THEOSOPHY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10194, 31 October 1894, Page 2

THEOSOPHY.

THE MAHATMAS ALLEGED TO BE A HOAX. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. London, October 20. The Westminster Gazette publishes a seriau of articles, the object of which ia to prove that the Mabatmas are a hoax. It alleges that Mrs JBesant has been bamboozled for years by bogus communications, and that she and her colleagues are now condoning the hoax in order to shield the author of the bogus document, who is holding the highest office bat one in the Thcosophical Society.

In connection with the above message Mrs Besanfc, being interviewed at Wellington by the i Jreßs Association, makes the following statement:— "I have not .seen or heard anything about the alleged article* in the Westminster Gazette,. but I can unhesitatingly deny tha statements as cabled th>vt there weuMWm't! naß»H»ges circulated, alleged to be ' froiii Mtthatmas, that did not originate from them. It is also true that there were messages given to certain people by Mr Judge ' in lift; script recognisable &* that adopted by the master, with whom M. F. Blavatsky was closely connected, and that these letters and messages were neither written nor precipitated, directly by tne master, in who.se writing they appear.' Knowing that this had been done, I brought th 6 matter before the officials of the Theosophicul Society, and I did this partly to put an end to what I considered dangerous and wrong, and partly to. redace to their true measure a mass of vague accusations, for the must part false, that had been uindo againxt Mr Judge. He had baen treeiy sccuM-d in various new«pspera in America, India, and Eugland or forjjerj »ud fraud, and it w»s ueceasary that the accusations should ha bitted, and that he should be given an opportunity of meeting them. The essential charge I brought was the one stated above in inverted commas, and I stated that I believed Mr Judge hud often received direct messages from the mustrrs and from their nhelas. but that h« has eometiinen written down the messpge psychically rtceirtd in the script above referred to, and had ttuia misled tho person to whom he gave it. i3eliaviug this to bo wrong I protested agaiusfc it, and my full stateaiout was published lust July. So far from condoning aay wrong, I publicly alleged it and condemned it. The committee of the Thoosuphical Society broke down ou a technical objection raised by Mr Judge, and in consequence of that failure I published a statement of the proceedings of the committee, and my statement and one by Mr Judge were ssnt by myself to every important London papf-r, the Westminster Gazttto included, last July. That the matter was not given publicity to is therefore due. to the press and not to the society that published the proceedings, nor to myself, who neut them torhe papers. loan give you the whole for publication if you wish. I send you also a statement issued by seven of us showing the position we take up. All this business in no way touches the existence of masters »ny moro, thau. the forging of a letter from the Queeu would disprove her existence. My knowledge, then, (Joes not exist oa any written papers to myself or others, but on my own personal experience-son teaching directly received on face-to-face communication. On this I rest."