News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 15, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 27.

FOREIGN.

—Within two weeks three Catholic churches in the Lake St. John district, Quebec, have been struck by lightning and destroyed.

—The Minister of Railways and Canals of Canada has refused to open the canals to traffic on Sunday, except under extraordinary circumstances.

—By a strike of engineers in London a movement has been set on foot which will result in throwing 25,000 men out of employment throughout the United Kingdom.

—A band of Greek raiders met defeat at the hands of a column of Turks near the village of Metzovo. It is stated that 120 of the Greeks were killed and 80 taken prisoners.

—Recent fires in the suburbs of Cairo, Egypt, have left over 4,000 persons homeless, destroyed property to the amount of $450,000, and resulted in the death of over 100 persons.

—A despatch from Danes Island, via Stockholm, states that on June 28 Professor Andree's balloon was filled and in readiness to leave on its voyage across the North Pole on July 1.

—The British bark Overdate collided with a steamer near the mouth of the Ganges, and sank almost immediately. All of the crew except the captain, pilot, and one seaman were drowned.

—Rev. John G. Patton, D.D., has presented to the Victorian General Assembly $60,000, the entire proceeds of his book entitled "Life in the Hebrides." This gift will be used for evangelical purposes.

—An Australian inventor has perfected an electrical device which will instantaneously locate the position of a vessel in the vicinity of forts, and direct the aiming of the guns within the fort at the same time.

—A despatch from Roumania states that in consequence of a recent flood in Moldavia, on the left bank of the Danube, 20,000 persons are homeless. It is also estimated that no fewer than 100 persons have been drowned.

—In August of this year a congress of Jews from all parts of the world will meet in Munich to discuss questions of peculiar interest to that people, chief among which will be the question of founding a Jewish state in Palestine.

—It is reported that the tribes south of Khartoum are in open revolt against the Khalifa. This dissension among the tribes of the upper Nile will make the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian expedition much easier than it would otherwise be.

—Special despatches from Bombay say that from 600 to 1,000 native rioters were killed by the militia during the recent rioting in the vicinity of Calcutta, and that 8,000 laborers from the Hoogley River are marching to reënforce the rioters.

—The eruption of Mayou volcano, in the Philippine Islands, which has been inactive since 1617, was attended by great loss of lives as well as destruction of property. The village of Librug was greatly damaged, and 120 persons perished.

—A report from South Africa states that the natives of Chasaland are in open revolt, and that the outbreak is assuming alarming proportions. The governor of Mozambique is personally in command of the column sent to suppress the revolt.

—Japan has filed another protest with the Hawaiian Government and the State Department of the United States against the annexation of the Hawaiian Republic to the United States until the present complications between Japan and Hawaii have been settled.

—The rebellion in Brazil still maintains formidable proportions. Three attacks were recently made by the government troops upon the followers of Conselheiro, but without success. In the three battles the troops lost 1,000 men. The estimated loss of the rebels is placed at a still higher figure.

—A fierce battle is reported to have taken place between the Cubans and Spaniards in Matanzas Province on June 26. The Spaniards lost between 60 and 70 killed and wounded according to their own report. The Cubans' loss is not known, but they succeeded in beating off their assailants.

—A report from Athens dated July 5 states that the Turks have captured the village of Kalabaka, in North Thessaly, after a desperate battle with the inhabitants. The Turks burned the village after pillaging it and massacring or carrying off the inhabitants who refused to flee to the mountains.

—The king of the Mosquito Coast, to whom the government of Nicaragua was to pay an annual allowance of $5,000, has been deprived of this pension, in consequence of which he has sought the protection of the British Government. It is feared that this will reopen the Anglo-Nicaraguan controversy of 1894.

—The Simplon tunnel, which is being bored under the Alps, will be twelve and a quarter miles long, or three miles longer than any other under these mountains. The temperature reaches 122 degrees, and cold air and atomized water have to be forced into the tunnel in order to keep the temperature low enough to enable the men to work.

—A cablegram from Sancti Spiritus states that General Gomez is in danger of being surrounded by the Spaniards, and six Cuban bands are hurrying to the assistance of their commander-in-chief.

—Two presidents of South American republics have written to the inventor of a kind of cloth that has been proved bullet-proof, asking for samples of the fabric and blanks for self-measurement.

—Terrible floods have been reported from the south of France, and the losses are proving much greater than at first estimated. It is said that hardly a village in that section of France has escaped damage, and that the number of persons drowned is fully 300. It is estimated that 200,000,000 francs would hardly cover the damage to property in the flooded regions.

—Russia has sent a circular note to the powers suggesting that steps be taken to expedite the conclusion of peace between Greece and Turkey. This is taken to mean that if Turkey does not yield to the rectification of the frontier decided upon by the representatives of the powers, she will be coerced into doing so. The Turkish Government has also issued a note to its representatives, making a defense of the position which it has taken, and declining to consider any frontier line in Thessaly north of the River Penios. Many think that the sultan has decided to test the alleged concert of the powers. His officers are rapidly strengthening their positions in Thessaly, massing troops in Dhomoko, fortifying Velestino, and entrenching themselves more firmly.

DOMESTIC.

—Father Hewitt, founder of the order known as the Paulists, died at his home in New York on July 3.

—On July 6 nine persons were instantly killed and five seriously injured by the explosion of a threshing boiler on the farm of W. A. Allen, at Hartsville, Tennessee.

—The Bannock Indian scare has quieted down, and no serious trouble is anticipated. The number of Indians off the reservation is much less than was at first reported.

—Lake Ann, Michigan, a village of nearly 1,000 inhabitants, was practically destroyed by fire on the afternoon of July 3. The property loss is estimated at about $100,000.

—A cyclone and cloudburst visited northwestern Minnesota on July 4, killing nine persons and destroying a considerable amount of property. The loss is estimated at $750,000.

—The past week has been one of intense heat throughout most of the central and eastern States, and has been attended by scores of deaths and hundreds of prostrations.

—On the night of June 30 Montana's anti-gambling law went into force. All games were shut down at 12 o'clock P.M., and all mechanical devices for gambling purposes were stored away.

—Two United States war-ships are now on their way to Morocco to enforce a demand made by U. S. Consul Burke for the punishment of a Moor who brutally assaulted an American citizen at Tangier.

—A Washington despatch states that the Navy Department is expecting to take steps for the increase of the Pacific Coast squadron by building more vessels on the coast. These will consist of battle-ships and torpedo-boats.

—Prof. David Starr Jordan, of Stanford University, California, started on July 3 for Alaskan waters, to make further studies of the fur seals and brand the young males. It is estimated that about 50,000 seal puppies will be branded this season.

—The Christian Endeavorers, during their stop at Salt Lake City, held services in the Mormon Tabernacle. This is said to be the first time that the Tabernacle has ever been thrown open for religious services by any other body than its founders.

—The Dingley Tariff Bill passed the Senate July 7, after a discussion lasting six weeks and one day, during which time it has received 874 amendments. The final vote stood 38 to 28. A conference with the House is the next step to be taken before the bill becomes a law.

—President McKinley sent to Congress on July 8 a special message recommending legislation providing for a commission to adjust the currency questions of the country. The message asks for a commission of nine to consider the matter and report at the next session of Congress.

—The growth of the American States is causing considerable alarm among the diplomats of the Old World, and this alarm is openly expressed, especially in the official organs of the German Empire. Prince Bismarck's paper, the Nachrichten, gives considerable space to the matter, and Emperor William has voiced his fears in a public speech.

—While a fourth-of-July balloon ascension was being made at Blair Park, Oakland, Cal., on July 3, Bertram Hill, a lad of six years, caught hold of the sand rope and was carried up with the balloon. When about 1,000 feet from the earth, the child's strength gave out, and he dropped headlong to the ground, and was killed. On the same day two aeronauts lost their lives at Eureka, Cal., in attempting to make an ascent while a strong wind was blowing.

—The boys in the reform school located at Whittier, California, have risen in open mutiny against the officers of that institution. Arming themselves with knives, clubs, and pieces of their iron bedsteads, they attacked the officers sent to quell the disturbance, and citizens of the place had to be called in to assist in keeping the rioters within the building.

—A gigantic strike of coal miners is now on throughout the eastern and middle States, and it is estimated by the president of the Miners' Union that when the strike reaches its full height, 250,000 men will be out. The low rate of wages paid the miners during the last year has placed them in pitiable circumstances, and the leaders of the strike claim that this will be to the miners the strike of their life.

—The International Convention of Christian Endeavorers opened in San Francisco, Cal., July 7, with a very large attendance. A careful estimate places the number of visitors at 20,000, the great bulk of whom are delegates from various Christian Endeavor Societies throughout the world. On the evening of the opening many of the visiting pastors conducted services in the churches around the bay.

—The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported a resolution on July 7 authorizing President McKinley to take such measures as he might deem necessary to obtain indemnity from the Spanish Government for injuries done to certain naturalized American citizens by the Spanish authorities of Santiago de Cuba. The resolution authorizes the President "to employ such means and to exercise such power as may be necessary" to obtain the desired end.