Page:Isis very much unveiled - being the story of the great Mahatma hoax (IA b24884273).pdf/91

Rh first article that “a few people are aware … that there was recently a Theosophic meeting at which Mrs. Besant confessed to her friends that there had been something wrong with the ‘communications,’ ” and that she persuaded those assembled generally to hush the matter up, he does not know his case. This is what really happened. After Mr. Old had been some time in India he came to the conclusion that certain charges against Mr. Judge, which up to then had been vaguely floating about, were true, and he said so. In England we disbelieved them, for we had no real evidence, but when Mrs. Besant reached India, and examined the evidence, she agreed with Mr. Old. She formally adopted and formulated the charges, and the fact that she had done so immediately became known all over the world. There was no hole-and-corner work about it. An official investigation committee met, but found itself blocked by the constitutional difficulties with which your readers are now familiar.

Then I proposed that we should resolve ourselves into a voluntary jury of honour. Mr. Judge did not agree to this, and so there was a deadlock. The evidence had not been heard, although Mrs. Besant was ready with it, for the inquiry had not been made, neither had we heard Mr. Judge’s defence. The next stage in the proceedings was the reading, to a very full meeting of members from all parts of the world—for it was our annual convention—of the statements by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge, to which Mr. Garrett has so often referred. In her statement Mrs. Besant said: “The vital charge is that Mr. Judge has issued letters and messages in the script recognisable 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.” That is pretty definite and precise. These two statements by the accuser and the accused, together with all the proceedings of the committee, were published in Lucifer on August 15, and they were reprinted in a pamphlet which was sent to every member of the society, and I also know