p. 767 | SECULAR | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 9, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 48.

SECULAR.

—Denver, Colo., had a snowstorm on the 1st inst., and considerable snow is reported on the mountains.

—All of the leading street car lines of San Francisco will shortly be consolidated under one management.

—A cabinet crisis is said to be imminent in Vienna, because the emperor opposes a new civil marriage bill.

—The strike on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad is spreading, and threatens to involve the entire train service.

—The ease with which great modern war ships go to the bottom would indicate that they are not so formidable as is generally supposed.

—The last steamer from Australia and New Zealand brought over a half million dollars in gold to San Francisco last week, consigned to local houses.

—The House Committee on Territories will shortly report bills for the admission of New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah into the Union of States.

—On the 26th ult. a railroad collision occurred near Hillsboro, Texas, causing the death of nine men, all being workmen employed on the road.

—An epidemic of measles is reported among the natives of the Tonga Islands, resulting in many deaths. The disease is also reported at Samoa.

—Increasing distress is reported among the thousands of striking coal miners of England, and many large mills are obliged to stop operations on account of lack of fuel.

—A cave in the Mansfield mine, Crystal Falls District, Mich., on the night of September 28, caused the death of twenty-eight miners and a property loss of $600,000

—In honor of the celebration of the 69th birthday of the queen regent of China, the streets of Peking are to be decorated with pieces of red silk for a distance of 40 miles.

—Two members of the Congress of this "Christian nation" indulged in the courtesy of calling each other liars in the course of the proceedings of the House on the 28th ult.

—The town of Jalapan, Mexico, was swept by a terrible storm on the 30th ult. Many people were killed or injured, houses were demolished, and crops destroyed, all of which is causing much suffering.

—About 4,000 miners have resumed work in the various leading silver mines of Colorado within the past two weeks. It is said this has been made possible by a rise in lead ore and a reduction in wages.

—There is now every indication that the San Francisco Midwinter Fair will be a much more extensive affair than was at first contemplated. More than a score of foreign nations are to be represented.

—L'Eclair, a Paris journal, announces the discovery of a second Pompeii, said to be an entire town consisting of a number of streets, houses, etc., unearthed in the promontory of Laurium, in Southwest Attica, Greece.

—The New York Christian Advocate says there are 946 papers and magazines published in that city. One-half of these, 473, are issued monthly; 46 are issued daily. About 65 are advocates of some phase of religion.

—All switchmen and freight brakemen on the Ohio Valley Division of the Newport News and Mississippi Valley Railroad are out on a strike, having refused to accept the 10 per cent. reduction, which went into effect on the 1st inst.

—Mr. Gladstone, the English premier, delivered an address at Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 27th ult., in which he severely censured the House of Lords for defeating the Irish Home Rule Bill. He had an enthusiastic reception in the Scottish capital.

—The situation in the much disturbed Argentine Republic is said to be growing worse. The States in the northern part of the republic have also revolted. Rosario, one of the chief commercial cities of the country, is in the hands of the revolutionists.

—After the 10th inst. the privilege of free riding on the Seventh Street local trains in this city, which the people have enjoyed for over twenty years, will be discontinued. The company's claim is that the burden has become too heavy a tax on the facilities.

—The annual increase in the Post Office Department is usually about eight per cent. Since June it has been noticeably falling below that ratio, the month of August showing a decrease of four per cent from the business of the corresponding month last year. This is a pretty sure indicator of the general business condition.

—The town of Mentone, San Bernardino County, Cal., is said to be in a state of excitement over the Chinese question. A dispatch of the 26th ult. says that when the vegetable peddlers make their appearance they are stoned and otherwise maltreated. Seldom does a night pass without some lawless act being committed against the Chinese.

—The rebellious navy is still carrying on war in Brazil. Rio Janeiro, the capital city, was bombarded, causing considerable destruction of property and loss of life. The latest reports were to the effect that the government was in a cramped condition. The U. S. cruiser Charleston was on hand to look after the interest of United States citizens.

—Poor Siam has been compelled to sign just such a treaty as France was pleased to present, and while the little heathen kingdom will be held rigorously to her enforced agreement, the great "Christian nation" of France will do as she pleases about her part. But France has been making wonderful progress lately in the matter of Sunday observance.

—At Warsaw, on the 28th ult., a false alarm of fire so startled a Hebrew assembly in the synagogue that a fierce struggle ensued in attempting to vacate the building. After the excitement had cooled down, nine dead bodies were found, and twenty persons lay unconscious. It was thought that fifteen would die, and about 100 in all were considerably injured.

—Last week Judge Ross, of the U. S. District Court at Los Angeles, Cal., ordered the deportation of five more Chinamen, four of whom are of the high-binder class. A dispatch had been received from Attorney General Olney stating that money would be forthcoming for necessary expenses, which greatly relieved the anxiety of the marshal who has the convicts in charge.

—The steamer Carlor was recently refused permission to land at any Brazilian port because of cholera on board. A Rome dispatch of the 28th ult. notices her arrival at Asinasa, off Sardinia, where she is held in quarantine. During her voyage, after being driven off from the coast of Brazil, 144 deaths occurred on board, and there were still seventeen sick, including the doctor.

—The Idaho Wool Growers' Association has offered a reward of $500 for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who have been poisoning a large number of sheep of late in Owyhee County. Hundreds of sheep have been killed by eating salt-peter or a mixture of salt and strychnine sprinkled over the ranges. The sheep men charge the cattle men with wholesale poisoning.

—A foolish remark and an insulting rejoinder brought out a pistol at the corner of Broadway and Seventh Streets, in this city, on the night of the 1st inst. And when the excitement was over, three young men were mortally wounded and hundreds of people were terribly frightened. Indeed, it is a wonder that more were not hurt, as twenty shots were fired.

—At a recent review of troops at Barcelona, Spain, an attempt was made by Anarchists to kill General Campos with bombs. Not only were Generals Campos and Clemente badly wounded, but thirteen members of the staff were injured. Twenty-three arrests were made. Documents have been found showing a widespread conspiracy to assassinate prominent men. One culprit has been sentenced to be shot.

—A committee of the Labor Council in San Francisco began anti-Chinese operations last week by having four wool sorters arrested on charges of violating the Registration law. There are about forty more employed in the same establishment, but Judge McKenna would not issue "John Doe" warrants. The parties complaining must give the names of the individuals for whom warrants are issued. Eleven warrants were issued.

—The Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, Cal., recently passed resolutions favoring the extension of the time for registering Chinamen under the Geary Act for three months, indorsing Geary's bill suspending all immigration for five years, setting forth that there is no demand for outside labor in Southern California at the present time, and protesting against the repeal or modification of the duty on crystallized fruits and similar products.

—The Gilbert islanders who were wiled away from their homes and carried to plantations in Mexico two years ago, are said to be proving a sad failure as laborers. The plantations are at an average elevation of 3,000 feet, and the islanders do not seem to be able to acclimate themselves to residence away from the sea and its level. They have been terribly thinned in number by disease, and another year or two will see the unfortunate slaves almost if not completely exterminated.

—Late reports from the Samoan Islands state that there is still a feeling of unrest among the old adherents of the exiled Mataafa, and all they lack is a leader, to again become troublesome. It is said that the Samoans seem to be incapable of establishing a government whose inherent strength will enable it to stand. The only evidence the natives outside of Apia have of the existence of a government is the occasional and unwelcome visit of a tax collector, who sometimes succeeds but often fails to collect the prescribed tax.

—The city of Oakland, Cal., has been the scene of great excitement for several days, because the railroad company, claiming nearly all the water front, determined to fence off the foot of Castro Street, cutting off access to certain business enterprises near the water's edge. The fences were torn down by crowds of citizens as often as the company's forces erected them. On several occasions the people turned out in hundreds and thousands. At last the company gave up the unequal contest, and decided to bide the decision of the courts.

—A factional warfare among the Yuma tribe of Indians became so hot last week that the sheriff of Yuma County (Ariz.) had to interfere. Ex-chief Miguel and one Walter Scott were arrested for inducing Indian children to leave the government school. They were turned over to Chief Jose. The Indian court sentenced them to receive twenty-five lashes on the bare back for inciting rebellion in the tribe, and after the execution of the sentence the prisoners were turned over to the United States authorities to be tried on charges of violating the United States laws.