their elected members caused by the death of Mr. Bayfield by appointing to it the Hon. Editor, Mrs. Salter, hitherto a co-opted member. The Council wish to place on record their appreciation of Mr. Scott's generosity in conducting the legal business relative to the acquisition of the Society's new premises without charge to the Society. MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY. The 73rd Private Meetmg of the Society was held in the Coimcil Chamber at 20 Hanover Square, London, W., on Tuesday, October 17th, 1922, at 5 p.m. ; The President in the chair. Me. Sydney E. Hooper, M.A., read a paper entitled, " An Experimental Study of the Appreciation of Time by Somnam- bules," which, it is hoped, will be pubhshed later in the Proceedings. The 7'ith Private Meeting of the Society was held in the Hall of the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, London, W.C., on Tuesday, November llth, 1922, at 4.45 p.m. ; the Rt. Hon. Gerald W. Balfour in the chair. Mr. J. G. PiDDiNGTON read the first part of a paper entitled, " Forecasts in Scripts concerning the War." The 75th Private Meeting of the Society was held in the Hall of the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, London, W.C., on Tuesday, December 12th, 1922, at 4.45 p.m. ; the Rt. Hon. Gerald W. Balfour in the chair. Mr. J. G. PiDDiNGTON read the second part of the paper entitled, " Forecasts in Scripts concerning the War." The fuU paper will be pubhshed later, it is hoped, in the Proceedings. 4 Journal of Society for Psychical Research. Jan., 1923. OBSERVATIONS ON MR. PRICE'S SITTING WITH MR. HOPE. The issue of Light of the 25tli November, 1922, contains an article contributed by Mr. Hewat M'Kenzie, and entitled, " Total Collapse of the Price-Hope Case." This article is of a most misleading nature, and at the request of the Council we sent a short reply to Light at the first opportunity. In fairness, however, to the various Members of the Society criticised in the article, we feel that we ought to set before the Society as a whole a more detailed resume of the facts and of the conclusions which we think should be drawn from them. In the May Journal of the S.P.R. Mr. Price described in detail an experiment with Mr. Hope, for the purpose of which a packet of six plates, each containing a mark which would only appear on development, was prepared by the Imperial Dry Plate Co. The plates were sent by the Company to Mr. Price in a postal packet, within which was a close-fitting brown paper wrapper, the ends of which were stuck down, a paper label being pasted so as to cover the ends of both flaps. Inside this wrapper was the box containing the plates. Mr. Price received this packet on the 30th January, and handed it, as it was received by him, to Mr. Moger, a neigh- bour, who put it in a large envelope, which he sealed. Out- side this again Mr. Moger put a postal wrapper, and posted the packet to the S.P.R. There were, therefore, at this stage four wrappers outside the box—Mr. Moger's postal wrapper, his sealed envelope, the Company's postal wrapjjer, and the Company's labelled wrapper. When received by the S.P.R. the packet remained in the charge first of the Secretary and then of the Research Officer of the S.P.R., until it was dehvered by the Research Officer, exactly as received from Mr. Moger, to Mr. Price on the morning, and very shortly before the sitting of February 24th. Mr. Dingwall then removed Mr. Moger's postal wrapper and his sealed envelope, and the packet was taken to the British College of Psychic Science and laid before Mr. Hope and Jan'., 1923. Observations on Mr. Price's Sitting with Mr. Hope. 5 Mrs. Buxton in the postal wrapper in whicli it had been despatched by the Company. This postal wrapper was then removed in their presence, and in the presence of Mr. Seymour W'ho accompanied Mr. Price, and the labelled wrapper was closely scrutinised by both Mr. Hope and Mrs. Buxton. Mr. Hope gave Mr. Price a dark slide to examine, and Mr. Price made certain secret marks on it. Finally, in the dark room Mr. Hope cut open the labelled wrapper, and two plates from the packet were loaded into the marked slide. Mr. Price observed that the shde put subsequently into the camera was not marked. Two exposures were taken at the sitting, and on the two plates being developed the marks affixed by the Company appeared on neither of them. After despatch by the Company the plates passed through the hands of four persons—Mr. Price, Mr. Moger, the Secretary and the Research Officer. Each of them declares positively that he or she did not in any way tamper \vith the outer w^rapping as he or she received it, except that, as already stated, Mr. Dingwall removed Mr. Moger's postal wrapper and sealed envelope on handing the plates to Mr. Price, who at the College removed the Company's postal wrapper. Since the pubhcation of the article in Light we have questioned Mr. Price, Mr. Seymour, the Research Officer and the Secretary in detail, and we have seen a written statement by Mr. Moger, Avho is in poor health, as to his part in the transaction. There is no discrepancy between the accounts given by any of them, and, as regards what took place at the College in the presence of Mr. Hope and Mrs. Buxton, Mr. Price's account is con- firmed by Mr. Seymour. As they are all responsible persons, their first-hand evidence cannot be rejected, unless clear contradictory evidence can be adduced. Mr. M'Kenzie attempts to discredit their evidence by stating that, when on the 5th of November he first examined the Company's labelled Avrapper, he saw signs that the label had been disturbed, and by quoting a letter of the 13th November from the Company, in which they state that they are " of opinion that one end of the label has been unstuck from the ' \frapper and folded back, so as to leave the ear ' of the A 2 " 6 Journal of Society for Psychical Research.
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