The Hillaire trial.

— A matter about which we had kept an easily understandable silence has just reached an outcome that places it in the public domain. As it has been published by several newspapers of the neighboring localities, we have therefore judged it timely to speak of it, in order to forestall the false interpretations of malevolence with regard to the Spiritist Doctrine, and to prove that this doctrine does not conceal beneath its mantle anything that may be reprehensible. Besides, since our name is involved in the affair, it is not useless that our way of seeing things should be known. This matter concerns the medium Hillaire, of Sonnac (Charente-Inférieure), with whom we have already had occasion to entertain our readers.

Hillaire is a young man, married and the father of a family, a simple laborer, almost illiterate. Providence endowed him with a remarkable mediumistic faculty, very ample, the details of which may be read in the work of Mr. Bez, n entitled: The Miracles of Our Days, and which has several analogies with that of Mr. Home. Naturally, this faculty drew attention to him; it had won him a local celebrity and, at the same time, earned him the sympathy of some and the aversion of others. The somewhat exaggerated praise of which he was the object produced in him its habitual ill influence. Mr. Home's successes went a little to his head, as the letters he wrote us attest. He dreamed of a stage larger than his little village. However, despite his insistence that we should bring him to Paris, we never wished to lend him a hand. Certainly, had we seen any usefulness whatsoever in such a measure, we would have favored it; but we were convinced, in accordance with the ideas and the character we knew him to have, that he was not capable of playing a preponderant role, and this in his own interest. Besides, very recently we had had a sad example of those ambitions that push toward the capital and end in cruel disappointments. By raising him onto a pedestal, they did him a disservice. His mission was local; within a limited radius, over a certain population, he could render great services to the cause of Spiritism, with the aid of the notable phenomena that were produced under his influence; he did render them by propagating Spiritist ideas in the region, but he could have rendered still greater ones had he confined himself to his modest sphere, without abandoning the work by which he lived, and if, with more prudence, he had been able to reconcile it with the exercise of mediumship. Unfortunately for him, the importance attributed to him made him little accessible to the counsels of experience; like many people, he would have accepted them gladly had they been in accord with his ideas, of which his letters gave us proof! Several indications had made us foresee his fall, but we were far from suspecting from what cause it would come about. Only our spiritual guides warned us a few times to act toward him with great circumspection and to safeguard our authority, avoiding, above all, bringing him to Paris. Through much presumption on the one side and much weakness on the other, he annihilated his mission at the very moment when it might have gained its greatest brilliance. Yielding to deplorable impulses and, perhaps, as we are led to believe, to perfidious insinuations, skillfully managed, he committed a fault, by reason of which he left the region and for which, later, he had to render account to justice. Spiritism, far from suffering from this, as our adversaries boasted, came out safe and sound from this trial, as will soon be seen. Needless to say, they were intent on making all the manifestations of the unfortunate Hillaire pass for notorious frauds.

In this sad matter, the aggrieved party, one of those who had most acclaimed him at the time of his fleeting glory and had covered him with his patronage, wrote to us after the flight of the guilty parties, to give us a detailed account of the facts and to ask for our cooperation and that of our correspondents, so that they might be apprehended. He ends by saying: “They must be deprived of all resources, in order to compel them to return to France and to have them punished by the justice of men, in the hope that the justice of that God of mercy will punish them also, for they cause great harm to Spiritism. Awaiting a reply from your hand, I am going to ask God that they be discovered. I am wholly yours, your brother in God, etc.”

— Here is the reply we gave him, without suspecting that it would become one of the pieces of the trial:

Sir, Returning from a long journey I have just made, I found the letter you wrote me concerning Hillaire. I deplore as much as anyone this sad story, from which, however, Spiritism cannot receive any attack, since it could not be held responsible for the acts of those who understand it poorly. As for you, the one most harmed in this circumstance, I understand your indignation and the first moment of exaltation that must have stirred you, but I hope that reflection has given more calm to your spirit. If you are truly a Spiritist, you should know that we must accept with resignation all the trials that it pleases God to send us and that are, themselves, expiations we deserve for our past faults. It is not by praying to God, as you do, to avenge us upon those of whom we have to complain, that we acquire the merit of the trials He sends us; quite the contrary, we lose their fruits and draw to ourselves still greater ones. Is it not a contradiction on your part to say that you pray to the God of mercy that the guilty be arrested, in order to be handed over to the justice of men? To address such prayers to Him is an offense, when we ourselves stand in need, to a greater or lesser degree, of His mercy, forgetting that He said: You shall be forgiven as you have forgiven others. Such language is neither Christian nor Spiritist, since, after the example of Christ, Spiritism teaches us indulgence and the forgiveness of offenses. It is a fine occasion to show greatness and magnanimity and to prove that you are above human miseries. I hope you will not let it slip away. You think this matter will harm Spiritism. I repeat that it will suffer nothing from this, despite the ardor of the adversaries in exploiting this circumstance to their advantage. Were it to harm it, it would be only a local and momentary effect, and in this you would have your share of responsibility, through the ardor with which you spread it abroad. Both out of charity and out of the interest you say you have in the doctrine, you ought to have done everything possible to avoid the scandal, whereas, by the repercussion you gave it, you furnished arms to the enemies. Sincere Spiritists would have been grateful to you for your moderation, and God would have taken that good sentiment into account.

I regret that you could have thought that I would serve, in any way whatsoever, your vindictive desires, by taking measures to hand the guilty over to justice. That was to deceive yourself singularly as to my role, my character, and my understanding of the true interests of Spiritism. If, as you say, you are truly my brother in God, believe me, implore His clemency and not His wrath, for he who calls down wrath upon another runs the risk of making it fall upon himself.

I have the honor to greet you cordially, with the hope of seeing you return to ideas more worthy of a sincere Spiritist.

A. K.

— Here, now, is the account that was sent to us:

“Begun on Friday, the Hillaire case ended Saturday at midnight. Vitet having withdrawn his complaint at the moment when judgment was about to be pronounced, his wife was acquitted. Hillaire alone remained under the cudgel of justice. The public prosecutor concluded that he was guilty and demanded the application of articles 336, 337, 338, etc., of the Penal Code. The Court, declining its competence with regard to the appraisal of all the transports and other mediumistic facts, applying article 463, condemned Hillaire to one year of imprisonment and the payment of the legal costs. In our eyes, this judgment is a just application of the written law, although it was considered somewhat severe by persons who are absolutely not Spiritists.

“If we were witnesses to the unfolding of the sad turpitudes to which human weaknesses can lead, on the other hand we beheld a fine spectacle when we heard the orthodoxy of Spiritist morality solemnly proclaimed; when, during the recess and at the close of the hearings, we heard these words, repeated in public: ‘We must envy the happiness of those whose faith places them constantly in the presence of those they have loved, and from whom the tomb itself can no longer separate them.’ “Indeed, behold this multitude, which soon this courtroom will not be able to contain. There press together members of every social position, from the most humble to the most elevated. Do you think these men come simply to attend the vulgar debates of a sordid matter in the correctional police court? To the humiliation of two unfortunates who confessed and narrated all the details of their fault? Oh! no. The case in question has a very high reach. Spiritism is at stake; they come to hear the revelations that a three-month inquiry will have brought against the new doctrine; they come to enjoy the ridicule that will not fail to fall upon these poor deluded ones; but their uncharitable hopes were thwarted by the wisdom of the court.

“The president begins by proclaiming the most absolute liberty of conscience; he recommends to all respect for the religious belief of each one; he himself marches to the end along this path. The moment comes to read our master's letter to Vitet (the letter cited above); he takes it and, after reading it, observes that he recognizes in it a voice worthy of the first Fathers of the Church; that never was more beautiful morality preached in more beautiful language.

“Twenty witnesses were unanimous as to the truthfulness of the transports; none expressed the slightest suspicion. Hence the declaration of incompetence of the court. Only Vitet and his servant Muson contested the miraculous procedure; but at that very instant they were confronted with the records of the deposition, drawn up that same day by Vitet, written in his own hand and bearing his signature and that of Muson. Two members of our society were heard. The president did not fear, on account of their depositions, to provoke discussion on certain points of the doctrine; both answered perfectly and prevailed, to the satisfaction of all Spiritists.

“Hillaire's lawyer was very brief – nor could he have been otherwise – as regards the head of the accusation in particular. But on the doctrine, its teachings, its consequences, its progress in the world; on the perseverance of these men of the locality, at least, said he, our equals in learning, in intelligence, in morality, in social position; on the facts published daily in the press; on the multiplicity of the works, of the special newspapers, he always spoke with eloquence and conviction. His final stroke was the reading of a letter from Mr. Jaubert. In this letter the said gentleman relates that he himself and his friends, occupying themselves with physical manifestations, saw and saw well, both by lamplight and by daylight, facts analogous to those obtained by Hillaire, which he recounts in the smallest details. This reading, followed in a solemn tone by the profession of faith of Mr. Jaubert himself, a magistrate, vice-president with functions in the civil tribunal of the capital of a Department, moved the entire audience. (The Journal de Saint Jean d'Angely, of February 12 analyzes this notable defense. See also the Revue de l'Ouest, of Niort, of February 18). “In his indictment, the public prosecutor defames the accused. As for the facts of the manifestations, he explains them by vulgar means; anyone, he says, can produce them in his drawing rooms at will, with the greatest ease: the slightest skill suffices. He cites historical mediumistic facts, regarding which he concludes in favor of hallucination. As concerns the doctrine, he was always dignified and respectful toward the devoted sectarians. Above all, he warmly applauded the courage, the sincerity, and the good faith of the witnesses who came to affirm their belief, without being held back either by the fear of sarcasms and jests, or by their material interests, which by this may be harmed.”

— Spiritism not only came out unscathed from this trial, but came out of it with the honors of war. It is true that the judgment did not at all proclaim the reality of Hillaire's manifestations, but it set them aside by its declaration of incompetence; for this very reason it did not declare them fraudulent. As for the doctrine, it obtained there a notable endorsement. For us this is the essential point, because Spiritism lies less in the material phenomena than in their moral consequences. It matters little to us that they deny facts, verified daily at all points of the Earth. The day is not far off when all will be forced to yield to the evidence; the main thing is that the doctrine resulting therefrom be recognized as worthy of the Gospel upon which it rests. Certainly the deputy judge is not a Spiritist; as far as we know, the president is not one either. But we are glad to verify that their personal opinion takes nothing away from their impartiality.

The praises addressed to the witnesses are a brilliant homage rendered to the courage of opinion and to the sincerity of beliefs. We owed to these firm supports of our faith a special testimony. We hasten to give it, by means of the following message, which we sent to them:

From Mr. Allan Kardec to the Spiritists devoted in the Hillaire case.

Paris, January 21, 1865.

Dear brothers in Spiritism, I come, in my own name and in that of the Spiritist Society of Paris, to pay a just tribute of praise to all those who, in the sad circumstance that has afflicted us, sustained their faith and defended the truth with courage, dignity, and firmness. A brilliant and solemn testimony was rendered to them by the organs of justice; that of their brothers in belief could not fail them. I have asked for their list, as exact and complete as possible, in order to inscribe their names beside those who have well deserved of Spiritism. It is not to confer upon them a publicity that would wound their modesty and that, besides, in the present hour, is more harmful than useful; but our century is so preoccupied that it is forgetful. The memory of true devotions, pure of any preconceived thought of interest, must not be lost to those who come after us. The archives of Spiritism will tell them who have a legitimate right to their recognition.

I take this occasion, dear brothers, to entertain myself a moment with you concerning what preoccupies us.

At first sight, one might fear the consequences of this case for Spiritism. As you know, I never worried about it, because, in any case, it could produce only a local and momentary emotion; because our doctrine, like religion, cannot be held responsible for the faults of those who do not understand it. It is in vain that our adversaries strive to present it as noxious and immoral; it would be necessary to prove that it provokes, excuses, or justifies a single reprehensible act, or that, alongside its overt teachings, it has secret ones, beneath which the conscience may take shelter. But since in Spiritism everything takes place in the light of day and it preaches nothing but the morality of the Gospel, to the practice of which it tends to lead the men who depart from it, only a malevolent intention could impute pernicious tendencies to it. Considering that each one can judge for himself its principles, loftily proclaimed and clearly formulated in works within the reach of all, only ignorance or bad faith can distort them, as was done with the first Christians, accused of all the misfortunes and all the accidents that befell Rome, and of corrupting morals. With the Gospel in hand, Christianity could only come out victorious from all those accusations and from the terrible struggle launched against it. So it is with Spiritism, which also has the Gospel for its banner. For its justification, it suffices for it to say: See what I teach, what I recommend, and what I condemn. Now, what is it that I condemn? Every act contrary to charity, which is the law taught by Christ. Spiritism does not consist merely in the belief in the manifestation of the Spirits. The error of those who condemn it is to believe that it consists only in the production of strange phenomena, and this because, not taking the trouble to study it, they see only its surface. These phenomena are strange only to those who do not know their cause. But whoever delves into them sees in them nothing but the effects of a law, of a force of Nature that was not known and that, for this very reason, are neither marvelous nor supernatural. These phenomena prove the existence of the Spirits, who are nothing other than the souls of those who have lived, thereby proving the existence of the soul, its survival of the body, the future life with all its moral consequences. Faith in the future, thus supported by material proofs, becomes unshakable and triumphs over incredulity. That is why, when Spiritism becomes the belief of all, there will be no more unbelievers, nor materialists, nor atheists. Its mission is to combat incredulity, doubt, indifference; it does not address those who have a faith, and for whom this faith is sufficient, but those who believe in nothing, or who doubt. It tells no one to leave his religion; it respects all beliefs, when sincere. In its eyes liberty of conscience is a sacred right; if it did not respect it, it would fail in its first principle, which is charity. Neutral among all the religions, it will be the bond that will unite them under one same banner – that of universal fraternity. One day they will join hands, instead of anathematizing one another. Far from being the essential part of Spiritism, the phenomena are only an accessory, a means raised up by God to overcome the incredulity that is invading society; it lies, above all, in the application of its moral principles. It is by this that sincere Spiritists are recognized. The examples of moral reform brought about by Spiritism are already numerous enough that one may judge of the results it will produce with time. Its moralizing force must be very great indeed to triumph over the habits inveterate with age, and over the frivolity of youth.

The moralizing effect of Spiritism has, then, for its first cause the phenomenon of the manifestations, which gave faith. If these phenomena were an illusion, as the incredulous claim, one would have to bless an illusion that gives man the strength to overcome bad inclinations.

But, if even after eighteen centuries one still sees so many people who profess Christianity and practice it so little, is it to be wondered at that in less than ten years all those who believe in Spiritism have not drawn from it the desirable benefit? Among that number, there are those who saw only the material fact of the manifestations, in whom curiosity was more excited than the heart was touched. That is why not all Spiritists are perfect. There is nothing surprising in this at its beginning; and if one thing should astonish, it is the number of reforms wrought in this short interval. If Spiritism does not always triumph completely over evil impulses, a partial result is nonetheless a progress, which must be taken into account; and since each one of us has his weak side, this should make us indulgent. Time and new existences will finish what is begun; happy are those who spare themselves new trials!

Hillaire belongs to that class which Spiritism, in a certain way, does no more than graze; that is why he failed. Providence had endowed him with a remarkable faculty, with the aid of which he did much good. He could have done still much more had he not, through weakness, corrupted his mission. We can neither condemn him nor absolve him; it belongs to God alone to judge him for not having fulfilled the task to the end. May the expiation he undergoes and a serious return upon himself merit His clemency!

Brothers, let us extend to him a charitable hand and pray for him.

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[Les miracles de nos jours, ou, Les manifestations extraordinaires: obtenues par l'intermédiaire de Jean Hillaire, cultivateur à Sonnac (Charente-Inférieure) — Google Books.]