News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 29, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 39.

International.—Spain and Japan have replied favorably to the disarmament proposals of Russia, and will have representatives at the peace conference. Italy will also be represented there, providing the Papacy is not, and has notified the Russian Government to that effect......Forty-three of the leaders in the recent massacre at Candia, Crete, have been surrendered to the British, and the British admiral’s ultimatum in regard to the disarming of the Mussulmans is being complied with, tho it is stated that so far only old-fashioned arms have been surrendered. British troops are occupying the fort, and a British regiment has been ordered from Egypt to re-enforce them......It is reported from China that the bitter contest between England and Russia over the Newchwang Railway has been decided in favor of England, the Tsung-li Yamen having authorized the conclusion of the railway loan with a British syndicate......A riot took place at Vigo, Spain, during the landing of a ship-load of Spanish soldiers from Santiago, Cuba. Many of the soldiers were half naked and barefooted, and the populace, becoming enraged at the sight, attacked the house of General Torral. The general escaped to a steamer, and the steamer was stoned and its windows smashed......The police authorities of Hamburg have prohibited the holding of five projected socialist meetings, called for the purpose of discussing the emperor’s recent speech regarding imprisonment of strike promoters. This is the beginning of stringent measures which are to be taken against socialism and anarchism in Germany......Since General Kitchener’s victory at Omdurman and Khartoum, no word has been received from his forces, which are pushing up the Nile to take possession of Fashoda......Colonel Picquart, who has been frequently mentioned in connection with the Dreyfus case in France, has been arrested, and the agitation over this matter continues unabated......The island of Barbadoes is reported to be in a state of semi-anarchy. The distress already existing in the island was intensified by the recent tornado, and lawlessness abounds to an alarming extent......There was unveiled at Quebec, on September 21, a statue of Champlain, the “father of New France.” The monument is fifty feet high, and was designed by a French sculptor.

Domestic.—Earthquake shocks were felt in South Dakota and Nebraska on September 16, but no serious damage is reported from these disturbances......The battle-ships Oregon and Iowa have been ordered to sail for Manila as soon as preparations for the voyage are completed. Six supply ships will be despatched as tenders, four carrying coal and one refrigerated meats and vegetables. The sixth is a distilling ship, which will furnish fresh water during the voyage. The battle-ships will call at a number of South American ports on their voyage around the continent, as it is stated, for “moral effect.”......Plans are being laid by the Navy Department for a large increase in the number of enlisted men in the navy, also for the enlistment of 2,500 boys for the naval school to be established on Goat Island, in San Francisco Bay......The American commissioners appointed to conclude peace with Spain, sailed from New York on September 17 en route for Paris. The members of the commission are Judge William R. Day, Senator William P. Frye, Senator Cushman K. Davis, Senator George Gray, and Whitelaw Reid......The first meeting of the George Washington Association, the object of which is to found a national university in Washington, was held in that city on September 15, and officers were chosen for the organization, together with an advisory council of prominent educators, who will investigate the whole subject of the establishment of such an institution......An epidemic of yellow fever is reported from certain sections of Mississippi and Louisiana, and is gaining ground in spite of quarantine regulations......The new torpedo-boat destroyer Farragut, recently completed in San Francisco, on her trial trip covered one mile in one minute fifty-nine seconds, a speed of a little over thirty miles an hour.

Casualties and Calamities.—The eruption of Mount Vesuvius continues on an alarming scale. Nine new craters have opened near the original crater, and great floods of lava are flowing down the sides of the mountain, whose slopes are densely populated. Volcanic ashes are falling over the surrounding country......A destructive hurricane swept over Southern Spain on September 19, doing great damage in the provinces of Seville and Granada. Many persons were killed and injured and numerous buildings completely demolished......The ravages of the storm reported from the West Indies last week have not yet been fully verified; but it is known that a number of vessels went down with their crews; 50,000 persons have been rendered homeless, and 160 killed in the island......Serious and extensive floods are reported from various sections of Japan. Many rivers have overflowed their banks, destroying crops and carrying away houses. The number of drowned is placed at 400......The southern part of Spain has been visited by a terrible flood, which has destroyed the olive crop and done much other damage. Eighty persons were drowned at Herrera, near Cadiz......The number of deaths in India from the plague, during the present epidemic, has now reached the one hundred thousand mark.

Cuba.—The work of the evacuation commission in Cuba is moving more slowly than in Porto Rico. There are about 150,000 men for whom Spain must provide transportation, and as these troops evacuate the different provinces, American troops must take their place. Provision must be made for disarming the insurgents and the Cuban volunteers in the Spanish army. The Spanish demand the retention of their arms, and that they be allowed to retire with colors flying. A general plan of the withdrawal has been agreed upon by the commissioners and submitted to the two governments......The relief ship Comal is still unable to land her 1,000,000 rations for the starving Cubans, as the Spanish authorities at Havana demand duties amounting to $60,000 in gold. It is reported, however, that two ports, Bahia Honda and Jucaro, have been evacuated by the Spanish, and food will be entered at these points. There is much distress for lack of food in all the provinces.

The Philippines.—The archbishop of Manila, who, at the beginning of the war, so violently attacked all things American, has now come out in favor of annexation of the islands to the United States, and lays upon the Catholic orders of Capuchins, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Benedictines the entire blame for the present conditions in the island. These are religious orders that have grown wealthy at the expense of the islanders, and been instrumental in their oppression......The insurgents are recruiting and drilling, ostensibly to protect themselves in case America turns them over to Spain......Orders have been received at San Francisco for 6,000 of the troops stationed there to proceed to the Philippines, and these will be despatched as soon as transports can be provided. General Merriam has returned from Honolulu, and will superintend the embarkation of these troops......The Navy Department has ordered 400 sailors sent to Admiral Dewey’s squadron at Manila.

Religious.—At the Michigan M. E. Conference at Lansing, September 19, resolutions were adopted, pledging the members to prohibition, and those who had not voted the prohibition ticket in the past were instructed to do so in the future......During recent riots at Hochau, China, the American and French missions were attacked and the latter burned......The emperor of China has issued an important decree in regard to the promulgation of the Christian religion in China, and directs all officials to give all necessary protection to the missionaries, and to receive them with respect when they call upon them......At a special meeting of the Mormon council of apostles, held at Salt Lake, on September 13, Lorenzo Snow was elected to the presidency of the Mormon Church, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of President Woodruff. President Snow thus becomes the “prophet, seer, and revelator” of the Church of Latter-day Saints.

Fires.—A $200,000 fire visited the city of Washington, D. C., on September 19......A number of flour-mills and other factories in Mill Dock, London, were destroyed by fire on September 19. The loss is estimated at $325,000......An explosion was caused in a grain elevator at Toledo, Ohio, on September 20, by the spontaneous combustion of dust. Fire followed the explosion, and eight persons were burned to death before help could reach them, and sixteen others were more or less seriously injured. The fire destroyed 500,000 bushels of grain.

Porto Rico.—The work of the evacuation commission in Porto Rico has been practically completed so far as plans for the evacuation of the island are concerned. There has been no friction between the commissioners of the two countries, and it is stated that within three weeks the Americans will be in full control. Many of the Spanish soldiers have signified their intention of remaining in the island and becoming American citizens. The evacuation of outlying positions has already begun, and these are being occupied by American troops.