News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 14, 1897

FOREIGN.

—Late advices from Asia state that thousands are still dying of starvation in the famine-stricken regions of India.

—Bolivia and Peru are both arming in anticipation of a conflict which both governments claim is near at hand and unavoidable.

—Fifteen persons lost their lives in the wreck of the steamship Belgique off the coast of France on the morning of January 5.

—The Bubonic plague, which raged one year ago in China, is rapidly extending among the natives of India, and large numbers of fatalities are reported.

—Sweden is now preparing with all possible activity for the fourth great Scandinavian exhibition, which will take place in Stockholm from May 15 to Oct. 1, 1897.

—The convent of the Ursuline nuns, at Roberval, Quebec, was completely destroyed by fire on the morning of January 6, and seven of the nuns perished in the flames.

—The Imparcial, Heraldo, and Correspondencia, three Spanish newspapers, have been forced, by government prosecution, to withdraw their correspondents from Havana.

—The property of the late shah of Persia is valued at $200,000,000, of which two-fifths is in cash and bullion. It is rumored that his successor will devote $20,000,000 of this amount in promoting the civilization of Persia.

—Eight gigantic steamships, each capable of carrying more passengers and cargo than the famous "Great Eastern," are now under construction at German shipyards, for service between Europe and the United States.

—The deputation recently sent from Porto Rico to Madrid to ask for the prompt carrying out of promised reforms, has failed to secure from the Spanish Government a satisfactory response. They claim that the West Indian autonomists want much more than the ten royal decrees guarantee, and that they can not accept the government's measures. In this the Spanish Government has another trouble brewing.

—The Angoni Zulus, who invaded Nyasaland and burned the British stations, besides massacring the inhabitants of several villages, have been dispersed by the British forces. The leader of the uprising was captured and hanged.

—The steamer Dauntless has successfully landed another cargo of munitions of war on the island of Cuba. The cargo consisted of 14,184 rifles, 500,000 cartridges, 600 machetes, 1,000 pounds of dynamite, with medicines and other supplies.

—Late advices from Cape Town, South Africa, state that the uprising of the Tamigs reserve in Bechuanaland, is assuming serious proportions. A parley has been refused, fighting has occurred, and the British have been obliged to wait for reinforcements.

—Recent advices from Honduras are to the effect that another serious revolution may be expected in that state within the next two weeks. The feeling against President Bonilla is very strong, and is being encouraged by Vasquez, his opponent for the presidency.

—A rotary steam engine, which will revolutionize the science of steam power, has been patented by a telegraph operator of Minnesota. An English company has purchased the patent rights for the sum of $7,100,000, the largest price paid for any patent in recent years.

—Secretary Olney has received a cablegram from the Venezuelan Government confirming its acceptance of the arbitration agreement reached between Great Britain and the United States, thus removing the last obstacle to an amicable settlement of the dispute.

—On January 4 thirteen conspirators were shot at Manila, Philippines. On the same day a battle was fought on the Pasig River, resulting in the death of ten Spaniards and thirty-two insurgents. In another engagement the Spaniards claim to have completely defeated the insurgents, slaying 1,100 of their number.

—The proposed gigantic railway system connecting the United States with the Central and South American states, has been favorably reported upon by the engineers appointed to survey the route, and several of the governments interested have begun work on the construction of the line through their respective territories.

—The drafts of the Pacific Cable Commission were signed on January 6 by representatives of the British, Canadian, and Australian Governments. The cable between Victoria, B. C., and the Australian and New Zealand colonies is to be completed within two years, at an estimated cost of $10,000,000, and will touch none but British soil, leaving Hawaii to be tapped by a branch line.

—The federation of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Salvador under one general government has become an accomplished fact. The union is based on a plan similar to that of the United States, and its affairs will be administered by a diet composed of one representative from each state. There will, however, be no individual head corresponding to the President of the United States. Guatemala and Costa Rica have also been invited to join the federation.

—Reports from Cuba state that on New Year's day a desperate battle was fought between 1,200 Spanish soldiers and 1,500 Cubans, in which the latter were completely victorious. It is claimed that the Spanish loss was 11 officers and 140 privates killed and 200 wounded. The Cuban loss was 60 killed and 90 wounded. In an attempt to carry the Cuban stronghold in the hills of Pinar del Río, Colonel Segura, with 2,000 Spanish soldiers, was drawn into ambush and routed with heavy loss.

DOMESTIC.

—United States Minister Willis is reported dying at Honolulu.

—A fire truck, propelled by compressed air instead of horses, is the latest invention of an ingenious Brooklyn man.

—Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Newell, paymaster of the Army of the Potomac, died on January 5 at his home in New Brunswick, N. J.

—During the heavy gale off the Atlantic Coast on December 23, the schooner Calvin B. Orcutt was wrecked and her entire crew lost.

—Willard B. Perkins, of Lawrence, Mass., who died recently at Colorado Springs, left $96,000 to charitable and educational institutions.

—The Japanese Government has placed orders with two American ship-building firms for two swift, armored cruisers. The two vessels will cost $3,000,000.

—On the morning of December 26 the Chicago police raided a State Street resort, and captured thirty-seven professional crooks, among whom were six women.

—A number of wealthy men, of New York City, who have been influenced by the recent Moody meetings, have provided ample funds for a great series of revival services.

—The pope of Rome has presented to the library of Stanford University an exact reproduction of an ancient book discovered among the Aztec Indians shortly after the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish. It is claimed to be one of the most wonderful relics of ancient American literature extant.

—The Historical Society of Massachusetts is now agitating the question of preserving the frigate Constitution, the memory of whose victories is held sacred by every American patriot.

—James Kirk, who in 1844 strung the first telegraph line, between Baltimore and Washington, has been stricken with paralysis, and is in a critical condition at his home in Piqua, Ohio.

—During the year 1896 there was coined in the United States $30,093,000 in gold and $5,674,989 in silver, making a total of $35,767,989, the largest amount coined during any one year since 1878.

—Miss Caroline J. Bartlett, pastor of the People's Church of Kalamazoo, Mich., officiated at her own marriage on January 1, to Augustus W. Crane. This is probably the first instance of the kind on record.

—The Salvation Army has a gospel ship among the Indians of Alaska. A government tug which was wrecked and abandoned was secured by the Indians, who, being members of the Army, dedicated it to the mission work.

—The filibustering steamer Commodore, carrying supplies for the Cuban army, went down in twenty fathoms of water off the coast of Florida on the morning of January 2, and eight of her crew of twenty-eight are reported lost.

—There will be tested at Providence, R. I., this month an electrical ship, provided with fourteen propellers, for which the inventor claims a speed of 45 miles an hour. If the experiment is a success, a voyage across the Atlantic will be reduced to about three days.

—On January 3 the Mississippi Valley states suffered the heaviest storm of recent years. In Missouri and Arkansas the fall of rain has raised the rivers from eighteen to twenty-two feet. The storm in Nebraska turned to a blizzard, blocking railroads and disorganizing street-car service.

—W. A. Hammond, vice-president of the National Bank of Illinois, which closed recently, committed suicide January 2 by jumping in the lake near Evanston. On the same day Henry Husted, cashier of the Union County National Bank of Indiana, was found hanging to a rafter in a stable.

—Over 230 prisoners of the Yuma, Arizona, prison would now be roaming at large over the country, but for the accidental discovery of their well-laid plans. A tunnel was dug through thirty feet of cement formation and eight feet of solid rock before the prison authorities detected the scheme.

—The final decree of foreclosure and sale of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway was filed by the clerk of the United States Circuit Court, December 26, the moneys collected to be turned over to the State Trust Company of New York, in payment of first mortgages. The company has 30 days in which to redeem its property.

—On January 13 a train of 160 cars loaded with salt will leave Silver Springs, New York, for Boston, Mass. As this salt was purchased contingent upon the election of William McKinley, he will start the train himself by means of electrical connections between his residence and the locomotives of this mammoth salt train.

—The revival services recently begun in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, under the direction of Mr. Moody, are to be extended to Chicago and Cincinnati. Advocates of a revival in the latter places desire to proceed at once, “while religious enthusiasm is sweeping the country.” It is expected that the interest thus aroused will affect the entire cities and result in mass meetings.

—The Polish Catholic Church of Bay City, Mich., engaged in another riot on January 5. A thousand warring Poles stormed the church, battering down doors and smashing windows, while the priest and his body-guard assailed the mob with missiles from the second-story windows. The entire police force was unable to quell the disturbance, and a number of the participants were seriously injured. How can the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus be reconciled with such sacrilegious acts as these in the house professedly erected for his worship?

—H. R. Bill No. 4566, known as the Loud Bill, has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 144 to 105. The provisions of the bill relate to the postal rates on matter now being sent through the mails at the second-class rate, that is, at the rate of one cent per pound; and will exclude from the second-class rate all sample copies of any publications whatever, together with serials, supplements, premiums, or publications which are “merely books or reprints of books, whether issued complete or in parts, whether they be bound or unbound, or whether they be sold by subscription or otherwise.” The bill also makes necessary the payment of third-class rates on all magazines and periodicals sent out on sale and subsequently returned to the publishers. It is estimated that the passage of this measure will reduce the manufacture and consumption of white paper about 100,000 tons annually, and will proportionally reduce the amount of printing and binding, throwing thousands of men and women out of employment. Publications heretofore sent out as libraries will be compelled to discontinue or to patronize express companies, whose rates may also be raised on account of the withdrawal of competition in the postal service. Strenuous efforts will be made by publishers to defeat the bill when it reaches the Senate.