p. 14 | News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 11.

News and Notes

FOREIGN.

—A despatch from Cuba states that smallpox has appeared at Santiago, in addition to yellow fever.

—In 1894 the mines of South Africa produced more than one-fifth of the total gold production of the world.

—The baptism of Prince Boris from the Catholic into the Greek Church has taken place in Bulgaria, and it is now stated that Prince Ferdinand will at Turkey’s request be recognized by the powers as the rightful occupant of the throne.

—A despatch from London dated March 3 says that the congregation at Oxford University has rejected, by a vote of 215 to 140, a resolution to allow women to take the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The vote shows a strong element in favor of the effort, which is sure to come into effect in time.

—During the last six years England has added to her navy 105 ships and 62 torpedo destroyers. But she does not feel secure yet, and the Admiralty proposes to add 18 war vessels and 28 torpedo destroyers, all to be begun this year. The total estimate for expenditures in this line from 1889 to 1899 is £55,000,000.

—England and France are said to be more kindly disposed toward each other since the Siamese settlement. The feeling can perhaps be likened best to that happy satisfaction and good will to all men which would be felt by a couple of parties after a good fat dinner, for that is what the division of Siam is equivalent to.

—The total number of Protestants in France, according to the latest official year book, is 639,825, which includes 10,789 Protestants in Algiers. The Reformed Church of France comprises 101 consistories, 1,282 parishes, 638 pastors paid by the state, and 540,483 members. The Lutheran Church numbers 6 consistories, 48 parishes, 62 pastors, and 77,553 members.

—Lady Henry Somerset, so well known as a temperance worker, has sued W. W. Astor, proprietor of the Pall Mall Gazette, for $25,000 damages caused to her reputation by statements made at various times in that paper that the methods employed by that lady in her various homes would drive one mad. It would be well now to look out for another British scandal case.

—The 2,000 soldiers reported as having been sent to the aid of President Zelaya, of Nicaragua, by Honduras, are now in the former republic. A severe engagement took place at Nagarote, in which the government forces were victorious, and advices from that section state that the rebels in Leon now desire peace. President Zelaya is willing that peace shall reign, but demands the surrender of all arms, and the ringleaders of the revolt, who will be tried by court-martial.

—The Chambers of Commerce in Cienfuegos and in several other Cuban cities have taken action looking towards a boycotting of American products, because of the resolutions of Congress. These merchants are of course Spaniards supporting General Weyler. That gentleman has, however, advised caution. The progress of the war in Cuba is not materially changed from that of a week ago. The Spanish claim to be putting down the rebellion, but all the world is wondering why the battles are fought within hearing distance of Havana, and usually forced by the Cubans. An army of 100,000 men ought, it seems, to be forcing the contest and driving the rebels out of the principal provinces.

—Italy’s easy conquest of Abyssinia has suddenly developed into an overwhelming defeat of her forces in that country. As a consequence the wildest excitement has prevailed throughout Italy for the past few days, and the news is the talk of Europe. As near as can be learned, 5,000 of the Italian forces were killed in the attack on Adowa, on February 29. Reports from Massowah state that General Baratieri, who had been recalled, rushed his forces upon the enemy, apparently with the design to retrieve his waning reputation. His successor is General Baldissera. Intense surprise is manifested as it begins to develop that the Abyssinians under Menelik are well armed with Russian and French rifles and rapid-firing guns, as well as being well trained and organized. The fight is not against a horde of wild Africans, but a fairly well-prepared modern army, outnumbering the invaders many times. At home the defeat has caused the resignation of Premier Crispi and his cabinet, who are blamed by the country at large for poor policy in directing the Abyssinian campaign. When the news came, King Humbert issued an order calling out the reserves of 1872, about eighty thousand men. This act was the signal for wild riots here and there, almost resulting in mutiny, as these reserves are men with families. Nevertheless, King Humbert is said to have expressed the determination to call out Italy’s whole fighting force if necessary, even if it results in his abdicating the throne. His opponents are many, and Germany and Austria counsel him to abandon the enterprise. What the result of Italy’s defeat will be in Europe is not readily seen at present, altho a dissolution of the Triple Alliance is freely talked of.

—The action of the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives over the Cuban matter has created intense excitement in Spain. At Barcelona and Valencia demonstrations were made against the United States consulates and against the United States flag. These demonstrations, which were made largely by students, were promptly suppressed by the police, and as a consequence, the universities at Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, and Valencia, have been closed for the time being. Leaders of the great parties have expressed themselves very plainly as resenting this action of the United States, and war talk is in the air. In her talk of ancient prestige, and refusal to negotiate, it would be well for Spain to remember how she has lost Mexico, Central America, Columbia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. These all were recognized in due time by the United States, and nothing was said, Spain even selling Florida in the meantime. Well, rumors of war are abroad and in order, altho we may not in all cases look for anything serious as a result.

DOMESTIC.

—Gov. F. T. Greenhalge, of Massachusetts, died March 5.

—The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad has become bankrupt. The collapse occurred February 29.

—Henry C. Bowen, editor and proprietor of the New York Independent, died in Brooklyn on February 24.

—Four lives were lost by the burning of an apartment house at Utica, N. Y., March 3. It appears that through some criminal neglect the building was not supplied with fire escapes.

—The excellent advantages of a thorough fire drill in schools was illustrated at Los Angeles, Cal., on March 3, when 400 children were quickly marched out of a burning schoolhouse, with accident to none.

—The Supreme Court of the United States has rendered its decision in the suit of the government against the Stanford Estate, in which it holds that individual stockholders are not responsible for the debts of the Central Pacific Railroad.

—Susan B. Anthony announces a campaign about to begin in California, which, according to plans outlined, will arouse every county in the state, and sweep away all opposition to female suffrage. That lady will be assisted by Rev. Anna Shaw, of Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Yates, of Maine.

—A home mission meeting of the Presbyterian Church, held at Carnegie Hall, New York, March 3, was presided over by President Cleveland, who also made an address. The meeting is said to have been the most important one held in recent years, and we hope for a better reason than that the President was on exhibition.

—Ballington Booth and wife have decided to inaugurate a separate movement in this country, and the name that has been suggested is the “Christian Crusade.” The resignation of these two from the command of the Salvation Army in this country seems to have been induced by misunderstandings in the Booth family, in which several members are implicated. The trouble is of such a nature as to forbid Ballington Booth taking other commands.

—The “demonstrations” over the Spain-Cuba-United-States muddle are not all one-sided, and that in Spain. A man in Kansas City recently publicly burned a Spanish flag, to the delight and applause of the populace, and announced a repetition of the show till his flags were gone, while the students of Princeton University, N. J., have indulged in flag trailing and burning of the Spanish premier in effigy. All these things tend to ill feeling and an arousing of a war spirit.

—On Monday, March 2, the House of Representatives took up the Cuban matter, and resolutions were passed, amid great applause, recognizing the Cubans as belligerents, and recommending the interference of this government if necessary to bring the difficulties in Cuba to a close. An error was made in transmitting the measure to the Senate, and a conference committee was appointed, which, after the matter had been adjusted, decided to accept the House resolutions as a substitute for those of the Senate. As they are practically the same, it now awaits to be seen what the President will do.

—On the morning of March 3 residents of Oakland, San Francisco, and neighboring towns were greeted by an unusual sight,—the hills and valleys covered with snow. It soon vanished from the lower levels, however, but two or three days passed before the white mantle disappeared from the neighboring hills. Flurries of snow are not unknown during the winters in the valleys and on the coast, and occasionally the hills are crested for a few hours with white. However, the recent snowfall is said to be the second heaviest remembered here, the heaviest occurring in 1886, when about seven inches of snow fell in San Francisco. Easterners can hardly appreciate the wild excitement that prevails in this section when a snow visit affords all classes, from street urchins to staid business men, an opportunity to engage in a fierce snow battle.