War and the Coming Crisis
By Editor
THE long-talked-about war between Great Britain and the Transvaal republic is at last declared and the fighting has begun. It is not the province of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES to follow the battles that are fought, and give the details of the slaughter. But we do hope that every thoughtful person will be wide-awake to the possibilities that this war presents. Some of these wars that start up will lead right on to the battle of the great day of God. It does not seem probable now that this is the one that will do it. But in these times who can tell what a day may bring forth? With Germany, France, and Russia strongly against the British in the conflict, it will be easy for some accidental spark to fall into the great war magazine and result in an international explosion. And why it is, when everything points so unmistakably to war, that men will persist in saying that the world is bordering on a universal and lasting peace, is a great mystery. It must be that the eyes of many are blinded so that they do not see things as they are. God's Word should be our guide in all these matters, for it sets the situation before us fully, and of course in its true light. The great day of God is right at hand, and there is no mistaking it. Everything indicates it clearly. It has been the manifest policy of Pope Leo XIII. to try to work in harmony with whatever form of government might be in existence in the various countries. In countries where there is a republican form, he is a republican, and so instructs his clergy to act accordingly; in countries where there is a monarchy, he is a strict monarchist, and asks his clergy to do all in their power to support that form of government. But in France his clergy have not been so obedient to him as the laws of the Catholic Church require, and so there is trouble brewing. Some of the French officials are threatening to cut off the annual stipend of 40,000,000 francs that goes from the government to the Catholic Church. So it seems that all the troubles in France are not confined to the State department. In fact, when any State has a State church, that church is sure to get into all the broils that the State gets into. Hence, it ought to be evident to any one that the pure Christianity of the Christ is something that has no place in politics to figure as a mere political factor. Christianity is not clannish, it is not partisan. It can not afford to ally itself to any clan or political organization, for that would make it narrow and local. Christianity is as broad as the world, and is intended to point men to Christ, and to Him alone. And if, in pointing men to Christ, the effort is made to point at the same time to some mode of politics that should be adopted, the sinner is apt to see nothing but the politics, and the Christ is obscured entirely. The weighty interests of eternity are sufficient to absorb all the energies of the one who has professed discipleship to the Prince of Peace. Let us seek to follow Him and Him alone, and devote all our energies to pointing men to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. It is only when political movements fulfil prophecy that the servant of Christ need have anything to do with them, and then to merely point to them as the fulfilments of the Father's Word. FRANCE adds her name to the list of countries that are strongly denouncing England for her war in the Transvaal. This is but another of the evidences that show the jealousies among the nations of the earth, and every person who looks at the situation without prejudice must see that it is only a question of a little time till the whole world will be involved in war. The present strained relations must bring a crisis. It is absolutely impossible for it to be avoided unless every nation on the earth would begin at once to make decided reforms. But this we know will not be done; for the conditions all over the world are getting worse and worse. And thus hath God's Word declared that it would be. An association has just been organized in New York City called the "American League." The concluding clause of the association's declaration of principles states, "We adhere to the American idea that a government derives its just power from the consent of the governed," and it further says that "we are therefore opposed to the use of force in the extension of American institutions." A number of the most influential men in the nation have already joined the league. We are glad to note that there are still some that cling to the good old American doctrine of freedom and independence, and that imperialism can not be brought in without a struggle. AT the laying of the corner-stone of the new post-office building in Chicago, Postmaster-General Smith said:— "What citizen of the republic shall so impugn the honor of his country and the integrity of her institutions as to proclaim before the world that her scepter extended over rude and remote peoples means wrong and oppression and spoliation? What American shall so discredit his own blood as to declare that the American people will either falter in the duty of their trust or fail in the capacity of their task? Our inspiring past is the prophecy of our glorious future." The "inspiring past" of this country can not be a prophecy of its future, for the simple reason that the principles that have guided in the past are being repudiated, and the country is now going in the opposite direction to what it has gone in the past. We are not to look to the past history of this country to get a prophecy of its future, but to the republic of Rome after she forsook her republican principles and became imperialistic. If we so desire we can get a perfect prophecy of the future of this country by studying the history of Rome. This nation is traveling over the same ground exactly that Rome traversed to her "decline and fall." And if men will open their eyes to actual facts they can not help seeing it. ABOUT two or three weeks ago the Mexican Government notified the Yaqui Indians that all who would lay down their arms inside of ten days would be granted a full pardon and would have their lands restored to them. But only about a hundred responded, and these were mostly old men who could not endure the rigors of a campaign. The Mexicans have now commenced active warfare against them again, and it is said that it will be a war of extermination. The report is that the Mexican generals are instructed to take no prisoners. That means that every one of the poor Indians that can be found will be killed. And yet they tell us that the world has marched past barbarism into a perfect Christian civilization. But wherein? If the doings of men are analyzed to-day, they will not be found very much ahead of what existed in former times. Indeed, when we take into account the greater enlightenment of these days, is it not true that the conditions of this time are even more inexcusable than were the things that men did in the Dark Ages? Just think seriously of the situation. There are popular fads in every age that men accept merely because they are affirmed by nearly every one. But if a little sober and serious thinking was done, the errors would be perceived. Bring everything to the Word of God and then you may know of a surety of its truthfulness. AS THE crown incomes which Spain has been receiving from Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, have now been cut off, anti-tax riots have begun to follow the increased demands upon the people's income. About three-fifths of all the taxes collected in Spain, now go to foreign bondholders, as interest on the Spanish bonds which they hold, and the colonial revenues are almost entirely extinct. There seems certain bankruptcy ahead for Spain, and with that she may expect rioting, bloodshed, and distress. NOT long since the president of the little republic of Santo Domingo was assassinated, a provisional government was instituted, and soon after General Jimenez, who was then in Cuba, went there to become the popular candidate for the presidency. His election seemed certain. However, there has now been discovered among some of his supposed followers a conspiracy to accomplish his assassination. A number of generals are under arrest for complicity in the attempt on his life. ENGLAND is planning to organize a flying squadron, in order to overawe the jealous powers of Europe in case they decide to interfere in the Transvaal war. It is also stated that England is depending on the United States to help her out in case of any interference of any other powers. This offers a chance for this government to get into the difficulty. Of course it may not come that way. But who can not see that everything stands in readiness for an international tangle? A DESPATCH from Cape Town, South Africa, says that a revolution of the Dutch in Cape Colony is regarded as imminent. This is, of course, an outgrowth of the war with the Transvaal. All the Dutch in South Africa seem to be sympathizing with the Boers, and the fight seems destined to grow into greater proportions, and also to be a very stubborn one SIR LOUIS HENRY DAVIS, Canadian minister of marine and fisheries, has announced that he has given Canada's consent to a temporary arrangement of the Alaskan dispute. It is considered that this practically settles the whole matter for the time being. A DESPATCH to the Navy Department in Washington states that all hopes of an understanding between the government and the insurgents in Venezuela have been abandoned, and a decisive battle is expected right off. President Andrade has prepared to flee. THE Mexican Government is now at war with three of the Indian tribes within its jurisdiction. The braves of the Mayo tribe have joined forces with the Yaquis in Sonora State, and the Mayi tribe in Yucatan are still hostile to the government. A TERRIBLE scourge of dysentery is sweeping over Japan. Up to September 14, about 12,000 persons had died of this disease. The mortality thus far has been about twenty-five per cent. WILLIAM L. WILSON, framer of the free-trade tariff act of 1894 and Postmaster-General in Mr. Cleveland's second cabinet, is lying at the point of death, at Parkersburg, W. Va. TELEGRAMS from Linse, the capital of Upper Austria, state that the inhabitants of that district are in a state of terror, owing to a series of "Jack the Ripper" murders. A LIEUTENANT of the native police in Manila is under arrest, charged with plotting to have the police force turn against the Americans in case of an uprising. An earthquake in the island of Ceram, one of the Sunda Islands, destroyed the town of Amhei, and instantly killed 4,000 people. About 500 others were injured. TWELVE new regiments have been recruited for service in the Philippines, and will be on their way within the next three weeks. UNITED STATES consuls are intrusted with the work of guarding British interests in South Africa. THE bubonic plague has reached North China and the Asuncion Island.