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The American Section Supports Judge

Colonel Olcott's Inaugural Address on November 17, 1875, showed clearly how he viewed the Objects of the Society - a view that any Spiritualist, any devotee of psychic research, any materialistic scientist, Ishmael or pariah of orthodoxy or sectarianism, any curiosity seeker, might take, and that multitudes did take. From that view Col. Olcott never wholly departed, whether as President-Founder, or as Probationer of the Second Section. He held in abeyance, he suppressed, he yielded his views from time to time, as occasion might seem to warrant, or necessity compel, but that was all. The Third Object - as he understood and applied it - was first with him and with by far the great majority, whether officers, leaders, writers, or the mere polloi of Fellows and Esotericists. In other words, nine-tenths of those who joined the Society or the E.S.T. viewed the Objects in inverse order and proportion.

H.P.B. knew this. Mr. Judge knew this. So did

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Damodar. What were they to do? They had to take the mind of the race as they found it, and do what they could in the mental environment of the race. Hence the two volumes of "Isis," devoted the one to "Science," i.e., the Third Object; the other to "Theology," i.e., the Second Object - as Masters view those great subjects and Objects. The opposing views, whether of principles or applications, never could and never can be reconciled; one or the other has in the end to prevail, whether in the individual or in any body of individuals such as the Theosophical Society. Hence the Esoteric Section when the Society at large threatened to break away and become an instrument, however great, of the inverted view of its purposes. Hence the steady stream of deserters from the Society; hence, too, the constant stream of attacks, never directly against Theosophy, the Society, or its Objects, but against H.P.B.; against her and Mr. Judge; finally, as we have seen, against Mr. Judge alone.

Against these guerilla tactics H.P.B. consistently employed one and the same "grand strategy": in reply to all shafts leveled, without or within the Society, against her teachings, her messages, her phenomena, and herself as their sponsor, she devoted herself to the promotion of solidarity and a Theosophical education; to strenuous efforts to educate the membership to some apprehension of Theosophical principles, and some application of those principles to the ever varying course of events. She constantly preached and practised Unity, Study, and Work.

We have been at pains to give extracts and abundant references, so that the inquiring student might be able to verify for himself:

(1) The opposing ideas embodied in H.P.B. on the one side and Col. Olcott on the other, and the gradual alignment of leaders and followers into opposing armies fighting, consciously and unconsciously, for the supremacy in this "war of ideas."

(2) The clear recognition and teaching by H.P.B. of the gigantic nature of the impending struggle, whether between the "Higher and lower self " of the in-

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dividual combatant, or between the opposing forces in this modern Mahabharata; and her consequent avoidance to the last degree of forcing the issue with anyone friend or foe, faithful or unfaithful.

(3) Her unvarying practice, when the issue was about to be forced upon her, of writing some article or series of articles which presented in advance the real points involved, the real issues at stake, the real principles to be applied. Only when the battle was joined, and at its crucial moment did she, like Krishna, take her Arjunas into conference in the midst of the flying arrows and name the generals of the opposing army; it was her method of stripping bare both issues and advocates.

We have been at pains to do the same thing in the case of Mr. Judge, and for the same reasons. We have shown him, while the plot was brewing in secrecy and darkness, confining himself to the promotion of harmony and good-will, regardless of the dissensions and differences of opinions amongst officers, leaders, and members. We have shown him giving clear expression of his own views as an individual on the varying questions raised. We have shown him from time to time publishing articles on principles, policies, and applications in advance of events, but which, when related to those events, show unmistakably his prescience on the plane of Causes. One more example of his identity with the path pursued by H.P.B. is germane to the events of the first half of 1894.

The leading articles in The Path for the months of October, November, and December, 1893, and January, 1894, were devoted to the subject of the "Occult Arts," and in subtitles treatment was successively accorded to "Precipitation," to "Disintegration and Reintegration," and to "Some Propositions by H.P. Blavatsky." The latter contained, with some comments, a reprint of the first ten of the numbered propositions in chapter twelve of Volume 2, "Isis Unveiled." The other articles discussed the Occult rationale of phenomenal "messages," and the phenomena of "appearance and disappearance of objects."

These teachings of Occultism in their philosophical,

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logical, moral, and scientific bearings, had been before the students for seventeen years. Why should Mr. Judge re-discuss at all, let alone at that particular time, what was a mere repetition of what should long since have been common knowledge on the part of every Theosophist? What other answer is there, in view of all that preceded and all that followed, than that he knew what was coming; knew that it would find the students as unready as ever intelligently to discern between divided counsels, warring claims, rival pretensions, contradictory "messages from the Masters of H.P.B."? He knew that the students had really learned little or nothing, either from fact or philosophy, and hence were ripe to be swept away, not by knowledge or evidence, but by claims and the prestige of the accusers. He knew that the hour was come for a new wager of the same old gage. He theretofor could but repeat the teachings and the admonitions of Occultism to the Arjunas about to enter on the "field of battle," and await the issue.

Equally, the extracts and references abundantly given will serve to show, on the opposing side, both the policies pursued and the ideas relied upon. Throughout the long interval of preparations, of the "marshaling and the survey of armies" up to the last moment, the friendliest intercourse was kept up with Mr. Judge. All direct public references to him, as to H.P.B., were clothed by the chief conspirators in terms of apparent respect and confidence. Where allusions were made that were questionable they were always Janus-like, and for these two-faced utterances men like Mr. Sturdy and Mr. Old were used as tools. Where direct issues were broached it was always on some subject on which the membership had and could have no actual knowledge - as the discussion on "Mars and Mercury" and the "Sevenfold system" - or it was on some topic clearly meritorious in itself, as those on the neutrality of the Society, on dogmatism, on authority, on hero-worship, on the degree of authenticity to be attached to the writings of H.P.B.; on her status as the Agent of the Masters and so on. But under cover of all these apparently innocent and

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worthy objects of discussion, there went on a distinctly cumulative campaign the effect of which was to leave an adverse impression of H.P.B. as Messenger, as Teacher, as Example, and to force upon Mr. Judge either to remain silent or to defend the bona fides, the knowledge, the dependability of H.P.B.

Following her path in all things, Mr. Judge crossed no bridges till he came to them. Not till the protagonists came into the open and made their hostile attack in force could he, any more than she, meet the issue face to face, and he well knew what form that attack would take.

At that time from four to six weeks were required for the transit of the mails from interior India to New York City. In consequence, the President-Founder's Official letter of February 7 (1) did not reach Mr. Judge until March 10, 1894. He at once took two steps, one privately in the E.S.T., as one of its Heads; the other publicly, as an individual member of the Theosophical Society. Both these actions are, in our view, of profound teaching value to every real student, alike in their manner and their matter, for what was said and for what was left unsaid.

The circular to the E.S.T. was headed, "Recall of the Instructions." Its opening paragraph reads:

"The members in the U.S. should know the facts about the divulgement of the Instructions [The various papers issued in the School by H.P.B. during her lifetime are what is meant by the "Instructions"]. Some time ago a former member in India retired and refused to give up his papers. Later it became evident that they were given out to persons not members. This was clearly shown by the fact that a person in California published the contents of the notice sent from London on the suspension of Messrs. Old and Edge coupled with the statement that the same person had the other papers. It was also evident that some spy was left some

----------

(1) See preceding chapter.

---------

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where in the E.S. who continued to help the retired member. All of these things were published from time to time in papers in India and England and it became apparent that it was absolutely necessary to call in the Instructions to the end that means might be devised for greater security for all members. This recall was no reflection on members who are faithful. Hence the notice."

The remainder of the circular is devoted to admonitions to charity towards any who might violate his pledges; to injunctions to self-watchfulness, mutual loyalty, and study. And for something to study in lieu of the recalled Instructions the last chapter in the second volume of "Isis Unveiled" is referred to as "something which if rightly understood contains the secrets of Occultism." Neither Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, nor any of the others involved were referred to.

His public step is clearly shown by the heading and opening paragraph which follow:

"From William Q. Judge,

"144 Madison Ave., New York.

"March 15th, 1894.

"Charges Against William Q. Judge

"To all Members of the Theosophical Society:

"It is disagreeable to talk much of oneself, but sometimes it is necessary, and in this case it has been made a necessity by the action of others, as also by the existence of many vague and suppressed rumors which have been flying about in quarters not public but sufficiently alive to compel action on my part. Hence I now make known in advance that which has been spoken obscurely for some time, and which is now before me officially from the President, Col. H.S. Olcott, to

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the end that all members of the Society and friends of my own in all parts of the world shall be in possession of facts so that surprise and perhaps confusion may be prevented."

Mr. Judge then goes on to say that "the assertion is made in India that I have been guilty of 'misuse of the names and handwriting of the Mahatmas,'" and that this has been "officially communicated to the President." He does not mention Mrs. Besant's name at all in connection with the proceedings taken by the President-Founder, but merely that "an investigation is demanded through an official inquiry," and therefore Col. Olcott "conceiving himself required and authorized to take action" has written the official letter which we have given in the preceding chapter. He gives the "options" placed before him in the President-Founder's letter and says:

"On March 10th I cabled him as follows: Charges absolutely false. You can take what proceedings you see fit; going to London in July."

Mr. Judge next makes clear the reason for this cablegram and the form of his reply. He says:

"The charge is made against me as Vice-President: I have replied as an individual and shall so continue; inasmuch as in my capacity of Vice-President my duties are nominal... The only charges that could be made against the Vice-President would be those of failing to perform his duties, or misusing the office when there were any duties attached to it. On the face of this very vague charge, then, it is evident that there is nothing in it relating to the official Vice-President."

The charge as related to official malfeasance being thus disposed of for the time being, Mr. Judge next considers it as related to himself as one of the leading members of the Society:

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"Inasmuch as I was the first presiding officer of the Theosophical Society at its preliminary meeting in September, 1875, and its first Secretary at such meeting; that I was not only H.P. Blavatsky's intimate friend and direct pupil but that I have been conspicuous as an upholder of Theosophical doctrines, as also an upholder, with many other friends in every part of the globe, of H.P. Blavatsky's good name, high motive, and great powers against the ridicule of the world and much opposition from certain members of the Society she founded; that I have been elected to succeed Col. Olcott as President of the Society and have been officially declared his successor by him; it is important and imperative that I should make this matter public, and I now do so, and state my unqualified, explicit, exhaustive denial of the said charge, asserting most unreservedly that it has no foundation."

The reasons and the necessities compelling this public facing of the charges and their public unequivocal denial, thus given, Mr. Judge's circular then considers the constitutional procedure and gives it in detail. He concludes this part of his circular by saying: "Perhaps when the Committee is convened I shall, for the first time, have particulars as to persons, dates, and the like of the charges made, none of which up to this time I have had except in the form of rumor." He then considers the possible effects of these charges on others than himself:

"More acutely than any personal grievance, do I feel the probability of a deplorable influence being at first exercised on the Theosophical movement by the making of these charges. I do not think it will have a lasting effect for injury. The rumors to which I have referred have been used by the enemies of the Society to show, if possible, dissension among us and to found a charge of rottenness; they have printed the mat-

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ter in a scandalous form both in Europe and America, pretending that in my official and private capacities I am in the habit of sending alleged 'Mahatma messages,' and then added ribald jokes of their own. This I have not hitherto noticed, because all members know that the correspondence and work of the Society are open to all and entirely devoid of the elements alleged to exist by these opponents; we are all perfectly aware that our strength lies in our devotion and constant work. The present situation will therefore result in clearing the air and consolidating our ranks in all directions."

Next, Mr. Judge refers to the second of the two "options" placed before him by the President-Founder, and says that he refused to cable the word "second," as requested by Col. Olcott's letter, for the reason that thus to do would be to mean "I demand a Committee." He continues:

"The reason is not that an investigation is avoided. Such an investigation will not be avoided. But on constitutional and executive principle I shall object from beginning to end to any committee of the Theosophical Society considering any charge against any person which involves an inquiry and decision as to the existence, names, powers, functions, or methods of the 'Mahatmas or Masters.' I shall do this for the protection of the Theosophical Society now and hereafter, regardless of the result to myself. The Society has no dogma as to the existence of such Masters; but the deliberations of an official committee of the Society on such a question, and that is the first inquiry and decision necessarily beginning such a deliberation, would mean that the Theosophical Society after over nineteen years of unsectarian work is determined to settle this dogma and affix it to the

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Constitution of the Society. To this I will never consent, but shall object and shall charge the Committee itself with a violation of the Constitution if it decides the question of the existence of 'Masters' or Mahatmas; if it should affirm the 'Masters' existence it will violate the law; if it should deny Their existence a like violation will result; both decisions would affirm a dogma, and the negative decision would in addition violate that provision of our law, in Art. XIII, Revised Rules, which makes it an offense to 'wilfully offend the religious feelings of any Fellow' of the Society, inasmuch as the belief so negatived is religiously held by many hundreds of the Fellows of the Society. I intend to try once for all to definitely have settled this important question, and to procure an official decision affirming now and forever the freedom of our Society.

"Hence the President's alternatives... are mistakes, and are the initial steps to the promulgation of the dogma of belief in the 'Masters.' The first alternative is furthermore a judgment in advance, ridiculous in itself yet serious as emanating from our highest official. It precludes him from sitting on the Committee, and that point also I shall raise before the Committee. The whole proposal he makes brings up serious and complicated questions of Occultism touching upon the matter of the existence, powers, functions, and methods of those 'Masters' in whom many Theosophists believe but as to whom the Theosophical Society is perfectly agnostic and neutral as an organized body. For that reason no one in official position ever thought of making a public matter of the many assertions made here and there by members of the Society, that they individually communicated with beings whom they called 'Masters,' 'Mahatmas,' nor of the assertions publicly

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made by prominent members that certain philosophical statements recently published in our literature were directly from the very 'Masters' referred to by Col. Olcott, although those statements contradicted others made by H.P. Blavatsky on the declared authority of the same 'Masters.'

"On all these grounds, then, I shall object to a Theosophical Society Committee, while of course there will never be any objection from me to a proper investigation by a body of persons who know enough of Occultism as well as of Theosophy to understandingly inquire into these matters."

From the matter already before him in the course of this History, the reader can easily determine for himself the accuracy as to statements of fact, the consistency of adherence to the proclaimed Constitution and Rules of the Society, the sincere devotion throughout to the Objects of the Society, and the principles of Occultism shown by Mr. Judge; the candor and unevasiveness of his reply to the letter and "options" of the President-Founder.

The closing paragraphs of Mr. Judge's circular meet the remainder of the queries bound to arise from the President-Founder's letter and the reply as quoted in the foregoing extracts. On these natural queries thus forced to the front against his will, Mr. Judge speaks as directly, as simply and impersonally as H.P.B. herself had done when silence was no longer possible. He says:

"But some of you may wonder if all this leaves in doubt the question whether I believe in the 'Masters.' I believe the Masters exist, that They actually help the T.S. Cause, that They energise and make fruitful the work of all sincere members; all this I can say to myself that I know, but to prove objectively to another that such beings exist is impossible now so far

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as my intelligence can perceive. 'Letters from Mahatmas' prove nothing at all except to the recipient, and then only when in his inner nature is the standard of proof and the power of judgment. Precipitation does not prove Mahatmas, for the reason that mere mediums and non-mahatmas can make precipitations. This I have always asserted. By one's soul alone can this matter be judged, and only by his work and acts can one judge at first as to whether any other person is an agent of the Masters; by following the course prescribed in all ages the inner faculties may be awakened so as to furnish the true confirmatory evidence. I have not lost any of my belief in these beings, but more than ever believe in Their existence and in Their help and care to and over our Society's work.

"Finally I may say that my personal belief in Mahatmas is based on even stronger evidence than Theosophical arguments or the experience of others. As is known to some Theosophists, I have not been entirely without help and guidance from these exalted friends of the T.S. The form which the whole matter has taken now compels me to say what I have never before said publicly, namely, that not only have I received direct communications from Masters during and since the life of H.P. Blavatsky, but that I have on certain occasions repeated such to certain persons for their own guidance, and also that I have guided some of my own work under suggestions from the same sources, though without mentioning the fact. - William Q. Judge."

Copies of this circular of Mr. Judge's were at once mailed to as many members of the Society as possible. The mask of concealment being thus stripped away and the whole Society made conversant with what had hitherto been whispered from one to another in the form of innuendo, the first effect was distinctly disastrous to the

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plans of the chief conspirators in India. Copies reached London and were seen by Mr. Geo. R.S. Mead, then Editor of Lucifer under Mrs. Besant, and General Secretary of the European Section. Mr. Bertram Keightley, still General Secretary of the Indian Section, was at the time in London and he also read Mr. Judge's circular. Both were honorable and well-meaning men and whatever countenance they had hitherto lent to the hints and suspicions against Mr. Judge, their sense of fair play and common decency was outraged by the arrogant unbrotherliness and offhand assumption of Mrs. Besant and the President-Founder. Even if Mr. Judge was guilty, he was entitled to the preliminary assumption of his innocence until that guilt was conclusively established, and this by the commonest application of the principles of ordinary human practice. Moreover by what process of reasoning could Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott take upon themselves the duty of holding star-chamber proceedings to condemn any member or tender him "options" to "resign" or be "tried" by a Committee, when the very proceedings already so unwarrantably taken were in fact a violation of the Rules of the Society, no less than those of Occultism? Perhaps the plain, manly, straightforward statements in Mr. Judge's circular gave them for the moment some realizing sense of the enormous inequity committed. At all events they saw at once that it was Mrs. Besant and the President-Founder who had grossly violated the principles all professed as well as the plain provisions of the Constitution of the Society. Under the date of March 27, 1894, therefore, they issued over their joint official signatures as the General Secretaries of the two sections, the European and the Indian, a circular entitled: "For the information of the Members of the European and Indian Sections of the Theosophical Society."

This circular begins by reciting that Messrs. Mead and Keightley had seen an unofficial copy of the letter of Mrs. Besant of February 6 and of Col. Olcott's of February 7, as given, and repeats the text of the two letters. The circular of Messrs. Mead and Keightley is

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addressed to Col. Olcott as President-Founder of the T.S., and proceeds to insist that any further proceedings taken must be "strictly constitutional and impartial," and continues:

"It is therefore our plain duty as the General Secretaries of two out of the three Sections of the T.S. and members of its General Council, to call your attention officially to the following points with a view to safeguarding (1) the Constitution, (2) the non-sectarian character, and (3) the impartiality of the Theosophical Society.

"First: By Art. VI, Sections 2 and 3, of the 'Constitution and Rules of the Theosophical Society' as officially ratified and promulgated

by yourself on Dec. 31st, 1893, it is enacted that, in the event of charges being preferred against the President, or Vice-President; (a) the said charges shall be in writing, and (b) copies thereof shall 'at once' be forwarded to the accused and 'to each member of the General Council.'

"We now desire to point out that you have not followed the procedure laid down in either of these respects, for:

"1. Your official letter to Mr. W.Q. Judge above referred to, contains no copy in writing of any charges, does not give the names of the persons who bring such, and even contains no specific statement of what are the exact charges brought.

"2. No official copy either of 'charges in writing' or even of your above-mentioned letter to Mr. Judge has reached either of us; although sufficient time has elapsed since your letter reached Mr. Judge in America for an unofficial copy thereof to be received in England.

"Therefore, as members of the General Council of the T.S. we emphatically protest against this departure from the rules of procedure by

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yourself of your official duty as President toward your colleagues on the General Council of the Society."

In endeavoring to digest the conflicting mass of matter covering the "Judge case" and get at the actual facts, the inquirer will need to relate closely the multitude of statements made by the various principals in the tragedy. One instance, as example and guide, may be noted in the above. The reading of the successive Reports of the Adyar parliaments and quotations already given from "Old Diary Leaves," will conclusively establish that the "Constitution and Rules" were tinkered with each year by the President-Founder, acting through his pliant "General Council" in the first instance and then "officially ratified and promulgated" by himself. It will be noted that the "Constitution and Rules" were "revised" and "ratified" and "promulgated" anew at the Adyar Convention at the end of 1893. Now, let the reader compare Col. Olcott's Presidential Address at that Convention, the laudations of Mrs. Besant, the "recent assurances of fresh disagreeable surprises," the secret conclave of Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, Messrs. Old and Sturdy and Countess Wachtmeister during the Convention, Mrs. Besant's letter to Col. Olcott demanding a Committee to "enquire" into the "charges" made by "reputable members" against Mr. Judge, and Col. Olcott's letter with its "options" to Mr. Judge to resign under fire or be "investigated" by a Committee framed by Col. Olcott under "revised" rules planned in advance - and the whole scheme is exposed.

The circular of Messrs. Mead and Keightley goes on:

"Second: We recognize that, acting under the general discretionary power conferred upon the President by Art. VI, Sec. 1, it was competent for you as President to take action in the matter. But we feel strongly that, in order to protect and maintain that very Constitution whose guardian you are, it was your duty in your official letter to Mr. Judge to have insisted upon

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and resolutely maintained the following points:

"1. That the free platform of the Society precludes any official declaration by the T.S. or any Committee representing it, upon the question whether 'Mahatmas' do or do not exist (see Art. XIII, Secs. 2 and 3 ('Offenses');

"2. That, therefore, no enquiry into the conduct of any officer of the Society in his official capacity, which would involve as its basis a declaration of Yea or Nay upon the above question, can be carried out by any official committee of the T.S.;

"3. That, accordingly, Sections 2, 3 and 4 of Art. VI are not applicable to the charges indicated by your letter to Mr. Judge;

"Third: We desire further to point out that in officially giving Mr. Judge the alternatives of resigning all his offices in the T.S. or submitting to the enquiry proposed, you have again departed from the procedure laid down by the Constitution.

"Moreover by so doing you place yourself officially in the position of having prejudged the case and virtually announce before any enquiry has taken place or even any specific charges have been formulated, that you believe Mr. Judge guilty.

"It appears to us that such an attitude is inconsistent with that strict impartiality and justice which ought to characterize at least the

official actions of the President of the T.S., and that it is calculated to bring discredit upon the Society by laying its chief executive officer open to the charge of condemning a colleague without even giving him a hearing.

"In conclusion we hereby place on record our most emphatic protest against the above-cited departures from constitutional procedure; and we officially request a formal reply and declaration thereupon from yourself as President-

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Founder of the T.S. and official guardian of its free Constitution.

"This we call for as General Secretaries for Europe and India respectively, and as members of that General Council of the Theosophical Society from which, as recited in Art. VI, See. 1, you 'derive your authority' as President of the T.S., and to which, as therein provided, you 'are responsible for its exercise.'

"Finally we beg to inform you that we shall forthwith notify our respective Sections of the present correspondence, and shall also communicate to them your reply when received, as the members are already unofficially informed of the matter.

"We are, dear Sir and Brother, Fraternally yours,

Bertram Keightley,

Gen. See. Indian Sec. T.S.

G.R.S. Mead,

Gen. See. European Sec. T.S."

Meantime, so sure had Col. Olcott been of the efficacy of his plans of battle that he had committed himself still further and still more irretrievably. Mr. Judge had received his letter of February 7 on March 10, 1894, as mentioned, and on the same day had cabled Col. Olcott an absolute denial of the charges, a point-blank challenge to him to do his worst.

Immediately on receipt of this cablegram Col. Olcott took counsel with himself and his allies. Mrs. Besant was still in India; Chakravarti's subtle mind still available. Mr. Judge had refused to resign; he had defied the options extended him; he had declared his innocence. "For the honor of the Society" another weighty move could be made. Accordingly, Col. Olcott forwarded forthwith two fresh "official" letters. The first of these was formally addressed to Mr. Judge as General Secretary of the American Section. It runs

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"Theosophical Society

"President's Office

"20 March, 1894

"To the General Secretary,

American Section T. S.

"Dear Sir and Brother:

"In compliance with Section 3 of Article VI of the Revised Rules, I enclose herewith a copy of certain charges preferred against Mr. William Q. Judge, Vice-President T.S. and General Secretary of the American Section, by Mrs. Annie Besant, F.T.S.; which charges will be laid before a Judicial Committee, to be convened at our London Headquarters on the 27th June next, for the consideration and disposal of the same, as provided for in the Section of the Article above specified.

"Upon receipt of this you will kindly take the orders of your Executive Committee for the nomination of two members of the said Judicial Committee, to sit as representatives of the American Section, and consider and dispose of the charges.

"Fraternally yours,

H.S. Olcott

President Theosophical Society."

The second letter was addressed to Mr. Judge as "Vice-President, T.S." and its text is as follows:

"Theosophical Society,

"President's Office

"20 March, 1894

"To William Q. Judge, Esq., Vice-President, T. S.

"Dear Sir and Brother:

"As required by the provisions of Article VI of our Revised Rules, I herewith enclose for your information and action a copy of certain

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charges preferred against you by Mrs. Annie Besant, F.T.S., and notify you that for their consideration and disposal a Judicial Committee will be convened at our London Headquarters on the 27th June next. I have to request that you will nominate to me the two additional members of the Committee whom you wish to sit and adjudge the case as your personal representatives.

"As the accused party you will, of course, be debarred from sitting and voting in the Committee either as Vice-President T.S. or General Secretary of the American Section; but you are entitled to enjoy the full opportunity to disprove the charges brought against you.

"Pending the decision of the Judicial Committee, I hereby suspend you from the office of Vice-President T.S. as required by our Revised Rules.

"I am, Sir, fraternally yours,

H.S. Olcott,

President Theosophical Society."

The first of these letters would compel Mr. Judge as its General Secretary to himself place the charges and the correspondence before the forthcoming Convention of the American Section due to be held at San Francisco, April 22, 1894, and thus put him on the defensive before his own Section against charges sanctioned by the President-Founder and Mrs. Besant, the two most important and influential members of the Society - the two who had posed hitherto as his dear friends and colleagues in the Society and the Movement.

The second of these letters would force Judge as Vice-President to inform the members that he had been suspended by the President-Founder and thus himself be made the medium of conveying to them the information that the President of the whole Society felt himself compelled by the gravity of the case to suspend the Vice-President in advance of the Judicial Committee. It re-

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quires but little imagination to enable any one to picture to himself the consummate ingenuity of these stratagems, whereby the Convention, the American members, the press and the public would be influenced to draw inferences wholly adverse to Mr. Judge, wholly favorable to Mrs. Besant and the venerable President-Founder, thus reluctantly, but gravely and sternly, doing their duty "for the honor of the Society" even where the guilty party was a high official and their dearest friend.

It is more than interesting, it is one of the most telltale signs of the animus behind the whole of the "Judge case," to observe how, in the second of the above letters, Col. Olcott betrays himself in spite of all his prepared "revised" Rules with its "Sections" and "Articles" devised to lend a legal coloring to the planned attack. He tells Mr. Judge: "You are entitled to enjoy the full opportunity to disprove the charges brought against you." There never was any "opportunity" to prove the charges, which rested wholly upon hearsays, suspicions, circumstances innocent in themselves, and "messages from the Masters" received by Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott via Chakravarti and Mr. Walter R. Old.

One has but to recall the well-known legal maxims that it is for the accusers to prove their charges, not for the accused to prove his innocence, and that any accused person must be assumed to be innocent until the charges are proven - one has but to bear these commonest of all safeguards for the unjustly accused in mind, to perceive over and over again in the progress of the "Judge case" how his accusers acted at every step in defiance of every canon of ordinary human fairness and decency. The procedure of the Society for Psychical Research and its famous (or infamous) Committee in 1884-5 so violated, as we have earlier shown, every instinct of common justice in its "investigation" of H.P.B. and her phenomena, as to earn for it the pity or the contempt of every fair and intelligent mind. The Coues-Collins-Lane-New York Sun "exposure" was the same thing repeated with greater ability and with conscious venom. But the

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"Judge case" is infinitely worse in its travesty of justice, and has been, therefore, infinitely worse in its consequences to Humanity.

To the honor of Mr. Judge be it spoken that at the Convention of the American Section his Report as General Secretary breathes the same unwaveringly calm, fraternal tone as always toward the workers, toward the President-Founder, toward Mrs. Besant. No man, we think, can read the Convention Report and contrast it with the Report of the Adyar Convention preceding, and not be cognisant of the difference between professional and genuine altruism.

A formal letter from Mr. Mead as General Secretary of the European Section, dated March 31, and addressed "To the General Secretary of the American Section," was read. This was a request that the recent correspondence be placed before the American Section. Accordingly, Mr. Judge laid before the Convention the letter of Mrs. Besant of February 6 to Col. Olcott; the latter's official letter of February 7; a copy of the Keightley-Mead circular letter; the two letters of Col. Olcott of March 20; and other correspondence ad interim. All were referred to appropriate Committees.

At this Convention of the American Section April 22-3, 1894, there were present delegates and proxies from all of the sixty-one active Branches.

Resolutions were unanimously adopted:

1. That the expense to which Mr. Judge has been put in printing and circulating his statement should be borne by the American Section;

2. That "this Convention, after careful deliberation, finds that such suspension of the Vice-President is without the slightest warrant in the Constitution and altogether transcends the discretionary power given the President by the Constitution, and is therefore null and void";

3. That this Section, in Convention assembled, hereby expresses its unqualified protest against the said illegal action by the President of the Society, and can see no necessity for such action, and that even did the Con-

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stitution contain any provision for a suspension such action would be wholly needless and unbrotherly, inasmuch as, by the Constitution, the Vice-President has no duties or power save in case of death, resignation, or accusation of the President."

The existing situation on the whole subject of Mahatmas and Messages from Mahatmas or Masters, and the actual status of the whole problem, under the Objects and Constitution of the Theosophical Society, were declared in two Resolutions introduced by Dr. Jerome A. Anderson. Both of these Resolutions were unanimously adopted. They are of such value and importance in giving a matter-of-fact formulation of the issues that we reproduce them in full:

"Whereas, many members of the Theosophical Society, including the late Madame Blavatsky, Col. Olcott, W.Q. Judge, Mrs. Annie Besant, A.P. Sinnett, and others, have at various times and places expressed their belief in the existence of certain Mahatmas or Masters, and have claimed to be in communication with the same; and

"Whereas, the President, Col. Olcott, at the request of one of the members, Mrs. Annie Besant, has recently demanded an official investigation by means of a Judicial Committee of the Theosophical Society, to decide whether or not Wm. Q. Judge is in communication with the said Mahatmas, and whether or not the said Wm. Q. Judge has 'misused the names and handwriting of the said Mahatmas'; and

"Whereas, Under the Constitution and Rules of the Theosophical Society it is declared that the Society, as such, is not responsible for the personal opinions of its Fellows, nor for any expression thereof, and that no Fellow, Officer, or Council, of the Theosophical Society, or of any Section or Branch thereof, shall promulgate or maintain any doctrine, dogma, or belief as be-

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ing that advanced or advocated by the Society (Art. XIII); and the President having officially and constitutionally in his executive order of May 27th, 1893, relative to the World's Religious Parliament, declared this neutrality, especially in these words

"'Of course it is to be distinctly understood that nothing shall be said or done by any Delegate or Committee of the Society to identify it as a Body with any special form of religion, creed, sect, or any religious or ethical teacher or leader; our duty being to affirm and defend its perfect corporate neutrality in these matters.'"

"Therefore,

"Resolved: That, in the opinion of this Convention, the action of the President, Col. Olcott, in calling such Judicial Committee to consider said charge was uncalled for, unconstitutional, illegal, and improper.

"Resolved: That this Convention hereby cordially endorses the interpretation of the Rules and Constitution of the T.S. recently expressed in a circular to members, signed by the General Secretaries of the European and Indian Sections, and in the private circular of March 15th, 1894, issued by William Q. Judge.

"Resolved: That this Convention hereby reaffirms the entire freedom of the platform of the T.S. and the religious and other opinions of its members, which entitles all and any of them to claim to be in communication with, to receive letters from, or to act as agents for, those above referred to as Mahatmas or Masters; or, on the other hand, to express disbelief in the proper title of any member to make such claim or claims, or disbelief in the existence of said Mahatmas.

"Resolved: That this Convention declares its unswerving belief in the integrity and upright-

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ness of the Vice-President of the T.S., Wm. Q. Judge, and expresses to him the most cordial thanks of the Section for his unrecompensed and self-sacrificing years of labor on behalf of the T.S. as a whole.

"Whereas: This Section regards official investigation into the existence and methods of Mahatmas, and a dogmatic verdict rendered upon such investigation, as not only illegal under the Constitution but impossible in the absence of more profound knowledge of the science of Occultism, and, therefore, absurd in the present instance, although such inquiry and investigation are always proper privileges of individual members as such, therefore

"Resolved: That, if in the face of this protest and opinion of this Section, there is to be an investigation to decide whether or not William Q. Judge is or was in communication with said Mahatmas, and whether or not he has 'misused the names and handwriting of said Mahatmas,' or whether or not pretended or real communications or orders from said alleged Mahatmas have been issued or given out by him, then, in the opinion of this Section, an investigation should also be had to decide whether or not Col. Olcott, A.P. Sinnett, Annie Besant, and others have had, given, or promulgated such or any communication from the Mahatmas, whether real or pretended; and that they be required to show evidence of the possession of a commission from said Mahatmas, and of the truthfulness of their claims as heretofore frequently made and announced by them in public.

"Resolved: That, in the opinion of this Section, only a Body of Mahatmas appearing at the sessions of the Committee could decide whether or not any communication was or is a genuine or fraudulent Mahatmic message."

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Advices of the action taken by the Convention of the American Section were cabled to Col. Olcott at once. We may now follow them to Adyar and observe the moves made on that side of the great checker board of Theosophical events.

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The "Judicial Enquiry" in London

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But now - now was no longer dependent on H.P.B. for "messages from the Masters"; Mrs. Besant, the "sweet spirit and the guiding star" of the Esoteric School, the strongest factor in the Society as well as in the School, the most potent influence on the world at large as well as in the Society - Mrs. Besant was now his firm ally. Opposed to his ideas, his plans and policies, stood out only Mr. Judge. Two years had shown that Mr. Judge could not be moved from his firm allegiance to H.P.B. and all that H.P.B. had represented. Messrs. Sinnett, Bertram Keightley, Old, Sturdy, and Edge, the Countess Wachtmeister, the Hindus en masse, the great bulk of the English and European Theosophists - all these he could count on as imbued with the same ideas as himself. The time was come to banish the spectre of H.P.B. by driving Mr. Judge into exile - to make of the Theosophical Society what it should have been and ought to be.

His letters to Mr. Judge were well calculated to create confusion, bewilderment, uncertainty, among the American Theosophists - to throw Judge on the defensive, a helpless defensive, far more a helpless defensive than had paralyzed H.P.B. 's activities following the Coulomb-S.P.R. bombshell in 1884-5. So much for the American field. Remained England, Europe, and India to be aroused to the offensive. Mrs. Besant was returning to England, whence she could not only direct the battle there, but could reasonably be expected to muster succors and strong levies in the United States in spite of all that Mr. Judge or his friends could avail. And Mr. Walter R. Old was no mean understudy; he, too, was returning to England at the same time as Mrs. Besant.

The "Supplement" to The Theosophist for February, 1894, had contained a printed slip pasted to its pages and headed "To Members and Friends." It was dated January 29, 1894, and signed by "Walter R. Old, Rec. Sec. T.S." Mr. Old's notice informed the members that, "acting under medical advice received during a recent illness," he was going to England for the summer and would leave India at the end of March. The familiar

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"explanation" of his departure merely cloaked the fact that as his part of the tactics planned he was to return to England to aid in spreading among the English Theosophists the slanders dignified as "charges" against Mr. Judge. Mr. Old was well known in England, where he had many friends and much influence as a "psychic," as an "astrologer," as a former member of the E.S.T. Council, as a friend of H.P.B.'s and as in high favor with the President-Founder as well as with Mrs. Besant. For it must be remembered that the suspension of Mr. Old from the E.S.T. was unknown at that time except by rumor among the general membership of the Society, while his intimacy with Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant was a matter of common knowledge.

The two letters to Mr. Judge were immediately followed up by Col. Olcott in the April, 1894, Theosophist, with, an eight-page article devoted to "Annie Besant's Indian Tour." It is given over to the most fulsome laudations. We say "fulsome" because, like his similar remarks in his preceding Presidential Address, these reiterated encomiums on Mrs. Besant must necessarily be construed, not merely as extraordinary tributes of personal regard and esteem, but, in the light of collateral circumstances, as carefully planned, deliberately carried out steps of a predetermined march. Step by step with the belittlements of H.P.B. and the accusations published and circulated about Judge, marched the public cumulation of official and personal tributes to Mrs. Besant.

The investigator of today will naturally compare and contrast the declarations of Col. Olcott in the mentioned article and in his Presidential Address, with the numerous statements made by him in regard to H.P.B., both those hitherto quoted and those with which the whole series of "Old Diary Leaves" is larded. He will offset the President-Founder's strictures on H.P.B. and Mr. Judge with his laudations of Mrs. Besant and his scarcely less veiled extolments of himself. He will consider scrupulously the attendant circumstances and the "controlling impulse" governing Col. Olcott in his "Old

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Diary Leaves" as recounted by himself in his Foreword to the first published volume. He will compare them with the various statements and acts of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge and all with the common objects and principles professed, to determine the consistency or inconsistency of each.

"The extraordinary article on Mrs. Besant was followed in the "Supplement" to the May Theosophist by something more extraordinary still. In it will be found the text of an Executive Notice, the real significance of which has never yet been grasped by Theosophists at large, any more than it was at the time. We give it in full:

"Adyar, 27th April, 1894.

"The undersigned avails of Mrs. Annie Besant's forthcoming visit to the Australasian Colonies, to invest her with the functions of President's Commissioner, with authority to represent him in all current Society business during her tour, and act for him and in his name in disposing of the same, as perfectly as though it were his individual act. Mrs. Besant is empowered to organize a Section or Sections; to authorize the formation of Branches; to admit persons to the Fellowship; to regulate disagreements and disputes within the Society; to remit at her discretion in cases of great poverty the whole or any part of any fee or other pecuniary contribution chargeable as a condition of membership; and, generally, to exercise the same powers as are constitutionally enjoyed by the undersigned in his Presidential capacity.

"Mrs. Besant will, of course, make or cause to be made to the undersigned a full report of her official actions under the above special commission and according to the revised rules of the Society.

H.S. Olcott, P.T.S."

The Presidential "discretionary powers" are officially stretched to give Mrs. Besant sanction in advance to a

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range of arbitrary and unchecked authority that becomes the more astounding the more closely it is examined. She can organize at will, and upon terms named by herself, "a Section or Sections," under "revised Rules" that will give such Section or Sections the same voice and standing in the General Council as the existing democratic Sections. She can "authorize the formation of Branches" to an extent and upon terms that will control the Section or Sections she is to organize. She can "admit persons to fellowship" - or deny them, inevitably - upon terms that will control the Branches. She can remit dues in whole or in part. Finally, she can "regulate disagreements and disputes within the Society." What does this mean, if it does not mean that she can exercise absolute and unappealable authority, root, stalk, and branch, to any extent necessary to organize and control a Section or Sections wholly pliant to her own will and purposes? What becomes of democracy, of neutrality, of individual liberty of conscience, under such canons of organizations and government? That at any time, in any event, under any circumstances, such powers should be claimed, such authority desired, by any one soever, Master or man, is a categorical negation of every Object for which the Theosophical Society was supposed to stand. That they should have been exercised in the then existent circumstances, tells to what lengths the conspirators were prepared to go. The student has but to examine into the original Preamble and By-Laws of 1875, the Rules adopted in December, 1879, the Constitutions of the American and British Sections of 1887 and 1888, and compare them with the "revised Rules" adopted by Col. Olcott's obedient General Council in December, 1893, to discern how, in the interim, the Society had been engineered into an absolute autocracy wherein, under the forms adopted, the members had no rights whatever, "constitutionally," save such as the General Council might choose to allot them, no voice and no appeal save as the "discretionary powers" of the President might be "exercised" as an "act of grace."

So much for the general significance that must be at-

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tacked to this Executive Notice; it is integral with the battle openly begun at the Adyar Convention at the end of 1888, the "Revised Rules" of 1893 but the full bloom of the "revised rules" of 1888. But what of its special import? That also must be inquired into.

The answer is simple. Mr. Judge's circular and that of Messrs. Mead and Keightley had reached Adyar; the news of the action taken by the Convention of the American Section had been received. The plans of the accusers were completely upset; the tables were turned; what was to be done? To appreciate Col. Olcott's dilemma, to understand his consternation, the student should marshal the opposing situations as before him at the end of April, 1894. Thus:

I. Backed by the revised Rules, confident that the prestige of Mrs. Besant and himself with the membership and the world would make their charges carry the assumption of guilt, the unavoidable inference was that Mr. Judge would avail himself of the option to resign. On the contrary, Mr. Judge had denied absolutely any wrongdoing and, instead of retiring to the shelter of silence, had himself made public the full facts, and had announced his determination to meet the issues: (1) that the whole proceeding was utterly unconstitutional; (2) that he would not oppose but would submit himself to any competent investigation that did not involve the neutrality of the Society or set up a dogma; in other words, try out the facts of who was and who was not "in communication with the Mahatmas."

II. Messrs. Mead and Keightley, counted on as allies and aids in the fight on Mr. Judge, had half risen in rebellion; had declared that it was the President-Founder himself who was guilty of gross violation of the Constitution and the neutrality of the Society; had appealed to their respective Sections - the European and Indian - with a statement of the facts, and had announced their opposition to any attempt to set up a dogma on the subject of Mahatmas, and had demanded of the President-Founder a categorical official reply to the points raised by them.

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III. The Convention of the American Section, with all the correspondence before it, had, as a democratic body, unanimously voted its protest against the spirit and the substance of Col. Olcott's actions; had re-elected Mr. Judge its General Secretary; had declared its entire confidence in him as a man, as a Theosophist, as an officer in the Society; had taken a firm stand against any official interference with the freedom of speech and conscience of any member, high or low; had declared, if any "Judicial Committee" were to sit upon the question of Mahatmas and communications from them, that such investigation must be complete and must include Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, Mr. Sinnett, and all others as well as Mr. Judge who had claimed to be in receipt of "messages from the Masters."

Colonel Olcott had counted with the confidence based on fifteen years' experience that the Indian Section would obey any lead he might choose to give. He had counted that since the members and the other Sections had not hitherto actively opposed his repeated tampering with the Rules and his repeated executive ukases, no organized resistance would be offered to his plans to force Mr. Judge into exile by charges that in their very nature would paralyze any defense. Mrs. Besant had counted that her influence was strong enough with the British-European Section to make the members accept as proven any charges she might make, merely because she made them. Both she and Col. Olcott had counted that Mrs. Besant's prestige was so great in America that no concerted defense could be made of Mr. Judge in the American Convention by those who might still believe in him. Sure of India, sure of Britain, sure at worst of a split in America, they had nothing to fear even when Mr. Judge cabled on March 10 his denial of the charges and his refusal of their options. If the matter came to a trial before a Judicial Committee, they held that Committee in the hollow of their hands. If the matter should go before the Sections they had expected to control two out of the three absolutely, with the assurance that at best Mr. Judge could count on nothing better than a split in

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the American Section. Mrs. Besant and Mr. Old, therefore, had sailed confidently for England toward the end of March to complete their preparations at home for the forthcoming "trial." Colonel Olcott, on his part, went forward as confidently in India.

Now, in a little month, the whole situation was reversed. Desperation took the place of confidence. The conspirators were divided by distance; deserted by two of their strongest allies; America unanimous in support of Judge; counter-issues raised that they could not meet. What was to be done?

This was the situation in which Col. Olcott found himself toward the close of April, 1894. Yet he could not retreat; the battle was joined; he must go forward. What hurried interchanges took place between the conspirators any thoughtful reader can infer for himself from merely visualizing the status of affairs and studying the President-Founder's consequent steps. The first of these was the Executive Notice given. Its purpose is clear; if the warfare should be carried before the Sections, as it was certain now that it must at last, two Sections were absolutely requisite even to assure a "drawn battle." India was safe for the conspirators; America had already declared for Mr. Judge; Britain was still a hopeful prospect, but no more. Mr. Judge had friends there; who could say what might happen? But if Australia were organized into a Section-organized by Mrs. Besant robed with the Presidential "discretionary powers" to accept or reject whom she would - then the new Australasian Section could be made as safely and entirely a "pocket borough" as India was already. Hence the Notice dated April 27, 1894.

Chakravarti was a lawyer along with his other accomplishments; N.D. Khandalavala was a judge in one of the Indian courts. Them and others the President-Founder consulted and the result was still another Executive Notice, published in the "Supplement" to the May Theosophist immediately following on the Notice transferring to Mrs. Besant his extraordinary, emergency-planned "discretionary powers" to organize

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Australasian Section. Because of its telltale significance, both in connection with the preceding events narrated and with what followed, we give it in full for the careful study of all students. It is dated on the same day as the Special Commission to Mrs. Besant - April 27, 1894 - and reads:

"The following facts are published for the information of members of the Society:

"On February 6th last, while at Allahabad, Mrs. Annie Besant handed the undersigned a written demand that certain accusations 'with reference to certain letters and in the alleged writings of the Mahatmas,' injurious to the public character of Mr. W.Q. Judge, Vice-President of the Society, should be dealt with by a Committee as provided by Art. VI, Sees. 2, 3 and 4.

"On the following day, from Agra, a copy of this letter was forwarded by the undersigned to Mr. Judge without the expression of any opinion as to the validity or otherwise of the accusations in question. No specific charges having then been filed, this was merely a preliminary measure.

"From a motive of delicacy no question was asked the accused as to his guilt or innocence, but the undersigned, in the exercise of his discretion, gave Mr. Judge the option of resigning his office or submitting the case to investigation. The implication being, of course, that if guilty, he would wish to retire quietly, or if innocent, to be brought before the Committee, and thus set at rest, once and for all, the injurious rumors afloat, in different parts of the world.

"The alternative offered carried with it, as will be clearly seen, no intimation that the rumors were true, nor that the undersigned believed them so, or the contrary.

"Mr. Judge having cabled a denial of his guilt,

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the first step prescribed by the Constitution for such cases was then taken, viz., the ordering of a 'Judicial Committee' as provided for under Art. VI; the official notification of the same to the accused and the members of the General Council; and the serving upon each of a copy of the detailed charges and specifications, then drafted by Mrs. Besant as Accuser. The provisions of our Constitution were thus strictly followed out, and there has been no deviation whatever.

"It was hoped by the undersigned that the whole matter would have been kept private until the Committee had met, disposed of the charges and rendered its verdict, which would then have been officially promulgated by him.

"But the opposite policy having been adopted by the accused and the General Secretaries of the European and Indian Sections, and printed circulars having been distributed by them throughout the whole world, secrecy is no longer possible, and hence the present Executive Notice is issued, with the deepest regret for its necessity.

"The undersigned deplores that his colleagues, Mr. Mead and Mr. Keightley, should have acted in such haste as to have committed the indiscretion of censuring him for breaches in procedure and a violation of the Constitution of which he was not guilty. He regrets also that the fact of Mrs. Besant's being the accuser should not have been mentioned, if the public was to be taken into confidence at all at this preliminary stage.

"A detailed reply to Messrs. Mead and Keightley's letter is in preparation and will be circulated to all Branches.

"To correct misapprehensions, the undersigned has to state that in the opinion of eminent counsel (Members of the Society) the trial of the

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charges against Mr. Judge does not involve the question of the existence or non-existence of the Mahatmas or their connection with the Society.

"The Judicial Committee is notified to meet in London on June 27th, and the undersigned finds himself compelled to attend, contrary to his wishes and expectations. He will leave Adyar about the middle of May for London, via Marseilles.

H. S. Olcott, P.T.S."

Taking this Notice of the President-Founder seriatim, careful examination and comparison will disclose:

That it is published officially as a statement of the "facts" and for "the information of the members";

That its second paragraph conveys that Mrs. Besant made a "demand" for the Committee. The fact being, as we shall soon see over Col. Olcott's own signature, that the alleged "demand" was made at his own request; (1)

That his own letter to Mr. Judge, conveying the same "demand" was forwarded "without expressing any opinion as to the validity or otherwise of the accusations in question." The fact being, as we shall abundantly verify over Col. Olcott's own signature, that he was at the time and for nearly two years had been, firmly of the opinion that Mr. Judge was guilty of transmitting bogus messages. (2) The third paragraph discloses that such was the prejudgment of Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant that both the "demand" was made and Col. Olcott's letter of February 7 was written when no specific charges had been filed, even. Yet Col. Olcott did not hesitate to require of Mr. Judge that he should either resign or be tried for charges not yet even formulated. By referring to Col. Olcott's two letters to Mr. Judge dated March 20, 1894, and reproduced in full in the last chapter, the student will note that in the intervening period the

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(1) See succeeding chapter - Col. Olcott's Note to Mrs. Besant 's statement before the British Convention.

(2) See Chapter XXXIII post - Col. Olcott's statement in "The Case against William Q. Judge" is dated January 28, 1893.

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charges had been formulated and the two letters drawn up on the eve of Mrs. Besant's departure from India. On the strength of these "formulated" charges Col. Olcott arbitrarily "suspended" Mr. Judge from the Vice-Presidency, in advance of any trial. These items all show unmistakably both bias and conspiracy, to conceal which and give the impression of impartiality and legality to the steps taken is the manifest purpose of the Notice of April 27, put out for the "information" of the members.

Its purpose is, plainly, so to twist the facts as to cause the members to believe, not only that he had acted impartially and only as compelled by the constitutional provisions, on Mrs. Besant's demand, but that Mr. Judge and Messrs. Mead and Keightley had behaved in a manner to be "deplored" by making known the actual facts and conditions to the whole Theosophical world; furthermore, he evades and denies his own primary responsibility in the phrase that he "regrets that the fact of Mrs. Besant being the accuser should not have been mentioned." The fact being that as Mrs. Besant was merely a private member of the Society and President of the Blavatsky Lodge, a London Branch, she had neither duty, right, nor privilege, under the Constitution and Rules of the Society, to bring any charges against any officer of the Society, or against any member, save of her own Branch, and that she acted directly at his instigation and request.

The "detailed reply to Messrs. Mead and Keightley's letter," that the Notice states is "in preparation and will be circulated to all Branches," was never, so far as we know, either "prepared" or "circulated." All that he ever issued was a "plea in extenuation," similar to the above quoted Notice.

It will be noted that the "eminent counsel (Members of the Society)," in whose "opinion" the trial of the charges "does not involve the question of the Mahatmas or their connection with the Society," are not named. They were, in point of fact, Chakravarti and the other as stated, and although Col. Olcott lugs in this "opin-

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ion" to "correct misapprehensions" the fact is, as again we shall soon see, that he completely reversed himself and the said "eminent counsel" at the meeting of the Judicial Committee.

Finally, the reader should compare and contrast the concluding paragraph of the Notice, in which Col. Olcott announces that he "finds himself compelled to attend" the meeting of the Judicial Committee, "contrary to his wishes and expectations," with the statement in his letter to Mr. Judge of February 7: "I shall in all probability be represented by proxy, unless something now unforeseen should arise to make it imperative that I shall personally attend." The whole procedure had been so carefully planned, and looked so entirely certain to the conspirators in the beginning, that there had been no thought other than, if Judge should have the hardihood to refuse to resign and, instead, stand trial, the controlled Committee would find him "guilty" out of hand, on the mere presentation of the "charges" sponsored by Mrs. Besant, backed by the President-Founder from Adyar, who could then, "after the Committee had met, disposed of the charges and rendered its verdict," have "officially promulgated" the pre-arranged "decision." Now, in view of all that had happened to set awry their well-laid plans, it was not enough to make Mrs. Besant the Presidential Special Commissioner; it was not enough to publish another Executive Notice for the "information of the members"; it was become "imperative" indeed that Col. Olcott should "personally attend" the meeting of the Judicial Committee, lest worse befall than had already occurred; lest the Committee not only find Mr. Judge "not guilty," but proceed to investigate on its own behalf the actions of the President of the Society in his usurpation of powers, in the claims of himself and his fellow accusers to "messages from the Masters."

Skipping the intervening period of public silence and private wagging of heads, of external decorum and secret diligent planning of ways and means to avoid a defeat or a fiasco, we may attend the meeting of the Judicial Committee and then the immediately following Conven-

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tion of the British-European Section, and observe what took place. The proceedings are officially reported in a record published in full in The Path, in Lucifer, in The Theosophist, immediately following the Convention, and also in a pamphlet officially issued under the title "The Neutrality of the Theosophical Society. An Enquiry into Certain Charges Against the Vice-President, held in London, July, 1894. With an Appendix, Published by the General Council of the Theosophical Society, for the Information of Members. July, 1894." So runs the title-page. Let us first examine the "Enquiry" and then the "Appendix."

The President-Founder arrived promptly in London, but the Enquiry was not held on the date set, June 27. The time until July 7 was occupied in various abortive attempts to reach a compromise that would obviate official disposition, but Mr. Judge insisted that since the whole procedure up to date had been taken officially by the President-Founder, with himself as defendant against charges of dishonorable conduct, and with issues raised prejudicial to the Society as well as himself, it could only properly be disposed of by formal official action. Accordingly, Col. Olcott summoned a meeting of the General Council on July 7. There were present Col. Olcott, who presided, Mr. Bertram Keightley, who was chosen as Secretary of the Council meeting, Mr. G.R.S. Mead; and Mr. Judge who took no part in the proceedings. Col. Olcott read to the meeting a formal letter by Mr. Judge, stating (1) that he had never been elected Vice-President of the Society, and was not, therefore, legally the Vice-President of the Society; (2) that even if adjudged de facto Vice-President of the Society, he was not thereby amenable to charges of "misuse of Mahatmas' names and handwriting," since, even if guilty, such offenses would be those of a private individual and not as an officer of the Society; hence not subject, under the Constitution, to trial by a Judicial Committee of the Society as an official malfeasance. A legal opinion from a New York lawyer, Mr. M.H. Phelps,

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a member of the Society, was then read in support of Mr. Judge's contentions.

The matter was then debated, Mr. Judge remaining silent. Colonel Olcott informed the meeting that at the Adyar Convention of 1888 he had himself "appointed" Mr. Judge Vice-President by virtue of his own "prerogative" to make such an appointment and had published such title in the official list of Officers of the Society, and that this appointment was unanimously "confirmed" by vote at the Indian General Convention of 1890, although the "official report" of that Convention "did not record the fact." Hence, he declared, Mr. Judge "was and is Vice-President de facto and de jure."

Having heard what Col. Olcott had to say as to the first point raised by Mr. Judge, the Council meeting made no decision, but passed to the second question. On this point renewed discussion took place, Mr. Judge remaining silent as before. The minutes read:

"The matter was then debated. Bertram Keightley moved and G.R.S. Mead seconded: "'That the Council, having heard the arguments on the point raised by William Q. Judge, it declares that the point is well taken; that the acts alleged concern him as an individual; and that consequently the Judicial Committee has no jurisdiction in the premises to try him as Vice-President upon the charges as alleged. '

"'The President Concurred. Mr. Judge did not vote. The motion was declared carried.'

"'On Mr. Mead's motion, it was then voted that above record shall be laid before the Judicial Committee. Mr. Judge did not vote.'"

This proceeding having been had, Col. Olcott then laid before the Council meeting a further point raised by Mr. Judge, to wit: that Mr. Judge's election by the American, the British, and Indian Sections, as successor to the President in 1892 (at the time of Col. Olcott's

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resignation), "became ipso facto annulled upon the President's resumption of his office as President." "On motion," reads the official minutes, "the Council declared the point well taken, and ordered the decision to be entered upon the minutes. Mr. Judge did not vote." Colonel Olcott then called the meeting's attention to the resolution of the American Section Convention which declared in effect that the suspension of Mr. Judge was without warrant in the Constitution and transcended the President's discretionary powers. On this it was moved, seconded, and passed, Mr. Judge not voting, that "the President's action was warranted under the then existing circumstances" and that the American Section's "resolutions of protest are without force."

Next, by motion (Mr. Judge not voting), "the council then requested the President to convene the Judicial Committee at the London Headquarters, on Tuesday, July 10, 1894, at 10 a.m. The Council then adjourned at call of the President."

The Judicial Committee met on July 10, as required. There were present all the members of the Committee, as follows: Col. Olcott as President-Founder, in the chair; Messrs. G.R.S. Mead and Bertram Keightley as General Secretaries of the European and Indian Sections; Messrs. A.P. Sinnett and E.T. Sturdy as delegates of the Indian Section; Messrs. Herbert Burrows and W. Kingsland as delegates of the European Section; Dr. J.D. Buck and Dr. Archibald Keightley as delegates of the American Section; Messrs. Oliver Firth and E.T. Hargrove as special delegates representing the accused - all as provided for under the "revised Rules" adopted at the Adyar Convention in December preceding. Mr. Judge was present as the accused, but not voting as General Secretary of the American Section. Mrs. Besant was present as the accuser. It should be noted that of the eleven members of the Judicial Committee, the Chairman, Col. Olcott, and Messrs. E.T. Sturdy and A.P. Sinnett were already fully convinced in advance of the guilt of Mr. Judge; Messrs. Bertram Keightley and G.R.S. Mead convinced of Judge's guilt,

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but equally convinced that he could not be "tried" for his offenses; Messrs. Herbert Burrows, W. Kingsland, and Oliver Firth, strong friends of both Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott, but still in doubt as to Mr. Judge's guilt and the legality of the whole proceedings. Of the remaining members of the Judicial Committee Dr. Buck and Dr. Archibald Keightley were fast friends of both the accused and the accuser, as well as of Col. Olcott; Mr. E.T. Hargrove was a young barrister of excellent family just then coming into prominence among the London members of the Society, friendly to all parties, but, as the after events showed, well assured in his own mind, like Dr. Buck and Dr. Archibald Keightley, both that Mr. Judge was innocent of any wrong-doing and that the whole affair was a colossal blunder as well as legally defective.

The meeting of the Judicial Committee being opened by the President-Founder, he read to the assembled Committee a formal letter from Mr. Judge as General Secretary of the American Section, stating that in the opinion of the Executive Committee of the American Section that Section was entitled to an extra vote in the Judicial Committee by reason of the fact that its General Secretary, being the accused, would not vote in the proceedings. On motion James M. Pryse, well known both in New York and London, was added to the Judicial Committee as a substitute for the General Secretary of the American Section.

Colonel Olcott, as Chairman, then declared the Judicial Committee to be duly constituted, and at once proceeded to read the following remarkable address as President-Founder of the Society. We give it in full, omitting only those parts already covered in the various' documents quoted from:

"Gentlemen and Brothers,

"We have met together today as a Judicial Committee... to consider and dispose of certain charges of misconduct, preferred by Mrs. Besant against the Vice-President of the So-

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ciety, and dated March 24th, 1894 [it should be noted that the two letters to Mr. Judge, purporting to give the "charges" as an enclosure, and "suspending" the Vice-President in consequence, were both dated March 20th, 1894, four days before the date here given]...

In compliance with the Revised Rules, copies of the charges brought by the accuser have been duly supplied to the accused and the members of the General Council...

Upon receipt of a preliminary letter from myself, of date February 7th, 1894, from Agra, India, Mr. Judge, erroneously taking it to be the first step in the official enquiry into the charges, from my omission to mark the letter "Private," naturally misconceived it to be a breach of the Constitution, and vehemently protested in a public circular addressed to "the members of the Theosophical Society," and of which 5,000 copies were distributed to them, to all parts of the world. The name of the accuser not being mentioned, the wrong impression prevailed that I was the author of the charges, and at the same time intended to sit as Chairman of the tribunal that was to investigate them. (3) I regret this circumstance as having caused bad feeling throughout the Society against its Chief Executive, who has been the personal friend of the accused for many years, has ever appreciated as they deserved his eminent services and unflagging devotion to the Society and the whole movement, and whose constant motive has been to be brotherly and act justly to all his colleagues, of every race, religion, and sex.

Having thus followed up the line adopted in the Notice of April 27 which we have given, Col. Olcott proceeds in his Address to the Judicial Committee to argue

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(3) See post, Col. Olcott's Note to Mrs. Besant's statement before the Convention on July 12, 1894, for his direct admission of his own responsibility for the charges.

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and give his own opinions and conclusions on the various questions raised by Mr. Judge at the meeting of the General Council three days preceding, as recited, and concludes this portion of his Address by stating:

"From the above facts it is evident that W.Q. Judge is, and since December, 1888, has continuously been, de jure as well as de facto, Vice-President of the Theosophical Society. The facts having been laid before the General Council in its session of the 7th inst., my ruling has been ratified; and is now also concurred in by Mr. Judge. He is, therefore, triable by this tribunal for 'cause shown.'"

The President-Founder then passes to the second point raised by Mr. Judge. It is interesting to note that in this passage he enlarges the original charge as contained in his letter of February 7. He says:

"The second point raised by the accused is more important. If the acts alleged were done by him at all - which remains as yet sub judice - and he did them as a private person, he cannot be tried by any other tribunal than the Aryan Lodge, T.S., of which he is a Fellow and the President. Nothing can possibly be clearer than that. Now, what are the alleged offenses?

"That he practiced deception in sending false messages, orders and letters, as if sent and written by 'Masters'; and in statements to me about a certain Rosicrucian jewel of H.P.B.'s. "That he was untruthful in various other instances enumerated.

"Are these solely acts done in his private capacity; or may they or either of them be laid against him as wrong-doing by the Vice-President? This is a grave question, both in its present bearings and as establishing a precedent for future contingencies. We must not make a mistake in coming to a decision.

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"In summoning Mr. Judge before this tribunal, I was moved by the thought that the alleged evil acts might be separated into (a) strictly private acts, viz., the alleged untruthfulness and deception, and (b) the alleged circulation of deceptive imitations of what are supposed to be Mahatmic writings, with intent to deceive; which communications, owing to his high official rank among us, carried a weight they would not have had if given out by a simple member. This seemed to me a far more heinous offense than simple falsehood, or any other act of an individual, and to amount to a debasement of his office, if proven,... The issue is now open to your consideration, and you must decide as to your judicial competency."

Although the original charge was "misuse" - i.e., imitating - "the handwriting of the Mahatmas," yet Col. Olcott proceeds to give it as his opinion that -

"The present issue is not at all whether Mahatmas exist or the contrary, or whether they have or have not recognizable handwritings, and have or have not authorized Mr. Judge to put forth documents in their names. I believed, when issuing the call, that the question might be discussed without entering into investigations that would compromise our corporate neutrality. The charges as formulated and laid before me by Mrs. Besant could, in my opinion, have been tried without doing this."

After this extraordinary admission and affirmation Col. Olcott proceeds to hasten to his own defense for having brought matters thus far and for what he now finds himself compelled to do - that is, to reverse himself completely:

"... I must refer to my official record to prove that I would have been the last to help in violating a Constitution of which I am, it may be

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said, the father, and which I have continually defended at all times and in all circumstances. On now meeting Mr. Judge in London, however, and being made acquainted with his intended line of defense, I find that by beginning the enquiry we should be placed in this dilemma, viz., we should either have to deny him the common justice of listening to his statements and examining his proofs (which would be monstrous in even a common court of law, much more in a Brotherhood like ours, based on lines of ideal justice), or be plunged into the very abyss we wish to escape from. Mr. Judge's defense is that he is not guilty of the acts charged; that Mahatmas exist, are related to our Society, and in personal connection with himself; and he avers his readiness to bring many witnesses and documentary proofs to support his statements."

The reader should engrave the foregoing upon his memory. It is Col. Olcott's and therefore Mrs. Besant's own admission, (1) that the constitutional questions raised by Mr. Judge were raised for the sake of the Society and not to evade "trial"; (2) that his "line of defense" which makes the real "dilemma" for his accusers, is simply that Mr. Judge "avers," as Col. Olcott states, not only that he is not guilty, but that he is prepared to prove his connection with the Mahatmas. And although these very constitutional questions and Mr. Judge's very avowal of innocence and readiness to meet an investigation were stated in Mr. Judge's circular of March 15, and although Col. Olcott six weeks later (in the Notice of April 27) declares that in the opinion of "eminent counsel" as well as himself the trial can properly take place as summoned, the President-Founder at London finds himself in a dilemma indeed. What if the trial should proceed and Mr. Judge actually prove his messages? Not to listen to Mr. Judge's defense would be so monstrous indeed that not even the dullest or most prejudiced would fail to see its inequity, however they

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may have been blinded to the monstrous inequity of bringing these hearsay "charges" in the first place. How Col. Olcott evaded the real issue and at the same time did in fact what he had just characterized as "monstrous even in a common court of law, much more in a Brotherhood like" the Theosophical Society, may be seen in his next words:

"The moment we entered into these questions we should violate the most vital spirit of our federal compact, its neutrality in matters of belief. ... For the above reason, then, I declare as my opinion that this enquiry must go no further; we may not break our own laws for any consideration whatsoever. It is furthermore my opinion that such an enquiry, begun by whatsoever official body within our membership cannot proceed if a similar line of defense be declared. If, perchance, a guilty person should at any time go scot-free in consequence of this ruling, we cannot help it; the Constitution is our palladium, and we must make it the symbol of justice or expect our Society to disintegrate."

Thus, in this one paragraph, is the admission in Col Olcott's own words and decision, of the impropriety and illegality of the original bringing of the "charges"; the admission that every constitutional contention raised by Mr. Judge was correct; the admission that Mr. Judge was ready and willing to produce his proofs of Mahatma intercourse; the admission that such a "line of defense" upset the whole procedure, and that the Enquiry "must go no farther" - thus debarring Mr. Judge, foully accused of dishonorable conduct, even from being "entitled to enjoy the full opportunity to disprove the charges brought against you," as Col. Olcott had written him March 20, when suspending him from the Vice-Presidency pending the meeting of the Judicial Committee. In thus himself ignobly retreating from the field of battle the President-Founder in the bitterness and humiliation of his enforced reverse, cannot forbear a

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Parthian shot at his still untouched target as a prelude to his final admission:

"Candor compels me to add that, despite what I thought some preliminary quibbling and unfair tactics, Mr. Judge has traveled hither from America to meet his accusers before this Committee, and announced his readiness to have the charges investigated and decided on their merits by any competent tribunal."

The reader should impress these remarkable statements on his memory for the reason that when he comes to the final debacle he will find both Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant solemnly affirming over and over again that Mr. Judge was "guilty," as if that "guilt" had been proven; that he evaded a trial; that he escaped a trial through pleading what the lawyers call a demurrer. Still more, because in the quarter century since these lamentable episodes, not once but a hundred times have Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott repeated the same statements to those who believed in all good faith their utterly untrustworthy testimony in any matter where the whole truth would show them grossly at fault or grievously in error. The reader should remember that their impeachment is out of their own mouths, not from other witnesses - Col. Olcott Is as just given, Mrs. Besant's as shall follow in the extracts to be given from the Appendix to the "Neutrality" pamphlet.

After the foregoing remarks Col. Olcott argues in extenuation of himself against the resolutions adopted by the Convention of the American Section, then reverses his action complained of therein.

It having been made evident to me that Mr. Judge cannot be tried on the present accusations without breaking through the lines of our Constitution, I have no right to keep him further suspended, and so I hereby cancel my notice of suspension, dated February 7th, 1894 [here again is a significant admission, albeit unintentional;

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for the date of the letter of suspension, as officially forwarded, was March 20], and restore him to the rank of Vice-President."

The remainder of the President-Founder's Address to the Judicial Committee is a half-apology for the "inconvenience" caused the members and others by the convocation of the Committee, and a plea for "brotherhood."

Mr. Mead then submitted to the Judicial Committee the minutes of the General Council meeting of July 7, as given. The Judicial Committee then adopted the following resolutions:

"Resolved: That the President be requested to lay before the committee the charges against Mr. Judge referred to in his address.

"The charges were laid before the Committee accordingly.

"After deliberation, it was:

"Resolved: that although it was ascertained that the member bringing the charges [Mrs. Besant] and Mr. Judge are both ready to go on with the enquiry, the Committee considers, nevertheless, that the charges are not such as relate to the conduct of the Vice-President in his official capacity, and therefore are not subject to its jurisdiction."

It will be observed from the foregoing that the report merely states that the resolutions were "adopted" by the Committee without giving the votes, pro and contra. The reader should understand that the delegates favorable to Mr. Judge left it to the others to decide whether to proceed or not.

Another resolution affirmed that a trial of the kind under enquiry would violate the neutrality of the Society in matters of religious opinion. On this "four members abstained from voting," according to the report. Their names are not given. Another resolution adopted the President's Address, and still another reso-

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lution was adopted asking the General Council to print and circulate a report of the proceedings. The question was then raised whether the charges against Mr. Judge should be included in the printed report. On this Mr. Burrows moved and Mr. Sturdy seconded a resolution that "if the Proceedings were printed at all the charges should be included." We think, in view of all the circumstances connected, and more particularly the step subsequently taken by them, that this resolution was introduced with the full knowledge and acquiescence of both Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott. But when the assembled delegates came to see the full iniquity of officially spreading broadcast a series of charges after having denied the accused the opportunity of meeting and rebutting them, this motion was too much for even the most prejudiced to stomach and be responsible for. The report says: "On being put to the vote the resolution was not carried." Once more, the report carefully abstains from mentioning who voted for and who against this infamous resolution. After this, the report states, "The Minutes having been read and confirmed the Committee dissolved."

It will be noted that every resolution adopted by the General Council in its session of July 7, and all the proceedings of the session of the Judicial Committee on the 10th were taken in exact accord with the remarks of the President-Founder in his Addresses to the two bodies. This shows two things, (1) that the sessions were the mere carrying out of a "cut-and-dried" program arranged by Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant; (2) that they controlled the majority action of both bodies. A third matter is still more worthy of note: that in the entire proceedings, both of the General Council meeting and those of the Judicial Committee, Mr. Judge and those representing him took an entirely passive part. Having in his formal letters addressed to the two bodies, raised the necessary legal questions, and avowed his readiness to meet directly any trial of the real issues at stake, Mr. Judge remained silent throughout, leaving it to his persecutors to take what steps they would. He

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made no attack on any of his enemies; he demanded no enquiry into the gross malfeasance shown by the President-Founder; he brought no charges against those present whom he knew to be manipulating the proceedings; he did not ask that those who had themselves claimed to be "in communication with Masters" be put upon their voir dire and submitted to the same ordeal that had been thrust upon him; he made no comments, raised no objections, demanded no retractions, no apology. He had simply met squarely all that had been rumored, circulated, charged against him; that done, he had taken no advantage of the dilemma and the wrong-doing of his opponents. He had fulfilled to the uttermost scruple the rules of Occultism, its requirements of Brotherhood, and uttered no word of complaint or reproach at their violation by those sworn, like himself, to the First Object of the T.S., the pledge and Rules of the School of the Masters. His enemies he did not look upon as his personal foes, nor as intentionally dishonorable, but as probationers in the fiery furnace of "pledge fever," knowing not what they did. As they had broken away from the lines, he could not help them, but he could, and did abstain from pushing them further afield. He knew that now all the facts were of record, so that no student need be misled by partisan or corrupted testimony. The whole Theosophical world could know that those high in the counsels of the Society had brought charges, had racked the world for evidences to sustain them, had had the entire proceedings in their own hands, and had themselves been forced by the hollowness and inequity of their own conduct to reverse themselves completely, in order to save, not the Society, but themselves.

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British Convention Dismisses Case Against Judge

Purely negative as was the decision of the Judicial Committee, it produced momentous and immediate consequences - consequences evidently wholly unanticipated by either Col. Olcott or Mrs. Besant. For, no sooner were the details of the proceedings noised about among the Theosophists then assembled in London for the Convention of the European Section, than a sharp reaction set in against the two accusers who had played the leading part in the great scandal which had been convulsing the Society for the preceding five months. The very course that Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant had felt constrained to adopt to save themselves was a direct, though tacit; admission that they had been wholly in the wrong, legally as well as morally, in bringing the charges at all, and this unavoidable inference contained within itself a terrible backlash.

In bringing the charges in the first place, Mrs. Besant had declared that they were believed in by reputable members of the Society and should be investigated; Col. Olcott, that it had been his duty under the Constitution to summon Mr. Judge for trial and to suspend him from his office of Vice-President in the interval. Both had affirmed repeatedly that they were personal friends of Mr. Judge and were moved by the desire to free him

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from the taint of calumny and afford him the opportunity to meet the accusations directly and disprove them if he could. Judge had raised three direct issues: (1) that his offense, if any, was not as Vice-President but as an individual, and therefore not triable under the Constitution and Rules of the Society, but by the Branch to which he belonged - the Aryan Society of New York; (2) that any trial by the Society of alleged "imitating the handwriting of Mahatmas" was necessarily to involve the question of the existence of such Beings and Their connection with the Society and individuals in it, thus affixing a dogma to the Society; (3) that if, not withstanding, his accusers were determined to proceed, he stood ready to produce witnesses and documents to prove his own direct connection with these Mahatmas.

The members could but remember that Mr. Judge had instantly raised all three questions in his circular of March 15, the moment the charges were sponsored by Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant. They could but remember that Col. Olcott, in suspending him from office, had grandiloquently informed him that he should be afforded an opportunity to disprove the charges. They could but remember that Col. Olcott in his Executive Notice of April 27 had affirmed that in his own opinion and that of "eminent counsel, members of the Society," Mr. Judge could be tried "without involving the neutrality of the Society." The President-Founder's Address to the Judicial Committee could be looked upon, therefore, only as a square backdown from the position originally assumed and maintained down to the very date of the "trial," and, since Mrs. Besant was bound up with him in the course taken throughout, it was equally a complete reversal on her part.

It was perfectly well known to all that the "Constitution and Rules" had been arranged year after year by Col. Olcott to suit his own ideas, and it was an open secret to many that the present Rules had been "revised" to clear the way to the "trial." And it was well understood by all that the majority of the General Council and of the Judicial Committee was entirely plastic to

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the President-Founder's wishes - so much so that many "neutrals" and friends of Mr. Judge as well as the followers of Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant were surprised beyond measure at the turn of events. What had occurred to upset an apparently ready-made program which had kept the Society in a ferment for five months with a scandal most hurtful to all and most injurious to the reputation of its Vice-President? The facts were still undetermined, the mischief unrepaired, by this apparently arbitrary and final decision of the Judicial Committee under the influence of Col. Olcott's Address. Were Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant sincerely repentant of the wrong done? Or was it to be inferred as the true explanation of this mysterious change of front in the face of Mr. Judge's defense that the accusers did not want the facts known; that they feared he could prove his claim of communications from the Mahatmas; feared that that done, a clamor would go up for Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and all others who had claimed communications, also to prove their claims; feared the consequences if all the facts should become public?

It can, then, well be imagined what commotion ensued when all the inferences deducible from Col. Olcott's Address and the decision of the Judicial Committee were freely aired. On the 11th, therefore, Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott found themselves in a most unenviable position. Restive under the fire of criticism, as is ever the case with those most ready to lay down the law for others, it behove them to do something - anything - to escape the threatened engulfment. Mrs. Besant proposed to Dr. J.D. Buck. that, in view of the situation, a "Jury of Honor" be impaneled to pass upon the "charges," and suggested the names of Messrs. Sinnett, Bertram Keightley, Sturdy, Burrows, and Firth for membership on such a jury. This was declined on the grounds that Mr. Judge had not yet been supplied with certified copies of the documents proposed to be used as "evidence" against him; that it would require time for him to produce witnesses and documents in rebuttal; finally, that the majority of the names submitted were

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those of men known to be already prejudiced against him, and that a jury, if chosen, should be composed of members qualified to weigh and pass upon principles, processes, and evidences necessarily connected with "precipitations" and other "Occult" phenomena. As there were few indeed of the well-known Theosophists then in London who had not already expressed opinions for or against the questions involved, and fewer still who were ready to "qualify" as competent judges of the facts of Occult phenomena, it was speedily seen that the expedient of a Jury of Honor would leave the situation worse than ever.

Yet to leave matters as they were was intolerable, whether from the standpoint of the predicament of the accusers or the more noble one of the well-being of the Society. Mrs. Besant next proposed that she herself prepare a statement of the case, that Mr. Judge do the same, and that the two statements be read before the Convention of the European Section which then, with the statements before it, should serve as a jury and take such action as to it might seem proper. Dr. Buck accepted this proposition on behalf of Mr. Judge and the statements were accordingly read at the third session of the Convention on the evening of July 12th. Both statements are here given in full from the text of the "Neutrality" pamphlet.

"Statement by Annie Besant

"Read for the Information of Members at the Third Session of the European Convention of the T.S., July 12th, 1894.

"I speak to you tonight as the representative of the T.S. in Europe, and as the matter I have to lay before you concerns the deepest interests of the Society, I pray you to lay aside all prejudice and feeling, to judge by Theosophical standards and not by the lower standards of the world, and to give your help now in one of the gravest crises in which our movement has found itself.

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There has been much talk of Committees and Juries of Honour. We come to you, our brothers, to tell you what is in our hearts.

"I am going to put before you the exact position of affairs on the matter which has been filling our hearts all day. Mr. Judge and I have agreed to lay two statements before you, and to ask your counsel upon them.

"For some years past persons inspired largely by personal hatred for Mr. Judge, and persons inspired by hatred for the Theosophical Society and for all that it represents, have circulated a mass of accusations against him, ranging from simple untruthfulness to deliberate and systematic forgery of the handwriting of Those Who to some of us are most sacred. The charges were not in a form that it was possible to meet, a general denial could not stop them, and explanation to irresponsible accusers was at once futile and undignified.

"Mr. Judge's election as the future President of the Society increased the difficulties of the situation and the charges themselves were repeated with growing definiteness and insistence, until they found expression in an article in The Theosophist signed by Messrs. Old and Edge. At last, the situation became so strained that it was declared by many of the most earnest members of the Indian Section that, if Mr. Judge became President with these charges hanging over him unexplained, the Indian Section would secede from the T.S. Representation to this effect was made to me, and I was asked, as well-known in the world and the T.S. and as a close friend and colleague of Mr. Judge, to intervene in the matter.

"I hold strongly that, whatever may be the faults of a private member, they are no concern of mine, and it is no part of my duty as a humble servant of the Lords of Compassion, to drag

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my brother's faults into public view, nor to arraign him before any tribunal. His faults and mine will find their inevitable harvest of suffering, and I am content to leave them to the Great Law, which judges unerringly and knits to every wrong its necessary sequence of pain.

"But where the honor of the Society was concerned in the person of its now second official and (as he was then thought to be) its President-Elect, it was right to do what I could to put an end to the growing friction and suspicion, both for the sake of the Society and for that of Mr. Judge; and I agreed to intervene privately believing that many of the charges were false, dictated and circulated malevolently, that others were much exaggerated and were largely susceptible of explanation, and that what might remain of valid complaint might be put an end to without public controversy. Under the promise that nothing should be done further in the matter until my intervention had failed, I wrote to Mr. Judge. The promise of silence was broken by persons who knew some of the things complained of, and before any answer could be received by me from Mr. Judge, distorted versions of what had occurred were circulated far and wide. This placed Mr. Judge in a most unfair position, and he found my name used against him in connection with charges which he knew to be grossly exaggerated where not entirely untrue.

"Not only so, but I found that a public Committee of Enquiry was to be insisted on, and I saw that the proceedings would be directed in a spirit of animosity, and that the aim was to inflict punishment for wrongs believed to have been done, rather than to prevent future harm to the Society. I did my utmost to prevent a public Committee of Enquiry of an official character. I failed and the Committee was decided

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on. And then I made what many of Mr. Judge's friends think was a mistake. I offered to take on myself the onus of formulating the charges against him. I am not concerned to defend myself on this, nor to trouble you with my reasons for taking so painful a decision; in this decision, for which I alone am responsible, I meant to act for the best, but it is very possible I made a mistake - for I have made many mistakes in judgment in my life, and my vision is not always clear in these matters of strife and controversy which are abhorrent to me.

"In due course I formulated the charges, and drew up the written statement of evidence in support of them. They came in due course before the Judicial Committee, as you heard this morning. That Committee decided that they alleged private, not official, wrong-doing, and therefore could not be tried by a Committee that could deal only with a President or Vice-President as such. I was admitted to the General Council of the T.S. when this point was argued, and I was convinced by that argument that the point was rightly taken. I so stated when asked by the General Council, and again when asked by the Judicial Committee. And this put an end to the charges so far as that Committee was concerned.

"As this left the main issue undecided, and left Mr. Judge under the stigma of unproved and unrebutted charges, it was suggested by Mr. Herbert Burrows that the charges should be laid before a Committee of Honour. At the moment this was rejected by Mr. Judge, but he wrote to me on the following day, asking me to agree with him in nominating such a Committee. I have agreed to this, but with very great reluctance, for the reason mentioned above; that I feel it no part of my duty to attack any private member of the T.S., and I think such an attack would

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a most unfortunate precedent. But as the proceedings which were commenced against Mr. Judge, as an official have proved abortive, it does not seem fair that I - responsible for those proceedings by taking part in them - should refuse him the Committee he asks for.

"But there is another way, which I now take, and which, if you approve it, will put an end to this matter; and as no Theosophist should desire to inflict penalty for the past - even if he thinks wrong has been done - but only to help forward right in the future, it may, I venture to hope, be accepted.

"And now I must reduce these charges to their proper proportions, as they have been enormously exaggerated, and it is due to Mr. Judge that I should say publicly what from the beginning I have said privately. The President stated them very accurately in his address to the Judicial Committee: the vital charge is that Mr. Judge has issued letters and messages in the script recognizable as that adopted by a Master with whom H.P.B. was closely connected, and that these letters and messages were neither written nor precipitated directly by the Master in whose writing they appear; as leading up to this there are subsidiary charges of deception, but these would certainly never have been made the basis of any action save for their connection with the main point.

Further, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not charge and have not charged Mr. Judge with forgery in the ordinary sense of the term, but with giving a misleading material form to messages received psychically from the Masters in various ways, without acquainting the recipients with this fact.

"I regard Mr. Judge as an Occultist, possessed of considerable knowledge, and animated by a deep and unswerving devotion to the Theosophi-

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cal Society. I believe that he has often received direct messages from the Masters and from Their chelas, guiding and helping him in his work. I believe that he has sometimes received messages for other people in one or other of the ways that I will mention in a moment, but not by direct writing by the Master nor by His direct precipitation; and that Mr. Judge has then believed himself to be justified in writing down in the script adopted by H.P.B. for communications from the Master, the message psychically received, and in giving it to the person for whom it was intended, leaving that person to wrongly assume that it was a direct precipitation or writing by the Master Himself - that is, that it was done through Mr. Judge, but done by the Master.

"Now personally I hold that this method is illegitimate and that no one should simulate a recognized writing which is regarded as authoritative when it is authentic. And by authentic I mean directly written or precipitated by the Master Himself. If a message is consciously written it should be so stated: if automatically written, it should be so stated. At least so it seems to me. It is important that the very small part generally played by the Masters in these phenomena should be understood, so that people may not receive messages as authoritative merely on the ground of their being in a particular script. Except in the very rarest instances, the Masters do not personally write letters or directly precipitate communications. Messages may be sent by Them to those with whom They can communicate by external voice, or astral vision, or psychic word, or mental impression, or in other ways. If a person gets a message which he believes to be from the Master, for communication to anyone else, he is bound in honour not to add to that message any extraneous cir-

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cumstances which will add weight to it in the recipient's eyes. I believe that Mr. Judge wrote with his own hand, consciously or, automatically I do not know, in the script adopted as that of the Master, messages which he received from the Master or from chelas; and I know that, in my own case, I believed that the messages he gave me in the well-known script were messages directly precipitated or directly written by the Master. When I publicly said that I had received after H.P.B.'s death letters in the writing H.P. Blavatsky had been accused of forging, I referred to letters given to me by Mr. Judge, and as they were in the well-known script I never dreamt of challenging their source. I know now that they were not written or precipitated by the Master, and that they were done by Mr. Judge, but I also believe that the gist of these messages was psychically received, and that Mr. Judge's error lay in giving them to me in a script written by himself and not saying that he had done so. I feel bound to refer to these letters thus explicitly, because having been myself mistaken, I in turn misled the public.

"It should be generally understood inside and outside the Theosophical Society, that letters and messages may be written or may be precipitated in any script, without thereby gaining any valid authority. Scripts may be produced by automatic or deliberate writing with the hand, or by precipitation, by many agencies from the White and Black Adepts down to semi-conscious Elementals, and those who afford the necessary conditions can be thus used. The source of messages can only be decided by direct spiritual knowledge or, intellectually, by the nature of their contents, and each person must use his own powers and act on his own responsibility, in accepting or rejecting them. Thus I rejected a number of letters, real precipitations,

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brought me by an American, not an F.T.S., as substantiating his claim to be H.P.B.'s successor. (1) Any good medium may be used for precipitating messages by any of the varied entities in the Occult world; and the outcome of these proceedings will be, I hope, to put an end to the craze for receiving letters and messages, which are more likely to be subhuman or human in their origin than superhuman, and to throw people back on the evolution of their own spiritual nature, by which alone they can be safely guided through the mazes of the super-physical world.

"If you, representatives of the T.S., consider that the publication of this statement followed by that which Mr. Judge will make, would put an end to this distressing business, and by making a clear understanding, get rid at least of the mass of seething suspicions in which we have been living, and if you can accept it, I propose that this should take the place of the Committee of Honour, putting you, our brothers, in the place of the Committee. I have made the frankest explanation I can; I know how enwrapped in difficulty are these phenomena which are connected with forces obscure in their workings to most; therefore, how few are able to judge of them accurately, while those through whom they play are not always able to control them. And I trust that these explanations may put an end to some at least of the troubles of the last two years, and leave us to go on with our work for the world, each in his own way. For any pain that I have given my brother, in trying to do a most repellant task, I ask his pardon, as also for any mistakes that I may have made.

Annie Besant."

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(1) Mrs. Besant here refers to Mr. Henry B. Foulke of Philadelphia, whose claims were recited and discussed is Chapter XXIII.

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"(The above statements as to precipitated, written, and other communications have been made long ago by both H.P. Blavatsky and Mr. Judge, in Lucifer, The Path, and elsewhere, both publicly and privately. - A.B.)

"(Note by Col. Olcott. - I cannot allow Mrs. Besant to take upon herself the entire responsibility for formulating the charges against Mr. Judge, since I myself requested her to do it. The tacit endorsement of the charges by persistence in a policy of silence was an injustice to the Vice-President, since it gave him no chance to make his defence; while, at the same time, the widely-current suspicions were thereby augmented, to the injury of the Society. So to bring the whole matter to light, I with others, asked Mrs. Besant to assume the task of drafting and signing the charges. - H.S.O.)

"Statement By Mr. Judge

"Since March 1st, charges have been going round the world against me, to which the name of Annie Besant has been attached, without her consent as she now says, that I have been guilty of forging the names and handwritings of the Mahatmas and of misusing the said names and handwritings. The charge has also arisen that I suppressed the name of Annie Besant as mover in the matter from fear of the same. All this has been causing great trouble and working injury to all concerned, that is, to all our members. It is now time that this should be put an end to once for all if possible.

"I now state as follows

"1. I left the name of Annie Besant out of my published circular by request of my friends in the T.S. then near me so as to save her and leave it to others to put her name to the charge.

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"It now appears that if I had so put her name it would have run counter to her present statement.

"2. I repeat my denial of the said rumoured charges of forging the said names and handwritings of the Mahatmas or of misusing the same.

"3. I admit that I have received and delivered messages from the Mahatmas and assert their genuineness.

"4. I say that I have heard and do hear from the Mahatmas, and that I am an agent of the Mahatmas; but I deny that I have ever sought to induce that belief in others and this is the first time to my knowledge that I have ever made the claim now made. I am pressed into the place where I must make it. My desire and effort have been to distract attention from such an idea as related to me. But I have no desire to make the claim, which I repudiate, that I am the only channel for communication with Masters; and it is my opinion that such communication is open to any human being who, by endeavoring to serve mankind, affords the necessary conditions.

"5. Whatever messages from the Mahatmas have been delivered by me as such - and they are extremely few - I now declare were and are genuine messages from the Mahatmas so far as my knowledge extends; they were obtained through me, but as to how they were obtained or produced I cannot state. But I can now again say, as I have said publicly before, and as was said by H.P. Blavatsky so often that I have always thought it common knowledge among studious Theosophists, that precipitation of words or messages is of no consequence and constitutes no proof of connection with Mahatmas; it is only phenomenal and not of the slightest value.

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"6. So far as methods are concerned for the reception and delivery of messages from the Masters, they are many. My own methods may disagree from the views of others and I acknowledge their right to criticise them if they choose; but I deny the right of anyone to say that they know or can prove the non-genuineness of such messages to or through me unless they are able to see on that plane. I can only say that I have done my best to report - in the few instances when I have done it at all - correctly and truthfully such messages as I think I have received for transmission, and never to my knowledge have I tried therewith to deceive any person or persons whatever.

"7. And I say that in 1893 the Master sent me a message in which he thanked me for all my work and exertions in the Theosophical field, and expressed satisfaction therewith, ending with sage advice to guard me against the failings and follies of my lower nature: that message Mrs. Besant unreservedly admits.

"8. Lastly, and only because of absurd statements made and circulated, I willingly say that which I never denied, that I am a human being, full of error, liable to mistake, not infallible, but just the same as any other human being like to myself, or of the class of human beings to which I belong. And I freely, fully and sincerely forgive anyone who may be thought to have injured or tried to injure me.

William Q, Judge."

Taking Mr. Judge's statement first, the student will note its terseness and its impersonality. Not once does he strike a defensive or an offensive chord. The tone is historical and dispassionate, as if he were discussing abstractions in which neither he nor anyone present could have the slightest personal concern. Although but a third the length of Mrs. Besant's statement, Mr. Judge gives

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in clearest terms all the items around which the original charges arose. He tells what the original accusations were, the coupling of Mrs. Besant's name with them, why he made no mention of her in his circular, and gives in explicit words what he has done, why he did it, and why he makes his statement. The real issue stands out clear: Did he or did he not receive and transmit "messages from the Mahatmas"? He says he did so receive and so transmit messages from Them, but declines pointblank to say how or in what manner they were transmitted to or through him. He refers to what should have been common knowledge to all Theosophists - that the phenomenal accompaniments are neither proof nor disproof of the source of a message; that no one can be sure of the genuineness of a message unless he is able to see on the plane of its origin, that is to say, on the plane of causation. The whole statement might have been written by H.P.B. or by one of the Masters, for it does but repeat her and Their replies when the same questions were raised in regard to her messages and her other phenomena. In the whole statement there can be found no word of recrimination, of recantation, or evasion. He neither argues, disputes, nor extenuates. What he can tell, he tells simply, but he maintains the reticence of the genuine initiate concerning the modus operandi of Oc