News and Notes by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 22, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 16.

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News and Notes

By Editor

FOREIGN.

—The uprising in the island of Porto Rico has proved to be of no consequence, and was quickly subdued.

—By an explosion of dynamite in a Johannesburg (Africa) mine, eight English and twenty-six native miners were killed.

—The cannibal natives of the New Hebrides recently killed and ate a British trader by the name of George S. Duncan.

—On April 9 a car-load of fireworks was accidentally exploded in the streets of Buenos Ayres, which resulted in the death of ten persons.

—An extensive conspiracy and plot to assassinate President Alfaro, of Ecuador, was recently brought to light, and the ringleaders captured and imprisoned.

—President Faure, of France, will visit Russia in June, accompanied by M. Hanotaux, minister of foreign affairs. The trip will be made in an armored cruiser.

—A report from Paris states that the pope intends to intervene between the powers and Greece, with a view to effecting a peaceful solution of the Cretan problem.

—Early in the month of March the town of Giram, on the island of Formosa, was severely shaken by an earthquake, in which fifty-six persons lost their lives, and fully one hundred were severely injured.

—The teetotalers of England propose to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria by securing one million signers of the pledge. On a given day every home in England will receive a visit from their canvassers.

—A report from Montevideo states that another serious engagement has taken place between the insurgent and federal troops, in which the latter were defeated. The insurgents have captured the town of Sarandi.

—Reports from Montenegro state that several conflicts have occurred between Albanian Mussulmans and Montenegrin Christians, and Montenegro has warned Turkey that if the Albanians continue their attacks, she will send troops to aid the Christians.

—It is reported that a new triple alliance is in process of formation between the three empires of Europe, Germany, Austria, and Russia. Emperor William will visit Emperor Francis Joseph on April 22, and the latter will start three days later on a visit to the czar of Russia.

—The Chinese Government has decided to order four more armored cruisers, two fast cruisers, and several torpedo destroyers of the English type. Preparations are also being made to fortify Kiaochao, on the southern coast of Shantung, and establish there a dry dock and naval station.

—An ancient papyrus was recently unearthed in Egypt which gives an account of a horse trade between the writer of the record, and a Hebrew named Daniel. The Egyptian plainly states that he was cheated by the Hebrew in the transaction. Of course this was not the Daniel of scripture, who was a resident of Babylon.

—According to reports received at Shanghai, the natives in the vicinity of Ichang, China, are dying by the hundreds of starvation. Their maize crop, which they exchanged for rice, was almost a complete failure, and their supplies are now completely exhausted. No estimate of the loss of life is given, but it is reported to be very heavy.

—A report comes from the Philippines that 200 of the Manila rebels who had been captured were confined in a small room, and the guards kept up a continual fire through the walls of the inclosure until two-thirds of the rebels were killed. It is believed that the Spaniards took this way to rid themselves of the expense of caring for their prisoners.

—It is reported that Ilg, the Swiss engineer who was instrumental in restoring peace between Abyssinia and Italy, has been presented by King Menelek with a concession of land for the construction of a railway into Abyssinia from the Red Sea. The line will be several hundred miles long, will be financed by French capitalists, and construction upon it will be commenced at once.

—A late report from Cuba states that a battle has been fought between the Cubans, under Brigadier Aleman, and a strong Spanish company, in which the latter were driven from the field, leaving 200 dead. With the supplies contained in the expedition which was conducted by General Roloff, the Cubans have fortified the port of Banes, and it is expected that this port will soon be attacked by Spanish gunboats. The Spanish gunboats Satellite and Sandoval were both attacked by the insurgents, and sustained considerable injuries and some loss of life before they were able to beat off the attacking parties. A detachment of Matanzas guerrillas has captured the auditor of the insurgent war department. An insurgent force, under Peroco Delgado, was surprised by the Spaniards near Encrucijada, and left eleven dead upon the field, together with a quantity of arms and ammunition. The general situation is

unchanged.

—The English Church authorities have published a reply to the bull which the pope recently issued in regard to Anglican orders. The reply is a long step toward Rome. The position of the Anglican archbishop is defended entirely from a Roman Catholic standpoint. The claim of the validity of the Anglican orders is based upon the fact that they are as much sacramentarian and sacerdotal as are those of Rome.

—The march of Merchand's French company up the Mobangi River in Africa, is accompanied by great slaughtering of the natives, who are opposing his advance. Every village along the Manyanga road was burned, several hundred of the natives killed, and all their available food taken. The object of this expedition is to follow the Mobangi River to its source, then cross over to the head waters of the Nile, and attack the Arabs and Dervishes, also to look after French interests in that section, and checkmate the English in attempts to occupy the territory.

—Affairs along the Græco-Turkish frontier are progressing slowly, but it seems surely, toward an outbreak of hostilities. Three companies of Greek irregulars, variously estimated at from 1,000 to 3,000, have crossed the frontier, and engaged the Turkish outposts. Reports from the vicinity of the disturbance are contradictory, but it seems certain that the Greeks have captured Baltino, in Macedonia, having in this engagement inflicted upon the Turks a loss of forty killed. The Turks in turn attacked the Greek position, but were repulsed with considerable loss. Detachments of the Greek irregulars are said to be driving the Turks before them, and are pushing on for Grevena, threatening to cut off communication between the two divisions of the sultan's forces at Elassona and Janina. The sultan has threatened that if these incursions of irregulars continue, he will declare war and advance upon Greece, and as the latter is taking no pains to stop the invasions, a declaration of war is expected before many days.

DOMESTIC.

—The entire membership of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor now amounts to 3,800,000.

—Virginia has passed a law making it a misdemeanor to sell intoxicants to students of any educational institution in that State.

—Three persons were killed and a number seriously injured by a collision on the Southern Railway at Harrisburg, North Carolina, on April 11.

—On April 9 three prospectors were murdered in their tent by an Indian, at the Panamint mining camp, on the Mojave Desert, in southern California.

—Ex-Secretary John W. Foster and Charles S. Hamlin have been appointed as commissioners to assist the Treasury Department in the solution of the Bering Sea seal question.

—Wu Ting Fang, the new Chinese minister to this country, has arrived in San Francisco, and will make his journey to Washington by special train. He is a nephew of Li Hung Chang.

—On April 12 President McKinley announced the appointment of Senator E. O. Wolcott, Adlai E. Stevenson, and Gen. Charles J. Paine as commissioners to an international monetary conference.

—The Secretary of the Navy has issued an invitation for bids for the construction of three new thirty-knot torpedo boats. The boats are to be completed within eighteen months from date of contract.

—On April 10 William Henry Theodore Durrant was again sentenced to pay the penalty of death for the murder of Blanche Lamont, in the Emanuel Baptist Church, of San Francisco, the execution to take place on June 11.

—The Chicago Presbytery has at last flatly refused to commit itself to the principle of prohibition, one of the chief arguments advanced being the necessity of the revenue which the saloon provided in helping to sustain the municipal government.

—Rear-Admiral Lester A. Beardslee, now in command of the Pacific Coast squadron of the American fleet, is to be succeeded in command by Rear-Admiral Joseph N. Miller, who will soon proceed to Hawaii to join his flag-ship, the Philadelphia.

—A joint resolution is now before Congress, providing for the appointment of commissioners to take charge of the exhibits of the United States at the Paris Exposition in 1900. All the States and Territories will be asked to take part in the exhibition.

—As a result of the terrible cyclone at Perry, Oklahoma, in which twenty were killed and nearly a hundred injured, many both of the injured and uninjured have become insane. It is estimated that more than a thousand cyclone caves are being constructed throughout that region.

—A Mr. Gatham, of Chicago, proposes to construct a telescope with a diameter of 100 feet. The principle upon which this gigantic lens will be constructed will be entirely different from that governing the construction of lenses now in use. Instead of being composed of one large piece of glass, the object lens will be composed of a large number of small lenses, which can be made more perfectly than a very large one, and more cheaply in proportion. It is on this plan that the Mt. Lowe telescope is made.

—The State of Maine is the first State to prohibit the kinetoscope representation of prize-fights. New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, and Texas have similar acts pending in their Legislatures, and it is expected that many other States will follow the lead of the old Pine Tree State.

—By the failure of the Globe Savings Bank, of Chicago, the University of Illinois is expected to suffer heavily. The treasurer of the bank was also treasurer of the university, and cash to the amount of $140,000, together with bonds to the amount of $400,000 belonging to the university, are missing.

—The street railways of Buffalo, N. Y., are now operated by electricity generated at the Niagara Falls, twenty-nine miles distant. Power from the same source will soon be supplied also to Rochester, Albany, and other large cities, as well as for the operation of the canal-boats of the Erie Canal.

—On April 8 the best business part of the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, was destroyed by fire. The financial loss is variously estimated at from one to one and a half million dollars. Five persons are known to have lost their lives, and it is reported that many more of those unaccounted for are among the dead.

—Reports from Alaska state that hundreds of miners, blinded by the glamor of gold, are rushing to the diggings without provisions, and that starvation is almost certain. As a sample of the scarcity of food in the Clondyke region, flour is selling at $50 a sack, or $1.00 a pound, and other food proportionately high.

—The California State Sunday-school Association (Interdenominational) held its thirteenth annual convention at the First Baptist Church, San Francisco, April 6 to 8. The International field worker, Prof. H. M. Hamill, of Illinois, was in attendance, and a good report was given of the work done during the past year.

—A joint resolution of Congress permitting the landing of aliens to take part in foreign exhibits at State fairs is now being taken advantage of by about 3,000 Chinese, who claim that their services are needed in connection with the Nashville Centennial. The State Department is considerably exercised over the matter.

—A shocking tragedy was enacted by an insane farm-hand at Pascoag, R. I., on the morning of April 14, in which Edward Reynolds, his wife and daughter were murdered and their home set on fire by the dangerous lunatic. The bodies of the father and daughter were cremated before assistance reached them.

—It is reported that the Standard Oil Company, the Western Oil Company, and the Russian Oil Company, have decided to join their forces and control the oil supply of the entire world. This has been the purpose of the Standard Oil Company for a long time, and will constitute the most gigantic trust in the world. The oil user will then be at the mercy of the trust.

—By the collapse of a piazza on which he was receiving congratulations after delivering a speech at St. Augustine, Fla., on April 8, William J. Bryan and about 400 others were thrown to the ground, fully twenty feet below. The orator's face was considerably cut and he sustained a number of bruises. A score or more persons received cuts, sprains, and bruises, but none were seriously hurt.

—The American Tract Society held its annual meeting at Washington, April 11. In the report of the field secretary it was stated that the society was now publishing evangelical literature in 153 different languages and dialects. The total number of volumes in all languages published in New York was 31,500,000; the total number of books and tracts, nearly 500,000,000, and the total number of periodicals, 300,500,000.

—The New York Board of Education is considering a plan to establish in each of the public schools in the city a lunch counter, where children can buy wholesome food for their midday meal. No pie or sweetmeats will be allowed, as they are considered a menace to the health of the children. This step is considered necessary in view of the fact that many parents send their children to school with a few pennies with which to purchase their lunch, the lunch usually consisting of these tabooed articles.

—The rivers and streams along the entire Mississippi Valley, from north Dakota to southern Louisiana, are still swollen and turbulent, and the destruction of life and property is still going on apace. Davis Island, below Vicksburg, which is inhabited by 2,500 people, is completely overflowed. It is reported that every foot of land in Indian Bay country, Arkansas, is under water, and that 500 persons and 1,500 head of live stock are absolutely destitute of food. The river is falling at Memphis but is continuing to rise at Vicksburg. It is estimated that crops to the value of $3,750,000 have been destroyed. Fifteen thousand square miles of the richest cotton land are completely under water. The situation at Omaha is very critical. The streets of Cairo, Illinois, are flooded and several business blocks are under water. At Grand Forks, N. D., 250 families are dwelling in the second stories of their houses, or on the tops of barns and haystacks. A considerable loss of life is reported all along the flooded districts, but definite figures can not be given.