News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 21, 1897

FOREIGN.

—King Humbert of Italy is reported to be suffering from a stroke of paralysis.

—The London Chronicle reports that Greece has ordered 100,000 rifles from an Austrian firm.

—A fatal explosion occurred in a Mexican mine at Pachuca on the night of December 31, causing the death of eleven men.

—Gen. Carlos Roloff, Cuban Secretary of War, was arrested in New York January 13, and incarcerated in the Ludlow Street jail. The charges against him were not made public.

—The state of Santa Catharina, Brazil, has recently set apart 1,500,000 acres of land for the settlement of German colonists, and three German companies have been formed to coöperate in this work.

—The Italian Government has ordered the immediate dissolution of the Socialists workingmen's clubs throughout the kingdom, and great excitement prevails in socialistic circles in consequence.

—The recent census of the Hawaiian Islands shows an increase of 83 per cent. in the foreign population during the last six years. Half-castes have increased 36 per cent., while the native population has decreased 10 per cent.

—The proposal of Russia to divide the Balkan peninsula, insuring Russian predominance in the eastern half and Austrian predominance in the western, has been thwarted by Germany's refusal to be a party to the transaction.

—Two English officers, who started last April to travel through Thibet to Peking, accomplished the undertaking on December 2, having been eight months en route. They report much kindness and hospitality at the hands of the Mongolian tribes.

—The rebels in the Philippine Islands are still unsuppressed. The steamship Agapanthus brings news of the wrecking of a government train by the insurgents, with the imprisonment of passengers and crew, and the plundering of the freight and mails.

—Engineers are now in the field selecting the route for the Mexican Eastern Railroad, running from San Geronimo on the Tehuantepec Railroad, to Tapachula, Chiapas, opening up valuable coffee and mineral lands in southern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala.

—Latest advices from Manila state that the insurrection in the Philippines is spreading in other provinces, and 2,500 Spanish soldiers have joined the rebels. A representative of the insurgents has been sent to the Japanese Government to ask for recognition of belligerency.

—General Weyler's withdrawal of troops from the province of Pinar del Rio is said to have been speedily followed by an attack on the trocha by the Cuban patriots, who destroyed four of the forts of which the trocha is composed, using a big dynamite gun with terrible effect.

—On January 2 the chief engineer and second officer of the French steamer Madeleine settled an “affair of honor” on the deck of their vessel off the port of Acapulco, which resulted in the death of the second officer. No arrest will be made, as dueling is permitted under the French flag.

—It is claimed that Dr. Neumann, a German bacteriologist, has discovered and perfected a new serum for the treatment of tuberculosis. The serum is obtained from the blood of goats after being treated in a special manner, and is said to be perfectly harmless, producing neither fever nor physical disturbance.

—An engagement is reported to have taken place in Cuba about January 7, in which 160 Texan rangers met and repulsed a body of 300 Spanish cavalry, capturing the Spanish captain and a train load of provisions which the latter was guarding. The Spaniards left 15 dead and 40 wounded on the field.

—Eighteen persons were recently massacred by order of Mayor Fondevilla, of Paso de la Virgen, Cuba, because they opposed giving a public demonstration in Fondevilla's honor. A deputation who waited upon General Weyler to protest, in the name of humanity, against such doings, were promptly arrested and locked up in Cabanas fortress.

—Advices from Bechuanaland, South Africa, report a serious uprising of the Baltoros tribe on the Mashoning River. The natives are swarming over the country with red flags, and fears are entertained for the safety of the settlers. Along with this comes the report of the massacre of eight English officers and a party of native carriers on the Guiana Coast.

—The lord mayor of London has started a “famine fund” for the relief of the starving millions of India. The rains which have been reported from different Indian provinces can give no immediate relief to the sufferers, who are dying while waiting for the crops to grow. We may gain some conception of this terrible calamity from the fact that in the district of Jabalpur alone, which has a population of about 2,000,000, 90,000 persons have died of starvation since the beginning of the famine. Thousands of others living many miles from railroads or other lines of communication will have to perish before succor can reach them.

—It is reported that the Government of British Guiana intends soon to disestablish the church. Guiana has at present two established religions, the Anglican and Scotch Presbyterian, while government assistance is also extended to the Methodist and Roman Catholic Churches. The government has given the churches eighteen months in which to prepare to stand upon their own foundations.

—The Canadian Government is sending one of the members of its cabinet to Washington to confer with the Committee on Ways and Means in regard to a reciprocity treaty with the United States. It is understood that the provisions of the proposed treaty are in opposition to the wishes of the British Foreign Office; and the sending of this ambassador direct, instead of dealing through the home government, is without precedent.

—Mgr. Martinelli, papal delegate to the United States, is reported to have said in a recent interview that the close connection existing between the Vatican and the people and Government of Spain, presupposes the pope's sympathy and favor with the cause of Spain in Cuba, and that the Vatican had reason to believe that the Catholic Church would be much better treated by the Spanish Government in Cuba than by the new government, should the rebellion succeed. The pope has similar reasons for favoring the blotting out of the rebellion in the Philippines. This friendship is easily understood by those who are conversant with the history of the early Catholic Church and her dark doings, especially in the protected birthplace of the Inquisition.

—A despatch from Madrid states that a government official has started for Washington, traveling incognito, with full authority from Minister Canovas del Castillo to negotiate a settlement of the Cuban issue on the basis of reforms in Cuba. The treaty of capitulation has been drawn up, containing among other things pardon for all who have taken part in the revolution, and has been presented to the Spanish Minister at Washington. It is claimed by many that Cuba will accept nothing but absolute independence. It has been patent for some time that General Weyler was accomplishing nothing in Cuba but the wanton slaughter of those who fell into his power, and the contempt of the world for the inhuman methods which his government allowed him to employ. Coupled with this came a warning note from the American minister in Madrid in regard to Spain's tactics in the island and an authentic statement of Germany's intention to keep aloof from entanglement in the controversy, either diplomatic or otherwise. Weyler's failure to accomplish anything on his recent sortie into the rebels' country was a crushing disappointment to the home government. With 200,000 men at his command he has been unable to conquer, or even effect a decisive engagement with, an army of only 40,000, while the rebel bands are in such close proximity to Havana that the sound of their arms is frequently heard in the capital. The weight of these facts, with an empty exchequer, and credit destroyed, is bringing Spain to realize that satisfactory reforms must be proclaimed or the independence of the island will be a foregone conclusion.

DOMESTIC.

—The National Monetary Conference convened at Indianapolis on January 12.

—Minister Willis, who was last week reported dying in Honolulu, is now slowly recovering.

—Five children were drowned in St. Louis on January 12 while skating on the ice in an old quarry.

—Early in February Admiral Bunce will give his fleet a practice drill, the principal feature of which will be a blockade of Charleston harbor.

—A dynamite magazine at Shamokin, Pa., exploded on January 12, demolishing the building and killing four persons, two of whom were women.

—A photograph of the sun, taken at the Lick Observatory on January 5, revealed a large sun spot, whose greatest length was found to be 68,000 miles.

—Joe Jet, a Chinese convert to Christianity, was ordained as a Congregational clergyman at the Bethany church, San Francisco, on the evening of January 14.

—Part of the winter quarters of the Barnum & Bailey circus, at Bridgeport, Conn., were destroyed by fire on the night of January 7, causing a heavy loss.

—On January 9 the St. Louis, Salem, and Arkansas Railroad was ordered sold under foreclosure proceedings instituted by the Mercantile Trust Company of New York.

—On the night of January 12 a train loaded with sheep was wrecked on the Santa Fe road, and 2,300 sheep were killed. Only 500 out of the whole train load escaped alive.

—Enthusiastic meetings are being held throughout the state of California, looking to the memorializing of Congress for protection against the fruit competition of southern Europe.

—Pennsylvania capitalists have formed a joint stock company to build a $2,000,000 iron and steel plant at Port Angeles, Puget Sound, which will employ 2,000 hands and cover thirty acres of ground.

—Representatives of the gold standard Democrats met in Chicago on January 9, and declared for a continuance of their party organization, and for continued opposition to the free silver wing of the Democratic party.

—A Hungarian christening at Mayfield, Penn., on January 8, was turned into a drunken row, in which one man lost his life, two received injuries from which they can not recover, and five others were seriously hurt.

—Another new political party, known as the United States party, was organized at St. Louis on January 12, under the leadership of “General” J. S. Coxey, with plans for a national convention at Nashville, Tenn., on July 4, 1897.

—It is claimed that every trust operating in the state of Georgia has succumbed to the Calvin anti-trust law, throwing open to competition many branches of industry which the power of various trusts had long since closed.

—The Christian Endeavors of Oakland, Cal., have called a mass meeting, and begun a crusade against the present method of raising funds for church expenses and church work, advocating the abandonment of church fairs, bazaars, etc.

—The Smithsonian Institute has prepared for the sultan of Turkey a life-size figure of a Sioux Indian chief, decorated for the war dance, with blanket, moccasins, and a profusion of beads. This gift is made in return for presents received from the sultan.

—During the year 1896 the cities of Chicago and New York alone consumed 8,117,040 barrels of beer, the latter city being responsible for the consumption of a little more than five-eighths of that amount, or a trifle over four barrels for each individual inhabitant.

—The Judiciary Committee of the San Francisco Bar Association has prepared an amendment to the state constitution, the object of which is to improve the administration of law in California, to prevent delays in the trial of cases, and secure more respect for the courts.

—The Russian inhabitants of Alaska have made serious complaints to the Russian Government in regard to their treatment at the hands of American traders. It is thought that the trouble is probably due to religious differences. An investigation has been ordered.

—A new trust, known as the Cereal Millers' Association, has lately sprung into being, which is to regulate the price and entire output of oatmeal, rolled oats, and other breakfast cereals. The trust is said to comprise nearly every oatmeal and cereal mill in the United States.

—The Powers Funding Bill, providing for the refunding of the debts of the Union and Central Pacific Railways, was defeated in the House of Representatives on January 11, by a vote of 168 to 102. The killing of the bill gives the President power to at once order the foreclosure of the government's mortgage on the roads.

—The last brief in the celebrated Durrant murder case was filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court of California on January 11. It is probable, however, that the decision of the Supreme Court, granting or denying a new trial, will not be rendered before May, on account of the large number of cases preceding this on the judicial calendar.

—Prof. E. E. Barnard, formerly of the Lick Observatory, now instructor in practical astronomy at the University of Chicago, has been notified by a cablegram from London that the Royal Astronomical Society has awarded him its gold medal. Prof. Barnard was also awarded the great Arago medal of the French Academy of Sciences in 1894, in honor of his discovery of the fifth satellite of Jupiter.

—On January 11 the Anglo-American general arbitration treaty was transmitted to Congress by President Cleveland. This treaty provides for a high court of arbitration, which is to be composed of three members of the Supreme Court of the United States, to be chosen by the President, and three members of the High Court of Appeals of Great Britain, to be chosen by the Prime Minister. The treaty will be operative for a period of five years from date of ratification, giving the court of arbitration exclusive jurisdiction over all differences now existing between the two countries, or which may arise during the existence of the treaty, with the exception of the Venezuela dispute, the Bering Sea question, and questions of national honor or sovereignty. While the method of settling by arbitration a portion of the disputes arising between these two great powers is a humanitarian one, a commendable one, and has everything to recommend it over that method in which blood, slaughter, and devastation play so prominent a part, yet none but the purblind can see in it that guarantee for “peace and safety” which is being claimed for it by many throughout the land. The sword and the armored cruiser are not thereby rendered incapable of service in their several lines, as is evidenced by the sensitive exceptions which creep into the enumeration of questions to be submitted to this international tribunal. Reservation is made for “affairs of honor,” as well as for instances where “sovereignty” might be questioned. Verily, this is not the harbinger of a millennial reign, although in a sense it may be a misunderstood precursor of an event which precedes that; for “when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” That an international treaty does not prevent international intrigue is shown by the secret treaty concluded between Germany and Russia while the Dreibund was in full force.