Religious News and Notes.
By Editor
—The Methodists of Canada have held a "Sunday-school Parliament," for instruction in Sunday-school work. —With a population of 12,000, and nine churches, 510 persons attended church in Stockton on a recent Sunday night. —Gov. Talbot, of Massachusetts, has forbid the running of excursion trains over the state railroads of that commonwealth on Sunday. —A "Mission Sunday-school" in Peoria, Ill., has been the means of raising the church to which it belongs, to the largest in the city. —Moses How, pastor of the M. E. church in Portsmouth, N. H., entered the ministry sixty-five years ago. He is ninety years old, and preaches in a strong, clear voice. —Rev. R. W. Tillinghast, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Detroit, Mich., was recently shot and killed by the careless handling of a revolver by a young man. —The Bishop of Manchester has approved of the use of the "cat" in the army. The Oldham Chronicle suggests that he use it to keep the High Church clergy in order. —Dr. Newman Hall, of England, has been fully exonerated by the Westminster Court of Divorce, from the charges that rumor laid upon him. A decree was rendered against his wife. —Another clerical scandal has just been unearthed in Grand Rapids, Mich., in which the Rev. Jos. P. Thompson, now in Berlin, but formerly a distinguished and popular pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle of New York city, figures extensively. —In the Superior Criminal Court of Boston, Sept. 6, the Grand Jury returned an indictment for embezzlement on six counts against Charles Demond, the defaulting Treasurer of the Massachusetts Missionary Society. In default of bail, Demond went to jail. —The Mohammedans have opened a school for girls in Beirut, Syria. This is the first time they have conceded the right of women to education, and it is done to compete with the new order of things introduced by the missionaries; so truly is woman indebted to Christianity for her freedom. —At a recent missionary meeting in Philadelphia, an Episcopal clergyman said that "in India there were 188,000,000 persons and only 900 missionaries; in China 400,000,000, and 400 missionaries; and in Africa 205,000,000 persons to 400 missionaries. During the great walking match in New York $51,000 was taken, while the whole amount given by the Diocese of Pennsylvania in twelve months for missionary purposes was only $55,000." —A meeting of Dr. Kalloch's congregation was held Sept. 3, for thanksgiving services. Letters were read from Baptist ministers, and others. Among the resolutions passed was the following: "That we will not encourage the San Francisco Chronicle by advertising in it, or subscribing for it, and that we will not allow it to be read in our homes, and that we will not knowingly do business with any persons that give it patronage." —One-half of the New Testament has been translated into the Corean language by Rev. John Ross, a Presbyterian missionary, so that ere long a new version of the Scriptures will be added to the 250 already extant. His version, produced under great difficulties, has been found intelligible by all stray Coreans that have visited his missionary station in Manchoria. The language is phonetic and so easily acquired that the entire adult population read and write it. —A most interesting discovery has recently been made by Bishop Steere of Zanzibar on the east coast. It is that the Swahili version of the word of God, translated by himself, is intelligible to some of the tribes living around the great central lakes of Africa. The bishop says: "We have had the happiness of putting a great many copies in circulation. Even in Uganda, Mtesa, the king, understands Swahili, and the consul-general has just asked me for copies of our Swahili translations to send up to him, with the answer to his messages." —The Evangelical Messenger criticises very sharply the modern methods of appealing to the world to help support the church by means of fairs and lunches, turkey suppers, strawberry festivals, old folks' concerts, pillow-case parties, etc., and thinks they create the impression in the minds of the worldly that the church is a kind of parasite, dependent for its existence on the community; that it is a sort of genteel beggar, which it is proper and fashionable to support." To stand before the world in such a light is, as the Messenger says, "humiliating and degrading beyond expression. Such churches ought to be cleansed or closed, killed or cured." —The Philadelphia Presbyterian, in view of the walking mania now so prevalent, suggests that, as the demand of the age is clearly for walking, leg culture should be given more attention to, especially in our female seminaries. They should advertise: "Great attention given to walking. No pains spared to secure a good development of heels and legs. Dancing and fantastic-toe culture a speciality. Limbs pulled every morning by an experienced Christian lady gymnast. Short legs absolutely lengthened, and the wide-stride invariably secured. Weak backs strengthened. Two hours in the sawdust daily. Church aisles used for training. Prayers before breakfast. Muscles and morality encouraged. Send for catalogue."