GENERAL OTIS is quoted as saying that "Protestant missions will have a hard and stony ground in the Philippines, and that it is not well to push them too much in the present unsettled state of public thought." He also says that the "holy orders own seven-eighths of the best real estate of Manila and Laguna de Bay—the best paying land in all the archipelago." If this be true, no wonder the people rebelled, and no wonder the Roman Catholics are on the alert to hold their vantage ground. Think of it! "seven-eighths of the best real estate." One of these orders is also said to have millions of cash in the banks ready for use in carrying on their work. For long centuries the poor peasants of the islands have been made to contribute to the support of the papal church, and, while they have been growing poorer, the emissaries of Rome have been growing richer. The church proposes to hold her ill-gotten gains. She is working in Washington as well as in Manila to keep that which she has gotten and to make the pathway of the Protestant missionary a hard road to travel.—Michigan Christian Advocate. THE great strike is still on in the anthracite coal regions of the East, and several mines have been closed in addition to those which had already ceased operation. There has been little disturbance, altho the authorities in different places have expected trouble, and been prepared for it. At Hazleton, Penn., the sheriff has forbidden the marching of large bodies of miners, and the order has been obeyed. President Mitchell, of the miners' union, has issued a call for a miners' convention to consider the operator's offer of a ten per cent. increase in wages. The convention will be held at Scranton, Penn., October 12. THE Chinese Government has signified its determination to punish the leaders of the Boxer uprising. Prince Tuan is to be banished to a military post on the border of Siberia. Other prominent Chinese officials are to be imprisoned for life; while the president of the censorate, the secretary and president of the civil board, and the president of the board of punishment, are to be decapitated. Li Hung Chang and several prominent viceroys have protested against the proposed removal of the emperor and empress dowager to a capital farther inland, and the emperor seems inclined to return to Peking if sufficient guarantees for his safety are given, and if the majority of the foreign troops are removed from that city. No definite plan of action has thus far been agreed upon by the powers for dealing with China. France and Germany have both put forth propositions, but action has not been taken by the other nations for their acceptance. However, it is thought that these exchanges of propositions are bringing joint action nearer. France demands among other things that the nations prohibit the sending of arms and ammunition to China for an indefinite time, but some of the powers are not willing for such a step. The port and forts of Shan Hai Kwan have been seized by the allies, also the Peitang forts. Jealousy has already shown itself over the action of the German field marshal, and he is accused of dealing unfairly with the allies. Japan has begun to withdraw her forces from Peking, and the American general has notified the German field marshal that his troops will not participate in further operations. THE skeleton remains of three of those giant antediluvian animals known as the dinosaur have been found by a party from the Field Columbian Museum, of Chicago, in the mountains of Colorado, and are being shipped to that museum. The finding of these remains of the monsters of old is regarded by many as a refutation of the Bible record of creation, and is used to substantiate the theory that animal life has been going on upon this earth for millions of years. They are found in different layers of earth, different strata, and so many hundreds of thousands or millions of years are counted off to each strata. The strata argument is simply the voicing of man's disbelief in God's ability to handle the flood which He created, and make it transform the face of the earth, piling stratum upon stratum, and burying in each the animals which lived in their respective portions of the earth. Had the mastodon and dinosaur been allowed to continue their existence while mankind was retrograding through the effects of sin, they could have stamped out the race. The cutting short of their existence was in mercy to man, and should be looked upon as an evidence of God's love and care for us, rather than as a weapon against the truth of His Word. AN argument put forth for American retention of the Philippines is the good we are doing the Filipinos and the prosperity we are bringing them. The increased customs receipts in the islands is given as an evidence of this good and this increased prosperity. The customs receipts for the first seven months of this year exceeded those of the same period of last year by $2,095,335. But when it is remembered that an overwhelming proportion of the customs receipts of the Philippine Islands is derived from the importation of American beer and other liquors, with all the vice and depravity which it entails, the argument has little weight in the direction intended. It is but another witness to the ever-widening influence of a deplorable traffic. THE International Peace Congress, which was recently convened in Paris, France, has epitomized its work in an appeal to the nations, in which it condemns the refusal of the British Government to agree to arbitration or mediation in South Africa, and expresses keen regret that the majority of the governments which might have offered mediation, abstained from so doing, in spite of their peace declarations at The Hague. The Congress recommends that the nations take action to bring to an end the massacre of Armenians; that international treaties be concluded making arbitration permanent and obligatory; and that the nations formulate plans for the reduction of their formidable armaments. THE October term of the United States Supreme Court, which began October 8, is expected to leave a memorable mark upon the history of this country, as many cases are to be decided which involve questions entirely new in American experience. Among these cases will be considered the political, financial, and economic relations between this government and Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines; the constitutionality of the Porto Rico tariff law; and the validity of customs charges on articles imported from the Philippines, which are considered American territory. THAT it is not Turkey's poverty which prevents her paying an indemnity for the destruction of missionary property is shown by the fact that she recently gave the contract for 208 pieces of modern artillery and for two torpedo destroyers to the Krupps, altho the bid of an English company for the same was $400,000 less than the price at which the Krupps will furnish them. The indemnity which Turkey is expected to pay and has promised to pay is less than $100,000. ALL later archaeological discoveries tend to show that man did not enter existence the savage which evolution would make him to be. Recent discoveries in Crete, by Mr. A. J. Evans, of tablets inscribed in an unknown tongue, show that knowledge of writing existed before the Phenician system. This newly discovered language, with distinctly marked numerals, does not seem to be allied to any now known. LORD WOLSELEY, commander-in-chief of the British army, shows his belief in the demoralizing influence of liquor in the army by requesting the British public to refrain from offering the returning soldiers any intoxicating liquors. This would seem to indicate that the commander-in-chief of the British army did not believe in the canteen as a temperance measure. THE route and plans for the underground railway connecting New York and Brooklyn, which will pass under the East River, have been completed and accepted by the company which is to operate the line. This underground line will be four and one-quarter miles in length, will cost $6,000,000, and require two years for its construction. ENGLAND has an Inebriate Act, under which magistrates are able to commit habitual drunkards to inebriate reformatories; and a recent report on the working of this act in London shows that out of ninety-two such convictions and commitments, ninety were women. Of the six institutions existing for this purpose, five are for women. THE amount of gold in the United States treasury now amounts to $437,221,191. This is said to be the largest hoard of gold, with one exception, in the world. The bank of France holds in its vaults $450,000,000 in gold. The gold in the United States treasury is now being added to at the rate of about $100,000,000 a year. A REPORT from Taku, China, states that the persecution of Christians in Shantung province has been revived. Advices from Canton report a serious uprising of the Triads, and the whole country to the south is said to be in a ferment. There is also much unrest in the two Kwang provinces. IN a political riot at Guayma, Porto Rico, on October 7, four persons were killed and fifteen injured. The police who attempted to quell the riot were assailed by a mob armed with sticks, stones, machetes, and revolvers. The outbreak was due to police interference in political meetings. ON October 7 the bishop of Jerusalem, in the name of the pope, and in the presence of 500 German pilgrims, laid the corner-stone of the church which is to be erected on Mount Zion, on the site which the sultan presented to Emperor William during the latter's visit to Jerusalem. SEÑOR ROMERO Y ROBLEDO, of Spain, who was minister of justice in 1896, prophesies a revolution in Spain in the near future, unless there is a change in the present political and economic situation, and indicates that he will support the Republican cause as against the monarchy. THE elections in England, tho not complete, show a very strong majority in support of the course pursued by the government in reference to the Boer War. Altho the Liberals have gained in some sections, the Ministerial majority in Parliament is expected to be about 150. THE international jury of the Paris Exposition has awarded to the American Book Company, of New York, two grand prizes, one gold medal, and two silver medals, for text-books on elementary education, secondary education, and industrial and commercial education. CERTAIN missionaries and Belgian engineers who have been held as prisoners by the Chinese at Pao-ting-fu have been ordered released by Li Hung Chang. A Chinese escort was provided to take them to Peking; but they refused to go, fearing treachery. SO RAPID is the change in modern naval vessels, in order to insure the greatest amount of effectiveness, that a board of survey has been ordered to investigate the condition of the battle-ship Texas, with a view to retiring her from the navy as obsolete. FORTY persons were crushed to death and many more seriously injured in a panic at a Catholic festival at St. Nikander, Russia, on October 7. The panic was started by the collapse of one of the floors of the monastery, which was crowded with pilgrims. THE first telegraph message over the new line from Skaguay, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, was received at the latter place on October 3. The through line is expected to be ready for business on October 10. THE Panuco and Tames Rivers, of Eastern Mexico, have overflowed their banks, flooding thousands of acres of land, carrying away houses, and destroying stock and crops. Many drownings are reported. A TORNADO swept through the town of Biwabik, Minn., on October 7, destroying property to the extent of $100,000, and resulting in the death of nine persons. A score or more persons were severely injured. THE steamer City of Seattle arrived at Seattle from Skaguay, Alaska, on October 3, with $1,500,000 in Klondike gold.