p. 359 | News and Notes by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Aug 10, 1882

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 8, No. 30.

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News and Notes.

By Editor

—The wife of Frederick Douglass died on the 5th inst., of paralysis.

—It is stated that on Seventh Street alone, in Oakland, there are eighty-two saloons.

—The law prohibiting for ten years the immigration of Chinese laborers, went into effect Friday, August 4.

—Greek troops have occupied the Turkish village of Zarta, near the frontier. The Porte has demanded an explanation.

—The Senate has appropriated $300,000 for the new dry dock at Mare Island, Cal., and has directed that it be built of granite.

—Ex-President Grant and W. H. Trescott have been nominated by President Arthur as a commission to negotiate a commercial treaty with Mexico.

—The national debt statement shows a decrease during July of $13,860,027. The total debt is $1,905,225,546; total interest, $10,926,918; debt less cash in the Treasury, $1,675,054,433.

—At a meeting of 20,000 persons in the Alhambra, in Madrid, July 31, it was decided to appoint a committee to urge the Government to increase and strengthen the naval forces of the country.

—The longest span of wire in the world is used for a telegraph in India, over the river Kistnah, between Bezorah and Sectanagrum. It is more than 6,000 feet long, and is stretched between two hills, each of which is 1,200 feet high.

—William W. Astor, of New York, has been confirmed as Minister to Rome, vice George P. Marsh, deceased. Mr. Marsh was known and respected at home and abroad for his learning and integrity; Mr. Astor is best known as the possessor of immense wealth.

—The Christian at Work rightly styles the cigarette and the toy pistol as the "two youth killers." It is estimated that over six hundred children have died from wounds made by the toy pistol. But where the toy pistol has slain its hundreds, the cigarette has slain its thousands.

—Secretary Teller has decided that the manzanita is a bush peculiar to the Pacific Coast; that it is not timber, and therefore is not subject to protection under the Timber Lands Act. The case came up for consideration by a man being arrested for cutting manzanitas from Government lands.

—August 4, a train of seventeen cars on the Pennsylvania Railroad, heavily loaded with coal, became unmanageable while going down a heavy grade. The cars were wrecked along the track, and the engine plunged into some standing cars, making great havoc. Six men were killed, and several more fatally injured.

—Miss Fanny Parnell, sister of the great Irish leader, and his associate in labor, died in Philadelphia recently, aged twenty-eight. She had attained considerable eminence as a writer. She is said to have been one of the most learned women in the country, reading with ease the modern languages of Europe, as well as Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

—An amendment to the Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill has passed the Senate, which, if it becomes a law, as it doubtless will, takes all the county offices of Utah from the Mormons, and puts them in the hands of the Governor. This will place the Territory on an American footing, and will be the best blow yet struck against the polygamists.

—Two freight trains came into collision on the Lake Shore Railroad, near South Bend, Ind., August 1. The cars to the number of sixty were piled upon the engines and burned. Seven tramps who were on the train were also burned, and several train hands badly injured. The accident was owing to a failure to deliver the train dispatcher's orders to one of the trains.

—The River and Harbor Bill, appropriating $18,743,875 for the reclamation of marshes, and the improvement of rivers and harbors, was vetoed by the President, on the ground that the amount was extravagant, and that, while many appropriations in the bill were clearly for the general welfare, it contains appropriations for objects that are purely local, and not for the public good. Both houses of Congress passed the bill over the President's veto.

—The old soakers of Sitka will rejoice, as the Government has granted permission to ship a quantity of liquors to that port while the measles and scarlet fever prevail. This will probably result in a wild rush to get on the sick list, and secure a share of the interdicted beverages. It has remained for the Alaskans to demonstrate, however, that spirits are needed for either of the complaints mentioned. To an outsider it looks very much like a shrewd device to get contraband gin through the lines.—Chronicle.

—The word "liberal" is coming into bad repute. The infamous Cannon, for a long time the Mormon delegate to Congress, speaking of the Edmunds Bill, says that a great deal depends upon the spirit in which the commission enforces the law. "If it acts in a liberal spirit, and withstands the bigoted sentiment that made possible the passage of such a monstrous bill, I think that in course of time our people will pass through the ordeal without the loss of their homes and families." That is, the liberality would consist in letting the Mormons continue their beastly practices unmolested.

—Serious storms have occurred during the past week in Ohio and Kentucky. Heavy rains raised the Licking River much higher than was ever known before. Quite a number of people were drowned. The farmers along the river lost all their crops, and many cattle were drowned. Much damage was done to boats on the Ohio River, at Covington. Aug. 2, a water-spout at Millersburg, O., did great damage. It is stated that waves several feet high rolled over land which a few minutes before was parched from drought. Several miles of the Ohio Central Railroad were washed away. The loss to the railroad is estimated at half a million dollars.

—The Twelfth Annual Convention of the National Catholic Total Abstinence Union, met in St. Paul, Minn., on the 2d inst. Five hundred and ninety-one votes were represented, indicating an equal number of subordinate unions. Nearly every large city in the country was represented in the Convention. Bishop Ireland made a two hours' address, in which he declared that the woes of the people of Ireland were mostly brought about by intemperance, and that if they could be made temperate, and kept so for fifteen years, they could buy out the entire island with the money they would otherwise spend for drink.

—A great deal has been said about the amount contributed to the wealth of the nation by foreign immigration. Allowing $100 as the amount that each immigrant brings with him, and making a liberal allowance for the average yearly production, it is estimated that at least $60,000,000 is added to the wealth of the country. As an offset to this, the S. F. Chronicle takes the average number of Americans who visit Europe annually, and calculates that, with the passage money, which goes to European steam-ship companies, and the average expenses of the trip, Europe receives $119,000,000 from traveling Americans. This gives a balance of nearly $60,000 against this country.

—Nothing definite can be learned in regard to Egyptian affairs. A slight engagement has been taken place between the British and Arabi's forces, in which the former claim a decided victory. More troops have been sent from England. It is stated that England refuses to allow Turkish troops to land until the Sultan declares Arabi a rebel, and he refuses to do this until after they have landed. He is no doubt playing a double game, and sympathizes with Arabi. The London Times says that if Turkey goes to Egypt, it must be as England's subordinate, and not as her ally. It is stated that the Czar is dissatisfied with the independent attitude of England, and with Gladstone's repeated declaration that England, under certain circumstances, would undertake the task of restoring order in Egypt.