News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 1, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 48.

International.—Advices from India state that serious plague riots occurred on the island of Cavery, Mysore, on November 18. The police fired upon the mobs and killed and wounded a large number. ......A Socialist conspiracy has been discovered among the students at Warsaw, Russia. Five hundred have been arrested and eighty exiled to Siberia, thirty of the latter being sent to perpetual banishment. Two hundred have been expelled from the universities......Thousands of persons witnessed the launching of the British battle-ship Formidable at the Portsmouth dockyard, England, on November 17. This war ship is the largest in the world, being of 15,000 tons displacement. She is 400 feet long, and when completed will cost about $4,800,000......The English, who are now in possession of Wei-Hai-Wai, have arranged for the enrolment of a battalion of 1,000 Chinese, to serve in the English army under English officers......The rebels in the State of Salvador are now said to be in possession of all but one district, and active war has been instituted. The object of the outbreak is to upset the Central American Federation......Italy has announced her determination to retain her sovereignty of Raheita, on the Red Sea, the point which Russia is said to be earnestly coveting......A most important treaty has just been completed between France and Italy, which comes as a surprise to all the rest of the continental powers, and is regarded as a significant international event. Since 1887 there has been more or less friction between these two countries, and Italy has shown considerable friendship for England. This treaty is regarded as removing the long-standing friction between Paris and Rome......England still continues to send large supplies of all kinds of war munitions to the Pacific and Atlantic ports of Canada, and the preparation of war vessels at those ports is still going on......Riots between opposing clubs at Seoul, Corea, recently, resulted in the killing of twelve of the rioters......The sultan of Turkey has ordered the closing of an orphanage at Boitung, which shelters the homeless victims of the Armenian massacres. The institution is managed by American missionaries. And both the American and British ambassadors are intervening in behalf of the orphans......Serious riots have been taking place during the week in Budapest, Hungary, in which students and members of the Diet have repeatedly come in conflict with the police. Two hundred persons were arrested on November 22. The rioting was the result of a clash between opposing factions in the lower house of the Hungarian Diet......Great precautions are being taken by the Chinese empress to prevent an extensive rebellion which is believed to be about to break out in various parts of the empire. Large quantities of arms and ammunition are being shipped into the provinces which are ripening for rebellion......The negotiations between the American and Spanish commissioners at Paris are believed to be drawing to a close. It is reported that Spain will yield to the American demands under protest.

Casualties and Calamities.—On the morning of November 17 the British ship Atalanta was wrecked on the rocks off the coast of Oregon, and all but three of her crew of twenty-seven were drowned. ......Eleven men were killed near Jersey City, N. J., on November 18, while repairing the railroad track. The laborers were unable to discern the headlight of the engine in the dense fog and smoke, and were mangled to death while standing on one of the tracks......Over 10,000 Japanese fisher-folk, on one of the northernmost islands of Japan, are now said to be facing almost certain starvation, owing to the total failure of their catch this season, following several successive years of partial failure......A severe and extensive snowstorm visited the Middle and Lake States on November 21, in several of the States severely interfering with railroad traffic and telegraph communication. The storm extended from Texas to Canada. The high wind by which it was accompanied did considerable damage on the Great Lakes......It is reported that the members of the Jesse expedition, which some time ago was lost at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, in Alaska, while trying to make a landing were murdered by Indians and their bodies thrown into the sea......The Hotel Baldwin, San Francisco, Cal., burned on the morning of November 23, and a considerable number of persons are believed to have lost their lives in its destruction, tho definite information is lacking as these columns close. The Baldwin is one of the largest hotels in San Francisco, and is said to have cost $2,000,000.

Domestic.—John W. Keeley, inventor of the famous Keeley Motor, died at his home in Philadelphia, on November 18. Mr. Keeley claimed to have discovered the secret to the production of a powerful force through the instrumentality of musical tones. His secret, if he had one, died with him......The negroes of St. Louis, Mo., have petitioned President McKinley to recommend to Congress action looking to the protection of colored men in the South......The importations of gold into the United States during the past ten months have been greater than for the corresponding period of any previous year in the history of the country, amounting to over $143,000,000. The trade balance in favor of this country during that time is over $460,000,000......The steamship St. Paul left San Francisco on November 18 for Manila, with supplies for the troops in the Philippines, which included 20,000 Christmas boxes from the homes of the soldiers. Forty Red Cross women nurses also took passage on this vessel......The torpedo-boat destroyer Farragut, which was built at San Francisco, failed by a fraction of a knot to attain the required speed of thirty knots an hour, and has been rejected by the Navy Department, tho another trial may be given the vessel......President Iglesias, of Costa Rica, arrived at New York on November 22, and will pay his respects to President McKinley at Washington.

The Philippines.—Aguinaldo has instructed his representatives in Paris to demand complete independence, stating that otherwise the Filipinos will fight to the death......It is reported that the insurgents have captured the city of Iloilo. The Spanish also report a victory at Iloilo. The U. S. cruisers Charleston and Concord have been sent to that place for the protection of foreigners......Two of the Spanish gunboats which were sunk in the harbor of Manila on May 1 have been floated and will be added to the American squadron there......The island of Negros has declared independence and asked for an American protectorate.

Cuba.—Another revolt of Spanish troops took place recently in the province of Matanzas over the non-payment of wages long overdue......A large number of transport steamers have at last been chartered by the Spanish Government to use in the transportation of the troops now in Cuba, and it is expected that the island will be evacuated by the beginning of the new year......It has been ascertained that the Reina Mercedes, which was sunk in Santiago Harbor, is in good condition and can be raised with little difficulty. Work will soon begin upon her.

Fires.—Three four-story brick business buildings were partially destroyed by fire in New York City, on November 19. The loss is placed at $300,000. ......Fire destroyed a wholesale druggist establishment at Louisville, Kentucky, on November 19. Loss, $75,000......A fierce fire in the shipyards at New Brighton, Staten Island, on November 19, destroyed property valued at $400,000......Fire swept the town of Perry, Iowa, on November 21, destroying a large number of buildings. The loss is placed at about $500,000.