RELIGIOUS NEWS AND NOTES.
—Mr. Spurgeon is back in his London pulpit again, much benefited by his European trip. —Over thirty thousand persons in Italy have signed papers, declaring their willingness to fight for the restoration of the temporal power to the Pope. —The Baptists are rendering valuable service in the translation of the Scriptures in India. At their Mission Press last year 66,000 portions, including 2,500 copies of the New Testament, were printed. —The Christian church is spending about $600,000 yearly for the salvation of China, but merchants from Christian nations are taking from her not less than $60,000,000 a year, and giving her in its place every twelve months 6,000 tons of opium! —The following is such a novel work for a Catholic priest to be engaged in, that it is worthy of note: The Rev. Kenelm Vaughan, an English Roman Catholic priest, during the past three years has traveled through the greater part of South America and distributed 52,000 copies of a Spanish translation of the New Testament. —The Examiner and Chronicle, after noticing the fact that the Banner of Light, a Spiritualist paper, has gone to the expense of cable dispatches in the Slade case, tersely remarks, “And that with all the spirit intelligences of the under-world at its command! Who will believe in Spiritism after this?” —William Howitt says: “It would startle some people to discover in how many royal palaces in Europe Spiritualism is firmly seated, and with what vigor it is diffusing itself through all ranks and professions of men, who do not care to make much noise about it—men and women of literary, religious, and scientific fame.” —Friday, April 6, the Mormons commenced their forty-fourth Conference in the town of St. George, in the southern part of Utah. About 2000 Mormons were in attendance, and Brigham Young presided. It adjourned, however, to meet in Salt Lake city May 6. The proceedings of the Conference will be viewed with interest on account of the revelations connected with the Mountain Meadows Massacre. —A convention of Methodists and Methodist Protestants (formerly the same denomination, but divided in 1858 by slavery), will be held in Baltimore, beginning May 11, to discuss reunion. Commissioners elected by the last General Conferences of the two bodies, respectively, met in October, 1875, and arranged a basis of reunion, which, it is believed, will be accepted. The two bodies are about equal in size and influence, each numbering some 55,000 members.—Interior. —Dr. W. M. Taylor explained to the Yale students the outcome of short sermons. “No great theme,” he said “can be treated in fifteen minutes. Therefore, brevity means the banishment of doctrinal instruction and systematic exposition—and as a consequence of that, spiritual dwarfs, and a piety from which manhood has disappeared.” The short sermonists may reply that manhood does not depend upon avoirdupois any more than instruction depends upon prolixity.