NOTES OF NEWS | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 19, 1878

NOTES OF NEWS.

—The king of Siam has 3,000 wives.

—The State of Ohio has a debt of $50,000,000.

—One in every 4,600 inhabitants of Switzerland committed suicide last year.

—The southern part of Hayti has been swept with a fearful cyclone, leaving the poor people in a sad state of destitution.

—The latest news from New Britain confirms the sad report of the murder of five native Wesleyan missionaries by cannibals in April last.

—The Reformed (Dutch) ministers of New York meet every Monday morning. They have for some weeks been discussing the millennium question.

—In the Senate, Dec. 11, Mr. Blaine, Senator from Maine, delivered a thirty minutes’ speech on recent election frauds. The speech was listened to by a crowded house, and though short was an able review of facts. It elicited some discussion.

—The Post of Dec. 11 announces semi-officially that Parliament will probably adjourn Tuesday, Dec. 17. Gladstone and his party fail to see the wisdom or the humanity of the “severe thrashing and tremendous fright” which John Bull is administering to the “small boy” of Afghanistan. The Afghans, however, seem to be pretty much at the mercy of the powerful invaders.

—The present year is a memorable one in the development of the Russian navy. One hundred torpedo boats and numerous cruisers have been constructed. Three clipper steamers have been launched, four steamers have been bought in America, and two ironclads are on the point of completion. Several ironclads have been launched, but have not received their armaments. To these, four cruisers have been added by private subscription.

—Last week another terrible storm passed over the eastern coast, causing great destruction. The storm seems to have extended from the western part of Pennsylvania through New Jersey, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and into Maine. Many of the rivers in its track are higher than they have been before for years. Bridges have been torn down, houses and boats carried away, and in some places the streets have been so flooded as to resemble a river-bed. The damage is great, and some loss of life is feared.

—The Hong Kong papers give some interesting particulars of the rebellion in the province of Kwangsi, China. Liyung Choi, a native of the province, a mandarin of the highest military grade, a Brigadier General who gained a great reputation in the Taiping rebellion, and present military commander of the province, placed himself at the head of 50,000 troops and inaugurated a revolution. He was moved to this course through disappointment as to promotion. The fact that he is a native of the province, and was an old rebel leader, gives him great prestige, and he is reported to be carrying everything before him.

—The Crown Prince Frederick William satisfactorily filled the Emperor’s place in the German government while the latter was disabled on account of the wound received some time ago. The Emperor recently returned to Berlin, and formally resumed the reins of government. On this occasion the people demonstrated the character and degree of their loyalty to their white-haired sovereign. The good thing about the enthusiastic welcome they gave him is, that the Emperor, both as a man and as the head of the German nation, deserves it all. He is now in his 82d year, and has been King of Prussia since 1861 and Emperor of Germany since 1871.

—The Berlin correspondent of the Christian Union says that thousands of German socialists will, in consequence of the attitude of that government towards Communism, seek a home in this country, where they can spread their peculiar views with less hindrance. In view of the threatened danger, “Berliner” advises a “moral quarantine,” believing it to be the duty of the government to protect its citizens from moral infection as well as from contagious diseases. The Christian Union, in an editorial note, says: “Our Berlin correspondent is not an alarmist; and probably no American in Europe is better acquainted with the matter of which he writes. We have quite as many Communists in this country now as we can easily take care of, and the prospect of a general immigration of thousands more is not pleasant. They are, however, certainly coming.” “Later telegrams enforce his warning. In Italy the attempted assassination of the king has led to many arrests and the discovery of International committees, many of whose members are already trying to seek a refuge across the Atlantic.” And from other countries the prospects are equally threatening for an influx of these invaders of the public peace.

—The Advance of Dec. 12 says: “England and Scotland are in a state of monetary panic. We can almost hear the crash of bank after bank as they go down under enormous liabilities, burying out of sight the fortunes of thousands and thousands of people all over the country. One of the latest of these banks to fail was that of the West of England and South Wales District Bank, having its head-quarters at Bristol, with forty-two branches in other places. Its liabilities are reported to be $17,500,000. One result of this depression of business and impoverization of families will doubtless be a largely increased emigration to this country. Already the tide of immigration to our shores is rising. For eleven months of the present year the number is 72,147, against 52,000 for the same period last year, and 65,820 for the same period in the year before. This fact, taken in connection with the remarkable growth of our foreign exports over our imports of goods, shows unmistakably that an ‘enriching tide’ of affairs is actually bringing in the better times long hoped for. Two items: The amount of corn produced in this country the past year is estimated at 1,500,000,000 bushels; the value of the butter and cheese made, at $250,000,000. Evidently we have bread and butter enough for all who may choose to come.”