p. 15 | News and Notes by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 26, 1895

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 21, No. 38.

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News and Notes

By Editor

SINCE OUR LAST ISSUE.

FOREIGN.

—There are claimed for Christianity 55,000 converts in China.

—It is announced that France will appropriate $10,000,000 more for her campaign in Madagascar.

—An incident of the recent army maneuvers in Germany is the wrecking of a train, by which thirteen persons were killed, and sixty badly injured.

—Fire broke out on a steamer from Edinburg to London, September 16, and before it could be subdued, six women and a child were burned to death in a cabin.

—The twenty-fifth anniversary of the triumphal entry into Rome of the Italians is being celebrated at that city. All but four political prisoners have been released.

—News comes from Australia that a large British ship, the Catterthun, was wrecked near Stephens Point lighthouse a few weeks since, and fifty-six persons were drowned.

—A despatch from China states that the emperor has sanctioned the immediate building of a railroad from Shanghai to Nanking. This will be the second railroad in China.

—The first torpedo boat destroyer ever built of nickel steel has been made for Russia. On its trial trip the boat developed a mean speed of thirty and one-fourth knots, about thirty-five miles per hour.

—In the province of Volhynia, Russia, 5,849 cases of cholera were reported during the week ending August 24, with 2,134 deaths from the same disease. Forty-five deaths were reported a week later in the province of Podolia.

—The failure of a bank at Genoa has resulted in the loss of $75,000, which Cardinal Gibbons presented to the pope as an offering from the Catholics of the United States, the money having been temporarily deposited with that bank.

—A message from London states that Mrs. Langtry has been robbed of her jewelry, valued at $200,000. A spurious order was presented at her bank for the box containing them, and no trace has been found of the ingenious robbers.

—News comes from Havana that the Spanish cruiser Barcastegui was sunk by a collision with a coasting steamer at that place on the night of September 18. The admiral and eight other officers, with thirty-seven of the crew, were drowned.

—Something more deadly and destructive is constantly being sought for in the departments of war. A new bullet or projectile, shaped somewhat like a goose quill, has just been invented by a Swiss officer, which with the small charge of two and one-half grams of powder, will penetrate a block of wood to a depth of nine feet at a distance of 1,400 yards.

—A Babylonian tablet in the British Museum has just been deciphered, and the story told is of the death of King Sennacherib, almost identical with the record in 2 Kings 19:37. We had no doubt before of the reliability of the Scriptures. These external corroborative evidences that come to light from time to time are, however, certainly interesting, and may help some doubting mind.

—During the last week in June, 1895, a colporter of the American Bible Society, distributing Bibles in a small town in interior Brazil, was ordered by an officer, under direction of the Catholic priest, to deliver up all his books. He could do nothing but obey, whereupon the books—47 Bibles, 50 Testaments, and 100 Gospels—were taken to the market place, saturated with oil, and burned. So says a correspondent from Brazil to the Converted Catholic.

—L'Independence Belge says that in time of peace Russia has a standing army of 858,000 men; next comes Germany, with 580,000, and then France, with 512,000 men. In case of war Russia and France could put in the field 9,700,000 men, against the 7,700,000 soldiers of the three countries forming the triple Alliance,—Germany, Austria, and Italy. In time of peace the maintenance of the standing armies of the above powers costs $1,000,000,000 annually.

—A strange decision, to say the least, has been made by a European court in the case of Prince Edward Radziwill, formerly a member of the Imperial Parliament at Berlin, but now a monk. His creditors, to whom he owed large sums of money, sued for recovery, but the plea was urged and so accepted by the court that, having renounced the world for the convent life, the prince is now legally a dead man. It would seem that his new vows would lead to an intense desire at least to pay his debts.

—After considerable delay, seven of the murderers of missionaries at Foo-Chow, China, have been beheaded.

—A despatch from St. Johns, N. F., announces the return of Lieutenant Peary, the Arctic explorer. Nothing of particular note was accomplished on his third trip, owing to lack of provisions. Lieutenant Peary's aim has been to map out the northern regions, and his labors have resulted in an almost completed map of the northern coast of Greenland. The relief ship, the Kite, also brought back an immense collection of natural history subjects, the finest ever gathered in the Arctic regions.

DOMESTIC.

—A snowstorm is reported in portions of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Utah.

—Seven deaths from the excessive heat were reported in Chicago September 19.

—Gold in excellent paying quantities is now being taken from the mountains of Vermont.

—A disastrous fire occurred at Dodge, Neb., on September 17, burning forty business houses.

—Prof. Francis Wayland, of Yale, estimates that there are probably 3,000,000 habitual criminals at large in the United States.

—San Francisco's high buildings are hereafter to be limited to 100 feet altitude for fireproof buildings, and 80 feet for others.

—A quarrel over a game of cards took place at Lexington, Ky., September 20, resulting in the killing of five men by one man.

—Statistics of manufactures show that the folding bed, once popular, is going out of the market, the call being more for brass and iron bedsteads.

—Another American heiress is booked for a European title. The successful parties are the Duke of Marlborough and Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt.

—Last year the cotton crop of the United States was 9,901,251 bales, one-third of which was raised in the state of Texas. This is the largest year's crop ever produced.

—The Republic State Convention of New York has declared in favor of the strict enforcement of Sunday liquor laws, and for the preservation of the Sunday sabbath.

—Six persons were killed near Lynchburg, Va., on September 16. The accident occurred on a railroad crossing, the buggy in which they were riding being struck by a train.

—Another attempt is to be made in this city to pass a Sunday-closing ordinance, to operate first on the saloon. If this proves successful, the move will be used as a wedge for further Sunday closing.

—In a recent test the new fourteen-inch armor of the battle ship Iowa withstood constructively the test of a seventeen-inch plate, showing a great improvement in the manufacture of defensive armor.

—The art of hardening copper, so that it may be used for the finest cutlery, has been discovered by S. R. Dawson, of Des Moines, Iowa. The metal hardens by pressure, and no steel drill can stand against it.

—Following the fast-run test by English railroads, the New York Central has sent a train from New York to Buffalo, a distance of 436 miles, in 407 minutes, an average of over sixty-four miles per hour, the highest record yet made.

—The Congregationalists of San Francisco on September 19 ordained Gee Gam, a Chinese, to the Gospel ministry. This gentleman has been in this country twenty-five years, was for years official interpreter in courts, and speaks English fluently. He retains the native dress.

—The practical wisdom of applying the civil service rules to the choice of election inspectors was strikingly illustrated recently in New York City, when, of the 1,200 candidates who applied for positions, more than 75 per cent failed to pass the examinations, and were rejected.

—A vestibuled train on the Wisconsin Central was held up by robbers on the night of September 16, near Waupaca, Wis., and a desperate attempt made to secure the express treasure. The engine and several cars were derailed and twelve dynamite cartridges exploded on the safe, without avail.

—It is announced that John W. Mackay is expending $2,000,000 in the work of extending the postal telegraphic system. Mr. Mackay became specially famous as the man who caused a reduction in cable rates from America to Europe from $1.00 to twenty-five cents a word. He has constantly refused to pool his cable system with Gould's and others.

—The latest compilations of statistics place the total population of the world at 1,500,000,000. The leading religions present the following figures: Protestants, 200,000,000; Roman Catholics, 195,000,000; Greek Catholics, 105,000,000; total Christians, 500,000,000. Jews, 8,000,000; Mohammedans, 180,000,000; heathens, 812,000,000; total non-Christians, 1,000,000,000.

—A few bones have been found in Colorado by an eminent scientist, which he believes represent the remains of original man. According to his learned calculations, this ancient party lived 1,500,000 years ago. So this is the missing link of science! Much satisfaction may they derive from its contemplation.

—On Thursday, September 19, the Cotton States and International Exposition at Atlanta, Ga., was formally opened. The electric button which started the machinery and announced the opening was successfully pressed by President Cleveland at Gray Gables. The Exposition will continue through the rest of the year.

—A new alloy, composed of ninety-four parts copper, six of antimony, with a little magnesium and carbonate of lime added, is said to be a remarkable substitute for gold. It can be drawn, wrought and soldered like gold, and retain its color even when exposed to acids. The cost of manufacture is twenty-five cents per pound.

—San Diego County, Cal., has witnessed five murders within the past week. The spirit of lawlessness is assuredly at work, not alone in California, but the world over. Were we to attempt a record only of the atrocious murders chronicled daily by the press, our space would be occupied by them alone. We make mention of these occurrences, not to gratify curiosity, but to call attention to some of the evils and dangers which are abroad in the land. They emphasize the fact that wickedness is increasing. The daily records of happenings are not replete with good things. On the contrary, they are largely made up of crimes, accidents, floods, fires, sports and games, and the numerous things that go to gratify pride and unrighteous ambition. Truly one ought to be able to say with all the heart, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”