SECULAR | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 26, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 55.

SECULAR.

—Extensive forest fires are reported in different portions of Christian County, Ky.

—General Moraes, the new president of Brazil, was formally installed on the 15th inst.

—At Cedar Rapids, Neb., a child two years old recently died from eating the sulphur off a bunch of matches.

—The seaport town of Limasol, island of Cyprus, has been extensively damaged by floods, and twenty-one persons drowned.

—Advices from Chemulpo, Corea, state that Corean soldiers sent out against the rebellious Tonghaks have joined the rebels.

—Six persons lie in a critical condition at East Liverpool, Ohio, from the effects of inhaling escaping natural gas at church.

—The village of Sheffield, Iowa, on the Iowa Central Railway, was destroyed by fire on the night of the 14th inst. Loss, $100,000.

—Three earthquake shocks, on the 16th inst., frightened the people of Carson, Nev., and vicinity, but did no serious damage to property.

—The newspapers in Yokohama resent the intervention offer of Great Britain, as they regard it as entirely a movement in behalf of China.

—Dr. James H. McCosh, the noted author and ex-president of Princeton University, died in Princeton, N. J., on the 16th inst., at the age of 83 years.

—Guatemala is not only threatened with war with Mexico on account of a boundary dispute, but internal dissatisfaction is almost at the point of insurrection.

—A fire in the lace manufacturing district of Nottingham, England, on the 17th inst., destroyed property to the value of $750,000, leaving several hundred operatives out of employment.

—All officials of the Russian Government, both civil and military, are required to renew their oath of allegiance to the crown on account of the accession of a new czar to the imperial throne.

—From Hamburg, Lubeck, and Brussels come reports of great hurricanes on the 13th inst. Much damage to city property and to shipping is reported, and in Brussels three persons were killed.

—The Associated Charities of San Francisco is preparing for the winter's emergency in the way of assisting the poor. The association's wood yard has been opened, and patronage is solicited.

—Great Britain has sent several war ships to take possession of Chusan Island, off the China coast, opposite the city of Ningpo. The island contains 230 square miles, and has a population of about 250,000.

—One of the African Steamship Company's steamers attempting to land cargo at Settrakoo, Liberia, which is not a port of entry, was fired upon by a Liberian gunboat, and twenty-five men were killed.

—Cecil Rhodes, the "Diamond King" of South Africa, says that they could produce three times as many diamonds as they do, but they could not sell them, and there is no use producing more than the market demands at a good price.

—Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky, once a conspicuous though eccentric politician, has not yet lost his eccentricity, although he has for some time been in retirement. At the age of 84, he has just married a girl of 15, to the great discomfiture of his friends.

—It is said that the first white men to reach the battle field of Ping Yang after the war correspondents were three American missionaries—Graham Lee, D. A. Moffet, and W. D. Hall. Mr. Lee came through the mountains on a bicycle, and his companions walked.

—And now Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, thinks he has attained a sufficient prominence to enter the lecture field. His notoriety is established beyond a doubt, and his career has been unsavory enough to attract the morbid curiosity of the masses.

—A lot of Italian employees of the Roaring Creek and Charleston Railroad, in West Virginia, are said to be on the verge of starvation because of non-payment of wages. As a means of retaliation they have begun tearing up tracks and otherwise damaging the company's property.

—The combinations of European governments are threatened with disruption by the personal friendship of the Prince of Wales and the new czar of Russia. This straw shows what uncertainty surrounds all earthly schemes, and upon what flimsy foundations human governments stand.

—The coroner of Fayette County, Ohio, has returned a charge of murder against Sheriff Cook and Colonel Coit, of the National Guard, on account of the killing of several citizens who were endeavoring to break down the jail at Washington Court House, and do violence to a colored prisoner.

—Disastrous floods are reported as causing untold damage to property in some portions of London and vicinity. The Thames River is said to be higher than at any time since 1881, and "the storm is the worst that has occurred since 1882." A public relief fund is being raised, headed by the queen.

—Near Kellar, La., on the 13th inst., while Abraham Smith and his wife were in the field picking cotton, their cabin was burned, and with it their three children. On the same day, near Natchez, Miss., the house of Louis Williams was destroyed by fire, and himself and three children were burned to death.

—On the 17th inst. 250 men who had been discharged from the Water Department of Chicago appeared at the controller's office, and demanded their pay. On being informed that there was no money on hand to pay them, they immediately raised a cry for bread, and shouted threats of vengeance. They were finally dispersed by a battalion of police.

—As was expected, the reports of rich discoveries of gold in the Coolgardie mines of West Australia drew many people into the region only to suffer disappointment and privation. While there have been some rich strikes, poor prospectors who find nothing must come to want where food and water are scarce and high, the latter selling as high as $6.00 per gallon.

—The president of the American Protective Association in this State has given public notice that if the Republican party of this city does not manage its primaries in the forthcoming city election to the liking of that association it, "will take charge and inaugurate such a movement as will again send up the Salt River any candidates who may be diametrically opposed to the object,—good government."

—The recent report of a cruel massacre of Armenian Christians by Turkish Moslems, encouraged by Turkish officials, is said to have been more extensive than at first reported. Those who were cognizant of the affair did not dare to send out reports, and the matter is said to have come to light through the courage of an American missionary at the risk of his life. It is stated that many thousands of men, women, and children were cruelly put to death, in many cases after the most brutal treatment previous to being killed.

—Two Americans, who have been serving a term of one year in a Siberian prison, arrived in San Francisco last week. They are Capt. John Johnston, of the sealing schooner Emma P. Riley, and one of the hunters. Their story is that they were driven out of their course by a storm, and sought shelter under Saghalien. Here they were espied by a Russian gunboat and arrested as poachers. The vessel was confiscated and the men sent to prison. They report a terrible experience, during which time one man went crazy and committed suicide, and another was left sick in a prison hospital.

—Mrs. Cleveland has offended some of the very zealous portion of the W. C. T. U. She was selected to christen the new war ship St. Louis, and had been requested by resolution of the W. C. T. U. State Convention of Pennsylvania to use a bottle of water for the ceremony instead of the customary champagne. Mrs. Cleveland paid no attention to the request, and therefore the indignation. Of course the ceremony is one of the silly customs of the world, but it would not be amiss if all the champagne were disposed of in a similar manner. But it is coming to be deemed a serious public grievance not to heed the counsel of the W. C. T. U.

—Southern Italy and Sicily were violently shaken by earthquake shocks on the 16th inst. In many places people were driven from their homes, and remained outdoors all night. Many houses were damaged, and seemed about to fall, while in San Procipo several did fall, burying their occupants. At this place sixty persons were killed. In the province of Calabria all trains ceased running on account of landslides. In the penitentiary at Messina 200 prisoners mutinied and tried to escape. In Reggio, where there were six shocks, many houses were cracked and rendered unsafe. It is thought that about 100 lives have been lost at different points.