News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 29, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 29.

FOREIGN.

—The Japanese Government is reported to be purchasing of Brazil the war vessels which are being constructed for her in England.

—The census of Russia, which was recently taken in one day, is now published, and gives as the entire population of the Russian Empire 129,211,113.

—The Japanese official press states that it is probable that the government will agree to the proposal of Hawaii, and submit the dispute between the two countries to arbitration.

—The International Convention of the Epworth League is now in session at Montreal, and reports from there indicate that this convention is one of considerable importance.

—The rebellion of natives in Simla, India, has not yet been quelled, and the Mullah of Powindah, with a force of 6,000 men, is threatening an attack on the British position at Datakhel.

—Twelve thousand boys and girls were taught to swim in 1896 by the London Swimming Association, which holds that for any Briton not to know how to swim is a disgrace to the nation.

—Advices from Thessaly state that Edhem Pasha, commander of the Turkish forces, received on July 20 an infernal machine, which exploded while he was opening it, wounding him in the arm.

—It is reported that the Tanals tribe, of Madagascar, are inciting their followers to massacre all the Europeans in the island with the exception of the English, who are to be considered their allies.

—Rumors of a Carlist uprising in Spain are becoming more frequent, and it is stated that large quantities of supplies are stored on the French border and large consignments of arms have been ordered from Germany and Belgium.

—Frank Butler, the murderer of the Blue Mountains, who was captured in San Francisco and extradited to Australia, was hanged at Sydney, N. S. W., July 16. He confessed to the murders with which he was charged, and also to other crimes.

—In an attempt to gain time and further embarrass the powers, the sultan, on July 18, appointed a new military commission to negotiate peace, which was to take the place of Tewfik Pasha; but the ambassadors refused to discuss the matter with any one but Tewfik Pasha.

—Professor Andree, the aeronaut, with two companions, ascended in his balloon from Spitzbergen Island, on July 11, in an attempt to sail over the north pole. No authentic report has yet been received in regard to his whereabouts or the success of his experiment.

—By the vaporizing of alumina in an electric furnace, and combining certain vapors therewith, M. Gin, a French inventor, is reported to have obtained rubies by the ton. The vaporizing of alumina has for a long time been considered an impossibility, as it is one of the most refractory of all substances.

—The French Government has employed the cathode ray as a means of checking the prevailing practise of smuggling. Watches and other dutiable articles are sometimes concealed in the legs of deal tables and in ink receptacles, and such articles will be submitted to the ray for the detection of this class of fraud.

—The British Government is sending five armored cruisers and war vessels into Alaska waters with the expressed intention of helping to protect the seals. A report from British Columbia states that "the government must have some object besides enforcing the sealing regulations in sending this strong fleet to Bering Sea."

—Advices from Uruguay state that the war there is virtually at an end, with the rebels as victors. The government forces were so hard pressed that they were compelled to make terms of peace, under which the rebels elect a president and have the governorship of the six provinces. Pedro Jose Ramirez is the man selected for the presidency.

—The French Government has positively refused to receive Nejib Melhame Bey as counselor of the Ottoman Embassy in Paris, and has intimated to the sultan its displeasure at the appointment, considering the position which Melhame has taken in regard to the French. The sultan is said to be considerably exasperated over France's refusal in this matter.

—A report from Constantinople, dated July 21, states that the sultan has sanctioned the settlement of the frontier question in accordance with the wish of the powers, with certain reservations; which probably means that the matter is as far from settlement as at any time during the history of the peace negotiations. The ambassadors of the powers have forwarded to their respective governments their joint suggestions relative to the measures they think necessary in view of the obstinacy of the Porte. Pending the arrival of fresh instructions the negotiations with Tewfik Pasha have been suspended.

—The Japanese minister at Paris, in view of the strained relations existing between his government and the United States, is reported to have said: "We wish especially to avoid war with the United States. If we had wanted war, we would have resisted Russia when she interfered after our war with China, but we decided that it was best to strengthen our army and navy and develop our resources."

—The steamer Pelican, which arrived at Tacoma, Wash., on July 18, brings the news that the entire mission premises of the Plymouth Brethren, at Wuchau, China, have been destroyed by a Chinese mob. The mob then turned its attention to the Catholic mission, but the arrival of native troops put an end to the disturbance. Several of the missionaries were hurt, but none seriously.

DOMESTIC.

—The conference of the Baptist Young People's Union is now in progress at Chattanooga, Tenn.

—Mr. Brice, the United States consul at Matanzas, Cuba, has armed the consulate in consequence of threats of a demonstration against Americans in that place.

—A syndicate of wealthy Chinese has purchased, near the city of Philadelphia, a large tract of land for a Chinese national burying-ground, paying for it $545,000.

—The Transmississippi Congress now in session at Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 16 declared by a vote of 244 to 46 in favor of the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1.

—A rumor is reported from Washington, D. C., that the Canadian Government has issued orders that none but British subjects be given claims to mining property in the Klondyke mining region.

—A rich deposit of copper ore has been located on the shore of Prince William Sound, Alaska, and arrangements are now being perfected for bringing out the ore, 15,000 tons of which are said to be in sight.

—At New Haven, Conn., on July 21, an explosion occurred in the shell-loading department of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company's shops, by which six persons were instantly killed, two fatally and a number seriously injured.

—With the prospect of the passage of the tariff bill in Congress the stock of the Sugar Trust went up from 110 to 146 per share, showing the unmistakable hand of the money power in the manipulation of the machinery of government.

—The battle-ship Oregon arrived in San Francisco July 16, and is preparing for a trip to the Hawaiian Islands. As this war vessel is not a flag-ship, the Philadelphia, which is now at the islands, will remain there until the Baltimore is repaired.

—The estimated cost of the first week of the great coal miners' strike now in progress in this country is placed at $1,300,000. Funds for the sustenance of the families of the striking miners are being urgently solicited throughout the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

—After three years of constant mechanical experiment, Joseph Barsaleaux, of Sandy Hill, New York, has invented a steam horse that promises to revolutionize cheap locomotion. The dummy animal is guided in the same way as the quadruped after which it is patterned.

—James Stevens, a miner of Gold Fields, Arizona, was rescued from his imprisonment in a mine at that place on July 17, having survived thirteen days without food or water. His body was fearfully emaciated, and he had lost more than sixty pounds during his captivity underground.

—The U. S. gunboat Bennington has been ordered to Hawaii to make a survey of Pearl Harbor, and ascertain what will be necessary to put that harbor in condition to receive the largest vessels. It is the intention of the government to make Pearl Harbor a first-class rendezvous for the Pacific squadron.

—In consequence of the recent reduction in the price paid for salmon on the Columbia River, between 300 and 500 fishermen armed themselves on July 19 and destroyed every fish wheel and fish trap in the vicinity of Baker's Bay. Reports place the amount of property destroyed as high as $125,000.

—By a recent order of Secretary Bliss to the General Land Office, the patenting of lands by bond-aided railroads will be suspended, where such companies are in default in either the payment of their bonds or interest thereon. This ruling extends to all sales made by these roads subsequent to their default.

—Owing to the poor wheat crops of Russia, France, Australia, and Brazil, and the large shipments recently ordered by some of these countries from the United States, the price of domestic wheat has increased quite rapidly; and as the supply in this country is large, American wheat is expected to be a paying crop this year.

—In view of a recent order from the headquarters of the Santa Fe Railway, prohibiting employees of that road drinking spirituous liquors while on or off duty, the California Liquor Dealers' Protective Association has declared a boycott on the road, and will refuse to send any freight over the line while the order remains in effect.

—The steam sailing bark Hope, with Lieutenant Peary and party on board, left Boston on July 19, bound for north Greenland. It is the plan of Peary to take a colony of Esquimo as far north as possible and establish there a provision station. Other stations will subsequently be established in a line toward the pole; and in this way he hopes to reach the goal of Arctic explorers.

—The State Department at Washington has received another very "stiff" protest from Japan in regard to the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to this country. Secretary Sherman is reported to have said that this protest will in no way affect the determination of this government to annex Hawaii, and that no reply will be made to the note except a formal acknowledgment of its receipt.

—After a three hours' debate on July 16 the House concurred in the Senate amendment in regard to the price to be paid for armor plate for the three battleships now in course of construction. The rate fixed was $300 per ton, a substantial reduction from the rate heretofore paid, and a price which it is claimed will necessitate the government running its own armor plant, as no corporation will furnish it at that rate.

—The Woman's Cuban League, with headquarters at Washington, D. C., an organization whose officers are American newspaper women, are sending circulars to all the principal papers of this country, containing an appeal to the mothers, wives, and daughters of America to come to the assistance and defense [by influence and contributions] of womankind in bleeding Cuba. The circular is a strong setting forth of the terrible sufferings to which women and girls are subject in that war-ridden, lust-ravaged island.

—The strike of coal miners is still unsettled, and indications now are that bloodshed may be expected in the near future. The miners are not unanimous in the desire to strike, and the striking miners are calculating on bringing the others out before many days, as a cessation of work in the coal mines is necessary to the success of the strike. Arbitrators are attempting to bring about a settlement between operators and miners, but so far their efforts have not met with success. President McKinley has been appealed to, but has not yet decided upon any course of action.

—Returned miners from the Alaska and upper Yukon mining country bring stories of fabulous diggings in that frozen region, well substantiated by heavy sacks of the yellow dust. During the last week so many of these successful adventurers have arrived at Pacific Coast ports with the fruits of their toil that the '49 mining fever is again in full sway, and many are leaving lucrative positions to join in the rush for the "diggings." So many are starting at this season that grave fears are entertained by the thinking ones for the safety of those already there as well as those going, in view of the impossibility of taking in a sufficient quantity of supplies to keep so many through the frozen months.