3. Our system is also one of monopoly by a few of all the means of existence—the land, without access to which no life is possible; and capital, or the results of stored-up labour, which is now in the possession of a limited number of capitalists, and therefore is also a monopoly. The remedy is freedom of access to land and capital for all.

4. Also, it may be defined as social injustice, inasmuch as the few in each generation are allowed to inherit the stored-up wealth of all preceding generations, while the many inherit nothing. The remedy is to adopt the principle of equality of opportunity for all, or of universal inheritance by the State in trust for the whole community.

"We have," he finally concluded, "ourselves created an immoral or unmoral social environment. To undo its inevitable results we must reverse our course. We must see that all our economic legislation, all our social reforms, are in the very opposite direction to those hitherto adopted, and that they tend in the direction of one or other of the four fundamental remedies I have suggested. In this way only can we hope to change our existing immoral environment into a moral one, and initiate a new era of Moral Progress." The "Revolt of Democracy"[49] was addressed directly to the Labour Party. And once again he drew a vivid picture of how, during the whole of the nineteenth century, there was a continuous advance in the application of scientific discovery to the arts, especially to the invention and application of labour-saving machinery; and how our wealth had increased to an equally marvellous extent.

He pointed out that various estimates which had been made of the increase in our wealth-producing capacity showed that, roughly speaking, the use of mechanical power had increased it more than a hundredfold during the century; yet the result had been to create a limited upper class, living in unexampled luxury, while about one-fourth of the whole population existed in a state of fluctuating penury, often sinking below the margin of poverty. Many thousands were annually drawn into this gulf of destitution, and died from direct starvation and premature exhaustion or from diseases produced by unhealthy employment.

During this long period, however, although wealth and want had alike increased side by side, public opinion had not been sufficiently educated to permit of any effectual remedy being applied. The workers themselves had failed to visualise its fundamental causes, land monopoly and the competitive system of industry giving rise to an ever-increasing private capitalism which, to a very large extent, had controlled the Legislature. All through the last century this rapid accumulation of wealth due to extensive manufacturing industries led to a still greater increase of middlemen engaged in the distribution of the products, from the wealthy merchant to the various grades of tradesmen and small shop-keepers who supplied the daily wants of the community.

To those who lived in the midst of this vast industrial system, or were a part of it, it seemed natural and inevitable that there should be rich and poor; and this belief was enforced on the one hand by the clergy, and on the other by political economists, so that religion and science agreed in upholding the competitive and capitalistic system of society as the only rational and possible one. Hence it came to be believed that the true sphere of governmental action did not include the abolition of poverty. It was even declared that poverty was due to economic causes over which governments had no power; that wages were kept down by the "iron law" of supply and demand; and that any attempt to find a remedy by Acts of Parliament only aggravated the disease. During the Premiership of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman this attitude was, for the first time, changed. On numerous occasions Sir Henry declared that he held it to be the duty of a government to deal with problems of unemployment and poverty.

In 1908 three great strikes, coming in rapid succession—those of the Railway and other Transport Unions, the Miners, and the London Dock Labourers—brought home to the middle and upper classes, and to the Government, how completely all are dependent on the "working classes." This and similar experiences showed us that when the organisation of the trade unions was more complete, and the accumulated funds of several years were devoted to this purpose, the bulk of the inhabitants of London, and of other great cities, could be made to suffer a degree of famine comparable with that of Paris when besieged by the German army in 1870.

Wallace's watchword throughout these social agitations was "Equality of Opportunity for All," and the ideal method by which he hoped to achieve this end was a system of industrial colonisation in our own country whereby all would have a fair, if not an absolutely equal, share in the benefits arising from the production of their own labour, whether physical or mental.[50]

With regard to the education of the people, especially as a stepping-stone to moral and intellectual reform, Wallace believed in the training of individual natural talent, rather than the present system of general education thrust upon every boy or girl regardless of their varying mental capacities. He also urged that the building-up of the mind should be alternated with physical training in one or more useful trades, so that there might be, not only at the outset, but also in later life, a choice of occupation in order to avoid the excess of unemployment in any one direction.

In his opinion, one of the injurious results of our competitive system, having its roots, however, in the valuable "guilds" of a past epoch, was the almost universal restriction of our workers to only one kind of labour. The result was a dreadful monotony in almost all spheres of work, the extreme unhealthiness of many, and a much larger amount of unemployment than if each man or woman were regularly trained in two or more occupations. In addition to two of what are commonly called trades, every youth should be trained for one day a week or one week in a month, according to the demand for labour, in some of the various operations of farming or gardening. Not only would this improve the general health of the workers, but it would also add much to the interest and enjoyment of their lives.

"There is one point," he wrote, "in connection with this problem which I do not think has ever been much considered or discussed. It is the undoubted benefit to all the members of a society of the greatest possible diversity of character, as a means both towards the greatest enjoyment and interest of association, and to the highest ultimate development of the race. If we are to suppose that man might have been created or developed with none of those extremes of character which now often result in what we call wickedness, vice, or crime, there would certainly have been a greater monotony in human nature, which would, perhaps, have led to less beneficial results than the variety which actually exists may lead to. We are more and more getting to see that very much, perhaps all, the vice, crime, and misery that exists in the world is the result, not of the wickedness of individuals, but of the entire absence of sympathetic training from infancy onwards. So far as I have heard, the only example of the effects of such a training on a large scale was that initiated by Robert Owen at New Lanark, which, with most unpromising materials, produced such marvellous results on the character and conduct of the children as to seem almost incredible to the numerous persons who came to see and often critically to examine them. There must have been all kinds of characters in his schools, yet none were found to be incorrigible, none beyond control, none who did not respond to the love and sympathetic instruction of their teachers. It is therefore quite possible that all the evil in the world is directly due to man, not to God, and that when we once realise this to its full extent we shall be able, not only to eliminate almost completely what we now term evil, but shall then clearly perceive that all those propensities and passions that under bad conditions of society inevitably led to it, will under good conditions add to the variety and the capacities of human nature, the enjoyment of life by all, and at the same time greatly increase the possibilities of development of the whole race. I myself feel confident that this is really the case, and that such considerations, when followed out to their ultimate issues, afford a complete solution of the great problem of the ages—the origin of evil."[51]

Closely allied with the welfare of the child is another "reform" with which Wallace's name will long be associated. That is his strong denunciation of Vaccination. For seven years he laboured to show medical and scientific men that statistics proved beyond doubt the futility of this measure to prevent disease. A few were converted, but public opinion is hard to move.

In his ideal of the future, Dr. Wallace gave a large and honoured sphere to women. He considered that it was in the highest degree presumptuous and irrational to attempt to deal by compulsory enactments with the most vital and most sacred of all human relationships, regardless of the fact that our present phase of social development is not only extremely imperfect, but, as already shown, vicious and rotten to the core. How could it be possible to determine by legislation those relations of the sexes which shall be best alike for individuals and for the race in a society in which a large proportion of our women are forced to work long hours daily for the barest subsistence, with an almost total absence of the rational pleasures of life, for the want of which thousands are driven into uncongenial marriages in order to secure some amount of personal independence or physical well-being. He believed that when men and women are, for the first time in the course of civilisation, equally free to follow their best impulses; when idleness and vicious and hurtful luxury on the one hand, and oppressive labour and the dread of starvation on the other, are alike unknown; when all receive the best and broadest education that the state of civilisation and knowledge will admit; when the standard of public opinion is set by the wisest and the best among us, and that standard is systematically inculcated in the young—then we shall find that a system of truly "Natural Selection" (a term that Wallace preferred to "Eugenics," which he utterly disliked) will come spontaneously into action which will tend steadily to eliminate the lower, the less developed, or in any way defective types of men, and will thus continuously raise the physical, moral, and intellectual standard of the race.

He further held that "although many women now remain unmarried from necessity rather than from choice, there are always considerable numbers who feel no strong impulse to marriage, and accept husbands to secure subsistence and a home of their own rather than from personal affection or sexual emotion. In a state of society in which all women were economically independent, where all were fully occupied with public duties and social or intellectual pleasures, and had nothing to gain by marriage as regards material well-being or social position, it is highly probable that the numbers of unmarried from choice would increase. It would probably come to be considered a degradation for any woman to marry a man whom she could not love and esteem, and this reason would tend at least to delay marriage till a worthy and sympathetic partner was encountered." But this choice, he considered, would be further strengthened by the fact that, with the ever-increasing approach to equality of opportunity for every child born in our country, that terrible excess of male deaths, in boyhood and early manhood especially, due to various preventable causes, would disappear, and change the present majority of women to a majority of men. This would lead to a greater rivalry for wives, and give to women the power of rejecting all the lower types of character among their suitors.

"It will be their special duty so to mould public opinion, through home training and social influence, as to render the women of the future the regenerators of the entire human race." He fully hoped and believed that they would prove equal to the high and responsible position which, in accordance with natural laws, they will be called upon to fulfil.

* * * * *

Mr. D.A. Wilson, who visited him in 1912, writes:

He surprised me by saying he was a Socialist—one does not expect a man like him to label himself in any way. It appeared to be unconscious modesty, like a school-boy's, which made him willing to be labelled; but no label could describe him, and his mental sweep was unlimited. Although in his ninetieth year, he seemed to be in his prime. There was no sign of age but physical weakness, and you had to make an effort at times to remember even that. His eye kindled as he spoke, and more than once he walked about and chuckled, like a schoolboy pleased.

An earnest expression like Carlyle's came over his countenance as he reprobated the selfish, wild-cat competition which made life harder and more horrible to-day for a well-doing poor man in England than among the Malays or Burmese before they had any modern inventions. Co-operation was the upward road for humanity. Men grew out of beasthood by it, and by it civilisation began. Forgetting it, men retrograded, subsiding swiftly, so that there were many individuals among us to-day who were in body, mind, and character below the level of our barbarian ancestors or contemporary "savages," to say nothing of civilised Burmese or Malays. What he meant by Socialism can be seen from his books. Nothing in them surprised me after our talk. His appreciation of Confucius, when I quoted some things of the Chinese sage's which confirmed what he was saying, was emphatic, and that and many other things showed that Socialism to him implied the upward evolution of humanity. It was because of the degradation of men involved that he objected to letting individuals grab the public property—earth, air and water. Monopolies, he thought, should at once revert to the public, and we had an argument which showed that he had no objection to even artificial monopolies if they were public property. He defended the old Dutch Government monopolies of spices, and declared them better than to-day's free trade, when cultivation is exploited by men who always tended to be mere money-grabbers, selfish savages let loose. In answer I mentioned the abuses of officialdom, as seen by me from the inside in Burma, and he agreed that the mental and moral superiority of many kinds of Asiatics to the Europeans who want to boss them made detailed European administration an absurdity. We should leave these peoples to develop in their own way. Having conquered Burma and India, he proceeded, the English should take warning from history and restrict themselves to keeping the peace, and protecting the countries they had taken. They should give every province as much home rule as possible and as soon as possible, and study to avoid becoming parasites.—D.A.W.

* * * * *

We may fittingly conclude this brief summary of Wallace's social views and ideals by citing his own reply to the question: "Why am I a Socialist?" "I am a Socialist because I believe that the highest law for mankind is justice. I therefore take for my motto, 'Fiat Justitia, Ruat Coelum'; and my definition of Socialism is, 'The use, by everyone, of his faculties for the common good, and the voluntary organisation of labour for the equal benefit of all.' That is absolute social justice; that is ideal Socialism. It is, therefore, the guiding star for all true social reform."

* * * * *

He corresponded with Miss Buckley not only on scientific but also on public questions and social problems:

TO MISS BUCKLEY

Rosehill, Dorking. Sunday, [? December, 1878].

Dear Miss Buckley,— ... How wonderfully the Russians have got on since you left! A very little more and the Turkish Government might be turned out of Europe—even now it might be with the greatest ease if our Government would join in giving them the last kick. Whatever power they retain in Europe will most certainly involve another war before twenty years are over.—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MISS BUCKLEY

Waldron Edge, Croydon. May 2, 1879.

Dear Miss Buckley,— ... My "Reciprocity" article seems to have produced a slight effect on the Spectator, though it did snub me at first, but it is perfectly sickening to read the stuff spoken and written, in Parliament and in all the newspapers, about the subject, all treating our present practice as something holy and immutable, whatever bad effects it may produce, and though it is not in any way "free trade" and would I believe have been given up both by Adam Smith and Cobden.—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

He was always ready, even eager, to discuss his social and land nationalisation principles with his scientific friends, with members of his own family, and indeed with anyone who would lend a willing ear.

HERBERT SPENCER TO A.R. WALLACE

38 Queen's Gardens, Bayswater, W. April 25, 1881.

Dear Mr. Wallace,—As you may suppose, I fully sympathise with the general aims of your proposed Land Nationalisation Society; but for sundry reasons I hesitate to commit myself, at the present stage of the question, to a programme so definite as that which you send me. It seems to me that before formulating the idea in a specific shape it is needful to generate a body of public opinion on the general issue, and that it must be some time before there can be produced such recognition of the general principle involved as is needful before definite plans can be set forth to any purpose....—Truly yours,

HERBERT SPENCER.

* * * * *

HERBERT SPENCER TO A.R. WALLACE

38 Queen's Gardens, Bayswater, W. July 6, 1881.

Dear Mr. Wallace,—I have already seen the work you name, "Progress and Poverty," having had a copy, or rather two copies, sent me. I gathered from what little I glanced at that I should fundamentally disagree with the writer, and have not read more.

I demur entirely to the supposition, which is implied in the book, that by any possible social arrangements whatever the distress which humanity has to suffer in the course of civilisation could have been prevented. The whole process, with all its horrors and tyrannies, and slaveries, and wars, and abominations of all kinds, has been an inevitable one accompanying the survival and spread of the strongest, and the consolidation of small tribes into large societies; and among other things the lapse of land into private ownership has been, like the lapse of individuals into slavery, at one period of the process altogether indispensable. I do not in the least believe that from the primitive system of communistic ownership to a high and finished system of State ownership, such as we may look for in the future, there could be any transition without passing through such stages as we have seen and which exist now. Argument aside, however, I should be disinclined to commit myself to any scheme of immediate action, which, as I have indicated to you, I believe at present premature. For myself I feel that I have to consider not only what I may do on special questions, but also how the action I take on special questions may affect my general influence; and I am disinclined to give more handles against me than are needful. Already, as you will see by the enclosed circular, I am doing in the way of positive action more than may be altogether prudent.—Sincerely yours,

HERBERT SPENCER.

* * * * *

A.R. WALLACE TO MR. A.C. SWINTON

Frith Hill, Godalming. December 23, 1885.

My dear Swinton,— ... I have just received an invitation to go to lecture in Sydney on Sundays for three months, with an intimation that other lectures can be arranged for in Melbourne and New Zealand. It is tempting!... If I had the prospect of clearing L1,000 by a lecturing campaign I would go, though it would require a great effort.... I did not think it possible even to contemplate going so far again, but the chance of earning a lot of money which would enable me to clear off this house and leave something for my family must be seriously considered.—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MISS VIOLET WALLACE

Parkstone, Dorset. May 10, 1891.

My dear Violet,— ... I am quite in favour of a legal eight hours' day. Overtime need not be forbidden, but every man who works overtime should have a legal claim to double wages for the extra hours. That would make it cheaper for the master to employ two sets of men working each eight hours when they had long jobs requiring them, while for the necessities of finishing contracts, etc., they could well afford to pay double for the extra hours. "It would make everything dearer!" Of course it would! How else can you produce a more equal distribution of wealth than by making the rich and idle pay more and the workers receive more? "The workers would have to pay more, too, for everything they bought!" True again, but what they paid more would not equal their extra earnings, because a large portion of the extra pay to the men will be paid by the rich, and only the remainder paid by the men themselves. The eight hours' day and double pay for overtime would not only employ thousands now out of work, but would actually raise wages per hour and per day. This is clear, because wages are kept down wholly by the surplus supply of labour in every trade. The moment the surplus is used up, or nearly so, by more men being required on account of shorter hours, competition among the men becomes less; among the employers, for men, more: hence necessarily higher wages all round. As to the bogey of foreign competition, it is a bogey only. All the political economists agree that if wages are raised in all trades, it will not in the least affect our power to export goods as profitably as now. Look and see! And, secondly, the eight hours' movement is an international one, and will affect all alike in the end.

There are some arguments for you! Poor unreasoning infant!!...

* * * * *

REV. AUGUSTUS JESSOPP TO A.R. WALLACE

Scarning Rectory, East Dereham. August 25, 1893.

My dear Mr. Wallace,—I have put off writing to thank you for your kind letter, and the book and pamphlets you were good enough to send me, because I hoped in acknowledgment to say I had read your little volumes, as I intend to. The fates have been against me, and I will delay no longer thanking you for sending them to me.

I do not believe in your theory of land nationalisation one bit! But I like to see all that such a man as you has to say on his side.

In return I send you my view of the matter, which is just as likely to convert you as your book is to convert me.

I love a man with a theory, for I learn most from such a man, and when I have thought a thing out in my own mind and forgotten the arguments while I have arrived at a firm conviction as to the conclusion, it is refreshing to be reminded of points and facts that have slipped away from me!

It was a great pleasure and privilege to make your acquaintance the other day, and I hope we may meet again some day.—Very truly yours,

AUGUSTUS JESSOPP.

* * * * *

REV. H. PRICE HUGHES TO A.R. WALLACE

8 Taviton Street, Gordon Square, W.C. September 14, 1898.

Dear Dr. Wallace,—I am always very glad when I hear from you. So far as your intensely interesting volume has compelled some very prejudiced people to read your attack on modern delusions, it is a great gain, especially to themselves. I have read your tract on "Justice, not Charity," with great pleasure and approval. The moment Mr. Benjamin Kidd invented the striking term of "equality of opportunity" I adopted it, and have often preached it in the pulpit and on the platform, just as you preach it in the tract before me. I fully agree that justice, not charity, is the fundamental principle of social reform. There is something very contemptible in the spiteful way in which many newspapers and magistrates are trying to aggravate the difficulties of conscientious men who avail themselves of the conscience clause in the new Vaccination Act. There is very much to be done yet before social justice is realised, but the astonishing manifesto of the Czar of Russia, which I have no doubt is a perfectly sincere one, is a revelation of the extent to which social truth is leavening European society. Since I last wrote to you I have been elected President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, which will give me a great deal of special work and special opportunities also, I am thankful to say, of propagating Social Christianity, which in fact, and to a great extent in form, is what you yourself are doing.—Yours very sincerely,

H. PRICE HUGHES.

* * * * *

TO ALFRED RUSSELL

Parkstone, Dorset. May 11, 1900.

Dear Sir,—I am not a vegetarian, but I believe in it as certain to be adopted in the future, and as essential to a higher social and moral state of society. My reasons are:

(1) That far less land is needed to supply vegetable than to supply animal food.

(2) That the business of a butcher is, and would be, repulsive to all refined natures.

(3) That with proper arrangements for variety and good cookery, vegetable food is better for health of body and mind.—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. JOHN (LORD) MORLEY

Parkstone, Dorset, October 20, 1900.

Dear Sir,—I look upon you as the one politician left to us, who, by his ability and integrity, his eloquence and love of truth, his high standing as a thinker and writer, and his openness of mind, is able to become the leader of the English people in their struggle for freedom against the monopolists of land, capital, and political power. I therefore take the liberty of sending you herewith a book of mine containing a number of miscellaneous essays, a few of which, I venture to think, are worthy of your serious attention.

Some time since you intimated in one of your speeches that, if the choice for this country were between Imperialism and Socialism, you were inclined to consider the latter the less evil of the two. You added, I think, your conviction that the dangers of Socialism to human character were what most influenced you against it. I trust that my impression of what you said is substantially correct. Now I myself believe, after a study of the subject extending over twenty years, that this danger is non-existent, and certainly does not in any way apply to the fundamental principles of Socialism, which is, simply, the voluntary organisation of labour for the good of all....—With great esteem, I am yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

MR. JOHN (LORD) MORLEY TO A.R. WALLACE

57 Elm Park Gardens, S.W. October 31, 1900.

My dear Sir,—For some reason, though your letter is dated the 20th, it has only reached me, along with the two volumes, to-day. I feel myself greatly indebted to you for both. In older days I often mused upon a passage of yours in the "Malay Archipelago" contrasting the condition of certain types of savage life with that of life in a modern industrial city. And I shall gladly turn again to the subject in these pages, new to me, where you come to close quarters with the problem.

But my time and my mind are at present neither of them free for the effective consideration of this mighty case. Nor can I promise myself the requisite leisure for at least several months to come. What I can do is to set your arguments a-simmering in my brain, and perhaps when the time of liberation arrives I may be in a state to make something of it. I don't suppose that I shall be a convert, but I always remember J.S. Mill's observation, after recapitulating the evils to be apprehended from Socialism, that he would face them in spite of all, if the only alternative to Socialism were our present state.—With sincere thanks and regard, believe me yours faithfully

JOHN MORLEY.

* * * * *

TO MR. C.G. STUART-MENTEITH

Parkstone, Dorset. June 6, 1901.

Dear Sir,—I have no time to discuss your letter[52] at any length. You seem to assume that we can say definitely who are the "fit" and who the "unfit."

I deny this, except in the most extreme cases.

I believe that, even now, the race is mostly recruited by the more fit—that is the upper working classes and the lower middle classes.

Both the very rich and the very poor are probably—as classes—below these. The former increase less rapidly through immorality and late marriage; the latter through excessive infant mortality. If that is the case, no legislative interference is needed, and would probably do harm.

I see nothing in your letter which is really opposed to my contention—that under rational social conditions the healthy instincts of men and women will solve the population problem far better than any tinkering interference either by law or by any other means.

And in the meantime the condition of things is not so bad as you suppose.—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. SYDNEY COCKERELL

Broadstone, Wimborne. January 15, 1906.

Dear Mr. Cockerell,—I have now finished reading Kropotkin's Life with very great interest, especially for the light it throws on the present condition of Russia. It also brings out clearly some very fine aspects of the Russian character, and the horrible despotism to which they are still subject, equivalent to that of the days of the Bastille and the system of Lettres de cachet before the great Revolution in France. It seems to me probable that under happier conditions—perhaps in the not distant future—Russia may become the most advanced instead of the most backward in civilisation—a real leader among nations, not in war and conquest but in social reform.—Yours faithfully,

A.R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. J. HYDER (Of THE LAND NATIONALISATION SOCIETY)

Broadstone, Wimborne. May 13, 1907.

Dear Mr. Hyder,—Although it is not safe to hallo before one is out of the wood, I think I may congratulate the Society upon the prospect it now has of obtaining the first-fruits of its persistent efforts, for a quarter of a century, to form an enlightened public opinion in favour of our views. If the Government adequately fulfils its promises, we shall have, in the Bill for a fair valuation of land apart from improvements, as a basis of taxation and for purchase, and that giving local authorities full powers to acquire land so valued, the first real and definite steps towards complete nationalisation....

ALFRED R. WALLACE,

* * * * *

TO MR. A. WILTSHIRE[53]

Broadstone, Wimborne. October 10, 1907.

Dear Sir,—I told Mr. Button that I do not approve of the resolution you are going to move.[54]

The workers of England have themselves returned a large majority of ordinary Liberals, including hundreds of capitalists, landowners, manufacturers, and lawyers, with only a sprinkling of Radicals and Socialists. The Government—your own elected Government—is doing more for the workers than any Liberal Government ever did before, yet you are going to pass what is practically a vote of censure on it for not being a Radical, Labour, and Socialist Government!

If this Government attempted to do what you and I think ought to be done, it would lose half its followers and be turned out, ignominiously, giving the Tories another chance. That is foolish as well as unfair.—Yours truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO LORD AVEBURY

Broadstone, Wimborne. June 23, 1908.

Dear Lord Avebury,— ... Allow me to wish every success to your Bill for preserving beautiful birds from destruction. To stop the import is the only way—short of the still more drastic method of heavily fining everyone who wears feathers in public, with imprisonment for a second offence. But we are not yet ripe for that.—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE. TO MR. E. SMEDLEY

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. December 25, 1910.

Dear Mr. Smedley,—Thanks for your long and interesting letter.... Man is, and has been, horribly cruel, and it is indeed difficult to explain why. Yet that there is an explanation, and that it does lead to good in the end, I believe. Praying is evidently useless, and should be, as it is almost always selfish—for our benefit, or our families, or our nation.—Yours very truly,

ALFRED E. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. W.G. WALLACE

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. August 20, 1911.

My dear Will,— ... The railway strike surpasses the Parliament Bill in excitement. On receipt of Friday's paper, I sat down and composed and sent off to Lloyd George a short but big letter, on large foolscap paper, urging him and Asquith, as the two strong men of the Government, to take over at once the management of the railways of the entire country, by Royal Proclamation—on the ground of mismanagement for seventy years, and having brought the country to the verge of starvation and civil war; to grant an amnesty to all strikers (except for acts of violence), also grant all the men's demands for one year, and devote that time to a deliberate and impartial inquiry and a complete scheme of reorganisation of the railways in the interest, first of the public, then of the men of all grades, lastly of the share and bond owners, who will become guaranteed public creditors.... It has been admitted and proved again and again, that the men are badly treated, that their grievances are real—their very unanimity and standing by each other proves it. Their demands are most moderate; and the cost in extra wages will be saved over and over in safety, regularity, economy of working, and public convenience. I have not had even an acknowledgment of receipt yet, but hope to in a day or two....

* * * * *

MR. H.M. HYNDMAN TO A.R. WALLACE

9 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, S.W. March 14, 1912.

Dear Sir,—Everyone who knows anything of the record of modern science in this country recognises how very much we all owe to you. It was, therefore, specially gratifying to me that you should be so kind as to write such a very encouraging letter on the occasion of my seventieth birthday. I owe you sincere thanks for what you said, though I may honestly feel that you overpraised what I have done. It has been an uphill fight, but I am lucky in being allowed to see through the smoke and dust of battle a vision of the promised land. The transformation from capitalism to socialism is going on slowly under our eyes.

Again thanking you and wishing you every good wish, believe me yours sincerely,

H.M. HYNDMAN.

* * * * *

TO MR. M.J. MURPHY

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. August 19, 1913.

Dear Sir,—I not only think but firmly believe that Lloyd George is working for the good of the people, in all ways open to him. The wonder is that he can persuade Asquith and the Cabinet to let him go as far as he does. No doubt he is obliged to do things he does not think the best absolutely, but the best that are practicable. He does not profess to be a Socialist, and he is not infallible, but he does the best he can, under the conditions in which he finds himself. Socialists who condemn him for not doing more are most unfair. They must know, if they think, that if he tried to do much more towards Socialism he would break up the Government and let in the Tories.—Yours truly,

A.R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. A. WILTSHIRE

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. September 14, 1913.

Dear Sir,—I wish you every success in your work for the amelioration of the condition of the workers, through whose exertions it may be truly said we all live and move and have our being.

Your motto is excellent. Above all things stick together.

Equally important is it to declare as a fixed principle that wages are to be and must be continuously raised, never lowered. You have too much arrears to make up—too many forces against you, to admit of their being ever lowered. Let future generations decide when that is necessary—if ever.

This is a principle worth enforcing by a general strike. Nothing less will be effective—nothing less should be accepted; and you must let the Government know it, and insist that they adopt it.

The rise must always be towards uniformity of payment for all useful and productive work.—Yours sincerely,

ALFRED E. WALLACE.



PART VI

Some Further Problems



I.—Astronomy

Of the varied subjects upon which Wallace wrote, none, perhaps, came with greater freshness to the general reader than his books written when he was nearly eighty upon the ancient science of astronomy.

Perhaps he would have said that the "directive Mind and Purpose" kept these subjects back until the closing years of his life in order that he might bring to bear upon them his wider knowledge of nature, enlightened by that spiritual perception which led him to link the heavens and the earth in one common bond of evolution, culminating in the development of moral and spiritual intelligences.

"Man's Place in the Universe" (1903) was in effect a prelude to "The World of Life" (1910). Wallace saw afterwards that one grew out of the other, as we find him frequently saying with regard to his other books and essays.

As with Spiritualism, so with Astronomy, the seed-interest practically lay dormant in his mind for many years; with this difference, however, that temperament and training caused a speedy unfolding of his mind when once a scientific subject gripped him, whereas with Spiritualism he felt the need of moving slowly and cautiously before fully accepting the phenomena as verifiable facts.

It was during the later period of his land-surveying, when he was somewhere between the ages of 18 and 20, that he became distinctly interested in the stars. Being left much alone at this period, he began to vary his pursuits by studying a book on Nautical Astronomy, and constructing a rude telescope.[55] This primitive appliance increased his interest in other astronomical instruments, and especially in the grand onward march of astronomical discovery, which he looked upon as one of the wonders of the nineteenth century.

It was the inclusion of astronomy in lectures he delivered at Davos which led him to extend his original brief notes into the four chapters which form an important part of his "Wonderful Century." He freely confessed that in order to write these chapters he was obliged to read widely, and to make much use of friends to whom astronomy was a more familiar study. And it was whilst he was engaged upon these chapters that his attention became riveted upon the unique position of our planet in relation to the solar system.

He had noticed that certain definite conditions appeared to be absolutely essential to the origin and development of the higher types of terrestrial life, and that most of these must have been certainly dependent on a very delicate balance of the forces concerned in the evolution of our planet. Our position in the solar system appeared to him to be peculiar and unique because, he thought, we may be almost sure that these conditions do not coexist on any other planet, and that we have no good reason to believe that other planets could have maintained over a period of millions of years the complex and equable conditions absolutely necessary to the existence of the higher forms of terrestrial life. Therefore it appeared to him to be proved that our earth does really stand alone in the solar system by reason of its special adaptation for the development of human life.

Granting this, however, the question might still be asked, Why should not any one of the suns in other parts of space possess planets as well adapted as our own to develop the higher forms of organic life? These questions cannot be answered definitely; but there are reasons, he considered, why the central position which we occupy may alone be suitable. It is almost certain that electricity and other mysterious radiant forces (of which we have so recently discovered the existence) have played an important part in the origin and development of organised life, and it does not appear to be extravagant to assume that the extraordinary way in which these cosmic forces have remained hidden from us may be due to that central position which we are found to occupy in the whole universe of matter discoverable by us. Indeed, it may well be that these wonderful forces of the ether are more irregular—and perhaps more violent—in their effect upon matter in what may be termed the outer chambers of that universe, and that they are only so nicely balanced, so uniform in their action, and so concealed from us, as to be fit to aid in the development of organic life in that central portion of the stellar system which our globe occupies. Should these views as to the unique central position of our earth be supported by the results of further research, it will certainly rank as the most extraordinary and perhaps the most important of the many discoveries of the past century.

While still working on this section of his "Wonderful Century," he was asked to write a scientific article, upon any subject of his own choice, for the New York Independent. And as the idea of the unique position of the earth to be the abode of human life was fresh in his mind, he thought it would prove interesting to the general public. However, before his article appeared simultaneously in the American papers and in the Fortnightly Review, a friend who read it was so impressed with its originality and treatment that he persuaded Wallace to enlarge it into book form; and it appeared in the autumn of 1903 as "Man's Place in the Universe."

This fascinating treatise upon the position occupied by the earth, and man, in the universe, had the same effect as some of his former writings, of drawing forth unstinted commendation from many religious and secular papers; whilst the severely scientific and materialistic reviewers doubted how far his imagination had superseded unbiased reason.

On one point, however, most outsiders were in agreement—that he had invested an ancient subject with freshest interest through approaching it by an entirely new way. The plan followed was that of bringing together all the positive conclusions of the astronomer, the geologist, the physicist, and the biologist, and by weighing these carefully in the balance he arrived at what appeared to him to be the only reasonable conclusion. He therefore set out to solve the problem whether or not the logical inferences to be drawn from the various results of modern science lent support to the view that our earth is the only inhabited planet, not only in our own solar system, but in the whole stellar universe. In the course of his close and careful exposition he takes the reader through the whole trend of modern scientific research, concluding with a summing-up of his deductions in the following six propositions, in the first three of which he sets out the conclusions reached by modern astronomers:

(1) That the stellar universe forms one connected whole; and, though of enormous extent, is yet finite, and its extent determinable.

(2) That the solar system is situated in the plane of the Milky Way, and not far removed from the centre of that plane. The earth is, therefore, nearly in the centre of the stellar universe.

(3) That this universe consists throughout of the same kinds of matter, and is subjected to the same physical and chemical laws.

The conclusions which I claim to have shown to have enormous probabilities in their favour are:

(4) That no other planet in the solar system than our earth is inhabited or habitable.

(5) That the probabilities are almost as great against any other sun possessing inhabited planets.

(6) That the nearly central position of our sun is probably a permanent one, and has been specially favourable, perhaps absolutely essential, to life-development on the earth.

Wallace never maintained that this earth alone in the whole universe is the abode of life. What he maintained was, first, that our solar system appears to be in or near the centre of the visible universe, and, secondly, that all the available evidence supports the idea of the extreme unlikelihood of there being on any star or planet revealed by the telescope any intelligent life either identical with or analogous to man. To suppose that this one particular type of universe extends over all space was, he considered, to have a low idea of the Creator and His power. Such a scheme would mean monotony instead of infinite variety, the keynote of things as they are known to us. There might be a million universes, but all different.

To his mind there was no difficulty in believing in the existence of consciousness apart from material organism; though he could not readily conceive of pure mind, or pure spirit, apart from some kind of substantial envelope or substratum. Many of the views suggested in "Man's Place in the Universe" as to man's spiritual progress hereafter, the reason or ultimate purpose for which he was brought into existence, were enlarged upon, later, in "The World of Life." As early, however, as 1903, Wallace did not hesitate to express his own firm conviction that Science and Spiritualism were in many ways closely akin.

He believed that the near future would show the strong tendency of scientists to become more religious or spiritual. The process, he thought, would be slow, as the general attitude has never been more materialistic than now. A few have been bold enough to assert their belief in some outside power, but the leading scientific men are, as a rule, dead against them. "They seem," he once remarked, "to think, and to like to think, that the whole phenomena of life will one day be reduced to terms of matter and motion, and that every vegetable, animal, and human product will be explained, and may some day be artificially produced, by chemical action. But even if this were so, behind it all there would still remain an unexplained mystery."

Closely associated with "Man's Place in the Universe" is a small volume, "Is Mars Habitable?" This was first commenced as a review of Professor Percival Lowell's book, "Mars and its Canals," with the object of showing that the large amount of new and interesting facts contained in this work did not invalidate the conclusion that he (Wallace) had reached in 1903—that Mars is not habitable. The conclusions to which his argument led him were these:

(1) All physicists are agreed that ... Mars would have a mean temperature of about 35 deg. F. owing to its distance from the sun.

(2) But the very low temperatures on the earth under the equator at a height where the barometer stands at about three times as high as on Mars, proves that from scantiness of atmosphere alone Mars cannot possibly have a temperature as high as the freezing-point of water. The combination of these two results must bring down the temperature of Mars to a degree wholly incompatible with the existence of animal life.

(3) The quite independent proof that water-vapour cannot exist on Mars, and that, therefore, the first essential of organic life—water—is non-existent.

The conclusion from these three independent proofs ... is therefore irresistible—that animal life, especially in its highest forms, cannot exist. Mars, therefore, is not only uninhabited by intelligent beings ... but is absolutely uninhabitable.

* * * * *

In contrast to his purely scientific interest in astronomy, Wallace was moved by the romance of the "stars," akin to his enthusiastic love of beautiful butterflies. Had it not been for this touch of romance and idealism in his writings on astronomy, they would have lost much of their charm for the general reader. His breadth of vision transforms him from a mere student of astronomy into a seer who became ever more deeply conscious of the mystery both "before and behind."

"Rain, sun, and rain! and the free blossom blows; Sun, rain, and sun! and where is he who knows? From the great deep to the great deep he goes."

And whilst facing with brave and steady mind the great mysteries of earth and sky, of life and what lies beyond it, he himself loved to quote:

"Fear not thou the hidden purpose Of that Power which alone is great, Nor the myriad world His shadow, Nor the silent Opener of the Gate."

Among the scientific friends to whom he appealed for help when writing his astronomical books was Prof. (now Sir) W.F. Barrett.

* * * * *

TO PROF. BARRETT

Parkstone, Dorset. February 12, 1901.

My dear Barrett,—I shall be much obliged if you will give me your opinion on a problem in physics that I cannot find answered in any book. It relates to the old Nebular Hypothesis, and is this:

It is assumed that the matter of the solar system was once wholly gaseous, and extended as a roughly globular or lenticular mass beyond the orbit of Neptune. Sir Robert Ball stated in a lecture here that even when the solar nebula had shrunk to the size of the earth's orbit it must have been (I think he said) hundreds of times rarer than the residual gas in one of Crookes's high vacuum tubes. Yet, by hypothesis, it was hot enough, even in its outer portions, to retain all the solid elements in the gaseous state.

Now, admitting this to be possible at any given epoch, my difficulty is this: how long could the outer parts of this nebula exist, exposed to the zero temperature of surrounding space, without losing the gaseous state and aggregating into minute solid particles—into meteoric dust, in fact?

Could it exist an hour? a day? a year? a century? Yet the process of condensation from the Neptunian era to that of Saturn or Jupiter must surely have occupied millions of centuries. What kept the almost infinitely rare metallic gases in the gaseous state all this time? Is such a condition of things physically possible?

I cannot myself imagine any such condition of things as the supposed primitive solar nebula as possibly coming into existence under any conceivably antecedent conditions, but, granted that it did come into existence, it seems to me that the gaseous state must almost instantly begin changing into the solid state. Hence I adopt the meteoric theory instead of the nebular; since all the evidence is in favour of solid matter being abundant all through known space, while there is no evidence of metallic gases existing in space, except as the result of collisions of huge masses of matter. Is my difficulty a mare's nest?—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO Mrs. Fisher

Broadstone, Wimborne. February 28, 1905.

Dear Mrs. Fisher,—Thanks for your letter. Am sorry I have not converted you, but perhaps it will come yet! I will only make one remark as to your conclusion.

I have not attempted to prove a negative! That is not necessary. What I claim to have done is, to have shown that all the evidence we have, be it much or little, is decidedly against not only other solar planets having inhabitants, but also, as far as probabilities are concerned, equally against it in any supposed stellar planets—for not one has been proved to exist. There is absolutely no evidence which shows even a probability of there being other inhabited worlds. It is all pure speculation, depending upon our ideas as to what the universe is for, as to what we think (some of us!) ought to be! That is not evidence, even of the flimsiest. All I maintain is that mine is evidence, founded on physical probabilities, and that, as against no evidence at all—no proved physical probability—mine holds the field!—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. E. SMEDLEY

Broadstone, Dorset. July 24, 1907.

Dear Mr. Smedley,— ... I write chiefly to tell you that I have read Mr. Lowell's last book, "Mars and its Canals," and am now writing an article, or perhaps a small book, about it. I am sure his theories are all wrong, and I am showing why, so that anyone can see his fallacies. His observations, drawings, photographs, etc., are all quite right, and I believe true to nature, but his interpretation of what he sees is wrong—often even to absurdity. He began by thinking the straight lines are works of art, and as he finds more and more of these straight lines, he thinks that proves more completely that they are works of art, and then he twists all other evidence to suit that. The book is not very well written, but no doubt the newspaper men think that as he is such a great astronomer he must know what it all means!

I am more than ever convinced that Mars is totally uninhabitable....—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO PROF. BARRETT

Broadstone, Wimborne. August 10, 1907.

My dear Barrett,—Thanks for your letter, and your friend Prof. Stroud's. I have come to the sad conclusion that it is hopeless to get any mathematician to trouble himself to track out Lowell's obscurities and fallacies.... So, being driven on to my own resources, I have worked out a mode of estimating (within limits) the temperature of Mars, without any mathematical formulae—and only a little arithmetic. I want to know if there is any fallacy in it, and therefore take the liberty of sending it to you, as you are taking your holiday, just to read it over and tell me if you see any flaw in it. I also send my short summary of Lowell's Philosophical Magazine paper, so that you can see if my criticism at the end is fair, and whether his words really mean what to me they seem to....—Yours very sincerely,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. F. BIRCH

Sept. 12, 1907.

Dear Fred,— ... For the last two or three months I have had a hard struggle with Mars—not the god of war, but the planet—writing a small book, chiefly criticising Lowell's last book, called "Mars and its Canals," published less than a year back by Macmillan, who will also publish my reply. I think it is crushing, but it has cost me a deal of trouble, as Lowell has also printed a long and complex mathematical article trying to prove that though Mars receives less than half the sun-heat we do, yet it is very nearly as warm and quite habitable! But his figures and arguments are alike so shaky and involved that I cannot get any of my mathematical friends to tackle it or point out his errors. However, I think I have done it myself by the rules of common sense....—Your sincere friend,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO MR. H. JAMYN BROOKE

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. December 2, 1910.

Dear Sir,—Your "monistic" system is to me a system of mere contradictory words. You begin with three things—then you say they are correlated with one substance—coextensive with the universe. This you cannot possibly know, and it is about as intelligible and as likely to be true as the Athanasian Creed!—Yours truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO PROP. KNIGHT

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 1, 1913.

Dear Mr. Knight,—I have written hardly anything on the direct proofs of "immortality" except in my book on "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism," and also in "My Life," Vol. II. But my two works, "Man's Place in the Universe" (now published at 1s.), and my later volume, "The World of Life," form together a very elaborate, and I think conclusive, scientific argument in favour of the view that the whole material universe exists and is designed for the production of immortal spirits, in the greatest possible diversity of nature, and character, corresponding with ... the almost infinite diversity of that universe, in all its parts and in every detail....—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

P.S.—I am fairly well, but almost past work.—A.R.W.

* * * * *

TO SIR OLIVER LODGE

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 9, 1913.

Dear Sir Oliver Lodge,—Owing to ill-health and other causes I have only now been able to finish the perusal of your intensely interesting and instructive Address to the British Association. I cannot, however, refrain from writing to you to express my admiration of it, and especially of the first half of it, in which you discuss the almost infinite variety and complexity of the physical problems involved in the great principle of "continuity" in so clear a manner that outsiders like myself are able to some extent to apprehend them. I am especially pleased to find that you uphold the actual existence and continuity of the ether as scientifically established, and reject the doubts of some mathematicians as to the reality and perfect continuity of space and time as unthinkable.

The latter part of the Address is even more important, and is especially notable for your clear and positive statements as to the evidence in all life-process of a "guiding" Mind. I can hardly suppose that you can have found time to read my rather discursive and laboured volume on "The World of Life," written mainly for the purpose of enforcing not only the proofs of a "guiding" but also of a "foreseeing" and "designing" Mind by evidence which will be thought by most men of science to be unduly strained. It is, therefore, the more interesting to me to find that you have yourself (on pp. 33-34 of your Address) used the very same form of analogical illustration as I have done (at p. 296 of "The World of Life") under the heading of "A Physiological Allegory," as being a very close representation of what really occurs in nature.

To conclude: your last paragraph rises to a height of grandeur and eloquence to which I cannot attain, but which excites my highest admiration.

Should you have a separate copy to spare of your Romanes Lecture at Oxford, I should be glad to have it to refer to.—Believe me yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

The last of Wallace's letters on astronomical subjects was written to Sir Oliver Lodge about a week before his death:

TO SIR OLIVER LODGES

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 27, 1913.

Dear Sir Oliver Lodge,—Many thanks for your Romanes Lecture, which, owing to my ignorance of modern electrical theory and experiments, is more difficult for me than was your British Association Address.

I have been very much interested the last month by reading a book sent me from America by Mr. W.L. Webb, being "An Account of the Unparalleled Discoveries of Mr. T.J.J. See."

Several of Mr. See's own lectures are given, with references to his "Researches on the Evolution of the Stellar Systems," in two large volumes.

His theory of "capture" of suns, planets, and satellites seems to me very beautifully worked out under the influence of gravitation and a resisting medium of cosmical dust—which explains the origin and motions of the moon as well as that of all the planets and satellites far better than Sir G. Darwin's expulsion theory.

I note however that he is quite ignorant that Proctor, forty years ago, gave full reasons for this "capture" theory in his "Expanse of Heaven," and also that the same writer showed that the Milky Way could not have the enormous lateral extension he gives to it, but that it cannot really be much flattened. He does not even mention the proofs given of this both by Proctor and, I think, by Herbert Spencer, while in Mr. Webb's volume (opposite p. 212) is a diagram showing the "Coal Sack" as a "vacant lane" running quite through and across the successive spiral extensions laterally of the galaxy, without any reference or a word of explanation that such features, of which there are many, really demonstrate the untenability of such extension.

An even more original and extremely interesting part of Mr. See's work is his very satisfactory solution of the hitherto unsolved geological problem of the origin of all the great mountain ranges of the world, in Chapters X., XI., and XII. of Mr. Webb's volume. It seems quite complete except for the beginnings, but I suppose it is a result of the formation of the earth by accretion and not by expulsion, by heating and not by cooling....—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.



II.—Spiritualism

"The completely materialistic mind of my youth and early manhood has been slowly moulded into the socialistic, spiritualistic, and theistic mind I now exhibit—a mind which is, as my scientific friends think, so weak and credulous in its declining years, as to believe that fruit and flowers, domestic animals, glorious birds and insects, wool, cotton, sugar and rubber, metals and gems, were all foreseen and foreordained for the education and enjoyment of man. The whole cumulative argument of my 'World of Life' is that in its every detail it calls for the agency of a mind ... enormously above and beyond any human mind ... Whether this Unknown Reality is a single Being and acts everywhere in the universe as direct creator, organiser, and director of every minutest motion ... or through 'infinite grades of beings,' as I suggest, comes to much the same thing. Mine seems a more clear and intelligible supposition ... and it is the teaching of the Bible, of Swedenborg, and of Milton."—Letter from A.R. Wallace to JAMES MARCHANT, written in 1913.

The letters on Spiritualism which Wallace wrote cast further light on the personal attitude of mind which he maintained towards that subject. He was an unbiased scientific investigator, commencing on the "lower level" of spirit phenomena, such as raps and similar physical manifestations of "force by unseen intelligences," and passing on to a clearer understanding of the phenomena of mesmerism and telepathy; to the materialisation of, and conversation with, the spirits of those who had been known in the body, until the conviction of life after death, as the inevitable crowning conclusion to the long process of evolution, was reached in the remarkable chapter with which he concludes "The World of Life"—an impressive prose poem.

Like that of many other children, Wallace's early childhood was spent in an orthodox religious atmosphere, which, whilst awakening within him vague emotions of religious fervour, derived chiefly from the more picturesque and impassioned of the hymns which he occasionally heard sung at a Nonconformist chapel, left no enduring impression. Moreover, at the age of 14 he was brought suddenly into close contact with Socialism as expounded by Robert Owen, which dispelled whatever glimmerings of the Christian faith there may have been latent in his mind, leaving him for many years a confirmed materialist.

This fact, together with his early-aroused sense of the social injustice and privations imposed upon the poorer classes both in town and country, which he carefully observed during his experience as a land-surveyor, might easily have had an undesirable effect upon his general character had not his intense love and reverence for nature provided a stimulus to his moral and spiritual development. But the "directive Mind and Purpose" was preparing him silently and unconsciously until his "fabric of thought" was ready to receive spiritual impressions. For, according to his own theory, as "the laws of nature bring about continuous development, on the whole progressive, one of the subsidiary results of this mode of development is that no organ, no sensation, no faculty arises before it is needed, or in greater degree than it is needed."[56] From this point of view we may make a brief outline of the manner in which this particular "faculty" arose and was developed in him.

When at Leicester, in 1844, his curiosity was greatly excited by some lectures on mesmerism given by Mr. Spencer Hall, and he soon discovered that he himself had considerable power in this direction, which he exercised on some of his pupils.

Later, when his brother Herbert joined him in South America, he found that he also possessed this gift, and on several occasions they mesmerised some of the natives for mere amusement. But the subject was put aside, and Wallace paid no further attention to such phenomena until after his return to England in 1862.

It was not until the summer of 1865 that he witnessed any phenomena of a spiritualistic nature; of these a full account is given in "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (p. 132). "I came," he says, "to the inquiry utterly unbiased by hopes or fears, because I knew that my belief could not affect the reality, and with an ingrained prejudice even against such a word as 'spirit,' which I have hardly yet overcome."

From that time until 1895, when the second edition of that book appeared, he did much, together with other scientists, to establish these facts, as he believed them to be, on a rational and scientific foundation. It will also be noticed, both before and after this period, that in addition to the notable book which he published dealing exclusively with these matters, the gradual trend of his convictions, advancing steadily towards the end which he ultimately reached, had become so thoroughly woven into his "fabric of thought" that it appears under many phases in his writings, and occupies a considerable part of his correspondence, of which we have only room for some specimens.

The first definite statement of his belief in "this something" other than material in the evolution of Man appeared in his essay on "The Development of Human Faces under the Law of Natural Selection" (1864). In this he suggested that, Man having reached a state of physical perfection through the progressive law of Natural Selection, thenceforth Mind became the dominating factor, endowing Man with an ever-increasing power of intelligence which, whilst the physical had remained stationary, had continued to develop according to his needs. This "in-breathing" of a divine Spirit, or the controlling force of a supreme directive Mind and Purpose, which was one of the points of divergence between his theory and that held by Darwin, is too well known to need repetition.

This disagreement has a twofold interest from the fact that Darwin, in his youth, studied theology with the full intention of taking holy orders, and for some years retained his faith in the more or less orthodox beliefs arising out of the Bible. But as time went by, an ever-extending knowledge of the mystery of the natural laws governing the development of man and nature led him to make the characteristically frank avowal that he "found it more and more difficult ... to invent evidence which would suffice to convince"; adding, "This disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress."[57] With Wallace, however, his early disbelief ended in a deep conviction that "as nothing in nature actually 'dies,' but renews its life in another and higher form, so Man, the highest product of natural laws here, must by the power of mind and intellect continue to develop hereafter."

The varied reasons leading up to this final conviction, as related by himself in "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" and "My Life," are, however, too numerous and detailed to be retold in a brief summary in this place.

The correspondence that follows deals entirely with investigations on this side of the Atlantic, but a good deal of evidence which to him was conclusive was obtained during his stay in America, where Spiritualism has been more widely recognised, and for a much longer period than in England.

Some of the letters addressed to Miss Buckley (afterwards Mrs. Fisher) reveal the extreme caution which he both practised himself and advocated in others when following up any experimental phase of spiritual phenomena. The same correspondence also gives a fairly clear outline of his faith in the ascending scale from the physical evidence of spirit-existence to the communication of some actual knowledge of life as it exists beyond the veil.

In spiritual matters, as in natural science, though at times his head may have appeared to be "in the clouds," his feet were planted firmly on the earth. This is seen, to note another curious instance, in his correspondence with Sir Wm. Barrett, where he maintains a delicate balance between natural science and "spirit impression" when discussing the much controverted reality of "dowsing" for water.

It was this breadth of vision, unhampered by mere intellectualism, but always kept within reasonable bounds by scientific deduction and analysis, which constituted Alfred Russel Wallace a seer of the first rank.

Wallace lived to see the theory of evolution applied to the life-history of the earth and the starry firmament, to the development of nations and races, to the progress of mind, morals and religion, even to the origin of consciousness and life—a conception which has completely revolutionised man's attitude towards himself and the world and God. Evolution became intelligible in the light of that idea which came to him in his hut at Ternate and changed the face of the universe. Surely it was enough for any one man to be one of the two chief originators of such a far-reaching thought and to witness its impact upon the ancient story of special creations which it finally laid in the dust. But Wallace was privileged beyond all the men of his generation. He lived to see many of the results of the theory of evolution tested by time and to foresee that there were definite limits to its range, that, indeed, there were two lines of development—one affecting the visible world of form and colour and the other the invisible world of life and spirit—two worlds springing from two opposite poles of being and developing pari passu, or, rather, the spiritual dominating the material, life originating and controlling organisation. It was, in short, his peculiar task to reveal something of the Why as well as the How of the evolutionary process, and in doing so verily to bring immortality to light.

The immediate exciting cause of this discovery of the inadequacy of evolution from the material side alone to account for the world of life may seem to many to have been trivial and unworthy of the serious attention of a great scientist. How, it might be asked, could the crude and doubtful phenomena of Spiritualism afford reasonably adequate grounds for challenging its supremacy and for setting a limit to its range? But spiritualistic phenomena were only the accidental modes in which the other side of evolution struck in upon his vision. They set him upon the other track and opened up to him the vaster kingdom of life which is without beginning, limit or end; in which perchance the sequence of life from the simple to the complex, from living germ to living God, may also be the law of growth. It is in the light of this ultimate end that we must judge the stumbling steps guided by raps and visions which led him to the ladder set up to the stars by which connection was established with the inner reality of being. That was the distinctive contribution which he made to human beliefs over and above his advocacy of pure Darwinism.

* * * * *

Reading almost everything he could obtain upon occult phenomena, Wallace found that there was such a mass of testimony by men of the highest character and ability in every department of human learning that he thought it would be useful to bring this together in a connected sketch of the whole subject. This he did, and sent it to a secularist magazine, in which it appeared in 1866, under the title of "The Scientific Aspect of the Supernatural." He sent a copy to Huxley.

* * * * *

TO T.H. HUXLEY

9 St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, N.W. November 22, 1866.

Dear Huxley,—I have been writing a little on a new branch of Anthropology, and as I have taken your name in vain on the title-page I send you a copy. I fear you will be much shocked, but I can't help it; and before finally deciding that we are all mad I hope you will come and see some very curious phenomena which we can show you, among friends only. We meet every Friday evening, and hope you will come sometimes, as we wish for the fullest investigation, and shall be only too grateful to you or anyone else who will show us how and where we are deceived.

* * * * *

T.H. HUXLEY TO A.R. WALLACE

[? November, 1886.]

Dear Wallace,—I am neither shocked nor disposed to issue a Commission of Lunacy against you. It may be all true, for anything I know to the contrary, but really I cannot get up any interest in the subject. I never cared for gossip in my life, and disembodied gossip, such as these worthy ghosts supply their friends with, is not more interesting to me than any other. As for investigating the matter, I have half-a-dozen investigations of infinitely greater interest to me to which any spare time I may have will be devoted. I give it up for the same reason I abstain from chess—it's too amusing to be fair work, and too hard work to be amusing.—Yours faithfully,

T.H. HUXLEY.

* * * * *

TO T.H. HUXLEY

9 St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, N.W. December 1, 1866.

Dear Huxley,—Thanks for your note. Of course, I have no wish to press on you an inquiry for which you have neither time nor inclination. As for the "gossip" you speak of, I care for it as little as you can do, but what I do feel an intense interest in is the exhibition of force where force has been declared impossible, and of intelligence from a source the very mention of which has been deemed an absurdity.

Faraday has declared (apropos of this subject) that he who can prove the existence or exertion of force, if but the lifting of a single ounce, by a power not yet recognised by science, will deserve and assuredly receive applause and gratitude. (I quote from memory the sense of his expressions in his Lecture on Education.)

I believe I can now show such a force, and I trust some of the physicists may be found to admit its importance and examine into it.—Believe me yours very sincerely,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

Holly House, Barking, E. December 25, 1870.

Dear Miss Buckley,— ... You did not hear Mrs. Hardinge[58] on very favourable topics, and I hope you will hear her often again, and especially hear one of her regular discourses. I think, however, from what you heard, that, setting aside all idea of her being more than a mere spiritualist lecturer setting forth the ideas and opinions of the sect, you will admit that spiritualists, as represented by her, are neither prejudiced nor unreasonable, and that they are truly imbued with the scientific spirit of subordinating all theory to fact. You will also admit, I think, that the moral teachings of Spiritualism, as far as she touched upon them, are elevated and beautiful and calculated to do good; and if so, that is the use of Spiritualism—the getting such doctrines of future progress founded on actual phenomena which we can observe and examine now, not on phenomena which are said to have occurred thousands of years ago and of which we have confessedly but imperfect records.

I think, too, that the becoming acquainted with two such phases of Spiritualism as are exhibited by Mrs. Hardinge and Miss Houghton must show you that the whole thing is not to be judged by the common phenomena of public stances alone, and I can assure you that there are dozens of other phases of the subject as remarkable as these two....—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

Holly House. Barking, E. June 1, 1871.

Dear Miss Buckley,— ... I have lately had a stance with the celebrated Mr. Home, and saw that most wonderful phenomenon an accordion playing beautiful music by itself, the bottom only being held in Mr. Home's hand. I was invited to watch it as closely as I pleased under the table in a well-lighted room. I am sure nothing touched it but Mr. Home's one hand, yet at one time I saw a shadowy yet defined hand on the keys. This is too vast a phenomenon for any sceptic to assimilate, and I can well understand the impossibility of their accepting the evidence of their own senses. Mr. Crookes, F.R.S., the chemist, was present and suspended the table with a spring balance, when it was at request made heavy or light, the indicator moving accordingly, and to prevent any mistake it was made light when the hands of all present were resting on the table and heavy when our hands were all underneath it. The difference, if I remember, was about 40 lb. I was also asked to place a candle on the floor and look under the table while it was lifted completely off the floor, Mr. Home's feet being 2 ft. distant from any part of it. This was in a lady's house in the West End. Mr. Home courts examination if people come to him in a fair and candid spirit of inquiry....—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

The Dell, Grays, Essex. January 11, 1874.

My dear Miss Buckley,—I am delighted to hear of your success so far, and hope you are progressing satisfactorily. Pray keep accurate notes of all that takes place.... Allow me ... to warn you not to take it for granted till you get proof upon proof that it is really your sister that is communicating with you. I hope and think it is, but still, the conditions that render communication possible are so subtle and complex that she may not be able; and some other being, reading your mind, may be acting through you and making you think it is your sister, to induce you to go on. Be therefore on the look out for characteristic traits of your sister's mind and manner which are different from your own. These will be tests, especially if they come when and how you are not expecting them. Even if it is your sister, she may be obliged to use the intermediation of some other being, and in that case her peculiar idiosyncrasy may be at first disguised, but it will soon make itself distinctly visible. Of course you will preserve every scrap you write, and date them, and they will, I have no doubt, explain each other as you go on.

If you can get to see the last number of the Quarterly Journal of Science, you will find a most important article by Mr. Crookes, giving an outline of the results of his investigations, which he is going to give in full in a volume. His facts are most marvellous and convincing, and appear to me to answer every one of the objections that have usually been made to the evidence adduced....—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

The Dell, Grays, Essex. February 28, 1874.

Dear Miss Buckley,—I was much pleased with your long and interesting letter of the 19th and am glad you are getting on at last. It will be splendid if you really become a good medium for some first-rate unmistakable manifestations that even Huxley will acknowledge are worth seeing, and Carpenter confess are not to be explained by unconscious cerebration....—Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

The Dell, Grays, Essex. March 9, 1874.

Dear Miss Buckley,—I compassionate your mediumistic troubles, but I have no doubt it will all come right in the end. The fact that your sister will not talk as you want her to talk—will not say what you expect her to say, is a grand proof that it is not your unconscious cerebration that does her talking for her. Is not that clear? Whether it is she herself or someone else who is talking to you, is not so clear, but that it is not you, I think, is clear enough.

I can quite understand, too, that your sister in her new life may be, above all things, interested in getting the telegraph in good order, to communicate, and will not think of much else till that is done. While the first Atlantic cable was being laid the messages would be chiefly reports of progress, directions and instructions, with now and then trivialities about the weather, the time, or small items of news. Only when it was in real working order was a President's Message, a Queen's Speech, sent through it.

Automatic writing and trance speaking never yet convinced anybody. They are only useful for those who are already convinced. But you would begin this way. You would not go to mediums and seances and see what you could get that way. So now you must persevere; but do not give up your own judgment in anything. Insist upon having things explained to you, or say you won't go on. You will then find they will be explained, only it may take a little more time.... —Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

The Dell, Grays, Essex. April 24, 1874.

Dear Miss Buckley,— ... On coming home this evening I received the news of poor little Bertie's death—this morning at eight o'clock. I left him only yesterday forenoon, and had then considerable hopes, for we had just commenced a new treatment which a fortnight earlier I am pretty sure might have saved him. The thought suddenly struck me to go to Dr. Williams, of Hayward's Heath ... but it was too late. As he had been in this same state of exhaustion for nearly a month, it is evident that very slight influences might have been injurious or beneficial. Our orthodox medical men are profoundly ignorant of the subtle influences of the human body in health and disease, and can thus do nothing in many cases which Nature would cure if assisted by proper conditions. We who know what strange and subtle influences are around us can believe this....—Yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

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Mr. Wallace felt the death of this child so deeply that during the remainder of his life he never mentioned him except when obliged, and then with tears in his eyes.—A.B. FISHER.

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TO MISS BUCKLEY

The Dell, Grays, Essex. Thursday evening, [? December, 1875].

Dear Miss Buckley,—Our stance came off last evening, and was a tolerable success. The medium is a very pretty little lively girl, the place where she sits a bare empty cupboard formed by a frame and doors to close up a recess by the side of a fireplace in a small basement breakfast-room. We examined it, and it is absolutely impossible to conceal a scrap of paper in it. Miss Cooke is locked in this cupboard, above the door of which is a square opening about 15 inches each way, the only thing she takes with her being a long piece of tape and a chair to sit on. After a few minutes Katie's whispering voice was heard, and a little while after we were asked to open the door and seal up the medium. We found her hands tied together with the tape passed three times round each wrist and tightly knotted, the hands tied close together, the tape then passing behind and well knotted to the chair-back. We sealed all the knots with a private seal of my friend's, and again locked the door. A portable gas lamp was on a table the whole evening, shaded by a screen so as to cast a shadow on the square opening above the door of the cupboard till permission was given to illuminate it. Every object and person in the room were always distinctly visible. A face[59] then appeared at the opening, but dark and indistinct.

After a time another face quite distinct with a white turban-like headdress—this was a handsome face with a considerable general likeness to that of the medium, but paler, larger, fuller, and older—decidedly a different face, although like. The light was thrown full on this face, and on request it advanced so that the chin projected a little beyond the aperture. We were then ordered to release the medium. I opened the door, and found her bent forward with her head in her lap, and apparently in a deep sleep or trance—from which a touch and a few words awoke her. We then examined the tape and knots—all was as we left it and every seal perfect.

The same face appeared later in the evening, and also one decidedly different with coarser features.

After this, for the sake I believe of two sceptics present, the medium was twice tied up in a way that no human being could possibly tie herself. Her wrists were tied together so tightly and painfully that it was impossible to untie them in any moderate time, and she was also secured to the chair; on the other occasion the two arms were tied close above the elbows so tightly that the arms were swelling considerably from impeded circulation, the elbows being drawn together as close as possible behind the back, there repeatedly knotted, and again tightly knotted to the back of the chair. Miss C. was evidently in considerable pain, and she had to be lifted out bodily in her chair before we could safely cut her loose, so tightly was she bound. This evidently had a great effect on the sceptics, as I have no doubt it was intended to have, and it demonstrated pretty clearly that some strange being was inside the cupboard playing these tricks, although quite invisible and intangible to us except when she made certain portions of herself visible.

When Miss C. was complaining of being hurt by the tying we could hear the whispering voice soothing her in the kindest manner, and also heard kisses, and Miss C. afterwards declared that she could feel hands and face about her like those of a real person.

During all the face exhibitions singing had to go on to a rather painful extent.[60]

A Dr. Purdon was present, an Army surgeon, who has been much in India, and seems a very intelligent man. He seemed very intimate with the family, and told us he had studied them all, and had had Miss Cooke a month at a time in his own house, studying these phenomena. He was absolutely satisfied of their genuineness, and indeed no opportunity for imposture seems to exist.

The children of the house tell wonderful tales of how they are lifted up and carried about by the spirits. They seem to enjoy it very much, and to look upon it all as just as real and natural as any other matters of their daily life.

Can such things be in this nineteenth century, and the wise ones pass away in utter ignorance of their existence?—Yours very sincerely,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

At the Glasgow Meeting of the British Association in 1876, Prof. (now Sir) W.F. Barrett read a paper "On some Phenomena associated with Abnormal Conditions of Mind." Wallace was Chairman of the Section in which the paper was read, and a vigorous controversy arose at the close between Dr. Carpenter, who came in towards the end of the paper, and the Chairman. The paper set forth certain remarkable evidence which Prof. Barrett had obtained from a subject in the mesmeric trance, giving what appeared to be indubitable proof of some supernormal mode of transmission of ideas from his mind to that of the subject. The facts were so novel and startling that Prof. Barrett asked for a committee of experts to examine the whole question and see whether such a thing as "thought transference," independently of the recognised channels of sense, did really exist. This was the first time evidence of this kind had been brought before a scientific society, and a protracted discussion followed. The paper also dealt with certain so-called spiritualistic phenomena, which at the time Prof. Barrett was disposed to attribute to hallucination and "thought-transference." The introduction of this topic led the discussion away from the substance of the paper, and Prof. Barrett's plea for a committee of investigation on thought-transference fell through. So strong was the feeling against the paper in official scientific circles at the time, that even an abstract was refused publication in the Report of the British Association, and it was not until the Society for Psychical Research was founded that the paper was published, in the first volume of its Proceedings. It was the need of a scientific society to collect, sift and discuss and publish the evidence on behalf of such supernormal phenomena as Prof. Barrett described at the British Association that induced him to call a conference in London at the close of 1881, which led to the foundation of the Society for Psychical Research early in 1882.

Wallace, in his letter to Prof. Barrett which follows, refers to Reichenbach's experiments with certain sensitives who declared they saw luminosity from the poles of a magnet after they had been for some time in a perfectly darkened room. Acting on Wallace's suggestion, Prof. Barrett constructed a perfectly darkened room and employed a large electro-magnet, the current for which could be made or broken by an assistant outside without the knowledge of those present in the darkened room. Under these circumstances, and taking every precaution to prevent any knowledge of when the magnet was made active by the current, Prof. Barrett found that two or three persons, out of a large number with whom he experimented, saw a luminosity streaming from the poles of the magnet directly the current was put on. An article of Prof. Barrett's on the subject, with the details of the experiment, was published in the Philosophical Magazine, and also in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. I.).

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TO PROF. BARRETT

Rosehill, Dorking, December 18, 1876.

My dear Prof. Barrett,— ... I see you are to lecture at South Kensington the end of this month (I think), and if you can spare time to run down here and stay a night or two we shall be much pleased to see you, and I shall be greatly interested to have a talk on the subject of your paper, and hear what further evidence you have obtained. I want particularly to ask you to take advantage of any opportunity that you may have to test the power of sensitives to see the "flames" from magnets and crystals, as also to feel the influence from them. This is surely a matter easily tested and settled. I consider it has been tested and settled by Reichenbach, but he is ignored, and a fresh proof of this one fact, by indisputable tests, is much needed; and a paper describing such tests and proofs would I imagine be admitted into the Proceedings of any suitable society.

You will have heard no doubt of the Treasury having taken up the prosecution of Slade. Massey the barrister, one of the most intelligent and able of the Spiritualists (whose accession to the cause is due, I am glad to say, to my article in the Fortnightly), proposes a memorial and deputation to the Government protesting against this prosecution by the Treasury on the ground that it implies that Slade is an habitual impostor and nothing else, and that in face of the body of evidence to the contrary, it is an uncalled-for interference with the private right of investigation into these subjects. On such general grounds as these I sincerely hope you will give your name to the memorial....—Yours very faithfully,

A.R. WALLACE. TO PROF. BARRETT

Rosehill, Dorking. December 9, 1877.

My dear Barrett,—I am always glad when a man I like and respect treats me as a friend. I am advised by other friends also not to waste more time on Dr. C. [Carpenter], and I do not think I shall answer him again, except perhaps to keep him to certain points, as in my letter in the last Nature. In a proof of his new edition of "Lectures" I see he challenges me to produce a person who can detect by light or sensation when an electro-magnet is made and unmade. The Association of Spiritualists are going to experiment, as Dr. C. offers to pay L30 if it succeeds. Should you have an opportunity of trying with any persons, and can find one who sees or feels the influence strongly, it might be worth while to send him to London, as nothing would tend to lower Dr. C. in public estimation on this subject more than his being forced to acknowledge that what he has for more than thirty years declared to be purely subjective is after all an objective phenomenon.