p. 95 | Notes of News

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 11, 1879

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 54, No. 12.

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Notes of News.

—Assassinations and robberies are numerous in Constantinople.

—The Philadelphia mint coined last month 1,876,050 standard dollars.

—An iron bridge went down with a train at Carthage, N. Y., Aug. 30. No lives lost.

—The prospect of an understanding between the pope and Bismarck looks less promising.

—Five and a half millions of gold left Europe for New York during the last three days of August.

—There are 80 colporteurs in connection with Mr. Spurgeon's church, who visit every month 75,000 families.

—There were more storms, Sept. 2, in the northeast and western portions of Scotland, and large tracts of land were flooded, causing further damage to crops.

—Relics of the age of bronze are manufactured in immense quantities in Switzerland, where they are sold to curiosity hunters for a hundred-fold their value.

—Taking 100 as an average wheat crop, Austro-Hungary stands this year 78, Germany 85, France 78, Switzerland 80, Italy 82, England 76, Russia 79, Roumania 90.

—The coal men in Pittsburgh have had news of a destructive storm at New Orleans, Sept. 1, by which large quantities of coal were lost. Fifty-three coal boats worth about $237,000 were destroyed. Thirty-five of these were owned in Pittsburgh, and were valued at $171,000. The coal sunk is not to be a total loss.

—Calcutta, Sept. 1.—Sixty-one thousand persons are still employed on the relief works in Bombay or are receiving gratuitous assistance. The Viceroy of India doubtless will demand, and, perhaps, has already demanded, the prompt withdrawal of the outrageous claim of the King of Burmah to Karennee territory, and, if necessary, will enforce the demand by war.

—Are the people of the United States growing more temperate? The statistics from the Internal Revenue Bureau would not seem to answer in the affirmative. Of home productions we have 15,000,000 gallons more than last year. That makes about 480,000,000 square drinks of three fingers each. Besides this, we imported last year, in excess of the former year, 4,434,455 gallons. This looks a little discouraging, and would seem to indicate that the temperance millennium was not ushered in during the fiscal years of ’78 and ’79.—Inter-Ocean.

—Havana, Sept. 1.—Advices from Hayti to Aug. 20, state that the Liberals have captured two mail steamers. The Provisional Government of Port au Prince sent troops against the Liberals at Gonaives. After a bloody struggle, Gonaives took fire. Two-thirds of the town was burned, and the remainder pillaged. After the defeat at Gonaives, Boier Bazelais and adherents embarked for Jeremie, which pronounced in his favor, and where he intends to make a stand. General Monpoint, aided by the national troops from Port au Prince, recaptured Cape Haytien, thus depriving the Liberals of two strongholds in the north—Gonaives and Cape Haytien. The country is in a fearful condition. A fire at Jacmel caused immense losses.

—The seventh session of the International Evangelical Alliance, which opened at Basle, Switzerland, on Sunday, will be, it is thought, one of the most important ever held. The programme announces addresses as follows from American delegates: The Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff, of the International Bible Revision Committee, will speak on “State and Church in the United States;” the Rev. Dr. Hurst, President of the Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, on “The Christian Union as an Element of Religious Progress and Its Defense;” the Rev. Dr. Washburn, of the Calvary Episcopal Church, New York, will discuss “Socialism,” and the Rev. Dr. Anderson, of the Park Avenue Baptist Church, New York, will lecture on “Sunday schools.”

We expect to hear from Bro. Andrews concerning this, according to his report in this paper.

—Monday, Sept. 1, a terrible storm visited portions of Louisiana and Mississippi. At Lewisburg and Mandeville the wharves, bath-houses, and fences were destroyed and residences damaged. The town of Lewisburg was inundated. Three barges, having cargoes of produce, were sunk above Baton Rouge, and a number of coal and ferry boats were sunk. Houses were blown down in Bayou Sara, Baton Rouge, at Port Hickey, and other towns. A correspondent from one of the places visited by the storm says that it was a continuous gale of wind and rain from 8 o’clock in the morning until 11 at night. An occasional lull of a few minutes was followed by increased fury of the gale, carrying away trees, shaking houses and prostrating fences. Sugar houses, cabins, and stables were blown down. The orange crop is badly damaged, and pecan trees stripped of fruit. Cane and rice are in a deplorable condition, being leveled close to the earth, as if cut for the mill.

—A writer in “The Watchman” gives the result of his investigations on the subject of divorce in New England. His findings are of terrible significance. In Vermont, in 1860, there were granted 94 divorces. In 1877, the number was 175, nearly double, while the marriages had increased only one-fifth and the population not more than a tenth. In Massachusetts, in 1860, there were 241 absolute divorces. But in 1878 the number of absolute divorces had increased to 596. The marriages in that period increased less than one-fifth, and the population probably a little over one-fourth. In Connecticut, in 1860, there were 310 divorces, and 426 in 1877. Here the divorces have increased but little of late years in proportion to the population or to the marriages. But in 1849 the number of divorces was only 91. The statistics of Rhode Island are from 1869 only. In that year there were 162 divorces, and 178 in 1877. In these four States there were granted in the year 1877 one thousand three hundred and thirty-one absolute divorces.—Christian Weekly.

—Washington, Sept. 1.—The authorities at Baltimore have been trying to enforce the laws of that city, and stop Sunday excursions. To defeat the authorities, excursion steamers have been applying at the Postoffice in that city for mails on Sunday, although their contracts are for six days in the week. For several Sundays mails were delivered to these boats for transportation. Yesterday this was stopped by the following letter from the Second Assistant Postmaster General:—

“It is customary for this department to authorize more frequent service than is required of a contractor for carrying mail, when he offers to perform it without additional charge; but in the present case it is well understood and admitted that the sole reason that the contractor desires to carry Sunday mail to Talchester Beach is that he may be thus enabled to violate a law of the State of Maryland, which forbids Sunday excursions, but cannot interfere with carrying the United States mails. This department does not propose to allow its authority to be used in the case as a shield for the violation of local law.”