Year: 1860

They principally sect of the Mohammedans, exist
ing only in Syria. Their is derived from Daraz
Dursi who, early 1919, missionary to them


from ofishoot of the Mosem stock Singuarly enough


the Druses dsavow any belief in the peculiar doctrines of


the whose they BEAR and do not hesitate to call
hma hereto, and to look upon the title of Druse'
stigma. They themselves trace their origin a religious
sect to Hamsa, wandering fanatic who, in 1920, per-
suaded Hakem Caliph of Egypt TO declare himself
manifestation of God Although the Caliph soon
sassnaed Hamsa continued to propagate his theory in
Syria, and, with of his followers Moktana Bohreddn,
wrote sacred book embodying his teachings According
to his intention only the Druse priesthood to this
volume, and revelation to be made until the second
advent of Hakem who to appear the earth again
with his Hamsa this being probably idea sug
geted by Christian dogmas This secrecy about the
cred writings of Hamsa not however, observed and
copies of the works in the great libraries at Paris


Vienna the Vatican, Leyden and the Bodleian Library at
Oxford 1t has been translated into French from which


it appears that the characteristic dogma of the is the
unity of Gods being: indeed, the Druses call themselves
Untarians They maintain that God is incomprehensble
inexOrabe pure the of true e and be known
to his accepted children through human manifestations
only Ten times has the Deity thus appeared in Africa
and ASIA the last manifestation having been in the person
of Hakem, in Egypt Hakem left the care of the faithful
to five principal ministers, who TO direct them till his
return Chief of these ministers is Hamsa who enjoys the
high title of Universal Intelligence" And here insert
ed in the Druse faithto give it the popular doc
trne so much like that held bY Christians that can be no
coincidence but rather proves the initiative powers
of the founders of the Druse theology They declare the


rst-born of the Deity spirit OF Intelligence which
was first incarnated in Hamsa who is the the
Christ of the Arian theory To Hamsa conded the
creation of the world aud from him all wisdom and
truth while through him only does the Lord communicate
with the human family This is simply the corrupted
sion of the great Christian doctrines of incarnation and me-
dation There is complicated system of priesthood main
tanned by the Druses, who like the followers of Moham


med embody in their religion many of the traditions and
personages of the Old Testament There is Satan, or
lsnlail he is Called who first introduced sin into the
world


In regard to free will the Druse theology maintains that
the length of every mans life is oreordaned but not his
individual acts They believe in the transmgration Of
SOULS and that the soul of Isma in John the
Baptist and st earlier in Elijah, while that of Hamsa
dwelt In the body of Jesus. Yet while acknowledging


that Jesus existed, they do not think that he
any way divine the Individual soul which lived in him and
many others did not receive divine power till it reached
the body of Hamsa. The Druses do not extend their


ransmgraton doctrines so far as to allow that human
souls exist in the forms of animals They think that
the souls of men go on inhabtng different bodes-wh
the exception of very few, whose excellence permits
them to exert pure spr-unt the resurrection day,
when the faithful will be resolved for eternity into spiritual
beings but by far the greater portion of mankind will be
annihilated


If the Druses lived up to the seven commandments
in which they express their moral laws they would not be
dreaded and cruel people, for murder theft covet
Ousness and cruelty prohibited special crimes and





high high unfortunately that the present Druse
generation cannot reach them The men have but one
wife EACH the form of government is patrarcha different


tribes having Shek and agriculture carefully attended


No marriages are contracted outside of the sect and


the Druses adhere enacOusy to their religious traditions
ALI the male population trained from youth to in
and the Druses have than revoed against
the Turkish Government which holds nominal sway
them. Ye of late years, they have been regarded
peaceful AID quiet people, and were dlsabuslng their
neghbOrs of the traditional opinions as to their erocy and
he
proves that their nenyabe notorety was not without
just foundation.


With many features in their own approxmating to |
the Christian religion it appears somewhat strange that
the Druses should manifest such endish barbary they
have recently done But to them, strong monotheists
they are the doctrines of p0ythesm peculiarly repu
sye In the ceremonies of the Greek and Roman churches
they perceive what they think to be worship of
than God they do not comprehend the relations of the
three persons in the Trinity and especially fail to under
stand the Interpretation of the material symbols held
such veneraton those churches The Protestants OF
Syria whose religion does these features would
probably share better if the Druses understood about
them; but the Protestans well the Greeks and ca
thocs all under the general head of Christians and
as such fall beneath the ndscrimnang fury of these ia
natics.


1t does not appear however that the Druses are the
only tribes engaged the Arab Mussumans
are equally guilty. The principal of the present
troubles probably from the old feuds which for
centuries have been waged between the Druses and the
Marones The latter people native Christians fol-
lowers of monk called Maron, who lived in the sixth
tury In 1915 they effected union with the Church of
Rome from which they have widely Differed though
their spiritual head is called the Patriarch of Antioch In
stead of Bishop 1t is thing for the Druses 10
make against the Marones and the attacks renewed
upon these native Christians but the
of general movement to extirpae all Christians in Syria
Already others beside the Marontes have been involved
the terrible effects of this fanacsm, and unless it is
stopped the aim of the murderers will be achieved


KILLED BY WAD.-On Tuesday night, at Portsmouth i
IN H Miss Ann Maria Martin, daughter of Mr.. Thomas
Martini died from the effects of singular wound received
Saturday when salute fred from the yacht Zinga
Expecting display of fireworks from the Zinga, she
was coming n large number of people had gathered on
the wharf A salute from two-pound was fired |
board the yacht The wad of waste cotton and of
very dense and although the muzze of the
gun judged to be depressed far below the wharf, ye
being pointed towards the people, the wad struck Miss
Maj tn broke several steel hoops in her SKIRT and
them cut fearful cash across her body To who
crowded around her and annoyed her with questions she