ROYAL AND OTHER OATHS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 22 June 1901, Page 4

ROYAL AND OTHER OATHS.

The King’s Accession Oath has created quite a political storm owing to its allusion to religion. Pretty much the same kind of oath, however, is made in other countries. The King of Greece swears that he will protect the prevailing religion of the Hek-inie nation. The; King of Portugal takes an oath to be faithful to the Catholic, Apostolic, and Homan religion. In most countries the King swears to respect the Constitution, but except in Greece and Portugal no reference is made to religion. The whole subject of oaths is a curious and interesting ono. They presuppose, of course, that man of every degree is liable to break the Ninth Commandment. And even Kings and Emperors fall under suspicion,- Whether an oath makes a man more truthful or more faithful to his promise is questionable. In Germany oaths have been abolished altogether. In England, America, and Australia, the affirmation has now as much force as the most solemn oath. In Franco no oath is required of members of the Legislature. And it cannot be said that German witnesses, French legislatures, or English Quakers are more untrustworthy than other people. Yet a -great philosopher once said that when the oath ceased to be binding no country could subsist for a year. Anyhow, the taking of an oath is a very ancient practice, and it has been followed by the people of all countries. The Medes and Persians swor,. The Egyptians and Assyrians swore. Christian and Pagan, savage and civilised men all swore, and still swear. The Bible teems with oaths. And probably a time will never come when the oath will have altogether died out of the world. There is a great variety in the method, but the object is always the same—namely, to call down on oneself the vengence of God as the penalty of untruth. But there is a concurrent and very lively sense of the vengeance of the law as well. The oath of the Ohristain takes two forms. In England, Spain, Italy, Austria, and America, among other places, it is taken on the Bible. But the English alone hiss the book. In France and Belgium the Scotch method of raising the hand aver the head is practised. Jews swear very much like Chrktains. But while the Ohristain swears on the Bible, the Jews swears with his head covered, and on the Old Testament alone And where Christians say “ So help me, God,” Jews in this country say “ So help me, Jehovah.” They do this unwillingly. To a strictly religious Jew the name Jehovah is too sacred to be spoken in a law court. But our officials entertain (he notion that this is the correct form of a Jewish oath. Parsecs sometimes give rise to much perplexity in our courts. They strongly object to being sworn on the Bible, and claim the right to make the oath as in their own country —namely, by holding flic tail of a cow. The cow being a sacred animal in the eyes of the Parsec, he can commit no sin while touching it. But there is fortunately an alternative. In the City of London courts some years ago, it being impracticable to procure a cow, a Parsec took a sacred relic out from his bosom and, holding it aloft, swore impressively : “ By God, and God Omniscient, and God Omnipresent, and God Almighty.” Maho medans arc much opposed to swearing. When they do swear it is a very solemn ceremony, and is performed ay holding the Koran-in the right hand, placing the left hand on the forehead, and bringing the head down to the hook. A Mahomedan never commits perjury. In India their prejudice against swearing is so strong that the Government allow them to affirm. Of all oaths the Buddhist one comes nearest to what an oath should be. Although wo swear to tell the whole truth wo either do not understand what wo promise to do or we evade the obligation. The Buddhist cannot (all into the former error, so clearly does his oath indicate what he has to do. “I swear, as in the presence of Buddha, that I am unprejudiced, and if what I speak prove false, or if by my coloring truth others shall bo led astray, ’then may the three Holy Existences. Buddha, Dhamma,, and Pro Bangs,, together wish the Devotees of the Twenty-two Firmaments, punish me and also my migrating soul.” Hindus, like the Chinese, have a variety of oaths. The Laws of Manu say“ Let the judge cause the priest to swear by his veracity ; the soldier by his horse or weapons ; the merchant by his cattle, grain, gold, and other possessions; and the servile man by imprecating curses oh his own head.” When the Gentoo swears he touches his hand to the foot of a Brahmin, while the Brahmin swears by touching another Brahmin’s hand with his own. In Mexico many people still adhere to a curious old form of oath. They swear by touching earth with the finger and then placing the finger on the tongue, which signifies: “If my tongue speak falsely, may I be reduced to dust.”. Until comparatively recently a priest in France simply swore “On the word of a priest.” The Chinese have the greatest variety and most curious oaths of all nations. The well-known one of tak ing a saucer and breaking it, while the clerk says “You shall tell the truth and the whole truth. The saucer is cracked and if you do not tell the truth your soul shall bo cracked like the saucer” seems rather absurd to us, Brt is a binding dec’aration to the Chinaman, for he believes that the soul can bo divided into fragments In this country and the United States the oath on the saucer is one commonly used. More effective,! however, in the eyes of the Celestials in the Joss-stick. The Joss-stick is set alight, and while it burns the Chinese swearer wishes that his soul may be’ burned like the stick if he gives false evidence. The Chinese swear in many other ways. A very solemn oath is made by writing certain sacred characters on a paper and burning it, praying at the same time that he may be burned if he does not speak the truth. Sometimes he swears by burning a piece of straw. But nothihg is so forcible- in drawing the truth from a Chinaman as getting him to cut off a cock’s head. This, like the breaking of the saucer, has a religious foundation. The Chinese believe that if their bodies are mutilated on earth their souls will be similarly mutilated in Heaven.—English paper.