p. 718 | News and Notes by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 26, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 45.

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News and Notes.

By Editor

RELIGIOUS.

—There are one hundred Mormon missionaries laboring in the Southern States.

—The Canada branch of the Salvation Army will send a brigade among the Indians of the Northwest.

—Including the wives of the missionaries, there are now 857 foreign laborers connected with the missions in China.

—The American Bible Society expends $150,000 a year in translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible in foreign lands.

—Canon Farrar is quoted as saying that Ritualism is on the increase in England, “with a strong leaning toward the church of Rome.”

—The Law and Order League of Cincinnati, Ohio, is determined to compel the theaters to stop Sunday performances. Two proprietors have already been fined.

—The king of Belgium has decided to open a department in the University of Leyden to prepare young men for missionary work in new districts of Africa.

—It is said that there is not a single evangelical missionary residing in the valley of the Amazon, and that a gospel sermon has never been preached in all that territory.

—There are about three hundred Protestant churches and mission stations in Italy, and it is estimated that ten thousand of the members have been converted from Roman Catholicism.

—Boston is to have a building devoted to the interests of the “mind-cure” craze. It is to be erected by a congregation of “Christian scientists,” is to cost from $60,000 to $100,000, and is to be styled a church.

—Siam has entered the Universal Postal Union. Uniformed letter-carriers deliver the mails daily in Bangkok, excepting on Sunday, when the post offices are closed. The use of the mails for obscene literature is prohibited.

—It is said that the rector of St. Helens, England, lives in Bath, and since his appointment has never performed any of the duties of his office. Yet he receives from the parish more than ten thousand dollars a year. Such cases are by no means rare in England.

—The Presbyterians are making earnest efforts to establish churches in the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, England. The church of Rome, fully awake to the importance of such points, proposes to spend $250,000 in the erection of a spacious church in Cambridge.

—There is point to this item from the Congregationalist: “Those numerous individuals who have so much to say about the lack of business capacity in ministers will do well to study the revelations made during the trial of Mr. Ferdinand Ward, and see what they think of the capacity and sagacity of certain ‘prominent New York business men.’”

—It is said that the encyclical letter just issued by Pope Leo XIII. is quite important, and its publication will be one of the most memorable events in his pontificate. One part is doctrinal; it defines the rights of the church in all existing governments, and gives the pope’s ideas on the relations of Church and State. The second part is devoted to the evils of modern society. The letter will be translated into English, French, German, and Italian.

—The platform adopted by the Hebrew Rabbinical Convention held in Pittsburg, Pa., November 17, 18, rejects “those portions of the Mosaic legislation which do not sanctify the lives of the people, and are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization.” It also asserts that the Hebrews are no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore do not expect to return to Palestine or to resume sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron. But the most important action taken was in regard to the Sabbath. After much discussion, a resolution was unanimously adopted declaring that there is nothing in the spirit of Judaism or its laws to prevent the introduction of Sunday services in localities where the necessity of such services is felt. In the preamble, however, the importance of maintaining the historical Sabbath as a bond with the past, and as a symbol of the unity of Judaism the world over, is recognized.

—In this country the Catholic Church is loud in its protestations of love for religious liberty, and never fails to demand “protection” in all its “rights.” Sometimes the church is not so modest in her demands as she is persistent and insolent in urging them, as the Empire State has ample reason to know. But then the United States is a Protestant country. Religious liberty in Catholic countries is quite another thing. An illustrative case is just now occurring on Spanish territory. The authorities of the island of Fernando Po have for some time harassed the Protestant missionaries, “interrupting their educational work, interfering with their religious services, persecuting the native Christian converts, and at last imprisoning the missionary, Rev. W. Welford.” A petition has been made to the English Government to secure Mr. Welford’s release, and also religious liberty on the island. But the appeal must be made to Madrid, and its success is not assured.