p. 13 | News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 30, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 38.

News and Notes

FOREIGN.

—The eighty-seventh anniversary of the independence of Mexico was celebrated on September 16.

—Over fifty persons lost their lives in a steamboat collision at the port of Fiume, Austria, on September 22.

—A cyclone swept over the province of Lecce, Italy, on September 21, killing forty persons and wounding seventy.

—It is stated that the ameer of Afghanistan has issued orders to the "faithful," to hold themselves in readiness for a holy war.

—An apparatus has been perfected in London for saving the heat of the gas street lamps, and using it to heat water for the poor.

—The Nicaragua rebels have been defeated at the town of Managua, by the government troops, with a small loss on both sides.

—England has ordered the flag-ship of her Pacific Coast squadron to proceed to Guatemala, in view of the troubled situation there.

—Thirty persons were seriously injured, and ten killed outright, by a collision between a freight and passenger train near Kaaosvars, Austria, on September 19.

—An organization composed of French Canadians has been formed in Boston, Mass., for the purpose of making Canada a nation independent of foreign domination.

—Inhabitants of the town of Antzifirowskoje, northeastern Siberia, report having seen a large balloon on September 14, believed to be that of Professor Andree.

—Two steamers collided in the Volga River, near Astrakhan, Russia, on September 16. One of the vessels sank immediately, and forty of her passengers were drowned.

—Advices from Guatemala tend to confirm the statement that the city of Ocos has been captured by the Guatemalan rebels. President Barrios has ordered the port closed.

—President Paul Kruger, of the South African republic, is said to be suffering from advanced Bright's disease, and his physicians have given him but eighteen months to live.

—An extensive oil region has been discovered in Japan, and arrangements are to be made at once for developing the discovery, which it is claimed will rival the oil fields of Russia.

—A German torpedo boat has capsized and sunk at Cuxhaven, Germany, carrying down her crew of eight men, including her commander, Duke Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

—Japanese police and soldiers were compelled to resort to the use of arms in repressing a recent riot of Japanese laborers at Idamachi, Japan, and in the melée many of the coolies lost their lives.

—A large expedition is said to have landed on the coast of Matanzas, Cuba, on September 15, and all but the last boat load of ammunition and supplies was safely conveyed to the insurgent camp.

—The London Chronicle states that the czar has decided to partly abolish the Siberian exile system, and to erect large central prisons in Russia proper, the change to go into operation a year hence.

—A recent typhoon in the vicinity of Yokohama, Japan, caused great loss to shipping in the harbor and along the coast, destroyed crops, and laid waste one entire town. Many lives were lost in the furious gale.

—General Weyler has at last been forced by the pressure of the exporters of Havana, to rescind his order prohibiting the exportation of tobacco, and several large shipments to the United States have recently been made.

—The treaty of peace between the Government of Uruguay and the insurgents was signed on September 19. Congress has unanimously approved the peace conditions, and there is general enthusiasm over the result.

—Reports from Rome, Trieste, and Venice report a simultaneous earthquake shock on September 21, which did slight damage. Quite a number of shocks have been reported from various parts of the world during the past week.

—By the recent Cuban elections, Dr. D. M. Capote became Cuba's new president, with Salvador Cisneros as president of Congress, Gen. Maximo Gomez, minister of war, and Gen. Calixto Garcia, commander-in-chief of the armies.

—The Mad Mullah, with a large force of insurgent Indian tribesmen, attacked the force of General Sir Bindon Blood near Simla, on September 21, and the fighting lasted for five hours. General Woodhouse was severely injured in the encounter.

—England has ordered ten batteries of horse and field artillery to be despatched to the Afghan frontier, and the four batteries which should have left India this month have been ordered to remain. It is believed that English officials have discovered a plot between Afghanistan and Russia, and that this extraordinary armament is designed to forestall any surprises from that source along the Indian frontier.

—Many now claim to see the beginning of the end of the Cuban war in the decision of General Weyler to evacuate many of the inland towns, and to concentrate his forces near the seaport towns, where they can be assisted by the naval forces.

—The Cuban Junta at New York is having 3,000,000 silver dollars coined at a cost of 65 cents each, the profit from the sale of which will go toward aiding the cause of the insurgents. The coins are said to be beautiful specimens of numismatic art.

—The British forces under General Jeffreys met with a serious repulse near Camp Anayat, in the Gomands Valley, India, and it is feared that if the situation does not improve speedily in that section, the whole frontier will soon be up in arms.

—On September 17 General Acosta, with 600 Cubans, captured the town of Managua, scarcely three miles from Havana. The Cubans carried away with them all the arms and ammunition in the forts at that place, after defeating a column of regulars sent out to recapture the town.

—Advices from the Orient state that the Philippine rebellion is still in progress. Mrs. Rizal, whose husband was shot as the leader of the rebellion, is said to be in the United States at the present time organizing a strong filibustering expedition, which will soon depart for the islands by way of Japan.

—The conditions of peace have been signed by the ambassadors of the powers on behalf of Greece, and Tewfik Pasha on behalf of the Turkish Government; but they are universally pronounced by the Greek press to be exceedingly onerous, and there is a considerable disposition on the part of the Greek people to protest against them.

—The whaling ship Palk, which some time ago captured a pigeon supposed to have been released by Herr Andree, has touched at Hammerfest, Norway, and the message which the pigeon bore is cabled from there as follows: "July 13, 12:30 P.M., latitude 82 deg. 2 min. north, longitude, 12 deg. 5 min. east. Good voyage eastward. All well."

—On September 21 a battle was fought at Pinar de Picadura, Cuba, between 1,000 Cubans under Arango, and 1,500 Spanish, under General Molina. The latter were defeated after several hours' fighting. In Santiago de Cuba province, the Spanish, under General Luque, are meeting with defeat after defeat in attempting to recover the ground now controlled by Calixto Garcia.

—It is reported that a treaty has been signed between Great Britain and Zobein Pasha, representing the Mahdi, by which the latter will not oppose the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian expedition as far as Khartoum, of which place the Mahdi is still to remain king. Great Britain has also obtained a promise of neutrality from King Menelek by guaranteeing the western frontier of Abyssinia.

—The situation in the fever and hunger-stricken towns of Cuba is rapidly going from bad to worse. People are dying from hunger, and in the wards inhabited by the poor, the situation is described as something dreadful. Women and children cry in the streets for bread, half naked and shivering from the fever of hunger. It is also said that in the town of Aguacata, an average of eight persons are shot each day, without trial or sentence passed upon them.

—In view of the coming eclipse of the sun, the Chinese emperor has ordered the new year festivities to be abandoned, and all the court officials are commanded to dress in somber apparel. The Chinese believe that an eclipse of the sun is an indication from heaven that the emperor has been unwise and immoral. In the inner palace an altar to heaven will be erected, and the emperor and his court will prostrate themselves, beseeching the mercy of "high Heaven."

—On September 10 the Senate of Hawaii unanimously adopted the treaty of annexation to the United States. The treaty provides for the cession to the United States of all rights of sovereignty over the islands and all public lands and property. By its provisions all treaties of the United States with other countries would be substituted for the treaties of Hawaii with those countries, and the United States is to assume the Hawaiian public debt of $4,000,000.

—President Diaz of Mexico was assaulted on September 16, while taking part in a parade, by a man named Arroyo. The would-be assassin was quickly overpowered and turned over to the police, while the angry people clamored loudly for him to be given into their hands that they might wreak vengeance upon him. He was killed by unknown parties soon after being committed to jail. It is believed by Mexican officials that Arroyo was killed by some member or members of the police force, instead of by a mob. The chief of police of the City of Mexico has been imprisoned, and other arrests will follow.