THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES.

EUROPEAN SECTION.

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

At a Council meeting held at 19, Avenue Road, London, on July 4th, the President-Founder in the chair, the reports of all the Sections of the T. S. on the Rules were carefully considered, and the following was adopted and ordered to be issued.

I.

RULES OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Constitution.

1. The title of this Society, which was formed at New York, United States of America, on Nov. 17th, 1875, is the "Theosophical Society."

2. The objects of the Theosophical Society are:

(i) To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour.

(ii) To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science.

(iii) To investigate unexplained laws of Nature, and the powers latent in man.

3. The Theosophical Society has no concern with politics, caste rules and social observances. It is unsectarian, and demands no assent to any formula of belief as a qualification of membership.

Membership.

4. Every application for membership must be made on an authorized form, and must be endorsed by two members of the Society and signed by the applicant; but no persons under age shall be admitted without the consent of their guardians.

5. Admission to membership may be obtained through the President of a Branch, the General Secretary of a Section, or the Recording Secretary, and a certificate of membership, bearing the signature of the President and the seal of the Society, and countersigned by one of the above-named officers, shall be issued to the member.

Officers.

6. The Society shall have a President, a Vice-President, a Recording Secretary, and a Treasurer.

7. The President-Founder, Colonel H. S. Olcott, holds the office of President of the Theosophical Society for life, and has the right of nominating his successor, subject to the ratification of the Society.

8. The term of the Presidency is seven years (subject to the exception named in Rule 7).

9. The President shall nominate the Vice-President, subject to election by the Society. The Vice-President's term of office shall expire upon the election of a new President.

10. The appointments to the offices of the Recording Secretary and the Treasurer shall be vested in the President.

II. The President shall be the custodian of all the archives and records of the Society, and shall be one of the trustees and administrators for property of all kinds, of which the Society as a whole is possessed.

12. The President shall have the power to make provisional appointments to fill all vacancies that occur in the offices of the Society, and shall have discretionary powers in all matters not specifically provided for in these Rules.

13. On the death or resignation of the President, the VicePresident shall perform the presidential duties until a successor takes office.

Organization.

14. Any seven members may apply to be chartered as a Branch, the application to be forwarded to the President through the Secretary of the nearest Section.

15. The President shall have authority to grant or refuse applications for charters, which, if issued, must bear his signature and the seal of the Society, and be recorded at the Headquarters of the Society.

16. A Section may be formed by the President of the Society, upon the application of seven or more chartered Branches.

17. All Charters of Sections or Branches, and all certificates of membership, derive their authority from the President, and may be cancelled by the same authority.

18. Each Branch and Section shall have the power of making its own rules, provided they do not conflict with the general rules of the Society, and the rules shall become valid unless their confirmation be refused by the President,

19. Every Section must appoint a General Secretary, who shall be the channel of communication between the President and the Section.

20. The General Secretary of each Section shall forward to the President annually, not later than the first day of November, a report of the work of his Section up to that date, and shall at any time furnish any further information the President may desire.

Administration.

21. The general control and administration of the Society is vested in a General Council, consisting of the President, Vice-President, and the General Secretaries.

22. No person can hold two offices in the General Council.
Election of President.

23. Six months before the expiration of a President's term of office, his successor shall be nominated by the General Council, and the nomination shall be sent out by the Vice-President to the General Secretaries and Recording Secretary. Each General Secretary shall take the votes of his Section according to its rules, and the Recording Secretary shall take those of the remaining members of the Society. A majority of two-thirds of the recorded votes shall be necessary for election.

Headquarters.

24. The Headquarters of the Society are established at Adyar, Madras, India.

25. The Headquarters and all other property of the Society, including the Adyar Library, the permanent and other Funds, are vested in the Trustees for the time being of the Theosophical Society appointed or acting under a deed of Trust dated December 14th, 1892, and recorded in the Chingleput District Office, Madras, India.

Finance.

26. The fees payable to the General Treasury by Branches not comprised within the limits of any Section are as follows: charter, £1; for each certificate of membership, 5s.; for annual subscription of each member, 5s., or equivalents.

27. Unattached members not belonging to any Section or Branch shall pay an annual subscription of £1 to the General Treasury.

28.

Each Section shall pay into the General Treasury one-fourth of the total amount received by it from annual dues and entrance fees. 29. The Treasurer's accounts shall be yearly certified as correct by qualified auditors appointed by the President,

Meetings.

30. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held at Adyar in the month of December.

31. The President shall also have the power to convene special meetings at discretion.

Revision.

32. The rules of the Society remain in force until amended by the General Council.

The following Executive Notice has been sent out to the General Secretaries, with a copy of the above Rules:

EXECUTIVE NOTICE.

PRESIDENT'S OFFICE,

LONDON, July 9th, 1896.

The undersigned hereby publishes, for the information of the members of the Society, the text of the Rules as revised and adopted by the General Council at its meeting this day.

The following members were present, viz., the President, the VicePresident, the General Secretaries of the European and Indian Sections, Mr. C. W. Leadbeater, as proxy (under specific instructions) for the General Secretary of the Scandinavian Section, and Mrs. Annie Besant, as proxy for the General Secretary of the American Section. The Australasian Section's views were represented in the official report of the General Secretary, and the New Zealand Section had been so recently chartered that it had not had time to submit its wishes for the consideration of the General Council. Every change suggested by any Section and General Secretary was carefully considered in the light of its bearing upon the peculiar circumstances of the whole Society, and in several instances the Members of Council yielded their own preferences to the apparent wish of the majority. When several amendments touched the same clause, the various improvements were incorporated in the form finally adopted. Only one important recommendation was rejected that for removing the President and VicePresident of the Society for cause shown. On mature consideration it was decided that no rule could be of use if such an emergency arose. If a majority or even a strong minority desired to dispossess one of these officers, while he retained the confidence of a large number of members, a split in the Society would result, let the rule be what it might. It was therefore thought better to leave the Society free, under the powers vested in the General Council, to deal with any serious case, if unfavourable circumstances should arise.

The undersigned takes this opportunity of correcting the mistaken idea, which prevails in some quarters, that the T. S. Rules and the wording of its "Objects" are substantially what they have been from the commencement, and therefore entitled to some special immunity from change. So far is this from true that the "Objects" have been restated and the Rules altered several times, as the growth of the Society and its altered conditions rendered the same necessary. The version now adopted is, apparently, the best and most comprehensive that we have had for years, and in the expression of the "Objects" the line traced out in the minds of the Founders is strictly followed. The form given to the second object has been adopted to meet an almost general view that all religions, etc., deserved study as being based on the same general principles. In this, in her Isis Unveiled, Madame Blavatsky led the way, which is now traced out for all future students of Theosophy and sympathizers with our work.

The Revised Rules go into force at once, but the undersigned will use his discretionary powers so as to meet the reasonable wishes of all of his colleagues with respect to details not specifically herein covered.

EUROPEAN SECTION.

H. S. OLCOTT, P.T.S.

The President-Founder has been in England during the month, but has not been able to visit many of the Branches in consequence of a slight return of the old mischief in the feet.

Headquarters has been quiet, most of the staff being away, but the Saturday gatherings for Theosophical conversation were very large, and general regret was expressed at their coming to a conclusion.

On July 16th, Mr. Bertram Keightley gave an exceptionally able lecture at the Blavatsky Lodge on "Indian Philosophies," and was listened to attentively by a full audience. On the 23rd, Mr. C. W. Leadbeater spoke on "Our Relation to Children," arousing much interest and some rather anxious questioning. On the 30th, the Lodge was very crowded to listen to Mrs. Besant on "Prayer;" a large number of questions followed the lecture. During August the Lodge is closed. At Queen's (small) Hall, Mrs. Besant finished her long series of lectures on August 2nd, with a discourse on Building a Kosmos." The previous lectures dealt with "Reincarnation," "Karma," "The Law of Sacrifice," and "Man's Ascent." She lectured to the Chiswick Lodge on July 20th.

On August 16th, Mrs. Besant will lecture at Effra Hall, Brixton, on the "Power of Thought," and on August 29th and the following days she will visit Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield.