Theos-Talk Archives (August 1996 Message tl00034)

 From time to time in our Internet discussions, misgivings or
   curiosity has been expressed concerning the "E.S.", the Liberal
   Catholic Church, and Co-Freemasonry, especially with regard to
   the association of these bodies with the Adyar-based
   Theosophical Society.  The following document from 1924 tells us
   that this is nothing new.  Clearly, the Special Convention did
   not fully succed in obtaining all its objectives, though their
   desire for a National Council is close the the arrangement at
   present in force within the English Section.

Alan Bain, 1 August 1996

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SPECIAL CONVENTION.

The Theosophical Society In England,

AGENDA:

Under Rule 31 of the Rules of the National Society the following
   seven Lodges have demanded a Special Convention - Battersea and
   Clapham, Bow, Exeter, Gnostic, Leytonstone, London, and Reading.

These Lodges have formed a "Special Convention Committee" for the
   purpose of securing concerted action in doing all that is
   possible to make the Convention a success, and in carrying on
   afterwards the work of renovation thereby initiated.

On the 18th January, 1924, the Chairman of this Special Convention
   Committee handed to the Acting General Secretary of the National
   Society the following AGENDA, which the seven Lodges demanding
   the Special Convention had formally adopted, jointly and
   severally as the Business to be transacted thereat. Therefore
   these nine RESOLUTIONS, as they stand, will be presented for the
   decision of the National Society at the Special Convention,
   which probably will be held at the end of March in London. Due
   notice of the date will be sent, of course, to every Member by
   the General Secretary of the National Society.

RESOLUTION No. 1.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   resolves that it re-affirms the democratic basis of the
   Constitution of the National Society, and the right of its
   Members to have a voice in the management of its affairs and the
   election of its Officials, and to discuss at the Annual
   Convention matters of business arising out of the General
   Secretary's Report.

THAT this CONVENTION furthermore affirms the complete impartiality
   and neutrality of the Society in all matters concerning religion
   and politics, and that the Society had no connection, official
   or unofficial, with any religious or political Organization
   whatever.

RESOLUTION No. 2.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   hereby registers its profound regret that the state of the
   Theosophical Society at large is so unsatisfactory, and that
   disharmony within it is so rampant, rendering the Society
   incapable of performing the three-fold function declared in its
   Objects. This SPECIAL CONVENTION attributes the paralysis of the
   Theosophical Society to the many grave errors of the
   Administration, its lack of courage in dealing with alleged
   delinquencies, and its reliance on autocratic and secret
   control, rather than on the cleansing democratic principles
   expressed in its Constitution and those of its component
   National Societies.

This SPECIAL CONVENTION therefore resolves to appeal to the several
   National Societies in the above terms to throw off all secret
   control and to restore harmony by a reliance on the original
   democratic principles.

RESOLUTION No. 3.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   requests the Administration to take immediately such steps as
   may be necessary to prevent in future any cause whatever being
   given to the public to associate the Society with any Sect,
   Cult, or Organization expounding and propagating particular
   teachings and beliefs, such as "The Liberal Catholic Church" and
   "The Order of the Star In The East", both of which are
   unfortunately at present associated and identified with the
   Theosophical Society to such an alarming extent that it will
   require continued effort for a considerable time on the part of
   the Administration and of all Lodges to counteract the injury
   which has already been done to the reputation of the Society.

This Resolution must not be taken as casting any reflection
   whatever upon the two particular Sects named, and to which
   belong many earnest workers in our National Society, but as
   voicing the earnest wish of the Society to maintain before the
   public its good name for perfect tolerance of and absolute
   neutrality to all beliefs not denying Human Brotherhood.

RESOLUTION No. 4.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   requests the National Council to frame, and make immediately
   operative, a Rule under which it shall be prohibited that any
   Office should be held in the National Society or its Lodges, by
   a Member who by pledges to any Organization is thereby rendered
   "not free" to carry out in an unbiassed and impartial manner the
   duties of an Official in the Theosophical Society, which is
   essentially a democratic one. In this connection this SPECIAL
   CONVENTION declares that the pledge of unquestioning loyalty to
   Mrs. Besant "for any Object which she declares to be the work of
   the Masters" renders any pledged member of her Secret
   Organization known as the "E.S." unsuitable for the holding of
   any office whatever in the Society, especially in view of the
   fact that she has laid down that loyalty to herself must take
   precedence of duty as a Lodge Official.

To prevent misunderstanding or misrepresentation, this SPECIAL
   CONVENTION desires to declare unequivocally that this Resolution
   must not be taken in any way whatever to cast reflections upon
   the "E.S." or any other Organization, but solely as a necessary
   safeguard to prevent the National Society, or any of its Lodges,
   coming under secret control, as it is obvious that all of its
   Officials should be free from any restraint or control in the
   exercise of their respective duties in the National Society.

RESOLUTION No. 5.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   earnestly requests the PRESIDENT of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY to
   establish, or to authorize the establishment of, a TRIBUNAL
   within the Society for the purpose of investigating and
   reporting upon several matters which are seriously affecting the
   good name of the Society, in order to make available for
   Members, both present and future, a trustworthy record of the
   actual facts in connection therewith while first-hand evidence
   be available, and thus to put an end to the many unpleasant
   rumours and statements which are causing so much uneasiness and
   loss of membership. This request to be regarded as not being in
   any sense an insinuation against any person or group of persons,
   but as providing the only possible means whereby unjust or
   malicious attacks can be satisf actorily refuted.

THAT such a TRIBUNAL should be composed of Members of THE
   THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY of undoubted impartiality who shall not
   belong to the Secret Group known as the "E.S.", or to "The Order
   Of The Star In The East", or to " The Liberal Catholic Church",
   or to any Body hampering freedom of thought or action in matters
   connected with The Theosophical Society , THAT it should consist
   of as many Sections as there are countries wherein to collect
   evidence, and THAT each Section should be empowered to
   interrogate personally, and to request sworn statements from,
   any Official or other Member of The Theosophical Society, as
   well as such other persons as might be willing to assist the
   TRIBUNAL in its efforts to arrive at the true facts about any
   matter which it might be investigating.

That the personnel of the English Section of the TRIBUNAL shall be
   subject to the approval and acceptance of THE SPECIAL CONVENTION
   COMMITTEE which has organised this CONVENTION of THE
   THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND.

That the whole of the evidence collected by each Section of the
   TRIBUNAL shall be carefully preserved; THAT duly attested copies
   thereof shall be sent to every General Secretary; and THAT,
   together with any summarizations of the TRIBUNAL or any Section
   thereof, it shall be printed, and published at cost price, by
   the Theosophical Society as being a permanent record of
   first-hand evidence wherewith to meet and finally dispose of the
   numerous allegations, rumours, suspicions and accusations, which
   are seriously affecting the good name of the Society and
   exposing it to scorn in the eyes of the public to such an extent
   that often Members are compelled to avoid using the label
   "Theosophical" at meetings if they would gain a sympathetic
   hearing for teachings that their audiences are anxious to
   consider. By having available such a collection of reliable
   evidence any repetition of slanderous or unjust accusations
   could be immediately met, if necessary by prosecution for libel.

THAT this TRIBUNAL shall be empowered to investigate all matters
   whatsoever which are productive of harm to The Theosophical
   Society as a whole.

RESOLUTION No. 6.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   regrets to note that the General Secretary and Executive
   Committee, jointly or separately, in carrying on the
   administration of the National Society during their term of
   office have made many grave errors causing dissatisfaction and
   unrest, have failed repeatedly to observe the Rules of the
   Society, have allowed themselves to be swayed by external (and
   possibly secret) influences, and have committed the National
   Society to being a party, whether active or implied, to actions
   which call for its strong condemnation.

RESOLUTION No. 7.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   declares the present method of electing Officials of the Society
   and the Members of the National Council to be unsatisfactory,
   and decides that it shall be immediately abolished.  THAT the
   composition of the National Council shall be altered to consist
   of at least one representative from each Lodge and a
   proportional representation of unattached Members; THAT the
   General Secretary shall be elected by a postal ballot of the
   whole National Society; THAT the Rules of the National Society
   shall be revised, and the Rule which empowers the National
   Council to cancel any resolution passed at a Convention of the
   National Society shall be abolished.

RESOLUTION No. 8.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   regrets to note an increasing tendency on the part of the
   Administration, in England and elsewhere, to use for
   controversial political ends and sectarian religious propaganda
   the Organization, Magazines and influence of the Society, which,
   by the nature of its Constitution and its declared Objects, aims
   at inculcating in its Members a desire to protect those ideals
   of Political Freedom and Religious Liberty which must be
   attained before a UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD OF HUMANITY can be
   realised, and therefore of necessity must sedulously avoid in
   any way identifying itself with political questions or religious
   sects.

THAT in particular it expresses its strong disapproval of the
   Administration of this National Society having permitted the
   Register of its Members and the Society's Offices and Staff
   being placed at the disposal of a Political Agent for the
   purpose of convening a public political meeting in London, and
   of having included in the published Programme of the last Annual
   Convention of this National Society a morning set apart for a
   "Devotional Meeting " taken by a priest of a particular
   religious sect.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION therefore requests the Administration
   of the National Society to take such steps as shall prevent the
   recurrence of such deplorable actions in the future.

RESOLUTION No. 9.

THAT this SPECIAL CONVENTION of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
   hereby decides that the amount payable to Headquarters annually
   by Members shall be reduced from ten shillings to five
   shillings, as very many Lodges are unable to do the work they
   would like to owing to lack of funds.

Issued by the SPECIAL CONVENTION COMMITTEE, 5, Tregunter Road,
   London, S.W.10.

Printed by GEORGE WHITE, 396, King's Road, S.W.10

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