SECULAR | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 7, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 39.

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SECULAR.

—General Booth of the Salvation Army is now in America.

—Martin Irons is penniless, in jail and deserted by his friends.

—Esquimalt, Vancouver Island, is to be strongly fortified by the British.

—An epidemic of small-pox prevails in Southwestern Sonora, Mexico.

—Light earthquake shocks are still of frequent occurrence at Charleston.

—A thunder-storm did considerable damage in Michigan on the 25th inst.

—OVER $18,000,000 has been expended on monuments in Massachusetts since 1861.

—An attempt was made to blow up a livery stable at St. Louis, Mo., one day last week.

—A ship which left Boston for the Congo country, the other day, carried 100,000 gallons of rum.

—The unveiling of a statue was the occasion of quite a serious riot in Paris a few days since.

—Of 140 missionaries of the American Board, 122 were children of Christian fathers and mothers.

—There have been seventy-three deaths from cholera at Vladivostock, Siberia, since September 1.

—The chief of police of Saratoga, N. Y., was arrested a few days since on a charge of attempting to extort money.

—The Vatican Library contains 24,000 manuscripts, of which 2,164 are Oriental, 3,052 Greek, and 17,059 Latin.

—The supply of natural gas in the vicinity of Pittsburg is said to have materially diminished since the recent earthquakes.

—The New York fund for the relief of Charleston now amounts to about $30,000. Boston has contributed over $60,000.

—The conductor and engineer of the excursion train recently wrecked near Silver Creek, N. Y., have both been indicted for manslaughter.

—Affidavits in support of the motion for a new trial for the seven condemned Anarchists, were filed by their attorneys in the Chicago court, on the 28th ult.

—General Miles’ report to the War Department reveals the fact that Geronimo and his band surrendered on condition that their lives should be spared.

—A recent cable dispatch from London states that Prince Bismarck is trying to induce France to drive the British out of Egypt, and seize the Suez Canal.

—The Legislature of the State of Sonora, Mexico, has exempted from all municipal taxation any ice factories that are or may be established within the State.

—Two boys aged thirteen and fourteen years, respectively, have been arrested in Texas charged with murdering a herder and killing sixty sheep, “just for fun.”

—Two members and two clerks of the Board of Public Works of Cincinnati, have been arrested for the embezzlement of sums ranging from $10,000 to $15,000.

—It is stated that the White Island Volcano, New Zealand, is in a state of active eruption and that a volume of flame and smoke 100 feet in diameter issues from the crater.

—The severity of the Charleston earthquake is indicated by the fact that the Government engineers report a damage of $2,000,000 sustained by the 600 buildings already inspected.

—In Leipzig, September 28, the police attempted to capture the red flags carried by a procession of 400 Socialists. This led to a fight in which many persons were seriously wounded.

—The volcano of Colima, Mexico, is again in a state of eruption. A huge white cloud overhangs the summit, causing great terror among the inhabitants of the neighboring villages.

—It is now stated that every vestige of the Mexican revolution led by El Coyote has been completely wiped out, and the robbers and murderers are being executed as fast as they are captured.

—An ex-student of Harvard College is suing that institution to recover $50,000 damages for injuries received by the explosion of a retort in the chemical laboratory. The accident is alleged to have resulted from the carelessness of the professor who was directing an experiment.

—Violent earthquake shocks have occurred recently throughout Central Germany.

—Another riot occurred in Belfast on the 26th ult. One man was killed and several were seriously wounded.

—Clark Richards, a farmer living near Roseburg, Or., while hunting on the 26th ult., was shot and killed by his son, who mistook his father for a deer. It was only last week that we recorded two similar cases. One on the Coast, and the other in Colorado.

—September 30, a terrific explosion occurred at the Dittmar Powder Works, Baychester, N. Y. Four men were killed. Considerable damage was done to property in the immediate vicinity, and the shock was distinctly felt at Bridgeport, Conn., forty-five miles distant.

—October 2, news was received at San Francisco of the loss, July 15, of the British ship Dunnottar Castle, in the South Pacific Ocean. The vessel was laden with coal and was bound for Wilmington, Cal., from Sidney, New South Wales. The crew, twenty-eight men, was saved, after being afloat fifty-two days in an open boat. The vessel was a total loss.

—September 21 to 23, Southern Texas was the scene of a very heavy rain and wind-storm. Considerable damage was done especially in the region about the mouth of the Rio Grande. Twenty-six inches of rain fell, and the wind reached a velocity of nearly 100 miles per hour. At Brownsville over 200 houses were blown down. Other towns also suffered severely.

—The contract to erect the two spires on St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York has been awarded to a Baltimore firm for $200,000. The height of each spire, above the present towers, is to be 190 feet. The point of each spire will be 330 feet above the sidewalk. It is estimated that with twelve men constantly at work it will take two years at least to complete the undertaking.

—It is stated that Russia is prepared to enforce her will in Bulgaria. The Czar’s action looks like defiance of all Europe, but in the face of the divisions and mutual distress of Russia’s different enemies, he probably counts on having his own way. In this the Czar is probably correct though Austria shows some signs of resenting what she justly regards as insolence on the part of Russia.

—Capt. John McCafferty of Alaska, now in San Francisco, says, “The proposition to give a full Territorial Government to Alaska is the proposition of a whisky ring, of which the United States officials in the Territory are members. Although the importation and sale of intoxicating liquors are prohibited, yet there are thirty-five places where they are openly sold, through the collusion and the pecuniary benefits of those officials.”

—By joint agreement of Chili and the Argentine Confederation the region formally known as Patagonia has been divided between these two countries. To Chili has been assigned all the western slope of the Cordilleras to the southern extreme of the continent, to the Straits of Magellan, and all the islands off that coast. The eastern slope of the range and the vast pampas extending to the Atlantic are now the property of the Argentine Confederation. The Strait of Magellan is declared neutral and free to all nations. The chief island of Terra del Fuego is parted equally between the two nations, Chili taking all the other islands, including that of Cape Horn.