—Rich gold discoveries are reported in Presidio County, Texas.
—There are said to be 40,000 unemployed men in Boston. The Legislature has now a Special Committee on the unemployed.
—Hon. John G. Downey, a California pioneer, and ex-governor of the State, died at his home in Los Angeles on the 1st inst., of pneumonia.
—At Nebraska City, Neb., a man charged with hanging Secretary of Agriculture Morton in effigy has been fined $200 and costs of prosecution.
—Fifteen deported Chinese were sent home from Tacoma last week, twelve of whom were from the State of Washington, and three from Chicago.
—A new weekly line of steamers is announced for the coming season, to be run by the Ulster Steamship Company between Montreal and Queensland.
—A mining strike is reported at Cripple Creek, Colo. The mine owners offer $3.00 per day for nine hours' work, but the strikers demand an eight-hour day.
—The most ultra of anti-silver governments is Persia. It has not only stopped silver coinage, but has prohibited its importation on penalty of confiscation.
—The pioneers of a long-talked-of colony, to settle in the district east of Mount Konda, Africa, left Hamburg on the 28th ult. The new district is to be named Freeland.
—The Golden Rule Bazar, corner Market and Geary Streets, San Francisco, was destroyed by fire on the 26th ult. The loss on building and stock aggregates about $300,000.
—Joseph Donjan, who sent a threatening postal card to Vice President Stevenson, has been sentenced by the U. S. District Court at Baltimore to eighteen months in the penitentiary.
—The latest news from the Brazilian revolution is that the rebels were defeated at Sarandí, leaving 400 dead on the field, besides losing 3,000 horses and large quantities of arms and ammunition.
—At Tiffin, Ohio, early on the morning of the 1st inst., an explosion of natural gas, caused by leakage from a pipe, completely demolished a large brewery and damaged many other buildings in the vicinity.
—The New York Legislature has passed a bill submitting to a vote of the people included, the proposition to enlarge the boundaries of the city of New York, taking in the city of Brooklyn and thirteen suburban towns and villages—in fact, all of Kings and Richmond Counties. The consolidation will give New York City an area of about 318 square miles, and a population of nearly 3,000,000, making it the second city in the world, London being first.
—A great mass meeting at Buda-Pesth, Austria, on the 4th inst., in which 130,000 people participated, declared in favor of the new civil marriage measure, and for religious liberty and the recognition of the Jewish faith.
—It is said that many Italians and Poles in Pittsburg, Pa., are getting married and seeking wives in order to get work from the Employment Committee, who refused work to any but married men. The pay is $1.00 per day.
—German experts who have been examining the meat methods at Chicago, report to their government that the system of inspection is not reliable. The report it is expected will affect adversely the sale of American meats.
—Gen. Jubal A. Early, one of the prominent Confederate leaders in the Rebellion, died at Lynchburg, Va., on the 2d inst. He had served in the Florida war and in the Mexican war, and was one of the founders of the notorious Louisiana Lottery.
—There was a general lockout in the Ohio coal mines on the 1st inst., owing to a failure on the part of miners to agree to a reduction of wages to the Pennsylvania basis. A Cincinnati dispatch says that in Jackson County alone over 4,000 miners are shut out.
—In Terre Haute, Ind., the Relief Committee ran so short of work for the unemployed that, on the 27th ult., there was a fight for the available jobs. There were about two hundred applicants and work for but thirty-five. The police had to quell the disturbance.
—Mr. Gladstone has resigned the premiership of Great Britain, and Lord Roseberry succeeds him. The leading political issue in the country now is the proposition to abolish the House of Lords, and Gladstone's last speech was a vigorous advocacy of that measure.
—Rev. W. P. Ratcliffe, a member of the Mississippi Legislature, and generally known as the "fighting parson," became involved in a street duel in Kosciusko on the 2d inst., and shot three men. Two of them are dead, and the third so badly wounded that his recovery is doubtful.
—Thirteen Anarchists were arrested in Paris, on the 4th inst., and in their lodgings were found considerable quantities of explosives. It has been discovered that a number of well-to-do persons, among them several priests, have been paying Anarchists money to avoid their depredations.
—The presidential election in the republic of Brazil, on the 1st inst., resulted in the choice of Señor Prudente Moraes for president, and Señor Victorino Pereira for vice president. It is hoped the election will have a tendency to quell the political disturbances which have so long kept the country in a state of turmoil.
—The ex-teller of the Bank of Minneapolis confesses to having embezzled $123,000 of the bank's funds. The strange feature of the case is that prior to January 1, 1893, he had taken $50,000, and the directors, knowing this to be the case, reemployed him at an increased salary, and already he has taken $73,000 more.
—A Denver dispatch says that the police of that city have been asked to prevent the sale of a young Chinese girl by her father to a rich Chinaman. The girl was born in Colorado, and is fifteen years old. She appealed to a justice of the peace for protection, as the would-be purchaser has already two wives, and wants her for the third.
—The susceptibility of this "enlightened age" to the delusive effects of fiction is illustrated in the formation of a secret order called the Order of Ben Hur, named after Lew Wallace's popular novel. The First Court of the Supreme Tribe was formally instituted at Crawfordsville, Ind., on the 2d inst., with 447 charter members. There have been 1,000 applications from different parts of the country for charters to organize tribes.
—Fayette County, West Virginia, is in the throes of a great strike of coal miners. As usual, the strikers not only refuse to work themselves, but claim the right to prevent others from working who are willing to do so. On the 28th ult. a conflict occurred at Eagle, which resulted in the death of three men and the wounding of eight others. At last report the State militia was preserving the peace, and the sheriff was making arrests. The citizens of Montgomery are said to be friendly to the strikers, and the mayor declared the sheriff and militia under arrest.
Angels of God
By Editor
"Angels of God." (Spanish.) A collection of five Bible readings on the following subjects: 1. The Angels of God. 2. Satan and His Work. 3. Christ the Resurrection and the Life. 4. The Second Chapter of Daniel. 5. Signs of the Coming of Christ. Two illustrations; paper; price, 5 cents. Address, PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING Co., Oakland, Cal.
DANISH AND SWEDISH EARLY WRITINGS.—Plain at $1.00, red edge at 1.25. For sale by the Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal. Please call the attention of the S. D. A. brethren and sisters of those nationalities to this book printed in their language.
Sunday Sabbath Contradictions
By Editor
Why Do They Do It? and Why Do They Not Do It? — These questions have reference to two different things. The California Christian Advocate of January 24 says in its first editorial note: "The church in this city needs a revival. It is the only possible hope of good order and prosperity. There is no spiritual prosperity except in the salvation of the people from sin. We may live in communion with God. Reading the Holy Bible is the way to learn the perfect will of God." The same paper in its third editorial note appeals to Christian people who contemplate making exhibits at the Midwinter Exposition to reserve the right to cover their exhibits on Sunday. It says that the management show no regard for the "Christian sabbath" nor for the "Christian sentiment of this country." "It becomes, therefore, all the more important for Christians to stand firm and solid on the FOURTH COMMANDMENT, and avoid the very appearance of evil."
To this last we say, Amen. But the fourth commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day [the rest day] to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath [the rest] of the Lord thy God." Why will our Methodist brethren, and, for the matter of that, brethren of the other denominations, pervert the above to mean the first day. The Sabbath is the day just before the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1, 2), and is, therefore, the seventh day of the week. Why will they contend, in the face of the plain declaration of the Bible, in reading which, the Advocate says, "is the way to learn the perfect will of God"—why will they contend that the seventh day is the first day of the week? Why do they do it? And, on the other hand, when the Bible is so plain, when it says naught about the Sunday, or the first day of the week, as a holy day, when it does say in the fourth commandment and many other places that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, why do they not take their stand "firm and solid on the fourth commandment," and keep the Sabbath of the Lord? Why do they not do it?
LAST WEEK'S PAPER.
By Editor
THOSE who have read the SIGNS OF THE TIMES of March 5 need not to be told of its special value, or of the importance of giving it a wide circulation. The subjects of true Protestantism and of the apostate condition of professed Protestantism are quite fully discussed in a variety of articles by different writers, and a flood of light is thrown upon the present religious situation. The same amount of interesting and instructive matter on these live topics of the hour cannot be had anywhere else for the same money, or in a form more appropriate for circulation. The public mind of to-day instinctively turns to the late papers for reading matter; that which is published in a paper of a comparatively late date will be read many times where the same matter in any other form would be thrown aside. Our brethren should bear this fact in mind. Extra copies of the SIGNS of March 5 can be had at the low rate of $1.50 per hundred. We trust that this offer will meet a hearty response in orders, while the papers are fresh. The matter in this one issue on the various phases of Protestantism would cost four or five cents in tract form; yet all this, besides other valuable matter, goes for one cent and a half. Let it go to the four winds. Let the world know of the "times and seasons."
"CHRIST AND THE PHARISEES; OR CHRIST'S FAITHFULNESS IN SABBATH KEEPING," is the title of No. 18 of the Religious Liberty Library. It is a reprint of a sermon on that subject delivered by Elder A. T. Jones at the Michigan State camp meeting last year, and afterward printed in the Home Missionary. It draws a striking parallel between the days of Jesus Christ and these days, and shows just how faithful Sabbath keeping, according to God's word, will be denounced as Sabbath breaking. It is worthy of a wide circulation. Price, 5 cents. Address any of our tract societies or the International Religious Liberty Association, 271 West Main Street, Battle Creek, Mich.
Signs of the Times
By Editor
OAKLAND, CAL., MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1894.
We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance.
When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the "Signs" are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read.
CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.
By Editor
Editorial.—The Truth Not with the Majority—The Papacy and the Scriptures—The Reason of It—"Lovers of Pleasures"........................289, 290, 304
General Articles.—The Christian Faith (verse)—The Perfect Model—Follow Me—Whom Are We Serving? —Anchored in the Mud—Three Sabbaths—A Review of Sunday Legislation in Century Nineteen, No. 14—The Token of the Covenant—Ignorance of the Bible—A Catholic on Catholics—Love and Humility—Sabbath Hymn (verse)—Guidance..................290-296
Home and Health.—All Ours (verse)—Jane's Moral Cowardice—Home Training—The Ferris Wheel—Keep Out—What Small Mistakes Sometimes Show—Tansy for Ants........................ 297, 298
Mission Fields.—We Shall Reap with Joy (verse)—The Open Door in Bengal—Stundists.......................... 299
Our Work and Workers.—"Launch Out" (verse)—Self-examination—Keep Filled with the Word—Field Notes—"The Story of the Pitcairn".............. 300, 301
International S. S. Lessons.—The Resurrection of Christ (Lesson 12, Sunday, March 25)—Honoring the Sabbath, and Pronouncing Blessings (Lesson 12, Sabbath, March 24)........................... 301, 302
News and Notes.—Religious—Secular......................... 303
The Gospel Alone Stops Sin
SAYS a writer in the Occident of February 22: "Man needs laws, courts, judges, locks, jails, gibbets; and yet no single nation on the face of the earth has ever found these effectual to stop man from sinning." Well, they were never designed to stop men from sinning. The only thing which will stop men from sinning is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Law can do nothing but prevent overt acts. Sin is in the heart, and only the gospel of Christ can eliminate it. Civil law is only designed to restrain incivility and to protect every man in his rights.
The A. P. A. and Roman Catholicism
By Editor
WE do not belong to the A. P. A., nor do we as Christians believe in its methods, but we do not see with what consistency Roman Catholics and their friends can denounce the association as a "criminal conspiracy." Its object is to maintain the government, but to oppose the Catholics. The object of the Roman Catholic Church in every land is to place all governments under the control of the Vatican. Of course, it is thought by them that this is the best way to maintain and establish all government—to put it under the control of the Catholic Church. The A. P. A. believes that this is the worst thing that could happen to a government, and therefore opposes that church. Has not the A. P. A. as good a right to oppose the Roman Catholic Church as the Roman Catholic Church has to oppose the A. P. A.? As to the truthfulness of the claims of Rome regarding her beneficent offices in the establishment of nations and governments, let history speak. It would be well to listen to its voice.
ANOTHER SUNDAY BILL.
By Editor
FEBRUARY 15 Hon. Jacob H. Gallinger, Senator from New Hampshire, introduced, by request, in the Senate the following bill (known as Senate Bill 1628), which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor:—
A BILL
TO PROTECT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, COMMONLY CALLED SUNDAY, AS A DAY OF REST AND WORSHIP, IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That on the first day of the week, known as the Lord's day, set apart by general consent in accordance with divine appointment as a day of rest and worship, it shall be unlawful to perform any labor, except works of necessity and mercy and work by those who religiously observe Saturday, if performed in such a way as not to involve or disturb others; also to open places of business or traffic, except in the case of drug stores for the dispensing of medicines; also to make contracts or transact other commercial business; also to engage in noisy amusements or amusements for gain, or entertainments for which admittance fees are charged; also to join in public processions, except funerals, which last shall not use music; also to perform any court service, except in connection with arrests of criminals and service of process to prevent fraud."
We have only to remark what we have stated so many times, and what must be apparent now to the casual reader, that the object or motive of all Sunday laws is religious, not civil. When this was told the Sunday-law people years ago, it was stoutly denied. They contended that it was purely "civil." But it would seem that this would not now be denied by the most unscrupulous deceiver. The battle is on. The government, with all its branches, has already committed itself to a union of Church and State, and we have no idea that they will do otherwise than pursue to the destructive end the course they have begun.
"BIBLE STUDENTS' LIBRARY."
By Editor
(Continued.)
READ the following and see if there is not some publication which you desire to read or which will benefit some friend. The intervening numbers are not now published:—
No. 24. Is Sunday the Sabbath? A little tract of 8 pages, which considers briefly yet clearly and concisely the texts in the New Testament which refer to the first day of the week. Price, one cent.
No. 25. The Sanctuary and the Judgment. This little tract of 16 pages (price, 2 cents), on a very important subject, should be widely circulated. It gives in brief a lucid exposition of the great sanctuary question, shows where the 2300 days of Dan. 8: 14 began and ended, and indicates very clearly that time in the great scheme of redemption in which we are now living.
No. 26. The Sabbath in the New Testament. By James White; 16 pp., price, 2 cents. This is an examination of the eight texts of the New Testament in which the term "first day of the week" is found. It also considers the term "Sabbath," to what it is applied by Inspiration, and some of the more prominent texts where it is used.
No. 27. The Bible; Its Inspiration and Importance. This little tract of 8 pages is a brief essay on the Bible. The purity of its teachings, its unity, its impartiality, and its comprehensiveness are presented as proofs of its divine origin, as also what the Scriptures themselves say of their inspiration, and what Christ's attitude was toward the very scriptures which are now questioned by the "higher criticism." A good tract to put into the hands of the weak and doubting. Price, 8 cents.
No. 31. The Second Advent. By James White; 32 pages; price, 4 cents. This tract shows the manner, object, and nearness of Christ's coming, giving some of the clear evidences of that great and all-important event.
The above will be forwarded, post free, on receipt of price, by addressing Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.; 43 Bond Street, New York; or 18 W. Fifth Street, Kansas City, Mo.
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