'^^msm'isfi^: ' — -V -^ ?:!" -. Mysteries % m .V lai w^ Urn mi -^■^: ,.^!**-o^ ,.,i^»i' ^r^ "J^ FA, --_.^ K^< -y*^: 1^^- ^"Psp 5\ Ki \' ?_/ A S&.J*'.. Trapp CD AT THE ALTAR ilF ■"LB.U ^=« *i'*K'! ^ P ^ISi^ ■feirVii'-'^l^ r'-'^J, PRICE 3EO TO d53 3s. PERBT & CO.'S TYPEWEITEE^ e. ^rtcc £3 3s WHAT WILL THE " ODELL " DO? it will write 60 words per minute It will perforate Cheques It gi^es perfect press copies It prints direct jrom the type It will give perfect manifold copies It is inked automatically It will do Mimeograph work It can be used by the Blmd. WHAT THE "ODELL" WILL NOT DO? It will not get out of order. It ivill not get out of alignment. It will not cost anything in use. the **^ttnsion" ipwritet, The only Portable Standboard Machine with Standard Keyboard. The weight of the Macbine alone is onlj' 11 Jba., or in case 16 Ibg. Size over all 13 inches x 12 inches x 7^ inches. At the World's Faik, Chicago, The '* R^uqsor} '' received thu Highest Award for Typewriters. Price, Machine Complete, with Polished Oak Case, £12 12s. (auoht half the price of olp style machines. )- Write for Illustrated Prospecl-us "What we claim for the *' Munson " to 12 CONNAUGHT ST., DUBLIN. TRAPPED AT THE ALTAR OF " L. B. &C." SPEEADING THE WEB. " ' Won't you step into my parlour ?' Said the spicier to the fly." " New Departure in Insurance. — The Combined Experience of Actuaries' Tables is the Basis of the Rates of the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters. — Join the I.O.F., the Best Fraternal and Benefit Society in the Land. — It gives, among other Benefits : Insurance at Acturial Cost ; Sick and Funeral Benefits ; Endowment Benefits ; Total and Permanent Disa- bility Benefit ; Annuity for Old Age." During the ending of year 1892 and beginning of 1893, few of the general reading public can have escaped seeing some such catching announcement as above, promi- nently displayed in bold type, on the advertising pages of widely- circulating newspapers and periodicals. Many whose attention was arrested by a curious buzz -saw- shaped device, with mysterious hieroglyphical symbols, that displaced the old familiar patent medicine and soap designs in full-page display on some popular weeklies, have read through the twenty-one accompanying claiisible " becauses" adduced therein in favour of "joining the I.O.F. ; " and not a few, some no doubt from curiosity, others for bona fide enlighten- ment, availed of annoimcement at foot in seeking *' all information from the chief oflB.ce for the United Kingdom.'* The eight-page prospectus and accompanying literature to hand in course offered inducements quite as roseate as the newspaper " ads.,'' only a good deal more so, and from the business appearance presented on the surface, the amount of tabulated matter set out, and the mass of statistics dealt with, it is not surprising that many of the recipients assumed the I.O.F. to be simply and solely a co-operative society for life insurance and friendly society purposes. As it is but a comparatively small number of the public who read the Times, however, it could not be generally known that the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies wrote to that journal cautioning the public, and again to repeat the caution, that the prospectus issued by the I.O.F. was essen- tially misleading. Had all who received prospectus been aware of this caution it would have saved some of them at all events from having substantiated through practical experience the fact that the literature issued by tbe I.O.F. is undoubtedly mis- leading, probably as grossly misleading as any document issued to the pubKc under a business surface could well be. A few instances will suffice for illustration on this point : — " Join the I.O.F,-— Because by joining you can secure £200, £400, or £600 Insurance, payable to your wife, children, or other beneficiaries, at a cost ranging from 2s. 6d. per month per £200 and upwards, accord- ing to age, which is little more than one-third the cost in ordinary Insurance Companies." Here seems a chance for the thrifty man of limited means securing £200 to his family ; but, having " joined," he must not be surprised if other payments, which must of necessity be made, will increase the quoted figures by some 50 per cent., or to be told, on finding the I.O.F. not an insurance association, that if he wished simply to insure his life he should go to an insurance company, the I.O.F. having " another side" (aims, objects, and usages), compliance with which was essentially necessary to the carrying of his' in- surance by that Order. (t Join the I.O.F. — Because no other Order gives Free Medical Attendance, Sick Benefits, Funeral Benefits, Endowment Benefits, Annuity Benefits, Disability Benefits, and Insurance at Death, except the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters." Neither does the I.O.F., unless a doctor can be said to give " free medical attendance " for fees subscribed by members, whether his services are required or not. Said fees are not included in the published scales. " Join the I.O.F. — Because One Penny per Day secures (payable monthly), according to age at initiation, in this great Order : (1) Insurance Benefit of £200 ; (2) Total and Permanent Disability Benefit of £100 ; (3) Annuity Benefit in Old Age of £20 a year." The scales have been raised twice since this quotation was given in February, 1893. But it only included payment to *' the Supreme Court," and did not include any contribution towards local expenses. Each "court" or branch must, of necessity, bear its own working expenses, purchase from the higher authorities, at a tariff much in excess of commercial value, all stationery and supplies necessary to conducting its business, procure and defray expense of court-room, salaries of recording and financial secretaries, fees of medical officer, and "capitation tax" to Supreme and High Courts, not to mention other matters involving outlay, of which the unini- tiated can form little idea. "Join the I.O.F. — Because it has an influential Member- ship, and the Fraternal and Social privileges of the Order are most valuable." " The Fraternal intercourse has a charm which never fails in attractiveness." Straightforward business principles on sound commercial lines would seem more to the purpose. There may be, and no doubt are, people to whom the donning a mask and dabbling in semi-pagan ceremonies and "mysteries" may afford a charm of attractiveness, or who might consider it a "privilege most valuable " to pose as amateur "chaplain,'' burn incense, and officiate at the new-fangled "Altar of Liberty, Benevolence, and Concord " in an I.O.F. court-room. Tastes and opinions differ, however, and it seems scarcely surprising that there are yet people of a practical turn of mind who would be disposed to consider the one tomfoolery, if nothing worse, and the other profanity, if not blasphemy. What on earth has this got to do with Life Insurance ? — Directly nothing. But then one item in the I.O.F. pro- gramme, although little significance attaches to it in reading in prospeetus is to unite in " one true brotherhood, without regard to sectarian creeds or political dogmas, &c., &c." If it is the idea that the object could easiest be achieved by erasing creeds and dogmas, to the writer it would seem diffi- cult to devise a more practical means to this end than participating in mysteries and ceremonies in accordance with the Eitual of the I.O.F., sacred functions being simply caricatured, and religious formalities reduced to a burlesque. " Join the I.O.F. — Because you are responsible for the comfort and happiness of those dependent upon you." A most excellent reason no doubt for effecting a policy of assurance as a matter of business, but not necessarily an argument in favour of joining a far-reaching mysterious and avowed secret society whose members surrender their indi- vidual independence to the control of Oronhyatekha, the American-Indian " Supreme Chief " of that Order. «Er^ " Join the I.O.F. — Because it is your duty to provide against the contingencies of life, and thus free your- self from the gloomy prospect of penury in old age." But is that ojxj argument in favour of paying away your money into an institution where your financial interest is liable to cancellation from " a number of reasons other than non-payment of your premiums ?" " Join the I.O.F." (and this is always printed in large caps), — " Because £20,000 have been deposited with the Government to guarantee the payment of life assur- ance claims in this country." What could be more reassuring to the uninitiated? Surely there can be no deception here ! Is it not the natural inference than in any cause of complaint, legal proceedings can be instituted against the I.O.F. as against any ordinary insurance company ? Such, however, is not the case. So far as the law of the land is concerned, it may be. As regards the member, he is in a different position from the holder of a life policy in a commercial company. Because — and this ** because" is not in the prospectus — before a policy, or rather endowment certificate, is handed over, the recipient must, in the presence of witness, under hand and seal, accept some one hundred or so conditions affecting its vitality, conditions probably never dreamt of by the framers of the Insurance Act, conditions which debar him from appealing direct to a court of law, and binding him to abide by the " usages of tbe Order," a rather indefinite term, capable of much expansion ! " The system of the I.O.F.," we are told, " carries with it the maximum of safety." Unquestionably it does — so far as locking up the funds is concerned ! The depositing £20,000 is merely a formal compliance with the Act. For all practical purposes of guaranteeing payment, the money might as well be deposited with Oronhyatekha's private bankers. " Join the I.O.F. — Because Members are under the pro- tection of the Order, and are under full benefits from the moment they pass the Medical Board, pay their fees, and are initiated." Such grandiloquent terms, " under the protection of the Order " may seem all very fine and patronising, certainly more catching for advertising purposes than " in the clutches of the Indian," which is the form in which some who have " been there " and retired would give expression to the same thing. As a matter of fact, the Chief boasts of the large revenue that accrues to his order through retirements. Whichever form preference takes in the matter, the proposed member is neither " under *' the one nor " in " the other until he is " initiated." This matter of initiation, commonplace term though it be in a general sense ; when applied to the " mysteries " of the I.O.F,, open up a practically boundless ramification of possibilities for operations barren to the imagination of the uninitiated, but as it is no part of the I.O.F. programme that public opinion should penetrate to the " recesses of the forest home,'* or that a glimmer from the obscured light from within " the happy circle that surrounds the sacred altar of Liberty, Benevolence, and Concord " should break the spell of fascination in pursuit of an ignus fatuus decked out in the guise of " A New Departure in Insurance " that lures the unwary into being Trapped at the Altar of L. B. and C. we purpose forcing the barriers and drawing the veil from the " conditions imposed upon the captive stranger " when surrounded in "the circle of concord." This we could not do — from reasons that will be apparent almost presently — without copy of I.O.F. "Ritual," that 6 , mysterious secret work behind the constitution (sec. 112), in accordance with which Courts of the Order are governed and regulated, and which, according to regulation, is not entrusted to care of ordinary members in the Order, much less let into the hands of outsiders. In view of this matter, we now reproduce reports of certain proceedings before the Chief Magistrate in the Dublin Police Courts, and also some cor- respondence arising out of same, as excerpted from the columns of Dublin newspapers : — THE T U G - O ' - W A E. I.O.F. V. KlXSELLA. INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS. Fight about Court Pkopeety. — Strange Extkacts FKOM A Ritual. To-day, in the Northern Divisional Police Court, before Mr. O'Donel, Laurence Joseph Kinsella, 12 Connaught- street, was summoned at the suit of John T. Lyons, Mark Keelin, and John Heuston, 10 Upper Abbey-street,* trustees of Court Eblana Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, on a charge of "Keeping in his possession, at 12 Connaught-street, Dublin, the following goods : — 1. Lever seal, bearing the following inscription — ' Court Eblana, 2017, Dublin ;' 2. A ritual, the property of complainants." Mr. John Ennis, solicitor, and Mr. Grace, solicitor, appeared for the complainants ; and Mr. Condon, B.L. (instructed by Mr. Gerald R. Fitzgerald), for the defendant. Mr. Ennis, in stating the case for the complainants, said that Mr. Kinsella had the seal and ritual in his possession, and refused to gire them up. The complainants, as trustees, were entitled by Rule 155 to the possession of them. It appeared that the defendant was engaged by some other person to form some other court. They did not recognise his right to come into Court Eblana and take away these matters. John Heuston, examined by Mr. Ennis, stated he was one of the trustees of Court Eblana. He knew that the defendant had possession of the seal. The seal was used for impressing policies of life insurance. The defendant ceased to be a member of the court on December 28th. The defendant ako used to have posses- * Xone of complainants are of 10 Upper Abbey-street. Their addresses were— J. J. Lyons, painter, 19 Summerhill; Mark Kealy (not Keelin), law clerk, 25a Bella-street ; John Heuston, mercantile clerk, then of 9 Lower Dominick-street. f »ion of the ritual, whicli was a book proyiding the preliminaries to be gone through at different meetings of the court. Cross-examined by Mr. Condon — Under what circumstances did the defendant leave the court ? He withdrew from the court, and he gave a lot of reasons. Did he make a claim for money ? He did not make a claim for money on the court. Did he make a complaint that faith was broken with him in reference to the matters which were in the ritual ? He made some sort of reference to that. "Was there any gentleman over here from England or Scotland in connection with this society, who, when he heard the trans- actions of the court, insisted that the full ritual should be complied with ? A certain Mr. Marshall, general manager of the society, came over here. Certain questions were put to him by members of the court, and his advice asked. He gave his advice, and the members adopted his advice : but he insisted upon nothing. Was his advice that the full ritual, in all its entire formula, should be complied with in the court ? No, 1 don't think he went so far as that. How many rituals are there in the court ? There should be four. What is this society ? It is a co-operative insurance society. Would you think that there was much risk in that for a person joining? I don't understand your question. Does not this ritual threaten that the person applying to ge t into the society does so at the peril of his life ? Not that I am aware of. Mr. Ennis — You must have got the wrong copy of it. Mr. Condon (reading) — Is this in your ritual, page 39 — "S B — Captive Stranger." What is " S B " ? Witness — Senior Beatle (laughter). Who is the " Captive Stranger ?" T have never seen one yet. Were you yourself initiated f Not in that form . Mr. Condon (reading) — Captive Stranger, it is my duty to inform you that what you ask may involve the forfeit of your life. Are you willing to take that risk ? Is that portion of your ritual ? I believe it is in the ritual. And then, afterwards, is he not made to take a declaration or obligation ? I have never seen any of these. Did you yourself not take an obligation ? I did. I suppose it was in this form (reading) — I, of my own free will and accord, in the presence of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and of the members of the Independent Order of Foresters here present, do most solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will ever conceal and never reveal any word, sign, grip, or token, or any of the secrets or private work of the Independent Order of Foresters which shall now or may hereafter be comumuicivted to me, to any one iii the world. 8 Mr. Ennis — That does not give him any power to grip our seal. Mr. Condon (reading) — I will not repeat outside the courtroom any transaction whatsoever which may take place therein which by the regulations of the order should be kept secret. That is what we object to. Mr. O'Donel — Is it on moral grounds you object ? Mr. Condon — On both. Mr. O'Donel— Such a jumble of profane nonsense I never saw in all my life as this thing is.* Mr. Condon (to witness) — Is not this an insuramce society ? Yes. Where is the head oflSce ? The London head office is at 24 Charing Cross. Have you any registration? There is £20,000 deposit with the British Government as security to the members. Is not this a Canadian institution ? It originated in Canada, but it is under the British laws at present. The witness, in further examination, said that he and his brother trustees held this seal in trust for the Supreme Court. James Marshall, examined, stated that he was general manager of the order for the United Kingdom. The cost price of the seal was £2. The rituals cost 4s. 6d. each, but they were not for sale. Both were the property of the trustees. The defendant was not now a member of the court, and had no right to have these articles. Cross-examined by Mr. Condon. — The society was not registered, and it was not necessary that it should be. Does this society give funeral benefits ? No. Does it give sick benefits ? No. Am I right then in saying that these rules (reading) — " Under this order " Witness — You are reading now from the Dominion Act, which does not apply here. Do you know the members of the court ? Some of them. Are any of them paying for sick benefits ? Yes. You say that this is an insurance society and not entitled to be registered ? They are two different things. I suppose you are perfectly well aware that a society giving sick benefits and funeral benefits is bound to be registered under the Priendly Societies Act ? I am aware that such is not the case. Mr. Condon submitted that his cKent was entitled to this seal and ritual untU he got back certain monies that he expended for this society ; secondly, that this society was bound to be registered under the Friendly Societies Act ; that it, not being a registered society, could not sue by its trustees ; and that the property was * Referring to the " Eitual," which he, the chief magistrate, was exa mining at the time. not vested in trustees ; thirdly, that these articles were not the property of Court Eblana, but under these rules were the property of some high court in Canada ; and that the complainants were not the trustees of that high court in Canada ; and fourthly, that this society was an illegal combination within the meaning of the exceptions mentioned under the Friendly Societies Act, section 15. Mr. O'Donel said he would overrule this point, and order that the defendant return the property within a week or pay their value, £2 4s. 6d., and he would give 10s. costs. Mr. Condon could have a case stated if he desired. Mr. Condon intimated that he would take the case to a higher court. — Evening Telegraph, 2nd March, 1894. THE INDEPEI^DENT OEDER OF FORESTERS. To-day in the I^orthem Division of the Police Courts, Patrick C. Roche, 22 Belvidere-place, Mountjoy-square, was summoned at •the suit of John T. Lyons, Mark Healy, and John Heuston, all of 10 Upper Abbey-street, Dublin, Trustees of Court Eblana, Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, for retaining a ritual belonging to the society. Mr. John H. Ennis, and Mr. Henry R. Grace appeared for the complainants, and Dr. Condon (instructed by Mr. G, R. Fitzgerald) for the defendant. Mark Healy, Recording Secretary, said they had 26 members in Dublin. The defendant, having ceased to be a member, should return the ritual Dr. Condon said people were induced to join the society on the assumption that it was purely an insurance society, and a great deal of money was paid by people until they discovered that they had to be bound by the rules of a secret society in America under the control of a " supreme chief," who could at anytime discharge them from the insurance on their refusing to perform certain obligations, P. C. Roche stated that he was a traveller, and when he found that the society was a secret society condemned by Archbishop "Walsh he refused to continue a member, but retained the ritual which Heuston had given him. Mr. O'Donel made an order to have the book returned. The same defendant was also summoned for retaining a seal and charter, to return which an order was also made. A similar summons against Laurence J. Kinsella was with- drawn. — Evening Seraldy 15th March, 1894. INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS. XO THE EDITOR OP THE EVENING TELEGEATH. Deae Sie, — The report published in last night's Telegraph does not convey the decision given by the chief magistrate, which was 10 as follows : — " That the defendant was to return the ritual or pay the cost of same." He also stated a case for the Superior Courts. The same decision was given in the second case. — Yours faithfully, P. C. EOCHE. — Evening Telegraph, 16th March, 1894. St. Stephens's Geeen Paek Hotel, Dublin, 15th March, 1894. TO THE EDITOE OF THE EVEK'IXG TELEGEAPH. SiE, — I notice an error in your report of a case heard in the Northern Police Court yesterday, wherein Court Eblana, No. 2017, Independent Order of Foresters, sued P. C. Roche and L. J. Kinsella for detaining certain properties of the Order. Eeport says that the first named defendant stated that the Order had been con- demned by Archbishop Walsh. This is incorrect. No such state- ment was made on evidence. I would not trouble you for a correc- tion in this matter but for the fact that it is calculated to prejudice the public mind by giving the impression that we are a sectarian body, whereas the Ordsr is un-seetarian and non-political, indeed, as a matter of fact, 4,980, or thereabouts, are lloman Catholics.* — Yours faithfully, James Marshall, General Manager. INDEPENDENT OKDEE OF POEESTEES. TO THE EDITOE OF THE EVENHTG TELEGEAPH. Deae Sie, — Seeing that Mr. Marshall, the general manager of the Independent Order of Foresters, wrote to the livening Telegraph denying that I said in my evidence in the police courts on Thursday that his Grace the Archbishop of Dublin condemned the Order, and said that no Catholic should belong to it, I beg to say that I said so on oath before the court, and that I have since obtained permission from Rev. Dr. M'Grath, his Grace's secretary, to publish the letter, of which enclosed is a copy. — Faithfully yours, P. C. EoCHE. Archbishop's House, Dublin, December 2 1st, 1893. Dear Mr. Kinsella. — His Grace the Archbishop desires me to say- that nothing can be plainer, having regard to the documents you gave me to put before him, than that the Independent Order of Foresters is such an association as no Catholic should have anything whatever to do with. — I am very faithfully yours, Thomas M'Geath, Secretary. L. J. Kinsella, Esq., 12 Connaught-st , Phibsborough. * Mr. Marshall does not state how, in an <' un-sectarian " Order, he approximates to a nicety the number of Catholic Members ; but, assuming him to be correct, 4,980 in some 60,000 to 70,000 looks a decidedly one- sided aflfair. How many of them knew tvhat the Order was before putting their money into it ? f 11 Here is abundant material for reflection and comment ! For the present we will merely observe tbat there are two of those precious "Rituals" irretrieyably lost to the I.O.F., and reft of privilege or condition, subject only to payment of a sum fixed by the Chief Magistrate. This seems too great a slice of good luck for the defendants not to avail of at their discretion, for it would appear perfectly patent that they did not bring solicitor and counsel into the case and elect to appear as defendants in a police court prosecution merely on a question of the payment of a sum of 4s. 6d. Indeed the chances are, they might at any time have given 4s. 6d. each for a quantity of those books. Anyone interested in literary curios would take a copy at a higher figure and assign it a place on his shelves, provided, of course, that he did not take it in a pair of tongs and consign it to a place at the back of his grate. In fact it seems that issues were knit in a tug of war for possession of the "Ritual," in which the I.O.F., in a vain endeavour to preserve the secrets affecting " A. New Departure in Insurance," get pulled clean over the ropes, and XINSELLA RETAINS THE PRIZE! UNDER THE MAGISTRATE'S ORDER. (6Vy). LYOJs'S AKD OTHEES V. KIIS'SELLA. Heney H. Geace, 35 Dame Stkeet, SOLICITOE. DcBLUf. May 10th, 1894. Eecd. from L. J. Kinsella, Esq., the sum of 4/6, being amount fixed by Order of Chief Magistrate as value of Eitual of I.O.F., and 10/- cost of Order of Chief Magistrate. Also received lever Seal * (Inscription, Ct. Eblana, No. 2017) pursuant to said Order. (Signed), Heney H. Geace, Solicitor for Complaiuants. Seeing from above that at all events one of the Rituals in question become the absolute property of Mr. Kinsella, under Police Court Title and Legal Conveyance, so to speak, and there being nothing to prevent a man passing his own property to whom he will, we are in a position to follow the * The Seal was handed over to Mr. Grrace by a Trustee who held it on behalf of the retiring members. Being coupled in proceedings -with ** Ritual," which Mr. Kinsella determined to retain at any cost, he did not raise any point out of Seal not being in his possession or procurement. 12 mode of procedure in the case of any member of tlie public wbo having, in accordance with the practice, deposited a sum of money on proposing for, say, £200 of Insurance to the I.O.F. ; being accepted by their Medical Board and re- quested to attend meeting of Court — presumably to complete such preliminaries as paying balance of entrance fees, first monthly assessment, &c., has now arrived at the portals, the Court being in Session inside, and prepared on arrival of the stranger to proceed with THE INITIATION CEREMONY. C. R. — Brother Senior Woodward, you will retire to the ante- room and see if there are any Candidates in waiting to be initiated ; and, if so, report their names in full to the Court. (The S.W. will then retire, ascertain names in full, and report). C. R. — The Past Chief Ranger and the Financial Secretary will retire to the anteroom and see that all the conditions required by our Constitutions, Laws and usages have been duly complied with by the Candidate. (The P.C.R. will see that the candidate answers the following questions :) P. C. R. — Mr. , I am directed to request you to answer the following questions : (1) P.C.R. — Are you at the present time in good, sound, mental and physical health ? Candidate — I am. (2) P. C. R. — Do you believe in the existence of Almighty God, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe ? Candidate — I do. (3) P. C. R. — Do you agree to keep inviolate any secrets of the Order which may be communicated to you, and that you will be governed by the Constitutions, Laws and usages of the Indepen- dent Order of Foresters ? Candidate — I do. (4) P. C. E. — Do you agree, in the event of your ceasing at any time to be a member of the Order " in good standing," that aU your right, title, interest or claim to any property, funds, privileges or benefits of this Court, or of the Supreme Court, shall thereby terminate, and become absolutely null and void ? Candidate — I do. (5) P. C. R. — Are you still willing to become a member of the Order upon the above terms and conditions, and upon the conditions contained in the medical examination of the Order ? Candidate — I am. (The F. S. will then collect the balance, if any, of the Initiation and other Fees, after which the two oflBcers return to the Court Room and report :) Note. — At this stage the Candidaze will scarcely attach 13 any special meaning to keeping the " Secrets of the Order " beyond what is a generally understood and recognized busi- ness principle. Ceasing to be a member of the Order " in good standing " would presimiably convey that should he stop paying pre- miums his policy would lapse. What it really conveys will be more apparent later. Observe, that before proceeding further the entire entrance fees must be satisfied, i.e., for £200 insurance, £1 16s. 6d. ; for £300 the fees are £2 38., and in proportion for larger sums. This by the way of preliminary to the initiation proper. P. C, E. — Chief Ranger, the Candidate has answered satisfactorily all the questions. r. S. — Chief Eanger, the Candidate has paid the required fees. C. E,. — Thank you, brothers. If any brother has any valid objection to the admission of Mr. - into this Court, let him now declare it. (If any objection is made by any member, the Court must decide at once, without debate, by a majority vote, whether it Is valid or not. If the objection be held valid, then the Initiation must be postponed, and the objection duly considered at the next meeting. If the objection is held not valid, or if no objections are oflfered, the Initiation will be imme- diately proceeded with.) C. R. — Brothers Senior and Junior "Woodwards, no valid objec- tion having been declared, you have my command to repair to the anteroom, prepare the Candidate for Initiation, and when ready give the proper alarm at the inner gate. (The Woodwards retire and blindfold the Candidate, and when ready the S. W. and the Candidate will take their positions opposite to the inner door, and as far away from it as the room will allow, then the J. W. will give three loud knocks at the inner door). S. B. — Vice Chief Ranger, there is an alarm at the inner gate. V. C. R. — Ascertain the cause thereof. (The S. B. will then answer by three loud knocks, and open wide the door.) S. B. — . . . ( Opens Door) Who disturbs the mysteries of this Camp of Foresters. J. W.— Friends. S. B Brother Junior "Woodward, what is the cause of this alarm ? J. "W. — While the Senior Woodward and myself were in the outskirts of our Forest, we came upon a stranger whom we forth- with captured, and, leaving the Senior Woodward on guard, I hastened here and gave the alarm. S. B. — Brother Junior Woodward, you did well ; stay, while I make due report. 14 S. "W. — {To the Captive) Captive stranger, I see before us the guardian of the inner gate of this Camp of Foresters ; let us hecJcon to him, perchance he may permit you to enter the Camp. (They beckon to the S.B.) S. B. — Behold, they are beckoning to us. Hetum to the^Senior Woodward and assist him to conduct the captive hither. (The J. W. then returns to the S. W., and the two, taking the Captive by each arm, conduct him to the inner gate. ) S. B. — Brother Senior Woodward, wherefore is this stranger ■within the outskirts of our Forest ? S. W. — This stranger, whom we captured in the outskirts of our Forest, informs us he is desirous of being admitted within our Camp, in order to present a petition in person to our Chief. S. B. — Captive stranger, it is my duty to inform you that what you ask may involve the forfeit of your life. Are you willing to take that risk ? S. "W. — The captive is willing to brave all dangers. S. B. — Stay, then, till I make due report. This initiation ceremony has either to be taken literally or it has not. Certainly it is not necessarily connected with the matter of Life Insurance. If not seriously meant, why make being "initiated" one of the conditions of the life policy, or why make it part of the Constitution (Section 112, Sub Section 11) that the Order shall be managed and con- ducted in accordance with the Ritual ? If a member ceases to be in ** good standing," it will be held as part of his agreement to forfeit his financial interest. If, arising out of some other cause not apparent just at present, the forfeit of his life were really involved, could it not, under the query put and caution given here, be held as part of his agreement with the Order ? True, the S. W. responds instead of the Captive, who probably would not have answered in the affirmative, but, the caution given and the question asked, could he not be taken as acquiescing in reply of the S. W. ? (The S.B. then turns to the V. C. R., leaving the door wide open, and proceeds as follows :) S. B. — Vice Chief Ranger, without the inner gate stands a captive stranger who is desirous of being admitted within the Camp in order to present a petition in person to our Chief Ranger. V. C. R. — Chief Ranger, without the inner gate stands a captive stranger who requests that he be admitted within the Camp in order to present a petition to you in person. 0. R. — Yice Chief Ranger, you have my commands to permit the captive stranger to pass within our lines at his peril. 15 "V. C R. — Brother Senior Beadle, by command of our Chief Sanger, the captive stranger is permitted to enter our Camp, at hit peril. S. B. — Brothers Senior and Junior Woodwards, by command of the Chief Eanger, the captive stranger is permitted to enter our Camp at his peiil. Bind him securely and conduct him within the lines. (The Woodwards then bind the Candidate's wrists together behind his back and conduct him to a point immediately in front of the chair of the Junior Woodward, and then halt, facing the Chief Ranger.) Y. C. E. — Chief Ranger, in obedience to your commands, the captive stranger has been permitted to enter our Camp, and now stands before you awaiting your further pleasure. C. R. — Thank you, Vice Chief Ranger. Captive stranger, what is your purpose in seeking admission to this Camp of Foresters ? S. W. — {Answering for the Captive Stranger) Chief Ranger, this captive stranger has heard of the noble deeds of the Independeitt Oedee of Foeestees, and comes before you humbly asking to have his name inscribed upon its Honour Roll. Another pitfall into which the unfortunate Captive is tripped through acquiescence. His obviously natural answer would be " To have my life insured," but the S. W. at this juncture tips the lever, under cover of a high blown flourish, switches him on to a track running in a widely different direction. The come-to-our-bosoms Advt. having "landed" the stranger — and his entrance fees — he is now held at arm's length, to the effect that should he make any complaint afterwards arising out of causes good and sufficient to his own sense of reasoning, he can be coolly told that being dis- satisfied is his own affair! Did he not come "humbly asking" permission to join " this great Order " and the " great privi- leges " having been granted him — well, he must take things as he gets them. Surely, to complain is most ungrateful ! "But," he may protest, "I only meant to insure my life." Quite so, but he did not say that (did not get a chance to) when asked what was his object ! " If you merely wanted to insure your life you should stay outside our Order and go to an insurance office," are words we are in a position to prove having been used by a High Official of the I.O.F., in reply to a protest as to mislead- ing statements having been made. "But," persisted the aggrieved one, C 1 P n distinctly told me, &c., &c." " C 1 P n had no authority for doing anything of the sort," replied the great man. " If not, why did lie do 16 so?" "If C ^1 P n exceeded his authority, we are not responsible." Oh, yes! join the I.O.F. if you have a little money to expend- in acquiring a fine art in hair-splitting technicality and phraseological legerdemain, and you will find the " social and fraternal privileges most valuable." C. E. — Brother Senior "Woodward, the captive stranger ash a great privilege at our hands, and one which cannot be lightly granted, ^is fidelity of purpose must be demonstrated. J9w courage and endurance must be duly tested before his petition can be entertained. For this purpose let the captive stranger pass in review before the entire Camp. Woe unto him if he fails in the hour of trial. (The Candidate will then be conducted slowly around the room, outside of the R.R.R., wheeling to the left, past the V.C.R., P.C.R., C.R,, and Chap, back to the starting point, and when this is reached the V.C.R. will stop him suddenly and challenge him as under. If there are more Candi- dates than one, the V.C.R. will challenge each Candidate, one after the other, saying to each as he challenges and gets no response, " Stand aside !" While the Candidate is being conducted slowly around the room outside of the R.R.R either Ode No. 5 or No. 6 may be sung.) INITIATION ODES. No. 5. — Walk in the Light. Walk in the light the Lord hath given To guide thy steps aright, His Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, Can cheer the darkest night. Chorus — Walk in the light, Walk in the light, Walk in trfb light, Walk in the light, the light of God. Walk in the light of holy truth. That shines from God's own Word, A light to guide in early youth The chosen of the Lord. — Chorus. No. 6. — Nettleton. Courage, stranger, do not stumble, Tho' thy path be dark as night, There's a star to guide the humble, " Trust in God and do the right," Foot it bravely, strong or weary, " Trust in God and do the right," Tho' the road be rough and dreary, And its end be out of sight, Simple rule and safest guiding, Inward peace and shining light, Star upon our path abiding, " Trust in God and do the right." Courage, stranger, do not waver, Thou art coming to the light, Onward ever, failing never, •'Trust in God and do the right." Y. C. E. — Halt ! I demand of you tbe Countersign and Pass. (If there be only one Candidate, or when the last Candidate has been challenged, the V.C.R. will continue as follows :) Y. C. E. — ^What ! Have you not got the^Countersign and Pass ? You must be a spy ; Woodward, seize this captive and conduct him to our Chief Eanger for sentence. The brethren will then commence making a noise, running to and fro, exclaiming, "A spy ! A spy! Kill him! Hang the spy I etc." The Wood- wards then seize the Candidate and conduct him over the R.R.R,, not more than than three times, eventually halting him again in front of the chair of the J. W.) 17 R. E. R. ! No connection witli the Roving. Rollicking Robin of our nursery -room days, but Rougb and Ready Road, and a by no means pleasant journey to get over. The writer has no practical experience of either, but judging from the I. 0. F. official direction for constructing one, and of a description of the other from different sources of information — compared with the R.R.R. the tread-mill is a fool ! Even under the soothing influence of a strong dose of sacred music — both vocal and instrumental parts are set out in the Ritual — it must be trying to the patience of the mildest- tempered man ; and even though he should be tempted to give expression to his feelings in forcible ejaculations, it may be lucky for the Wood- wards that his tongue is the only thing he can use. His hands, we have observed, were bound, and he was also blindfolded before being brought into where he is now, utterly oblivious of his surroundings ; and his feet — well, his boots being off, are more than sufficiently engaged in negotiating the counter presentment which conveys to him all the reality and hard- ship of a journey over a rough, rugged road through a dense forest, under the most adverse circumstances of terrific storm, &c., the theatrical property man's devices for effects being freely brought into requisition. We quote from official instruction : — EOUGH AND EEADY ROAD. Make three boxes, each two feet wide, six feet long, and three inches deep — inch pine. FLU one with brushwood, strapped down, one with a sprinkling of pebblestones, and one with something resembling moss. Instead of the box with moss, the common mats made with com husks make a good substitute. Arrange these on the floor conveniently round the room, and place between these short round pieces of wood to represent fallen trees. Also two planks, two feet or more wide, each seven feet long, hinged together, and raised two feet and a half in the centre on a wood horse. On one plank screw half-round balls, and on the other plank round cleats nailed on, running diagonally. This represents a rude bridge over a stream, which runs through every well regulated Camp of Foresters. The candidate commences to go over the E.R.E. by the planks, ball side, then down the cleat side, passes over the brush box, next stone box and moss box, or com mats, and between each of these contrivances, stumble him over the round logs, say two feet long. Thunder may be imitated during his journey by shaking a yard size sheet iron; and rain may be imitated by mixing shot in a tin or sheet iron box, four feet long and four inches square, tipping it back and forwards. Draw boughs occasionally across his legs, chest, and head. The candidate must not be put over the road more than three times. 18 V. C. R. — Chief Ranger, I have to report that in obedience to your command, the captive was conducted through the Camp, and when he had reached the secret gate I demanded of Mm the Counter- sign and Pass, but he was unable to give them. Pearing that he might be a spy^ I ordered him to be conducted to your presence. C. R. — Vice Chief Ranger, you did well. Let the captive be taken to the secret chamber, and there suffer the penalty due to a spy. (The Woodwards will again conduct the Candidate around, wheeling to the left and outside the R.R.R. Meantime some of the brethren will, as quietly and expeditiously as possible, remove the R.R.R., while the rest are running about making a great noise and crying out " Hang the spy ! Kill the spy ! etc." As soon as the R.R.R. has been removed, the P.C.R. will proceed as indicated below. The moment the P.C.R. utters the first word there must be instant and absolute silence, while the Candidate is conducted to and halted in front of the chair of the J.W., facing the G.R.) P. C. R. — Hold ! Chief Ranger, I beg to assure you that this captive is not a spy, but having heard of the noble deeds of the Foresters in protecting the weak and oppressed, made due applica- tion for membership, came into the outskirts ©f our Porest and beckoned to our Senior Beadle, that through him he might gain admission into our Camp, and there take upon himself the Obliga- tions of a Porester. I am willing to give my pledge for him. Caught again ! "Take upon himself" seems rather good in face of the Captive having probably as much — and as little — idea of what was to be imposed upon him as the man in the moon! C. R. — Past Chief Ranger, I accept the pledge, and if he proves unworthy, your life shall be the forfeit. Captive stranger, by what qualifications do you seek admission into our honourable ranks ? Nevertheless, the P. C. R. might plead that, of and for himself, he gave no pledge whatever. " I am willing to give my pledge for him " (emphasising him). That it was for and on behalf of the Captive he spoke is obvious from the C. R. saying : "I accept the pledge " (not your pledge), in effect taking the stranger as giving the pledge that he desired to " take upon himself" a certain obligation of the nature of which he is yet unaware ! In the event of his proving " unworthy," lohose " life shall be the forfeit," the Captive's or the P. C. R.'s, we cannot undertake to say. P. C. R. {Answering for the Candidate). — Chief Ranger, I have already submitted the usual tests to this stranger^ and I can testify that he is sincerely desirous of assisting us in our benevolent work, and is of sound physical health, and of good report. 19 C. R. — Captive stranger, you have heard the Past Chief Eanger in your behalf. Has he truthfully answered for you ? Captive — He has. C. R. — 1 request of you your name in full. Captive — {Gives Jits name in full.) C. R. — Brother Recording Secretary, you have heard the name ; has this stranger been daly proposed and regularly elected for the great honour he seeks at our hands ? (As soon as the C.R. addresses the E.S., the R.S. will rise in his place and remain standing till he has answered the question.) E. S. — He has, Chief Ranger. C. R. — Has he been duly passed by the Medical Board, and has he complied with all the requirements of the Constitutions, Laws, and usages of our Order. R. S. — He has. Chief Ranger. (If the Candidate has not been passed by the Medical Board, the C.R. must postpone the Initiation.) C R. — Thank you, Brother Recording Secretary. Let the captive stranger's bonds be unloosed. (The Woodwards will then remove the captive stranger's bonds.) C. R. — Mr. , I congratulate you upon having escaped a great danger through good report. Let this incident ever remind you that a good name is to be prized above all earthly possessions ; and let it also be a lesson to you ever to look with charity upon the shortcomings of your fellowmen, and never to condemn anyone, especially a brother, unheard, and without affording him the most ample opportunity of vindicatiag himself. Let me further assure you that nothing which has been done here is without a purpose and signification. The rough and rugged road over which you have passed is intended to remind you that the path through the forest of this life, at best, is rough, rugged and full of unseen dangers ; and as you would undoubtedly have met with serious mishaps, and perhaps fallen by the way, had you not been guided and assisted by trusty frienJs ; so, in the journey of life, if assisted by patience in adversity, persistence in rectitude of action, and guided by the Divine ride, " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you," you will triumph over all obstacles, 'and finally obtain the reward of the faithful — the approba- tion of the Great High Chief above, with the glad welcome, " "Well done, good and faithful servant." So that, were any reader who has followed the ceremony up to this stage, disposed to brand the business as mere pointless mummery, it would be a mistake. Oh, no ! " Nothing that has been done here is without a purpose and significance.' Is it the idea, then, that the R.R.R. contains some mysterious force for impressing on the soul of the benighted strmgsr — 20 say, through the sensitive medium of the soles of his un- booted feet — the simple item of Christian doctrine patent to the civilized world: that charity covereth a multitude of sins ? Shall we say, as many as philanthropy cloaketh imposi- tions ? That, however, seems scarcely the idea, seeing the I. O. F. appeals to a wider constituency than Christendom. On an illustrated almanac, issued by the Order for advertising purposes, is what we may take as their notion of an ideal brotherhood. Under the shield of an allegorical representa- tion of " Libertas " — the new guardian angel, by special affec- tation of the I.O.F. — white-robed and winged, with drawn sword — of course in the cause of " Liberty from slavery of ignorance and vice," is what may be taken as their notion of an ideal brotherhood. Here, among a group of figures more or less — in some cases considerably less — typical of various peoples, is a burlesque stage Irishman, pipe under band of caiiheen, and flanked on either side by a Chinaman and a Turk, while conspicuous in the background is the feathered gear of the Red Man. Now, all this motley group, with diversified views on matters spiritual and temporal, has got to be fused into " one true brotherhood, without regard to sectarian creeds or political dogmas," and made to participate in the ministering of a common " chaplain," who may be either layman or cleric, and of any denomination, at the " altar " affected by the Order — an "altar" not purported to be dedicated to the Deity, but "consecrated" to "Liberty, Benevolence and Concord !" To put it in another way, everyone in initiation has to be led up to the administration to him of a pledge of secrecy and obedience, and imder su6h circumstances, forma- lities and surroundings as to add all possible apparent weight if an irretrievably binding obligation, and the Supreme Chief —who, we are told, has studied books and " studied men more " — is of course fully alive to the fact that the imposition can best be given effect to under the guise of a religious function, while on the other hand, touching on doctrinal or religious disiplinary matters in a mixed conmiunity is some- thing akin to standing a candle in a keg of gunpowder. And 80 the cunning of the Indian is put into requisition to con- coct a form of ceremony calculated to impress all while they claim that it is not " trenching on the religious belief of any man." As a result in the I.O.F. nondescript " service" there is a smathering of almost every form of religious worship under the sun, short of idolatry, without any in particidar being emphasised. To begin with, Christianity is steered wide of at the start, and never touched on afterwards. 21 by getting back to tbe point where every type of humanity, not absolutely savage or idolatrous, acknowledges a Supreme Power, whether under the English-speaking form, Almighty God ; the Turkish and Oriental idea, Allah ; the Coromandel, Bramah ; the Japanese, Goezur ; the Peruvian, Pushacamea ; Chinese, Prussa ; or for I.O.F. purposes. Great High Chief. With this as a common starting point, and uncovering the feet, as in the case of our captive, we at once have one of the primary essentialities to the religious observances of Turkish and kindred Oriental peoples. Then the R.R.E,., with its appurtenant embellishments affording a sort of compromise between the Persian praying wheel and a pilgrimage to Mecca or the Ganges, in which some flavouring of the formalities observed in form of worship by most non-Christian peoples is touched upon at some point. "While in the " altar," incense, sacred laws, and music are some of the principal material signs to the worship of all Christian sects. How is that for scope of accommodation ! Anyway, your modern up-to-date prophet lays claim to his Order being " based upon the broadest principles." Having " studied books," as we are told, he of course has taken cognizance of the important part the fanatical rough-and-tumble armed followers of some powerful-in-their-day -but-now-out-of-date prophets played in disseminating their principles — or should we put it, effecting their purpose. These he emulates in " Encampments of Royal Foresters," red-taped down to the most rigid discipline, and ofl&cered by an " Illustrious Commander " (and staff) holding commission from The Supreme Chief of the Order as " Grand Illustrious Com- mander." You will now give heed to the solemn words about to be pro- nounced by our Chaplain. Chap. — " And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Continuing, the Chaplain recites the Decalogue. All the Members — Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! C. E. — The "Woodward will present the Candidate to the Yice Chief Eanger for instruction. (The Woodwards will then conduct the Candidate around, wheeling to the left, past the P.C.E., and halt between the C.R. and the altar, facing the V.C.R., having the altar between them and the V.C.R.) S. W. — Yice Chief Ranger, by command of the Chief Eanger, I present this Candidate before you for instruction. Y. C. E. — It is my duty to inform you that the Independent Order of Foresters bas its chief comer stone resting upon the 22 eternal principal of the " Fatherhood op God," and therefore it is but meet and right that at the very threshold you should hare had repeated in your hearing those solemn words of the Commandments given to mankind by God himself, to be a light and guide to all the people of the earth, till time shall be no more. In becoming a Forester, you will be expected to live in harmony with those Com- mandments, and that you will be ever patient in adversity, persistent in rectitude of action, and that you will " (?o to other: as you would they should do unto yoti." Thus assured as to the foundation principle of our Order, are you still willing to proceed ? Candidate — I am. Y. C. E. — "Woodwards, conduct the Candidate to the altar for Obligation. (The Candidate will then be conducted around, wheeling to the left past the Chaplain, and halted at the altar, facing the C.R.) V. C. H. — Chief Ranger, at the altar stands Mr. — , a Candi- date for the mysteries and privileges of our noble Order. ITe has travelled the circuit of our Court for the second time. Me comes well and worthily recommended, waiting your further pleasure. C. K.. — Brethren, assist me to confer the sacred Obligation upon the Candidate who has been found worthy of fellowship with us in our noble Order. (The C.R. and brethren will then approach the altar, and the brethren arranging themselves around it and forming the "Circle of Concord," having the Candidate between the Woodwards on one side of the altar, and the C-R., P.C.R. and Chaplain upon the other side within the circle. The " Circle of Concord " is formed by each brother crossing his arms in front of himself and grasping the hand of the brother on either side of him. The lights will be turned down low.) C.R. — The (or " each '^) Candidate will place his right hand over his heart, raise his left hand, say " I,'' and pronounce his own name, and repeat after me, THE OBLIGATION. 1 I, fname in full, J of my own free will and accord, 2 in the presence of the Supreme Ruler of the 3 Universe, and of the members of the Independent 4 Order of Foresters here present, do most solemnly 5 and sincerely promise and declare, that I will ever 6 conceal, and never reveal, any word, sign, grip or 7 token, or any other secrets, or private work of the 8 Independent Order of Foresters, which shall now, 9 or may hereafter, be communicated to me, to any 10 one in the world ; unless it be to a brother Forester, 11 I knowing him to be such by due examination, or 12 upon the word of a brother who is known to me, 13 or in the body of a regularly constituted Court. 23 14 I will not repeat outside the Court room any 15 transaction whatsoever which may take place 16 therein, which, by the regulations of the Order, 17 should be kept secret; unless I am duly authorized 18 so to do by the constituted authorities of the 19 Order. I further promise that I will not wrong a 20 brother ; or see him wronged, if in my power to 21 prevent it : and will do all that lies in my power to 22 alleviate the needs, protect the honour, and advance 23 the welfare of a brother Torester. I will be 24 obedient to all the Laws and usages of the Order, 25 and will bear true allegiance to the Supreme Court, 26 and be loyal thereto, as the supreme authority of 27 the entire Order. I will obey all legal mandates 28 of my High Court, and of any Court of which I 29 may be a member ; and will take no part in any 30 illegal distribution of the funds or property of any 31 Court. And I further promise and agree, should 32 I, from any cause, cease to be a member of the 33 Order, that my obligation of secrecy shall remain 34 binding and in full force ; and that all my right, 35 title, and interest in and to any property, funds or 36 benefits of the Court or Order, shall thereby termi- 37 nate and become absolutely void. For the faithful 38 observance of all which I hereby pledge my most 39 sacred Jionour. All the Members — Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! Chap. — In the beginning the world was void and without light. Darkness rested upon the face of the deep. *• And God said, Let there be light, and there was light." C. E. — Let the Candidate be brought to light. Caught again ! And so all this theatrical-cum-sancti- moniou8-cum-raw-head-and-bloody-bones- forfeit, your-life piece of business leads on to being at this stage cajoled into binding himself to A MYSTERIOUS SECRET SOCIETY, for it is out of the question, that circumstanced and terrorised as he has been, he would do otherwise than repeat mechani- cally what is dictated to him without having an opportunity to digest its meaning. We say terrorised advisedly, leaving the readers to select such more appropriate term as may suggest itseK after reading copy of official instruction FOK IMPOSING THE OBLIGATION. 24 " For the initiation ceremony tlie Junior Beadle, as a rule, pre- pares the candidate by (1) hoodwinking the candidate securely and effectually, so that he cannot possibly see anything ; (2) at the proper time pinioning his arms securely by tying his wrists together firmy and securely behind him ; (3) removing his shoes but not his socks. "While this is being done by the Junior Beadle, the "Woodwards assisted by the members, prepare the Eough and Ready Road. "When all is ready the lights are turned down low and the ceremony is performed as described in the Ritual, When the candidate is brought to the Altar, and before the hoodwink is removed, the brethren completely surround the candidate, some with battle axes and others with spears pointing to the candi- dates head and breast. The obligation is then given. After the obligation the candidate is again hoodwinked and conducted back to the anteroom." Having started in pursuit of a " new departure in Insurance," he has himself been caught in • the " new departure;" but where the insurance comes in does not appear quite clear. In fact, it seems so wrapped in the " mysteries of the Forest," as to have been completely lost sight of, if it has not disappeared altogether. Clearly, there is not one word about it in this " obligation " adminis- tered in solemn form with all the emphasising paraphernalia of " altar," chaplain sacred laws and music, to say nothing of the salutary influence of a pilgrim's progress over the Rough and Ready Road ; and it is equally certain there is not a single thing in this " obligation," or the entire cermony, from start to finish, having any direct bearing whatever on Insurance, pure and simple, but a great deal bearing on Insurance from an I. 0. F. point of view. All the matters regarding which he is bound to secrecy may not be apparent just here, but will be more in evidence when we are dealing with the signs and passwords and military encampments — the standing army of the I. 0. F. For the present it may be well to note, that whatever may at any time befall the Captive ; whatever grievance he may have ; whatever his own will or discretion may suggest, or conscience dictate, must — outside the Order — be a matter of no consideration. Neither, if in doubt, is he supposed to seek council outside the Order, for such matters he must not reveal " to anyone in the world," unless a brother Forester, and even as regards a brother Forester, he must not " repeat outside the Court-room any transaction whatsoever which may take place therein, why hy regulations of the Order should he kept secret.^' " To all intents and purposes he is effectually gagged. On the other hand, he is to be " obedient to all the laws and usages of the 25 Order," &c., &c. The term " usages " in connection with I. 0. F. mysteries is about equivalent to the symbol x, re- presenting the unknown in an algebraic problem, and may be practically anything that at any time the Supreme Court chose to designate as such. In view of this term and referring to report of Police Court proceedings, we know from the newspapers of the time that in March, 1893, a certain Colonel Paterson, Q.C, visited Dublin for the purpose of introducing the I. 0. F., then new to Britain and Ireland. Under whatever circumstances or representations a court was then got under way, or whatever formalities may have been observed in transacting the business thereof we cannot mention here, but that the Initiation Ceremony we are now following could not be used where no court previously existed, is a certainty. " Were you yourself initiated," asked Dr. Condon, B.L. "Not in that form,'' replied Mr. Houston. But certes by December, 1893 — the members would have had a considerable sum at stake by that time — not Col. Paterson this time, but Mr. Marshall, Greneral Manager, presum- ably a higher authority, who would be in a position, say to overrule some thing that Colonel Paterson may have done or said, puts in appearance and makes a " recommendation," which recommendation was of such a character as to be an advance on what was the previous practice in the Court, and of moment enough to create a dissention to the extent, that, from the evidence, there was admittedly complaint of faith having been broken, and " a lot of reasons " given for with- drawing, and consequently forfeiture of financial interest in preference to complying with the " recommendation," while those who took Mr. Marshall's " advice " seemed to be in a fog and unaware of how far it extended !^ Mr. Heuston says he has never seen certain matters to which Dr. Conden, B.L., refers. He believes they are in the Eitual though, but does not think Mr. Marshall " went so far " as to " advise " that the " full Ritual in all its formula should be complied with." He does not say, however, whether Mr. Marshall's advice was not that there was no exemption from using Ritual as printed ; and whether having given this " advice," he cannot, at a more opportune time, point to Section 112 of the Con- stitution, and " recommend " that it he complied with ! So much by way of illustrating the working of those elastic "usages" which may be one thing to-day, something entirely different to-morrow. The unfortunate Captive now hopelessly entangled in the web, with no apparent possibility of extricating himself, may think strongly (probably more so on reflection), but it 26 would be a dreadful thing that he should harbour resent- ment ! So the Chaplain is requisitioned to intercede with the Almighty that his heart may be filled with love for the Order, after which the P. C. E,. has an innings, and enter- tains him with some choice original doctrinal girations, || specially designed for the use of the I. 0. F. (The Woodwards will then remove the hoodwink.) C. R. — The Chaplain will lead us in prayer. Chap. — Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Eather, deign to bless the light we now enkindle in the heart of this Thy servant, so that virtue may increasingly shine around about him and his heart be filled with the Divine light of truth, and the flame of love for our Order may ever burn with unquenchable brightness within his breast, and to Thee, Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, we will ascribe aU might, majesty and power, now and for evermore. Amen. All the Members — Glory be to Thee, Lord ! Glory be to Thy name ! Glory be to Thy great works ! (At the close of each of the above sentences the P.C.R. will flash the ncense. ) Chap. — Glory be to God on High, and in earth peace, goodwill towards men. (The brethren will then resume their places in the Court, leaving the Woodwards and the Candidate at the altar.) C. E. — The Woodwards will now present the Candidate to the Past Chief Sanger to receive further light. (The Woodwards will conduct the Candidates around, wheeling to the left, past the P.C.R. and CR., halting between the Chaplain and the altar, facing the P.C.R.) S. W. — Past Chief Ranger, by Command of the Chief Ranger, we present the newly obligated Candidate that he may receive further light. P. C. R. — Having taken upon jouTselj our most solemn Obliga- tion, it gives me pleasure to still further advance you on your way. You have already been informed that the foundation principle of the Order is the " Fatherhood of God." As a Forester, therefore, you will be expected ever to walk uprightly, as in the presence of your Heavenly Father. Let it be your constant aim, day by day, to become better and better, to the end that those who may have the privilege of associating with you may be enlightened in mind and elevated in character. Ever remember that you are made in the image of the Creator of the Universe, in whom alone " we live, and move, and have our being." Your duty to yourself and to your fellowman is of a threefold character, symbolized by the three flashes of light with which you have been greeted. First. — That you may glorify your Heavenly Father, it is your duty to constantly strive to achieve your own 27 LIBERTY From the slavery of ignorance and vice, and to promote virtue and morality. And I give it to you in the strongest terms of commen- dation, to diligently seek after the Light which is from on High. Aim to live after the Commandments of your Creator, so that at the latter end you may be prepared for that welcome which shall be given to all those who prove faithful to the end, and it shall be said unto you, " Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Second. — To visit the sick, relieve the distressed and to bury the dead, is a duty which is not only imposed upon us by our relations to our Heavenly Father, but it is enjoined in the "Word of God, and positively required in our laws, for it is written that " Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this : to visit the fatherless and widow in their affliction, and to keep him- self unspotted from the world.'"' And, as the ' ' Fatheehood of God" constitutes the chief comer-stone, so the " Beotherhood op Man " forms the keystone to the beauteous arch of BENEVOLENCE Which, like the rainbow, is the token of the covenants that binds us together in our fraternity. Third. — As Independent Forestry has for its basis the belief in the existence of God and the consequent immortality of the soul, and for its aim our deliverance from ignorance and vice, and the practice of benevolence, it becomes the imperative duty of us all to promote among our fellowmen brotherly love and CONCORD Which is the fraternal chain which links brother to brother in the bonds of Faith in God, which guideth ; of Hope, which sustaineth ; and of Charity, which blesseth. You will now be conducted to the chair of the Financial Secretary, there to sign the Constitutions and Laws, and have your name inscribed upon the Honour Roll of the Independent Order of Foresters ; after which you will be presented to the Chief Ranger to receive the final instructions. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF. Some thirteen hundred years ago the famous Arabian impostor boldly maintained that he was a prophet commis- sioned from Heaven to restore the religion of Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ to its primitive purity, dreadfully disfigured, he said, by Christians, Jews and Idolaters, and 28 upon this foundation built kismonstrous compound of Judaism, Christianity, old heresies and his own fancies, on the one side, discarding all the mysteries of religion, and on the other inculcating that "God is God and Mahomet is His Prophet J^ Mahomet (with the assistance of a Jewish rabbin and a Nestorian monk) compiled a Koran or " book of books," as he called it, which, with the exception of a glowing style and some beautiful moral maxims, is nothing but a miserable rhapsody. He adopted a system of enforced conviction, but added the enticement of sensual pleasure, ambition and enthusiasm. Now again is there a prophet arisen among the people. Again must an attempt be made to achieve " Liberty from the slavery of ignorance and vice." Once again is " pure religion " expounded, and yet again a nondescript conglom- eration of facts, theories and fancies, on the one side dis- claiming all " regard to sectarian creeds" and on the other proclaiming that " the Order is based on the Fatherhood of God" and Oronhyatekha, Supreme Chief Ranger ! The book this time is the Ritual, that " book of books " which the officers of "Courts" are in a special ceremony provided for the purpose, obligated at the altar of L. B. & 0. to " abide by, defend and suffer no innovation therein." And, curious coincidence ! herein is again the glowing style and moral maxims, to say nothing of odes and music, but as to completing the simile and likening the rest to rhapsody, we fear we must leave it to the reader to say whether it would be a far too innocent term to apply. Nor has human nature changed much in other respects. Again is ambition baited, this time through gaudy colours, flaunting plumes, tinselled gewgawery and prize lithos, and enthusiasm fired through beat-that-if-you-can articles and records published in an official journal. True, Mahomet's system of enforcing conviction, though direct to the point, was primitive, but it may have been as much his misfortune as his fault that he knew neither bow to read or write. Oronhyatekha on the other hand was treated to a college education. Were Mahomet living to-day, and wise in his generation, he would, no doubt, be obliged to admit that a " New Departure in Insurance," in the terms of vitality of policy dependant on obeying " all the laws and usages," is by means, no means, a weapon to be despised in the cause of enforced conviction ! (The Woodwards will then conduct the Candidate around, wheeling to the left, past the V.C K. and P.C.R., to the chair of the F.S., to sign the Constitutions and Laws. After which the Candidate will he conducted to 29 he C.R., the S.W. taking with him the copy of the Constitutions and Laws signed by the Candidate. While all this is being done, one of the two following odea will be sung or played:) ODES. No. 7. — Love One Another. Angry words ! ! let them never From the tongue unbridled slip ; May the heart's best impulse ever Check them e'er they soil the lip. Chorus — " Love one another," thus saith the Saviour, " Children, obey thy Father's blest command. "Love each other," "Love each other," 'Tis the Father's blest command. 'Tis His blest command. Love is much too pure and holy ; Friendship is too sacred far, For a moment's reckless folly Thus to desolate and mar. Angry words are lightly spoken, Bitter thoughts are rashly stirred ; Brightest links of love are broken By a single angry word. No. 8.— Dennis. Blest be the tie that binds Before our Father's throne Our heart's in Christian love, We pour our ardent prayer's. The fellowship of kindred minds, Ourfears,ourhopes,ouraims are one, Is like to that above. Our comforts and our cares, "We share our mutual woes. Our mutual burdens bear. And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear. S. W. — Chief Ranger, I present to you the newly obligated Candidate, who has, for the third time travelled the circuit of our Court, and now comes to you for final instructions. C. R. — ITas he duly subscribed to our Constitutions and Laws ? S. "W. — Hie has, Chief Ranger. You will find his name- duly inscribed in the copy of the Constitutions and Laws which I now beg to place in your hands. (The S.W. will then hand to the C.R. the copy of the Constitutions and Laws, which the C.R. will examine and see that it is duly and properly signed by the Candidate. He will then proceed as follows :) This is what he signs : — Chambers of Court No day of A.D. 189. . I hereby accept and subscribe to the within Constitutions, Laws, Bules of Order and Regulations of the Independent Order of Foresters, and promise to be bound by and conform to the provisions of same, or to any amendments thereof ivhich may he adopted from time to time hy the Supreme Court. Signed C. R. — BROTKER! I am now authorized to address you by that term, and in the name of LiBEETY, BeNEVOLEITCE kSH CoNCOED, . I bid you welcome into our nolle Older. "Sou have bound jo}xiself to us by a tie which all upright men reverence and respect, andj^a 30 violation of wLicli will carry with it its own punishment. It be- comes you, therefore, from the present hour, to honour our principles by an unblemished course of life, honourable dealing, and conscien- tious uprightness, whereby you will reflect credit upon your own character as a man, and add to the dignity and stability of an Order with whose progress and prosperity your own interests are now identified. I now beg to hand you a copy of our CoiTSTITirTIONS ANB LaWS, To which you have already subscribed. Study well their provi- sions, for you will find that not only your duties to the Brother- hood, but your rights and privileges in the Order are therein clearly set forth. I will now instruct you in the unwritten work of the Order. FIRST SECTION. The 0. R. explains how to give the Entersign ; Sea Sign or Sign of Distress ; the Travelling Sign or Sign of Recogni- tion ; the "Warning Sign and Danger Signal ; the Voting Sign ; the Grip ; with the Countersign to each. Also the Words of Distress, and then proceeds : The Gavel in the hands of the Officers conveys a certain mean- ing to the Court. In the hands of the Chief Ranger, Three Raps calls up the whole Court ; Ttvo Raps seat the Court ; One Rap calls to order. In the hands of the Yice Chief Eanger, One Rap calls to order ; Two Raps^ in answer to the signal at the inner door, is an order to the Senior Beadle to attend to the signal. SECOND SECTION. To enter a Court Room while a Court is in Session, proceed as follows : At the outer door give any usual alarm, such as knocking or ringing the bell, the same as at the door of a neighbour. If re- quired by the officer in charge, give the P. Password, or letter it with him as he may wish. The P. Password is . This will admit you to the anteroom. There clothe yourself in proper regalia. At the inner door give knocks, and to the officer in charge give the current semi-annual Passivord, which is , which will admit you to the Court Room. Advance to the centre thereof and face the Chief Ranger and give the Entersign, at the same time saying "Chief Ranger." He will answer by giving the Countersign, upon which you will take your seat. If not in order for you to be admitted at the moment of giving the alarm at the inner door (and it is not in order for you to be ad- mitted during the Opening, Closing, or Initiatory Ceremonies), the Senior Beadle will answer the alarm by giving on the door, in which case it will be your duty to wait, and as soon as the 31 Ceremony for wMcli you were thus detained is over, the Senior Beadle will open the wicket, and then you will give the proper Password and enter the Court Eoom. If you are visiting a sister Court, at the inner door give, in addition to the S.A.P.W., your name, the name and number of your Court, and your rank, if any, in the Order. If you desire to address the Court, rise in your place and give the Entersign, at the same time saying " Chief Ranger ;" and when you have received the Countersign from the Chief Sanger proceed with your remarks. "Whenever you cross the room from one side to the other in front of the Chief Hanger, turn towards him and give simply the Entersign. If you desire to retire before the Court has regularly closed, proceed to the saluting point and turn to the Chief Eanger and give the Entersign, and say, " Chief Eanger, permit me to retire." The Chief Eanger, if it is proper for you to retire, will answer you with the Countersign, and say, " Brother Senior Beadle, permit the brother to retire," upon which you will retire without further ceremony. THIED SECTION. The Chief Ranger proceeds to explain the honours given to Chief Rangers and Past Chief Rangers ; to Deputies ; to Officers of a High Court, and "The Royal Salute," which is given to officers of the Supreme Court ; and continues : — You have now received the whole of the unwritten work of this Degree. Woodwards, conduct the Candidate to the altar for the final ceremony. Brethren, let the " Circle of Concord" be formed. I (The Candidate, Woodwards, C.R., P.C.R. and Chaplain will take the same positions they occupied during the " Obligation," the brethren form- ing the " Circle of Concord " around them.) C. E. — Now, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the Independent Order of Foresters, I proclaim you a Forester, and entitled to all the rights and privileges of our noble Order. Brethren, I will now ask you to join with me in extending a cordial greeting to our newl}' initiated l^other. ENTANGLED IN MESHES. " There ye wise saints, behold your light, your star, " Ye would be dupes and victims and ye are. " Is it enough ? or must I, while a thrill ' ' Lives in your sapient bosoms, cheat ye still ? The Veiled Prophet. Enough, perhaps for the observant reader to see the position of the newly initiated member of this preposterous 32 brotherliood from that of the candidate for Life Insurance, and mayhap to hazard a shrewd suggestion that the whole performance might aptly be entitled " Mokanna Up-to-Date," but not by any means enough to suit the purposes of the Supreme Chief. If at this stage the new brother, on collect- ing his scattered senses, concludes he has had about enough " mysteries of the forest," he can of course withdraw — the writer is acquainted with men whose first night in a court room was also their last — but, if he does so, his entrance fees, £1 16s. 6d. or £3 Ss. Od., as the case may be, are forfeited to the Order. Wherefore ? Well refer to " ObKgation." " Should I from any cause whatsoever cease to be a member all my rights, titles and interest become absolutely void." " But,'* he may say, " I knew nothing about this sort of thing, I paid my money simply to have my life insured, that's all I inten- ded or require ; seeing yours is an institution with which I have no desire to be associated, and into which I have been led through misrepresentation, you will please refund me or I shall be obliged to have recourse to legal redress." " Rest assured Brother you shall have i/our rights in the Order (whatever that may be) but as to outside of it, you have solemnly bound yourself to be obedient to all our laws and usages as well as to absolute secrecy regarding any transaction whatever that takes place here. Think you this obligation was mere empty form ? Were you not assured during the Initiation Ceremony that nothing is done here without a purpose or significance ? " " A voice deep and dread, " As that of Monker waking up the dead, "Rung through the casement near Thy Oath ! Thy Oath ! " and the I. 0. F. re-echoes — "Remember your obligation. "But," persists the aggrieved one, "I do not acknowledge any moral obligation in this respect ; within the meaning of the laws of the realm you have been acting ultra vires and illegally. What if I were to submit that you cannot bind my conscience and that my sense of moral obligation is to expose your methods before a legal tribunal in the public interest ? " " But, Brother X., we are now dealing with the laws and usages of the I. 0. F., not conscience or the laws of the country. However, if you are willing to accept that risk it is, of course, your own affair. At all events I presume your law courts will uphold a signed contract ? and here is your signature accepting and subscribing to our laics, rules of order and regulations ! ** But the neophyte must not be discouraged at this stage, his entrance fees were he to retire is the pro- verbial drop in the bucket to the Order, but the longer he 33 remains tlie mickles go to make tlie muckle. He has there- fore to be eacouraged to proceed rather than be scared away. And now comes along a certificate of membership — a gaudy litho, 24 X 36 inches, on which are partitioned off in a pillared design something akin to the gilded frontspiece of a travelling museum, a heterogeneous collection of figures con- sisting of " Libertas," '* Benevolentia," four snakes, four cherubs, a bow and bugle horn, an L. B. C. scroll in light from the All-seeing Eye, " Truth," with a pet snake all to her- self, " Justice," a IJnion Jack, a moose's head, the stripes and stars, a facsimile autograph of Oronhyatekha, M.D. and the Members of the Executive Council, and on what might be an entrance door in the design, a pompous proclamation in the usual glowing patronising style affected by the Order as follows : — To all loving Foresters throughout the world greeting. Know ye that we, the Executive Council of the Supreme Court of the Independent Order of Foresters by virtue of the powers vested in us by our constitution and laws have granted these letters patent to our right trusty and well beloved Brother duly certifying that our said Brother has been legally elected and admitted to the mysteries and priveleges of our beloved Order. "We there- fore hereby acknowledge and proclaim our said right trusty and well beloved Brother a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and entitled so long as he conforms to our laws and usages to all the rights of said membership. And we do further hereby command all our loving Brethren throughout the world to recognise and honour him as a brother Forester and to accord to him the honours and privi- leges of a brother. Done in our Supreme Court this ...,,, day of &c., &c." Mysteries and Privileges ! ! Mysteries first, of course. Privileges afterwards, and again those ever recurring laws and india-rubber usages. And the price ? Only 5s. Not a large sum — considering it conveys the privilege to call Oronhyatekha Brother — although we have seen two copies of much more artistic productions presented with a shilling number of a magazine. On the " Endowment Certificate,'*^ that substituted for a policy issued by the Order, is also an imposing display of lithographic fireworks from the " Supreme Court, at the top to " Oronhyatekha, M.D.," at the foot and on the back an equally elaborate arrangement of arithmetical figures between " I agree," and a blank line for members signature, which signature must be appended and witnessed 3 34 Isefore being given into his possession. This is a copy of it in accordance with the Constitution and Laws. Sec. 5J50, sub- sec. 2, viz. : — Before delivery to the member, it (Endowment Certificate) shall be signed by the member and the signature duly witnessed by the Chief Ranger of the Member's Court, and countersigned by the Recording Secretary, and the Seal of the Court attached. I hereby expressly agree that the Constitution and Laws of the Independent Order of Foresters, as well as any amendment thereof which may be adopted from time to time by the Supreme Court, shall be part of this contract, pai^ticular and special reference being made by the parties hereto to the following sections of the said Constitution and Laws, viz. : — Sections 1, 2, 3, 26, 27, 28, 40, 42, 47, 55, 57, 59, 96, 98, 99, 103, 104, 112, 117, 120, 123, 124, 131, 132, 134, 152, 155, 159, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170,171, 172, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 188, 194, 196, 197, 198, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 214, 216, 218, 219, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231, 235, 236, 237, 239 240, 242, 244, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 255, 257, 260 261, 264, 265, 266. I hereby further expressly agree to the provisions of Sections 187, 213, 217, 222, and 258 of the Constitution and Laws of the Independent Order of Foresters. Signed in the presence of ] C.R {Signed) E. S. ) [couetsea-l] Here certainly seems scope enough for diversity of opinion ; and every clause a condition to vitality of policy. It would be out of the question for us to notice each separate section or the remainder of 306 all told that go to make up the constitution and laws. Take for example, section 186, sub section (2) "Any member who shall be guilty of con- tempt of the Constitution and laws or for insuhordination or contempt, rebellion against the constituted authorities of the Order shall ipso facto stand suspended." This scarcely flavours very strongly of life insurance, but rather suggests a powerful weapon provided for use by the " authorities " in the cause of enforced conviction in " achieving liberty from the slavery of ignorance." Section 112, sub-section (11) " AH High. Courts and Subordinate Courts, Encampments of Koyal Foresters, and all Juvenile Courts shall be managed and conducted according to the Rituals prescribed or which may be prescribed from time to time by the Executive Council." We have already got an inkling of the power ■exercised over, and obligations imposed upon members through r. 35 the Hitual, and seeing now provision reserved for prescribing such other forms or making such additions or alterations as at any time 8mt a purpose for the time being y it can readily be inferred that this section practically places boundless control over the Order in the hands of the Executive. The management of the Order costs much more than appears on the surface or in the Supreme Court accounts. In fact each branch or " court " must support its own management in addition to the scheduled rates for benefits. The figures appearing in the Supreme Court accounts are practically equivalent to the ** Head Office " expenses of an Insurance company, assuming each branch office to collect from the policy holders transacting business through it, a sufficient sum, in addition to premiums ^ to cover its own expenses plus a contribution towards chief office expenses, over and above what is deducted from the premium for that purpose, which latter amount only deducted, is inserted in fcJupreme Court accounts as the expenses of the Order. This is a matter the Insurance Companies either lose sight, or are unaware of, in assuming, as they appear to, that the I.O.F. purport to cover risk and management in their >icheduled scales which is not the case. The membership is variously computed at from 50,000 to 70,000. Taking the average at 60,000 and remembering that each must subscribe court dues some 12/- per annum, payable monthly, and also 4/2 per annum, " capitation tax," and other items will certainly make up to over £1 per member, per annum, or £60,000 of management expenses, no inconsiderable sum, which owing to their system does not of necessity come into the Supreme Court accounts at all. Again, charter fees, each new court pays a charter fee of £20, although nominally payable to the Supreme Court is really expended in remuneration of organising work in such a way that although they are in reality agency fees distributed variously and certified accordingly to the Supreme Court ; yet this system is not the subject matter of any debtor and credit accounts compiled by the Order, in as much as it is received and expended in furtherance of their purpose with- out passing through their hands, but paid by members and expended as a working expense, or as the regular Companies say, in obtaining " new business " all the same. Section 213, sub-section (1), : " No member shall be entitled to bring any action or legal proceedings against the Supreme Court or any other court of the Order until he has exhausted all the remidies provided for in the Constitution 36 and Laws of the Order, by appeal or otherwise." (Turning now to the heading " Sequence of appeals " we read (section 44, sub- section 1). " All the appeals arising in any of the courts in connec- tion with the Endowment Benefits or with the Sick and Funeral Benefits and in all matters relating to the general laws, shall be direct from the Ofiicer or Court or Encampment giving original decision to the Supreme Chief Ranger. (2) All appeals from the actions or decisions of any of the officers of the Supreme Court, other than the Supreme Chief Ranger, shall be to the Supreme Chief Ranger. (3) From the Supreme Chief Ranger to the Executive Council. (4) From the Executive Council to the Supreme Court, whose decision shall be final on all questions.'^ Of what avail is the £20,000 lodged with the Govern- ment through the Chancery Division of the Supreme Court of Judicature to guarantee payments in this country when the Supreme Court of the I.O.F. reserve the right of deciding whether or not payment is to be made ? True, after all the routine of appeals within the Order had been got through with, and this might mean three years delay and a journey to Canada, the complainant could, if substantial means were forthcoming, institute a Chancery suit, subject to being handicapded by the " obligation," but all the chances should necessarily be against the plaintiff, the issue turning on the question of contract which again would hinge on some one or more sections of the constitution and laws to which the member had subscribed his signature, both on his copy of same and on his endowment certificate which could be used in evidence against him as the contract on which to base a decision. The Insurance Act aims at protecting the policy holder and with this end in view, stipulates that any corpora- tion about to transact Life Assurance business must have £20,000 lodged in Chancery, but there is nothing in the act to prevent one contracting ones self out of its protection, which is practically what the member in the I.O.F. is obliged in effect to do, in fact, before "joining" at all, he may be held as having accepted all their conditions through using the subjoined form of application for membership. To Court No, Located at 1 hereby make application for membership in your Court and enclose herewith the deposit fee of Four Shillings and Twopence. I declare that I am at date in good, sound mental and physical health, and sgree that this declaration, together with the answers in my Medical Examination 37 paper, and the Coustitutions and Laws of the Order, shall be part of the contract with the Supreme Court of the Independent Order of Foresters. I require £ of Endowment. The matters mentioned herein, be it noted, form only part of the contract with the Supreme Court. The candidate for Instrance at that time knowing nothing of course of the im- portant part the ritual takes in the arrangement of affairs, being, as a matter of fact, made part and parcel of the entire bussness through connecting it with the " Constitution," under Section 112, as we have already seen. Under section 187, members using intoxicants or nar- cotics to such an extent as to materially affect the risk on his life, shall be suspended. We have no sympathy, quite the contrary, with the excessive use of intoxicants, and we conceive that it presents a fine moral appearance to prescribe that a member must be temperate ; but we are not so clear as to the morality of accepting the maji's money while in good health to cast him off when likely to become a risk. We quite appreciate this accomodating little proviso in view of the fact that the Order must gain by the members intem- perance, his accumulated assessments remaining, while he is himself cut adrift. But on the whole there is really nothing else for it ! A man in his cups may get a trifle mixed in or perchance " give away" his warning signs and danger signals, or hail a passing brother vs^ith "the words of distress" which were not exactly meant for this sort of thing, so there is help for him. Not that a Forester must not enjoy himself ! Oh dear, no I Royal Foresters we know, as a matter of history, had convivial clubs in the vicinity of Knaresboro' as far back as one hundred years ago, but these were only commonplace woodmen, and of course, the Sir Knights of the Encampments of Royal Foresters of the Independent Order are too eminently re- spectable for that sort of thing, and so we are informed in the Independent Forester for March, 1894, that they are " similar to the uniformed ranks of the knights of Pythias." What the knights of Pythias are, we must confess we cannot exactly say, but assume the name has some bearing on the term Pythian, as applied to the games and festivals of ancient Grreece, something akin to the Roman Saturnalia ; more especially as we are further told, and this may throw some additional light on matters that " they (the Royal Foresters) tend to cultivate closer fraternal relations and good cheer generally" Somehow or other this does not flavour particularly of temperance. Nor does the appended extract 38 from a letter which the writer has seen, under the date B 1, 2nd December, 1893, over the signature of the High Secretary of a High Court that can boast of a Reverend High Chief Ranger and no fewer than four other Reverend gentle- men as high officials : — "Any Dublin Brother who can tcork his way past the H.J.B. and H.S.B. may be sure of a cordial welcome to partake of the cheering cup in the recesses of our Forest Home." Sounds friendly, certainly, considering that the same High Secretary had written the same correspondent under date 5th August, 1893, that the non-delivery of High Court dues left the Court of the Dublin brethren ipso facto open to suspension from the Ist inst., which latter Court, we may mention in passing, was never under the jurisdiction of the said High Court at all, it having been expressly arranged and distinctly understood at formation that it should not be. But some how or other, the cup that cheers Reverend High Chief Rangers and High Court officials around the altar of " Libertas," behind doubly- ty led portals in the recesses of their Forest Home, smacks rather suggestively of the revelry held by the priests of Baal over the good cheer provided for the altar of that imaginary deity by the well-meaning credulous dupes of by-gone ages. It seems quite clear, however, that those ancient priests, fairly good humbugs though they were considering their opportunities, never " achieved their liberty from the slavery of ignorance," or they would assuredly have thought out the simple expedient of levying a capitation tax under an ipso facto penalty arrangement. They could thus have procured precisely whatever tickled their own fancy, instead of being obliged to accommodate their sacred palates to such "cheer "as the convenience, or suggested fancy of others brought into supply. But mumm is the word, and the Constitution provides that it must remain so, for we read in section 177: — "A member who shall reveal any of the private affairs of the Order shall, on conviction, stand expelled. The mode of pro- cedure to gain admission into any Court, its signs, grips, passwords, business transacted in any Court, &c., are matters alike to be kept inviolate." Having had a good " look in " on the mysteries in as subordinate Court, and a casual glance at Royal Foresters and a High Court in passing, we naturally evince a desire to have a glimpse at the Supreme Court, and an opportunity of seeing what manner of man is the Supreme Chief, who draws £1,4000 a year as salary, and is unlimited as to travelling and such other expenditure as he choose to make in \iQW of extending the Order. 39 The following, extracted from a copy of a letter addressed to Oranhyateklia, by a Dublin man who considered himself and friends had been misled, deceived, and otherwise unfairly treated, speaks for itself, and the Chief's reply thereto will b& all-sufficient for our present purpose : — " It does not seem necessary to avail of professional opinion to realize the fact that in the event of policy being extinguished for many reasons other than non-payment of assessments, the law affords no protection whatever, provided the member has been obli- gated to abide by certain matters, and accepted over his signature the endorsement on back of endowment certificate as issued by the Order, whereby he practically contracts himself out of such protec- tion as the law would afford him if holding an ordinary policy in any ordinaiy insurance company. " Provided an intending member was fully aware of what wa» expected of him before he joined the Order, or had the option of receiving back his money should he find after * initiation ' that the usages of the Order were other than what he was led to believe, it might seem reasonable enough to allow him to enter into such con- tract as he chose, but when under the assumption that he is making an ordinary business transaction in a business cancem he is induced to join something entirely different, and to contract himself inta something he never intended, to conditions he may afterwards find he cannot conscientiously comply with, and from which he can only recede at a monetary loss, I think the system extremely objection- able. "So far as experience in Dublin goes, I must say we have not been dealt with in a straightforward manner, in fact the policy adopted towards us has been that of deception. My own position is that I cannot go any further at present. I cannot bring myself into conformity with such ceremonies, &c., as aro now required, &c." We would direct attention to three points urged to the Chief in the foregoing ctmraunication (1) That outside the Order the law affords no protection to the insured ; (2) That under the assumption a man is making a business transaction he is induced to connect himself with something entirely different, something he never intended, and (3) as to a policy of deception having been practiced. How does the Chief meet these charges? His reply " speaks volumes " as the novel writers would have it. He simply contents himself by writing: — "I have only to express my regret at the position you have taken regarding our Order, my experience, however, is that WHEN A man's conscience BEGINS TO BOTHER HIM as a rule the reasoning stage has been passed (! !) " We inferred as much ! Does the disregard to " sectarian creeds " in the Subordinate Courts, then, evolve into a 40 demand for extinction of conscience by the time we come in contact with the Supreme Court ? Highly civilized state legislative assemblies insert in some Acts of Parliament a clause relieving those with conscientious scruples from certain requirements therein, but they after all are but ordinary mortals, while your Indian, as Supreme Chief, boldly rises superior to such small fry as your governments and legisla- tors, and simply writes down the man " whose conscience bothers him," as bereft of reason, telling him in effect that he is a fool ! What a farce to have the decalogue of the moral law impressed upon the candidate, to be sure, when this is the sort of thing we have to expect ! But a sancti- monus appearance oft cloaketh the impostor ! WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS ? Proved to be a Secret Society. " It is a Benevolent Order, based upon the broadest prin- ciples of mutual aid and fraternal intercourse, &c., &c.," says the prospectus. "What is this Society?" asked Dr. Conden, B.L., at the now famous prosecution of Mr. Kinsella, which resulted in letting daylight where it never could have got otherwise — we may add, where it was never intended to get. " It is a Co-operative Insurance Society," replied Mr. Heuston. Guileless Mr. Heuston! Had his copy of the Independent Forester (the official organ of order) for February, 1894, not reached him ? or had he not read the terms of re-union between the Supreme Court and the High Court of Illinois ? If he had, he might, if so disposed, have answered in accordance with the facts set out therein, and from which we excerpt the following : TERMS OF RE-UmON. BeTWEBJJ- the SrrPEEME COTTET AND THE HlGH CoFET OF ILLINOIS. " This agreement made and entered into the 16th day of Decem- ber, A. D. 1893, by and between the Supreme Court Independent Order of Foresters, a Corporation of the City of Toronto, of the Province of Ontario in Canada, party of the first part, and the High Court Independent Order of Foresters of the State of Illinois, a Corporation of the City of Chicago, County of Cook, and State of Illinois, a party of the second part. "Witnesseth ; Thai Wheeeas, each of the parties hereto is THE GOVEENING BODY OF A SECRET SOCIETY, which said Secret Societies are in reality one and the same Order derived from the same source, and each of the parties liereto is also 41 a Corporation doing an Insurance business on tlie Mutual Benefit plan among the MEMBEES OF THE SECEEX SOCIETY of whicli each is the governing body ; and it is the desire of both of the parties hereto that said Secret Societies shall become amalga- mated. And Wheeeas, &c., &c." " Also a Corporation doing Insurance business " ; but Secret Society first, and insurance among the members afterwards. Now, a Benevolent Order need not of necessity be a Secret Society; neither need Mr. Heuston's alternate definition : " a Co-operative Insurance Society ;" nor yet, we may add, need any Insurance Organisation nor Friendly Society or " Fraternal Society," which is the American equi- valent for the same. Still, assuming that it could be a Secret Society for Insurance purposes — Is it ? Hardly ! But let us see. Among a number of questions submitted to the Com- mittee of Jurisprudence of the Order in connection with the amalgamation is the following (page 235) : — Seventh Question — " ' If, in your opinion, interogatory No. 6 should be answered in the affirmative, has the High Court of Illinois power to divide its jurisdiction over subordinate Courts and their members with another Corporation ?' Answer — ' Yes, as to the Secret Society branch of the Organisation. No, as to the Insurance branch of the Association ' " Here, then, we have at once the meeting and the parting of the ways, and the Secret Society branch, as we may have inferred, takes precedence. To carry out designs of a Secret Society, funds are of course required, and that is where the utility of the Insurance branch comes in, meeting a threefold purpose, (1) It provides what has been described as the sinews of war, viz., working expenses ; for, of course, officers of the Insurance branch have got to be paid as a matter of business^ thus pro- viding salaries for them also as officers of the Secret Society ; and the two branches working simultaneously, the cost of extending the Insurance branch goes pari pashtc with the cost of organising the Secret Society ; (2) The Insurance surface supplies an artful decoy, covering a wilely laid plant for recruiting purposes of the Secret Society (an idea of how it works may be seen in trapping the Captive Stranger) ; and (3) The Endowment Certificate being open to cancellation from a great number of causes, including disobedience (no matter how much assessments may have been paid up), gives the Chief such a hold on the allegience of the members in having his behests carried out as he never could hope to 42 attain in the Secret Society, if it had not attached what the Order is pleased to call, and advertise in the papers with perfect truth as, "a new departure in insurance." A very new departure, indeed, and having the following clause (No. 8), too, inserted in its Act of Incorporation ; — There shall be printed in legible type, and in red ink, upon every policy hereafter issued by the Society, as well as upon every application therefor, and every receipt given in payment in connec- tion therewith, the following words : — " The Insurance undertaken by this Society comes under the exception contained in section forty-three of * The Insurance Act ' applicable to fraternal and benevolent aBSociations, and is not subject to Government inspection." If this is meant as a " Danger Signal," it is not carried out. No such words as the above are printed on any policy, application for policy, or receipt, issued by the Order, that we have seen, and we have examined a number of them. It will be perfectly obviously that armed " encampments '^ wherein the trimming of chapeaux, the material of sword- belts, the design of baldrics, are carried out in detail as minutely as in our regiments of the line, and where non- attendance at regular drills, or at convocations, is punishable by a fine, and discipline generally enforced under penalty ; has not of necessity any connection whatever with insurance, nor yet has the ela borate code of signs, signals, pass- words, and secret cyphers in use in the Order, and it is scarcely to be wondered at that highly influential and independent financial journals — assuming, no doubt, like the general public, who have not an opportunity of looking behind the scenes, that the Order is a business concern— have written down the system of the I.O.F. as a crack-brained scheme, from an insurance point of view. From a secret society point of view, however, the pro- moters have undoubtedly evinced a great deal of method in their madness, such as it is, and it will be at once conceded that, as the Ritual has it, " Nothing which has been done here is without a purpose and signification." Those encamp- ments have been officially described as the Military Depart- ment of the Order, and we are quite satisfied to leave that term as it stands, without adding another word, and pass on to the utility of the signs, the use of some of which we may explain, though we must refrain from mentioning how they are given. The Sea Sign or Sign of Distress may be used (1) by 43 an officer when required to call together all the members who may be in sight of him, at any time or place, whether or not they are personally known to him ; (2) As a sign of recog- nition in passing ships, or at some distance where the ordinary sign of recognition would not be observed ; (3) As a sign that assistance is required. The Words of Distress can be used as above, at night, or in any dark place where a sign could not be observed. The Travelling Sign or Sign of Recognition enables (1) any member to make himself known as such to any other member ; (2) To ascertain at a distance whether an unknown stranger is of the brotherhood ; (3) In any assembly whether there are any of the brotherhood present to respond with the Countersign. The Warning or Danger Signal ; for use variously, as name implies — say, to check a conversation, to be on guard of someone approaching, &c. The Grip through which a member knowns whether or not any man with whom he skakes hands is of the brother- hood. In affiliated friendly societies in general each branch is governed by its own elected officers. The Secretary being the medium of communication with the District or Central Body as the case may be. In the I.O.F. while this system is nominally to some extent in operation, in practice it is the broadest farce. The elected Presiding Officer or Chief Ranger is the merest figurehead, and the Secretaries not the medium of communi- cation, for although they actually write the correspondence and send forward the remittances, they need not expect a reply to the one or a receipt for the other, such being reserved for a non-elective officer, the Court Deputy, holding com- mission from the High or Supreme Chief, as the case may be. If the Deputy acts in accordance with "strictly confidential" instructions, he uses the elective officers as a set of tools to the purposes of the higher officials, and is a general spy on the action of the members, if he does not — " a failure to do his duty in this respect will lead to the immediate revocation of his commission, and subject himself to a charge for violation of the privileges of the constitution." A higher grade of Deputy is the " Deputy Supreme Chief Ranger," whose duties, among other things, is to '* act under the instructions of the Supreme Chief Ranger," so that it is quite possible for any member, number of^oiembers, Court or Courts, to be subjected to the mandate of some unknown officer at any time at a moments notice. 44 It lias been urged in the public press by the British Manager of the Order that " Oranhyatekha has no po wer beyond what the Constitution gives, which may be literally true, so far as it goes. Nevertheless, through the Constitution he may be said in the Order to be Supreme in point of fact as well as in name. True, delegates from High Courts to the Supreme Court gives a representative appearance for legislative purposes, but to say the Supreme Court is a purely representative assembly would be to assert what is not the fact. A certain number of the original promoters formed the first Supreme Court and Executive, and Oronhyatekha, with commendable forethought arranged his constitution so that past executive officers, to whom has been imparted the secrets at headquarters, continue to have a vote, ex-officio^ which ex-officio vote grows sufficiently, as the Order extends, to regulate the so-called representative vote, should the system of Deputies, Inspectors, Brigadiers, and general espoinage carried out through the Order fail to send forward the " right sort '* as representatives. In points of fact the Supreme Court assembly is a grand palaver where the en- ticement of pleasure is well calculated to stimulate energy in extending the ramifications of the Order. This is how the Oracle Works. "We excerpt from the I.O.F. souvenir number of The Sarnia Post, 3rd August, 1893, the following reference to Delegates from Great Britain and Ireland who attended Supreme Court at Chicago, September, 1893. '' The High Standing Committee, composed of the Eev, A. Mac Gillivray, Messrs. D. Millar, J. H. Halket, Atwell Fleming, L. T, Barklay, and Dr. Clarke met the Supreme Chief Eanger, Dr. Oronhyuatekha, the members of the Executive Council, and the Delegates from Scotland, England, Ireland, and "Wales, with car- riages on the arrival of the lightning express from the east. They drov^e to the Hotel Yendome, where the High Standing Committee, at which Past Sup. Chief Eanger Ed. Batterell occupied the chair. " The reception given to the British Brethren was of the heartiest description. The visitors welcomed the hour of adjournment, and retired to rest at 2.30 a.m. They are enthusiastic over all they have seen in Canada. . . . Leaving Kingston and sailing up the beautiful bay of Quinte, they arrived at Deseronto about 6 p.m. having been attached to the train for the accomodation of the British Delegates and their friends. The British Delegates are as follows ■ — James Marshall, H.C.E., Glasgow, Scotland; Eev. "W. J. Mc- Caughon, H.C.E., Belfast, Ireland; Col. N. F. Paterson, Q.C., 45 P.H.C.E., Bedford, England; Dr. Martindale Ward, H.Phy., Twickenham, England ; Dr. J. D. Williamson, H.Phy., Belfast, Ireland," and so on to the end of the list. " The British Delegates have been under the charge of the Supreme Chief Eanger from the time they landed in New York until Monday night. On their arri- val at Samia they were taken in charge of the High Chief Eanger. Enthusiastic over all they have seen in Canada ! Of course they were ! What other " departure in insurance " would provide such a high old time of it for them at the expence of the policy holders? Enthusiastic ! We should say so indeed ! ! But let us see what the say about it them- selves. Here is an extract from the report of the returned Representatives of the High Court of London, taken from The Independent Forester, March, 1894. "Oar report will he incomplete and also ungracious if we omiy to place on record our cordial and heartfelt thanks for the very man- kindnesses and hospitality extended to us by our Brethren wheree ever we went. Our acknowledgements are in a very special degre. due to that great man, the head of our Order, Dr. Oronhyatekhat He came to New York to meet us, when we landed after a tine voyage in the good ship " Chester," and he accompaninied us and took charge of our comfort and well-being all the way to Chicago. He took us to his home in the Indian Eeservation, and we were treated with an hospitality unbounded in its warmth and generous in the extreme. Our every day while he was with us was a red letter day, and we shall none of us ever wish to cease to remember his care and forethought for our pleasure and comfort." Every day a red letter day ! We rather fancy so. They will never cease to remember his care and forethought for their pleasure and comfort I Of course not — nor to keep a look ahead for more free excursions, more red letter days, and more pleasure and comfort ! Yes, it is truly written, the Chief has studied men ! Nor are the Irish section, of delegates from the United Kingdoms, to be outdone in a dis- play of enthusiasm, on their own hook, over their red letter tour of the Western World. As witness the report " sub- mitted in * L. B. & C to the High ' Court of Ireland ' " at Belfast, on 11th Deeember, 1893, by Brother Henry Scott, High Secretary, from which report we extract the following, as it appeared in The Independent Forester, February, 1894. " We believe there should not only be a Court of the Indepen- dent Foresters in every town in the Noath of Ireland, but one in every village ; several in every town, and in a city like Belfast, not only Courts for prof essional men and merchants taking their £ 1,000 of insurance, but also Courts for industrial classes in connection with every mill, factory, and workshop." 46 And in the same number we read : — " The Eev. W. J. ilcCaughan, of Belfast, H.CJR. of Ireland, lectured recently to an immense audience on 'What I saw in America.' Tne lecture was under the auspices of the Y.M.O.A. of Belfast, The Lord Mayor presided. It is needless to say the lecture was a brilliant effort, it was copiously illustrated with lime light views. Among the pictures thrown on the screen was one of the Supreme Chief Eanger." Might we, in all humility, make a respectful suggestion to the Reverend High Chief Ranger ? viz., When next turn- ing on the lime light to have a transparency of portion of the 84th section of the Constitution thrown on the screen. This is how it would read : — , "84. (1) The High Chief Eanger shall be reimbursed for the necessary expenses and outlay incurred by virtue of his office, and may also receive such salary as the High Court determine from time to time. " (2) The High Secretary and High Treasurer shall be paid such salaries as the High Court may determine from time to time." On consideration, it might be better to do nothing of the sort, else the audience might stupidly get into their heads that the more Courts, the more capitation tax, &c., would require to be looked after, and so they might insist on the Reverend High Chief Ranger and General Manager for Ire- land, and perpaps also Brother Henry Scott, High Secretary, accepting salary in proportion to the extension of the Order, which would of course cousiderably detract from the appear- ance of its being a philanthrophic Brotherhood. No. Much better not ! It is said there is a class of people who if given England and Ireland to farm, would ask to have the Isle of Man thrown in for a vegetable garden, and so with those reverend and professional delegates. They admit having had a rattling flue time. of it, and they are gratefal and enthusiastic, yet they have a grievance to ventilate in their return report, and this is what they say about it : — " Our (British Delegates) third matter of complete agreement was to secure the admission of women into the Order, and we felt very sanguine of carrying this without objection in the Supreme Court. "We placed considerable reliance upon the well known breadth of sentiment and progressive character of the Canadian and American people, but we found as to the claim of women to equality we are in this country in advance." What a benighted set those Canadians and Americans are 47 after all ! Let us hope, however, tkat the desired alteration will be made in. the 1895 Supreme Court at London. So that when provision is again made for the pleasure and comfort of the elect of Britain— and of Ireland — on the occasion of their next free and personally conducted tour to the other side of the Atlantic, and the Indian Reservation, they may be afforded an opportunity of exchanging greetings with sister members around the " Sacred Altar of Liberty, Benevolence and Concord in the recesses of the Forest Home," and of inviting them to participate in their social dissipation until " the visitors welcome the hour of adjourn- ment, and retire to rest at 2.30 a.m." In the meantime the rank and file, not even excepting " the industrial classes in connection with every mill, factory, and workshop " in " a city like Belfast," must take heed lest their benefits be cancelled through circumstances over which they have no control, under section 214, sub section I. "Any member of the Order wbo is about to engage in or nnder- take any experiment or employment of so dangerous a character as likely to imperil life or limb and health, may be interdicted from proceeding with the same by the S.C.R., or any of his Deputies." (Note that there is a Deputy in every ** Court.") While sub -section 3 and 4 provide for his sickness and mortality benefits being ipso facto forfeited should be disregard the interdic- tion set out in sub-section 4, vii:. : — To "Bro. , of , you are hereby forhidden to engage in. or undertake, &c., &c." Here again is a wide field for the cancellation of policies. Most men will probably, of sheer necessity in the pursuit of employment, business, or profession, be at some time engaged in such a way as might fairly be assumed to endanger life, limb, or health, perhaps more particularly those engaged in mills, factories, and workshops. Indeed, it is in connection with accidents and sickness arising from the latter class of employment that Friendly Societies are found most useful. But the I.O.F. does not go in for taking ordinary business risks in the first instance, and provides loopholes enough to escape from tbem afterwards. Even Delegates to the Supreme Court must be provided wiih an accident ticket covering at least the amount of their endowment, as must also any mem- ber taking part in " a ' Forester's Excursion ' by rail or steam boat, conducted under the auspices of any member or mem- bers, or any Court or encampment of the Order " (Constitu- tion, sees. 216 and 217). 48 Whetlier it be that any special risk attaches to joining a " Forester's Excursion " or that representative to the Supreme Court might get lost in the Forest ; perchance stray into " the Secret Chamber " and miss the way out, we cannot undertake to say. That must be at the member's risk and not the Order's. Non-Secterian Theory and Clerical Officialism. It seems not a little curious that in an Order whose ad- vertisements present a business surface, and that business life insurance, and which emphatically protests that it is non- sectarian ; its inner literature fairly bristles with official chaplains, names of clergymen of a particular denomination, sometimes as members only, but more often officially connected with Courts ; while almost every High Court has a clerical gentleman as High Chaplain, and in some instances one or more holding other High Court offices. In the High Court of Ireland there are no less than five, viz., — H.C.R., Rev. W. J. McCaughan, Glenview, Castlereagh, Belfast (also General Manager for Ireland) ; H. Chap., Rev. T. R. Ballantine, Mountoriel, Bloomfield, Belfast; Auditor, Rev. R. Little, Money vea, Belfast ; H. S. W., Rev. J. Oregon, Knockcroom, RavenhiU Road, Belfast; H. M., Rev. W. J. Macaulay, Portadown, to say nothing of the subordinate Courts. High Court of Ontario — H. C. R., Rev. A. Macgillivray ; H, Chap., Rev. E. Davis. High Court of Prince Edward Island — Rev. W. A. Spargo, Auditor ; Rev. W. H. Spencer, H. Chap. High Court of Michigan— Rev. E. Collins, H. V. C. R., Rev. E. Collins, Auditor. High Court of New York — Rev. Henry C. Munson, H. Chap. High Court of New Brunswick — Rev. E. Bell, H. Chap. High Court of California —Rev. B. W. R. Taylor, Past H. C. R. ; Rev. H. S. Snod- grass, H. S. B. High Court of Ontario — Rev. Gr. P. Bethel, H. Chap. High Court of New Jersey — Rev. Geo. Buckle, H. Chap. High Court of Manitoba — Rev. B. Davis, H. Chap. High Court of Wales — Rev. W. W. Lewis. Whether it is the fact of I.O.F. Ritual not being in accordance with any recognized idea of religious function that constitutes the plea of non-sectarianism in that Order ; or whether reverend gentlemen are assumed to have sunk their adherence to the sect with which they were associated previous to taking upon themselves to achieve their " liberty from the slavery of ignorance and vice " through the mechanical medium of a journey over thr Rough and Ready Road, around the altar of Libertas ; or whether it be that reverend gentlemen who would countenance or tolerate such observances — much less being a party thereto 49 — ipso facto disclaims adherence (or shall \re say forfeits claim ?) to the recognition of any sect professing Christian Faith, is one of the " mysteries " of the I.O.F., which we have not here the space to pursue further at present. '♦ ORONHYATEKHA, M.D." Forester, Templar, Freemason, Orangeman, " et hoc GENUS OMNE." From Indian Shoemaker to Supreme Chief. He first saw the li^ht on the 10th August, 1841, at the Indian Reservation, near Brantford, Ontario. His English education began at an industrial school for young Indians, here, in addition to the rudiments of an English education, he learned the shoemaker's trade. His desire for knowledge, we are told, took him away from home, where, being thrown upon his own resources without means, the severest effort only sufficed for bread, without butter or confections. On one occasion he found himself in funds through sawing a cord of wood for a Methodist minister, two cuts in the stick, for 40 cents, and through this early intimacy with wood, the chronicler suggests may partly account for his intimacy in Forestry. He afterwards, for years, taught school among own people. When the Prince of Wales visited Canada in 1861, Oronhyatekha, then in his 20th year, was selected by the Indian Chiefs of the Six Nations to present an "address" to the son of their " great mother ;" with the result that he was taken over to Oxford, placed under the care of an efficient tutor, and eventually became a physician. Returning to Canada, he practised physic for some time, when he at first neglected and afterwards abandoned medicine in favour of Forestry, and on the Executive Offices of the I.O.F. being opened in Toronto, took up his official residence in the Ontario capital. His wife was a Miss Ellen Hill, of the Mohawk tribe. They have a son and daughter. The son, named Acland Oronhyatekha, is at present Secretary of the Medical Board of the I.O.F. in London, England. " Oronhyatekha (so runs the official chronicle) is of Con- servative leanings, and has some military experience. He a member of the Queen's Own, and during the Fenian raid of 1866 he did some active duty. Some nine prizes won as a member of the Wimbledon team, attest the accuracy of his aim as a marksman. 4 50 " The Doctor lias attained prominence in other Orders hesides Forestry. He is a well-known Orangeman having been a Canadian delegate to the Triennial Council that met in Glasgow some time ago. " At present he is Medical Referee for the Orange Mutual Benefit Association. As a Mason he is away up, has long «ince passed the third degree, the mirth-destroying stage, that once reached, according to a Toronto divine, destroys the desire or capacity to smile. , . . He is now the Most Worshipful Grand Master General of the Royal and Oriental Freemasonry. "In 1891, at Edinburgh, at the world's gathering of Grand Templars in Right "Worthy Grand Lodge, he received by an overwhelming majority, the highest office in the gift of that well-known and influential assembly." Some reference to Oronhyatekha's connection with other Orders is also made in an official address, dated 11th Decem- ber, 1893, and presented by Brother Henry Scott, High Secretary to the High Court of Ireland, at Belfast, from which we extract : — " "We who were at that time (May, 1893) members, were curious to see and hear this remarkable man. A man who had risen to the highest position of honour in the Masonic Brotherhood, and in the Independent Order of Good Templars. "We found him dignified gentlemanly, and evidently a born leader of men." We gather also, from the Independent Forester, of January, 1894, that he is also what may be described as Head Centre of Secret Societies in Canada, being President of the " Cana- dian Fraternal Association," a council chosen from the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Select Knights, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Royal Templars, Canadian Chosen Friends, Knights of Macabees, Royal Arcanum, Sons of Canada, &c. Such, in very brief, is a record from official sources, of the very remarkable career of a truly remarkable man. A man •on whose will practically depends the utility of some 60,000 I.O.F. endowment certificates ; at whose mandates his deputies will break up their homes, and hie them to another side of the globe to carry on a propaganda under his directions ; the Supreme Commander of a Secret Army in the State, tied to discipline under penalty ; the Supreme Chief of a Secret Society obligated to obedience or . This, with reference to the Insurance Scheme of the I.O.F. What the chances are of several or all or the Secret Orders of which he is an official connecting link, being tending 61 towards a common object, it is not our purpose to inquire. WTiat the probabilities in case of a movemen-t in unison for a special object, not our business to determine. THE HIGH COURT OF IRELAND. We think it will be generally considered that in an Order 2mrportmg, to be " non-political and non-secterian" every circumstance should be avoided that would give it the semblance of being in the smallest degree partial to any shade of political or secterian opinion, and that any institution actually free from political or secterian bias would be very careful not to compromise its impartiality through forming any direct connection with either one or the other, when ex- tending its operations to a new territory. This condition the I.O.F. most decidedly has «o^ observed, whether intentionally or not, in the case of Ireland. And so the circumstance warrant the conclusion, that either (1) the Order is not free from political and secterian bias ; or (2) that it has taken advantage of political and secterian sentiment, we had almost said excitement, and utilized same as a circumstance favour- able to the extension of the Order ; or (3) that its officers, unintentionally fell into the mistake of identifying it in con- nection with a particular secterian and political party. We may say at once that any plea in the latter direction would be untenable, for the probabilities in any such event was fully laid before, and discussed with, the Greneral Superin- tendent before a single " Court " of the Order was formed in Ireland at all. The conclusion, therefore, must be in favour of one of the two remaining alternatives, i.e., either that there is an affinity between the I.O.F. and the Orange Order, or that the sturdy Orangemen of the North of Ireland have permitted what they conceive to be their patriotism to get the upper hand of their common sense. We append a few facts in connection with the introduction of the Order into Ireland in the beginning of 1893, leaving our readers to draw their own deductions. This, it will be remembered, was a time when political excitement ran high, consequent on the introduction of a Home Rule Bill into the Imperial Parliament. On the one hand were massed, what claimed to be tne " Yast Majority " and on the other was arrayed, a powerful party consented to \sq styled "the Loyal Minority," It is no part of our object here to side with, or to discredit the patriotic intentions of either side. We simply refer to the facts in so far as they bear on connection with the I.O.F. About the time mentioned a confidential circular was issued. 52 asking for £1,000,000 contribution towards the defence of Ulster, tlie Loyalists (we use the generally recognised and accepted term) of the North were willing and making strenuous preparations to safeguard, by force of arms, it was said, if need be, what they conceived to be their constitutional rights and vested interests, and a proclamation to the Orange Order appeared upon the public papers over the name of the Reverend R. R. Kane as Grand Master. About the same time Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, Q.C., General Superintendant for the United Kingdom of the I.O.F. approaches the Grand Master. Does not the Order which he represents possess the very essentials conducive to carrying into effect the purposes of the men of Belfast and the North of Ireland ? Has he not the constitution made and all the machinery in motion for the effective managing and organization of a secret brother- hood, its ramifications of well-organized, rigidly disciplied, military encampments in full swing, and are not their secret drills and convocations covered under a business, or for the matter of that, philanthropic, surface ? Is not Oronhyatekha, the Supreme Chief, himself a pro- minent Orangeman, was he not recently an official delegate from that Order in Canada to the Triennial Council at Glasgow ? Did he not get a military training, and has he not some experience of service ; and what is more, was he not actuall engaged against the Fenians in Canada ? Will the Rev. Grand Master not assist putting the ma- chinery in motion on this side of the Atlantic, his signature at the top of a requisition for a charter, to lead off with, will be enough to start operations immediately ? Yes, Dr. Kane will append his signature — but as regards insurance, well, we are not in a position to say what the Reverend Doctor's opinion of it as a business concern was — we can state, however, that he afterwards withdrew from completing the prelimi- naries to taking any insurance from the Order. Shortly afterwards a great convention of political delegates asstmbled in Belfast, and among those present, according to report in the public press, was Lieutenant- Colonel N. F. Paterson, Q.C., Toronto, Canada. Now, an affinity between the Orange Order in Toronto and in Belfast is an established fact ; Toronto being generally recognised as holding the same relationship in connection with that Order in Canada that Befast does in Ireland j and here is a gentleman, a Lieutenant- Colonel, too, from Toronto actually present (so the papers say) at the Belfast convention. Under what more fortunate circumstances, or more favour- 53 able auspices, we may ask, could a start be made in introduc- ing tbe I.O.F. into the North of Ireland? What wonder that almost immediately there were 4 or 5 Courts, affording an opportunity of establishing a " High " Court. The for- mation of which High Court was in turn the subject-matter of a splendid " ad " for the Order, in the shape of a column and a half report in the Belfast News-Letter, and under such circumstances and auspices as to make a big bid for favour in the North, as will be evident from the following short extract from the report referred to : — " The ceremony was performed in the Young Men's Christian Association Hall, "Wellington Place, by Dr. Oronhyatekha, the Supreme Chief Eanger of the Order, assisted by Colonel Paterson, and Mr. Marshall, of Glasgow. The following were constituted the first officers of the High Court — Eev. "W. J. M'Caughan, High Chief Ranger ; Eev. "W. D. R. Ballantyne, High Yice Ranger ; Mr. John M'Caughey, J.P., High Treasurer ; Rev. James Cregan, Rev. James Lyttle ; Messrs. H. Scott, J. H. Barrett, John Campbell, George Dunlop, James Dixon, J. Brown, C. P. Lamble, Samuel Agnew, M.D. ; and J. D. Williamson, M.D. " After the business of the High Court had been completed, the Supreme Chief Eanger and other visitors were entertained at dinner in the Young Men's Christian Association Cafe, by the members of the Reception Committee, of which Dr. Williamson acted as secre- tary. The Rev. W. J. M'Caughan presided, and the vice chair was occupied by Rev. W. D. R. Ballantyne, and in addition to the officers of the High Court, there were present — Dr. Oronhyatekha, Colonel Paterson, Mr. Mrshall, Glasgow ; Eev. Dr. Kane, Eev. Dr. Coade, Rev. C. W. Kennedy, Lurgan ; Mr. John S. Lyttle, and Mr D. A. Black. " After dinner, Rev. W. J. M'Caughan was compelled to leav^e, and the chair was taken by the Eev. James Cregan, who briefly proposed the usual loyal toasts. The next toast was that of the Supreme Court of the Independent Order of Foresters, which was shortly proposed by the chairman, Dr. Oronhyatekha, in reply ex- pressed pleasure, and so on. The chairman next proposed " success to the High Court of Ireland." The " High Court of Ireland " being now launched under such favourable auspices as regards the North of Ireland, but " all is fish that comes " to the net of Greneral Superintendent Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, Q.C. Having also irons in the fire down South, where he knows the one Court in existence, whose members came forward purely and simply for insurance purposes, and was not insti- tuted in strict accordance with ritual, have declined to be party to the " High Court of Ireland/' or send any delegate there ; having got some idea of the sectarian and political 54 tinge that was being imparted to it. He also knows, that on his return to Dublin from Belfast, to form a second " Court," those who previously signed the requisition for the purpose would (with a couple of exceptions) have nothing whatever to say to the Order. He acted in such a way, as in the light of further events, fully warrants the suspicion that he was playing a double game^ and deliberately deceiving North and South. Whether for his own purpose, or in accordance with the " usages of the Order," we will not undertake to say, bnt this is what the Independent Forester (Sept., 1893) has to say about it : — *' Colonel Paterson also landed amid the noise and strife of poK- tical warfare. Fear as to the future, political passion, had well- nigh rent society in twain, and yet, by dint of tact, enthusiasm, and a dogged detennination to gain the victory, and plant the standard of the I.O.F. firmly in Irish soil, the Colonel succeeded beyond any expectation. Many a man would have given up, still more would have postponed the invasion until a more peaceful time, but no middle or cowardly course would satisfy the Colonel, and we can now say, *He came! He saw!! He conquered!!! ' " Accordingly, having toasted the " High Court of Ireland," at Belfast, on 5th May, we find him bringing his " tact " to bear on the South, and writing on the 14th as follows : — INDEPENDENT ORDER OP POEESTEES. N. P. PATEESOlf, Q.C. General Superintendent for 24 CHAEI^'G Ceoss, the United Kingdom. Whitehall, To L. J". KiNSELLA, Esq., Dublin. London, May 14th, 1894. My Deae KrtfSELLA, — As the institution of the High Court for the North of Ireland I got the consent of the S.C.E to leave your Court out. You will not therefore be subject to the High Court for the North. I got this concession believing it would be an in- ducement for you to push for a High Court. . . . Now, like a good fellow, make a good push. There are now forty Courts in the Kingdom, of which seven in Ireland. — Truly yours, N. P. Pateeson. And writing further, tmder date 17th July, 1893, Colonel Paterson states : — " There is not the slightest peg on which to hinge any idea that this Order has anything to do with the Orange or Masonic bodies. I may state that had it any relation to the Orange body I should never have joined it." Where tho concession came in was not quite apparent at 65 the time. The following communication made it considerably less so : — I.O.F.—HIGH COUET OF IKELAIH). L. J. KiNSELLA, Esq., C.D.S.C.fl., Court Eblana, 2017. 12 Conuaught Street, Phibsboro', Dublin. . . . . . — Referring to mine of 29th June, t have not yet received from your E.8, (as requested by constitution, BBC. 146, sub section 2) the semi annual returns and the High Court dues, and I desire to direct your attention to the matter, be- couse, I regret to say that their non-delivery lays your Court under the most dissgreeable penalty of suspension ipso facto from 1st inst. (constitution, sec. 131) and this must go into effect i£ I cannot report Court Eblana as having conformed to the regulations about the returns and dues. I should be glad to have them by return of post before High Standing Committee meets next week. Yours fraternally, Heney Scott, High Secretary. 6 Pierview Terrace, Holywood, 5th August, 1893. This notification, on 5th August, of suspension of policies of £200 each, on which premiums had been paid for several months — viz., since purchasing Charter in March — conse- quent on the non -delivery of dues to a High Court which, on 14th May, said policy-holders were officially assured they were not subject to — to say nothing of arrangement from the beginning that they should not be be— seems, to say the least of it, very unbusiness-Iike. Has the High Secretary inadvertently made error in applying for these " dues " ? No ; for in reply to a communication as follows — viz., I scarcely know to what circumstances I am to ascribe receipt of your favour, in view of the fact that Court Eblana, No. 2017, is independent of the High Court of " Ireland " and purposes remaining so. Of course, you must be aware of this already. he writes — I beg to say I am acting on the list of courts furnished to me by the Supreme Court, as the ceurts under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Ireland. The name of the latter, too, is the ofi&cial name accorded to us by the Supreme Court. . . Clearly Mr. Scott made no mistake. But what did General Superintendent Colonel N. F. Patterson, Q.C, mean by setting up the High Court of " Ireland," then stating under his hand that policy holders in Dublin were not subject thereto, and then having flitted off like a bird of passage, leave North and South to reconcile the incon- 56 sistency of his statements, verbal and written, whUe he is exercising his " tact " and '* dogged determination to plant the standard of thel.O.F." some place else ? In the meantime the Supreme Court try — but do not succeed — to hand over policy holders in Dublin to the High Court of "Ireland" at Belfast, to extract "dues'* from, if they can, in violation of arrangements both oral and written. This, certainly, is not business-like ; but there is more behind it. It would mean bringing Catholic members under the jurisdiction of clergy of another denomination. In a purely business concern this objection might not obtain. Not BO where, what the I.O.F. is pleased to designate a " service " entailing a chaplain is one of the " usages " of the Order, and where, so far as can be judged from their literature, that chaplain is, whenever practicable, a non- Catholic clergyman, notably so in the High Court of Ireland — (see p. 48). Catholics in Ireland have too vivid a recollection of circum- stances attaching to the conservativeism of their ancestors in matters doctrinal to favour complicity in the ministration at the new-fangled altar of " L. B. & C." by clergymen in whose sectarian views they cannot find themselves in agree- ment. Our printer's proofs to hand show that we have more than covered the intended space, and yet there are many interest- ing things left untouched, which we ma^ make mention of in another place. We think, however, that enough " mysteries of the I. O. F." has been imveiled to show conclusively that that Order is materially different from what the average reader would be led to infer from the advertisements and printed prospectus put before the public. If so, our self-imposed task is completed. Against misrepresentation and deception we enter the strongest possible protest. To those who may be disposed to avail of "the mysteries and privileges of the Order," with eyes open to the facts herein recoiinted, we urge no objection whatever to joining the I. 0. F, and its "NEW DEPARTURE IN INSURANCE." EDITORIAL NOTES. Having regard to the fact that after the police court pro- ceedings — ^0 which we have referred — were reported in the lewspapers, a large number 1 ANTE-ROOM 'i* 1 35 ~li-T' CMAP O •^ SB • < .< 5* > •I • -n • • H . hOdr I -A.BBRE-^I.^TZ03SrS- C.D.H.C.R.— Court Deputy | High Chief Raneer. C.R.— Chief Ranger. J. P.C.R.— Junior Past Chief Rangei'. p. — Physician. V.C.R.— Vice Chief Ranger. R,S. — Recording Secretary. F.S. — Financial Secretary. T. — Treasurer. D.V. — Distinguished Visitor. CHAP.— Chaplain. S.W. — Senior Woodward. J. W. — Junior Woodward, J.B. — Junior Beadle. S.B. — Senior Beadle* Irish Printing Works, Moore Lane, Dublin. We make no ciaxge for advertisiitg the following, being a few of the I.O.F. supplies, as taken ftom their Official Price List, observing that the Order makes no mention of them in advertising :—