1890.] Psychology. 285 
separate organization, The English society thought it could carry on 
psychical work in this country, where the American society had failed, 
and he moved that the latter be abandoned and be made a branch of 
the English organization. 
Mr. Samuel H. Scudder spoke in favor of the proposition, seconding 
Dr. Gardiner’s motion, as did also Prof. James, who briefly reviewed 
the history of the society. He said he had little hope of its success 
from the start, for few joined it who had -given special attention to 
psychical research, although many of the members occupied prominent 
positions in other branches of science. So the work had been done 
almost entirely by the secretary. There had been a formal organiza- 
tion, with but few workers to back it up, and the organization had 
been a hindrance, rather than a help, to investigators, who could 
accomplish more if they were responsible directly to the English 
society. 
The question was then put to vote, and it was carried unanimously. 
Only nine votes were cast, however, as that was the number of active 
members, who alone are entitled to vote, present at the meeting. The 
secretary stated to a Herald man that there are 400 members of the 
society, fully three-quarters of whom will become members of the 
English society. i 
he meeting was continued as a session of the new organization, 
+Prof. James remaining in the chair as vice-president of the English 
organization. He described his visit to the leaders of the English 
society and the psychical congress in Paris last summer. He came 
away, he said, with great respect for the work that is being done in 
Europe, and he was struck with the respect in which it is held by all 
classes of intelligent people there. He spoke of the international cen- 
sus of hallucinations now in progress in England, France, Germany, 
and America, which is under his charge in this country, and he dwelt, 
at length, on some of the wonderful investigations that have been made 
by M. Pierre Janet, of France, and others. 
On the circulars calling the meeting it had been announced that 
Secretary Hodgson would read a paper by Mr. Frank Podmore, of 
the English Society for Psychical Research, on ‘* Phantasms of the 
Dead,’’ but he stated that Mr. Podmore’s paper had not been received, 
and instead, he read statements of some of the recent cases which he 
collected. Among them were some truly weird and remarkable narra- 
tives of dreams and presentiments, and several cases were given where 
people had saved themselves from bodily harm by obeying unaccount- 
able impulses. 
