Secular News | AdventAI

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Nov 27, 1879

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 45.

Read the full edition

Secular News.

—All the members of the Italian cabinet have sent their resignations to the king.

—Four-fifths of the town of Farmington, Minn., was destroyed by fire on the night of Nov. 22.

—A Parisian speculator named Philipart, recently absconded, leaving his creditors minus $1,237,600.

—Five or six hundred men are now employed on the New York approaches to the East River Bridge.

—The snow is so deep in the Colorado canyons that it would be difficult to move troops now if it were desired.

—The sugar trade in France is seriously affected by the failure of the beet crop. Many refineries have closed, and all are expected to close.

—The Shenandoah, formerly a Confederate cruiser, sank in the Indian Ocean; most of the crew were lost. She belonged to the Sultan of Zanzibar.

—The loss to the government in the amount of money received by postmasters throughout the country the past two years will be less than one-twentieth of one per cent.

—The rebellion against Chinese rule in Kashgar, which has been in progress, is like to collapse for want of Russian aid, which has been withheld since the treaty of Kuldja.

—A report from Augusta, Ga., Nov. 19, says: There was to-day the heaviest fall of snow in years. It snowed for over three hours steadily. It seemed to be general in this section.

—By a kerosene explosion in Kieff, as reported in the Russian Courier, 18 persons were burned to death, and others so burned, that it was not expected they could recover.

—Chief Ouray says that he can prove that the Mormons incited the Indians to commit outrages upon the soldiers and the agency, and supplied them with arms and ammunition.

—Cuban Senators and members of the Chamber of Deputies have resolved to support the bill for the abolition of slavery in Cuba in the form in which it was proposed by the Government.

—Arrests are made in Ireland for incendiary speaking. Kearney has expressed a desire to be a martyr—he may find a chance if he will return home. But he would be peaceable if he were there.

—Since the breaking out of the cholera in Japan, in April last, there have been 155,000 cases and 85,000 deaths. Yet there is so great an amount of exciting news from the nations that this has scarcely been noted.

—A heavy storm of wind and snow visited the whole lake region and the east, Nov. 19, 20. Perhaps there never was a storm on the lakes in which there were so many disasters. The snow storm was severe in Central New York, and elsewhere.

—A despatch from Berlin says that Russia has advised Turkey to ask all the signatories to the Treaty of 1856 to despatch squadrons to the Dardanelles, in case the English fleet enters the Straits. The whole of the St. Petersburg press is violent in its tone on the question.

—Spinning mills at Kirkealdy, Scotland, have begun work on full time, having been operating on the short time system for nearly two years. The linen trade has also improved so much that all the power loom manufacturers are now in full motion, which has not been the case for three years.

—New York, Nov. 19, the Clearing House exchanges for the week tell the same old story of marvelous business activity everywhere throughout the country, except at San Francisco. No other city shows a decrease. San Francisco's transactions for the week were under $12,000,000, while for the same time last year they were over $18,250,000.

—The tug Seymour, of Ogdensburg, left Cape Vincent Nov. 18 with four tugs, three dredges and eight scows in tow for Buffalo. During the night a gale on Lake Ontario was encountered, and three tugs and all of the small dredges and scows were lost. One tug was picked up to-day, and the Seymour arrived at Sackett's Harbor. Of the crews only six persons were saved. Twenty were lost.

—About five months ago an explosion occurred in a tunnel which is being made through the Coast Range, between Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, Cal., for the Narrow Guage R. R. At that time the engine house, shop, and cars outside were demolished. Recently the tunnel has leaked petroleum from the roof, so as to be dangerous, and air-pipes have been worked to prevent explosion. But a most terrific double explosion took place the morning of Nov. 19, by which about thirty men, mostly Chinese, were killed. After the first, some excited Chinamen rushed in with torches, causing a second, still more terrible. The following is taken from the Alta's description of the second explosion:—The explosion was preceded by a rush of air from the tunnel, which gave the majority of those near the mouth time to step one side, so that none were exactly in front. Quicker than it can be told, a volume of lurid flame, the full size of the tunnel, shot out, expanding as it issued for upward of a hundred yards. This was accompanied by a crash and the splintering of the engine-house, which stood about fifty feet from the mouth of the tunnel, on the left of the track, and the utter demolition of the blacksmith shop, which stood on the right of the track, over a hundred feet from the tunnel.