p. 14 | News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 26, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 33.

News and Notes

FOREIGN.

—The Porte, alarmed at the state of anarchy which exists in Turkish Kurdistan, has ordered a general mobilization of troops along the Persian frontier.

—Rev. J. Batchelor, of the English Church Mission in Japan, reports that during the past two years over 680 of the Ainos have joined the Church of Christ by baptism.

—Five hundred coal miners employed by the Alberta Coal Company at Lethbridge, Canada, went out on a strike on August 12 for an increase of ten per cent. in wages.

—It is reported that the death of Dr. Tholsen, the physician of the late shah of Persia, was caused by present officials of that government, because the doctor knew “too many secrets.”

—It is stated that under special orders from Emperor William the Jews in the eastern provinces of Prussia are being driven forth with the most pitiless severity, without any apparent cause or legal process.

—A Spanish medical official states that if the present rate of sickness among the soldiers continues, it is probable that by next winter there will not be over 10,000 effective soldiers in the Spanish army in Cuba.

—It is reported that in view of the enmity existing between General Weyler and General Azcarraga, the now acting premier of Spain, the former has resigned his position in Cuba, and will soon return to Madrid.

—The rebellion in India is still unsubdued, and heavy fighting is reported to have taken place during the 16th and 17th of August. The despatch states that the whole border seems to be in a state of unrest.

—The Supreme Council of War at Madrid has confirmed the sentence of death passed by court-martial upon Michael Angiolillo, the assassin of Canovas del Castillo, and he will be garroted on Friday, August 20.

—Agitators in the republics of Central America are busy again trying to stir up another war. Nicaragua has grievances against Costa Rica, and if the people will support President Zelaya, it is thought war will be declared.

—On August 5 the Portuguese troops surprised and routed the rebellious Mapulanquenes in Africa, killing 23 of the chiefs and 293 of their followers. The expedition then laid waste all the territory of the rebellious tribesmen.

—It is reported that in Russia the czar has joined forces with the Sunday-rest agitators by promulgating a decree prohibiting, under severe penalty, any form of labor on Sunday, or on the fourteen principal Russian feast days.

—Just at this time, while sickness is thinning the ranks of the Spanish soldiers in Cuba, the Cubans are manifesting unusual activity, and the sacking of Spanish towns and attacking of Spanish garrisons are of frequent occurrence.

—The Dervishes are preparing to make a final and desperate stand against the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian expedition in the vicinity of Khartoum, and the famous Osman Digna has been summoned by the khalifa to command the Dervishes.

—Peace negotiations between the Porte and the ambassadors of the powers are said now to be at a complete standstill on account of the refusal of England to permit the Turkish occupation of Thessaly, pending a partial payment of the indemnity agreed upon.

—A report states that another carrier pigeon has been captured, bearing a message from Herr Andree, and directed to the Stockholm Aftonbladet, stating that the explorers had traveled eighty-two degrees northward. By many this is believed to be another fabrication.

—It is reported that an attempt was made to wreck the train upon which the emperor and empress of Germany were returning from their visit to St. Petersburg. The train immediately following the imperial coaches was derailed and several passengers lost their lives.

—Japan’s new battle-ship, the Yashima, of 12,400 tons’ displacement, recently completed in England, is claimed to be one of the greatest fighting machines ever built. In speed she is said to outrank any battle-ship afloat. She is 372 feet long, 73 feet beam, and draws 26.3 feet.

—A report from Berlin states that the town of Ostrow, Russia, has been completely destroyed by fire, rendering 4,000 persons homeless. The fire is said to have started simultaneously in four different parts of the town. A number of persons lost their lives, and many children are missing.

—The city of Constantinople is reported to be greatly excited over bomb explosions attempted and accomplished on the afternoon of August 18. Two explosions occurred about the same time in different parts of the city, and a third was attempted near the Ottoman Bank. It is believed that the bomb throwing is a part of an extensive plot connected with the threatening placard recently posted upon the buildings of Turkish government officials, and demanding a change in the administration of government.

—The State Department at Washington has received authentic information to the effect that the governments of Spain and Peru have concluded a treaty of arbitration, by which all differences which they can not themselves settle amicably are to be submitted to the mediation of a foreign power.

—The government of Mexico is said to be confronting a serious situation, and much anxiety is felt on account of the continued depreciation of silver. Mexican bankers are advocating a decrease of the rate of interest now paid on the public debt, as it is predicted that the Mexican silver dollar will yet reach the thirty-cent mark.

—Since 1870 religious processions through the streets of Rome have been forbidden; but recently the prime minister of Italy has removed the restriction, and now religious processions are as frequent in Rome as in other cities. It is thought that this will facilitate the restoration of cordial relations between the Vatican and the government.

—The Mexican Government has entered upon a destructive war against the Yucatan Indians, a tribe which has never been subdued by white men, and it is feared that the conflict may precipitate war between Mexico and Guatemala. In view of this fact, the recent purchase by the Mexican Government of 25,000 modern rifles from Berlin, has peculiar significance.

—Another attempt on the life of M. Faure, president of France, was made on August 18. A bomb filled with bullets and iron missiles was exploded on the route which the president took when starting for his visit to the czar, but the explosion did not take place till the president had passed. An anarchist with a loaded revolver was afterward arrested on the train which conveyed the president.

—The civil governor of the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, announces that he wishes to find homes for 1,600 Cuban orphans, whose parents have perished as rebels in the field or have starved in the garrisons where they have been concentrated. Persons who take these children are required to pay a certain sum as a voucher of good faith, which may be used for the maintenance of those remaining uncared for.

—The assassination of Premier Canovas, of Spain, by an avowed anarchist, has led to increased activity by the police of various European cities in hunting out dangerous leaders of that society, and a number of important arrests have been made, together with the seizure of bombs, explosives, and incriminating documents. The Italian police claim that they have conclusive evidence of the existence of an international anarchist plot.

—Rev. C. M. Spinning, writing of religious work in Chile, says: “Take the Catholic Church as it was just before the Reformation, eliminate what little good there still remained, mix it with rites and superstitions of the Indians, then give it three centuries to develop and entrench itself in every part of the nation’s life, and you have the religion of Chile as it is to-day. It is a matter of thanksgiving that the people are breaking away from it, even if temporarily they go to the other extreme,—infidelity.”

—The ameer of Afghanistan has yielded to British pressure and ordered his subjects to refrain from assisting or inciting the rebels of India against the English Government. The Pan-Islamic Synod, of Constantinople, now claims that in this act the ameer has disobeyed its orders, and that it will force him to do its bidding. A member of the synod is reported to have said: “We have now induced the Brahmins to join us in working against the British yoke. The war of the Koran against the Gospel is beginning. Nothing can now prevent what is here written from happening.”

—A great change is reported to have taken place in Chow Han, China, where lives the author of the famous Hunan pamphlets, in which such bitter attacks were made upon Christianity and foreigners in general. It has been reported that this man has become converted; but such is not the case. He has, however, ceased active opposition to Christianity in public as well as private, through his reading of Christian publications; and while he will not now express an opinion one way or the other in regard to Christianity, his change of attitude is having a marked influence for good.

—Affairs in the east at the present time are in a marvelous maze. Since the visit of Emperor William to the czar, the Russian press has manifested a warm friendship for Germany, and an unwonted animosity for England, and it is rumored that there is an agreement between them to checkmate Great Britain. It is strongly hinted that the long-threatened Russian intrigue against English influences in India has materialized, and that to her influence is due the present uprising. Turkey’s influence is on the side of the revolting East Indians, and she seems to be stirring up all the trouble possible for England in Mohammedan circles. On the other hand, England is accused of playing a game of her own, by which she hopes to secure Suda Bay in the island of Crete for a naval station, and of being willing to sacrifice the interests of the Cretan Christians in order to obtain that end. A correspondent of Constantinople who claims to be speaking from a knowledge of facts in the matter, says: “I am certain that we are nearing a big crash here. The Turks have not the faintest intention of abandoning either Crete or Thessaly, and Russia has not the slightest intention of leaving them there.”

—Prince Henry of Orleans, while a member of a French expedition in Abyssinia, took occasion to criticize the Italian officers there held in captivity. On his return to France he received several challenges from prominent Italians. He accepted that of the Count of Turin, nephew of King Humbert of Italy, and the duel was fought in the suburbs of Paris on August 14. Both the principals were wounded in the encounter, but the Italian was declared victor, Prince Henry having received a dangerous abdominal wound which rendered him hors de combat. Italy’s sense of honor is satisfied, altho nothing has been done to refute the charges of the prince. The emperor of Germany wired congratulations to the count, thus embittering the hatred already existing between the French and Germans.

DOMESTIC.

—A prominent physician of New York claims to have discovered a cure for consumption through the agency of electricity.

—On August 14 two masked highwaymen held up and robbed a number of Yellowstone National Park coaches, relieving the tourists of about $500.

—The work on the construction of the new Puget Sound fortifications is being delayed by a strike of the workmen, who demand an increase of wages before they will resume operations.

—It is stated that the oldest married couple in the United States is Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hiller, of Elkton, Mich., whose respective ages are 107 and 105. They were married eighty-seven years ago.

—It is reported that the twenty-four members of the faculty of Brown University who signed the protest against the dismissal of President Andrews will be dismissed also before the college opens this fall.

—Five policemen of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, were seriously cut by a razor in the hands of James Elbert, an Austrian anarchist, whom they had arrested on August 15. Elbert then attempted to escape, but was finally captured.

—The Ordnance Bureau of the War Department, on August 17, awarded the contract for building five disappearing gun carriages to the Bethlehem Iron Company, of Pennsylvania, at $28,560 each, the entire lot to be completed within nine months.

—Reports from Alaska state that hundreds of prospectors are now stranded near the various mountain trails, unable to get over. The report that the Canadian Government had rescinded the royalty tax on gold has since been found to be untrue. The tax will be collected, as well as duties on all supplies over one hundred pounds.

—Over five hundred citizens of the town of Rock Island, Illinois, members of the Modern Woodmen of America, raided the town of Fulton on August 13 for the purpose of carrying off the records of the society and transferring the headquarters to Rock Island. A free fight ensued, in which sixteen persons were seriously injured.

—Dunn’s Weekly Review of Trade of August 14 states that “every city reporting this week notes increase in trade, and nearly all report bright crop prospects. The great change in business is emphasized by the presence of a multitude of buyers from all parts of the country; but the customary signs of prosperity are not lacking.”

—The Cramps Shipbuilding Company, of Pennsylvania, and the Union Iron Works, of San Francisco, have both agreed to furnish the diagonal armor for the war ships which they are building at the price stipulated by Congress, $300 per ton. The remainder of the armor will probably not be supplied for the ships until the government plant is erected.

—Two American inventors are experimenting in England with a new device for increasing the speed of telegraph operating. The government telegraph plant was placed at their disposal, and the experiment proved satisfactory. It is claimed that by their device enough matter can be transmitted over one line in an hour to fill a page of a newspaper.

—A cablegram from Buenos Ayres states that the captain and mate of the American schooner Olive Pecker have been murdered by the crew. The vessel was afterward burned and the crew escaped to the island of Bahia. The owners of this vessel were the owners of the barkentine on which Captain Nash and wife and Mate Pamburg were murdered some time ago near Nova Scotia.

—President McKinley has recently promulgated amendments to the civil-service rules, which are eliciting praise from civil-service reformers. The rule of most importance provides that no removal shall be made from any position subject to competitive examination, except for just cause and upon written charges, of which the accused shall have full notice and an opportunity to make defense.

—The striking coal miners in the eastern States have been served with sweeping injunctions forbidding them to march, camp, or in any way interfere with the working of the coal mines, and the operators have decided to begin operations in the mines at once, guarding their workmen with Pinkertons and Gatling guns if necessary. In the opinion of some the strike is practically broken. Others believe that the serious work of the strike has just begun, and that much blood will be shed before order is restored.