p. 213 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 9, No. 18. (5/10/1883)

Earlier text: Remarks upon the Fourth Chapter of Zechariah

Upper Columbia T. and M. Society.

By Mrs. G. W. Colcord

REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING MARCH 31, 1883.

Districts	No. of Members	No. Reports Returned	No. Members Added	No. Members Dismissed	No. of Missionary Visits	No. of Letters Written	No. Signs taken in Clubs	Review	Signs	Good Health	Instructor	Other Periodicals
No. 1	31	18	2	1	103	33	40	..	8	..	..	..
" 2	50	27	2	1	16	59	36	..	8	..	..	..
" 3	42	23	1	3	47	44	15	..	9	..	10	..
Agents	3	3	..	..	160	72	..	1	19	..	..	..
Totals	126	71	3	6	326	208	91	1	36	..	10	..

Districts	Pamphlets distributed	Periodicals distributed	Annuals distributed	Membership & Tract Fund Donations	Sales	Periodicals	T. and M. Reserve Fund	Total	Collected on Other Funds
No. 1	13911	467	..	$ 2 75	$ ..	$ 10 50	$ ..	$ 13 25	$ ..
" 2	8208	416	2	5 00	2 10	22 60	10 00	39 70	..
" 3	5183	357	..	1 45	2 80	24 05	2 50	30 80	..
Agents	502	107	..	50	22 10	37 75	..	60 35	..
Totals	27804	1449	2	$ 9 70	$ 27 00	$ 94 90	$ 12 50	$ 144 10	$ ..

Lately our membership-rolls have been thoroughly revised; hope to make reports in future which will very nearly show our working force. MRS. G. W. COLCORD, Sec.

Report of North Pacific T. and M. Society.

QUARTER ENDING APRIL 1, 1883.

No. members..................................................113 “ reports returned..........................................68 “ members added..............................................3 “ “ dismissed...............................................3 “ letters written..........................................210 “ families visited...........................................73 “ new subscribers obtained....................................24 “ Signs taken in clubs......................................166 “ pages tracts and pamphlets given away.....................9,196 “ “ “ “ “ loaned..................................27,163 “ “ “ “ “ sold....................................4,835 “ periodicals distributed.................................1,326 Received on periodicals..................................$243.66 “ “ Tract Society fund................................263.80 “ “ other funds........................................64.50 MRS. C. L. BOYD, Sec. CHAS. L. BOYD, Pres.

Berea, West Virginia.

By J. O. Corliss

WE have just closed a two week's meeting at this place, which resulted in the organization of a church of eleven members, the formation of a Tract and Missionary Society of ten members, and a promising Sabbath-school.

These people were in a body cast out of another church for holding the peculiar views cherished by Seventh-day Adventists. Their attention was first called to these views by reading matter sent them from Massachusetts by former neighbors. This was followed up two years ago by some ministerial labor, and now they rejoice in the path of truth so plainly marked out in God's word for the last days. Thus another church, whose motto is "The commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" is planted among the hills of West Virginia, from which point we hope the light of the Third Angel's Message shall emanate till the Lord shall come.

J. O. Corliss.

Mechanicsburg, Indiana.

By William Covert

I HELD meetings with this church April 20-22. It has been organized ten years. Its present membership is thirty. They possess a nice house of worship and have a good influence in the community. I believe every family takes the Review. They subscribed for a club of twelve Signs. The Sabbath-school takes thirty copies of the Instructor. They have been quite liberal in responding to calls for help when they come from the proper source. We believe that as they receive and distribute the Signs, their missionary zeal will increase and they will be spiritually blessed.

WM. COVERT.

Labor in the Sacramento Valley.

By E. A. Briggs

AFTER a short course of meetings at Wyandotte, which resulted in five persons taking hold upon the commandments of God, I spent a few weeks in visiting little companies of Sabbath-keepers. At Pleasant Grove, Chico, Nord, Corning, and Orland, I found the brethren of good courage, and the general condition of the work prosperous. We celebrated the ordinances of the Lord's Supper at Chico and Orland; and in the latter place two persons took a start in keeping all the commandments of God.

E. A. BRIGGS.

North Pacific Conference.

By Charles L. Boyd

I AM now holding meetings in Linn County, and find that some of the seed sown at the tent meeting last summer fell on good ground. Plants which have sprung up I trust will yet bring forth fruit for the heavenly garner. A church of ten members is organized. I remain a little longer to bind off the work, and hope to organize a Tract and Missionary Society. Through prayer and influence, I ask the co-operation of all who desire the prosperity of the Master's cause in this Conference. CHAS. L. BOYD.

The Deacon's Experience.

AS RELATED BY HIMSELF.

I WAS born in New England. My father was a member of the Baptist Church in the village. He was a man who believed in looking out for number one. He owned the farm which had been managed by his father and his father's father. This farm had supported several generations. It was being continually improved until it had become one of the best in the State. Father was never absent from prayer-meeting and was considered one of the substantial members of the church. He gave twenty-five dollars for the support of the gospel, every year. All his children were given a fair education. They inherited from their father a good degree of selfishness. He had taught them to be very careful as to how they spent any money, and to be sure their investments would yield the largest possible income.

Everybody said I was "a chip of the old block," and with these qualities I left my Eastern home twenty years ago to come to the West. I succeeded in getting a farm very reasonably. Crops were excellent the first year, and I was able to build me a comfortable house and have a little to spare which I invested in farming implements. The second year's crops were even better than the first. I was comfortably situated. As the years passed by, children came to gladden our hearts and home. No man and wife had more reason for thankfulness than we. As settlers came into the neighborhood, we felt the need of church privileges, and soon a missionary from our Home Mission Society located near us. Meetings were held in the old log school-house, but it was the place where many were born again. Of course we ought to do something for the support of the gospel. I pledged ten dollars the first year and we raised in cash and donations about two hundred dollars for our minister. The following winter there was a powerful revival and our church membership was doubled.

About this time a Baptist minister from New England located a claim in our neighborhood. He talked with a few of us and said he would be willing to preach for us if we would raise him fifty dollars a year. He was very generous-hearted and said while we were getting our farms into shape, it would help us not to have to pay out so much for preaching. We talked it over and finally decided to let our home mission man go and employ our New England preacher. I tell you we did miss the pastoral visits of Elder Williams, but thought we could do without pastoral visitation until we had all got our farms paid for and pretty well improved. That winter there was no revival and the young people assembled two or three times a week for a dance, but did not care anything for the worship of the Lord. A spiritual coldness came over the members of the church, and in less than a year our neighborhood was a Sabbath-breaking and pleasure-seeking community.

We sold our farm; for we did not wish to bring up our children with such surroundings, and moved into the growing railroad town a few miles away. We took our church letters and united with the Baptist Church recently organized.

What we realized from our sale enabled us to buy a good corner lot on which we built a store. The Lord prospered us and soon we were able to buy another lot and built us a house. My business increased; I gave twenty-five dollars a year for the support of the gospel and felt good over being able to give as much as my father used to in New England. I saw good chances for investing in real estate in our rapidly-growing town and flattered myself that my New England shrewdness, inherited from my father, was placing me in very comfortable circumstances. Our children were converted and united with our church. We all had good health and no family had more cause for real gratitude than we, and we were thankful to our kind heavenly Father for giving us such prosperity. I was a little proud when I decided we could give fifty dollars a year to the Lord.

I am now entering upon the year 1882; my business last year was more prosperous than ever. As I have been balancing the accounts in my ledger recently, I took a piece of blank paper and wrote along the top:—

DEACON HOWELL, DR. In account with the Lord. To pardon from sin, A hope for the future world, Good health, A prosperous business, Attendance upon divine service, The joy of Christian children, Continual increase in value of lands, 100 or more acres of good farm lands. CR. By cash paid for pastor's salary..........$50.00 Benevolence...................................................15.00

I looked the piece of paper over very carefully, and was compelled to admit that the amounts placed to my credit do not balance any one of the debits. The question flashed into my mind, "How much owest thou unto my Lord?"

I took my Bible and learned that Paul says, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him." Then, I said, it is my business to lay by something every week for the Lord's treasury. The wise man says: "Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine increase." Then it is my business to give first to the Lord. That seems all right, for all the money in the world belongs to the Lord (but what a sight of it is stolen). I've been thinking lately whether I haven't been robbing God. What Malachi says in his book in the third chapter, from the eighth to the twelfth verse, keeps coming to me. I have just given it another careful reading: "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that they may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land saith the Lord of hosts." When I had finished reading this passage I said, I have been a robber, for I haven't begun to give the Lord a tenth of all the money I have received; but have looked after my own comfort and ease and never dared to figure how much of my money belonged to the Lord. Then I resolved to give this year ten cents of every dollar I receive. But if a tenth belongs to God, I should be very much about given till I pay him what he calls for. Then I wondered if these verses did not contain the explanation of the great spiritual dearth in all our churches. Not one of us in a thousand "honors the Lord with the first fruits of all our increase," and if we brought all the tenths into the Lord's treasury, I verily believe the blessing would come.

I again looked over my "account with the Lord." The first three debits I cannot in any way balance. The fourth is where I must begin. I took my cash book and found the footing for the first week of this year to be $576.57, the amount of the Lord's money I had received. The wise man says, "Honor the Lord with the first fruits of all thine increase," and Paul says to do it on the first day of the week, and I hear the Lord saying, "Bring all the tithes into my treasury." Then a tenth of the first week's receipts is $57.65. Just here this thought was suggested: "You owe several parties for goods and the bills are coming due in a few days," and then "you must look out to supply your family's needs." Then a terrible fight occurred. God's word arrayed against my own selfishness and pride. I knew not what to do. After a long struggle I said: "Lord, my obligations to thee are far above what they can possibly be to men and I bring thy tithe first." I then opened an account in my ledger headed, "The Lords Treasury," and immediately passed to the credit side of it $57.65. There came into my mind a restful feeling that at last I had begun to do what ought to have been done during the past thirty years of my life.

I have related this experience with the hope that it may lead other Christian men to see how much they owe unto the Lord, and especially the young men who, if they give as the Lord prospers them, will not have the painful recollections of having robbed the Lord all their life-time.—Christian Secretary.

The Home Circle.

FALSE PRIDE.

ASHAMED to own your labor To earn your daily bread; Ashamed to carry a parcel, Lest "something" might be said; Ashamed of humble neighbors, Ashamed of kith and kin, Ashamed to wear your last year's coat, Yet not ashamed to sin!

Ashamed to save the dollar By laying up the dime, Yet not ashamed to borrow, Or waste God's precious time; Ashamed to learn of good men, Ashamed to take advice, Yet not ashamed to take strong drink, And not ashamed of dice!

Ashamed to shun temptation, Ashamed to answer "No!" Yet not ashamed to loiter On "corners" as you go; Ashamed, before you venture, To nobly count the cost, Yet not ashamed to boast how much At stakes you've "won" or "lost!"

Poor human nature needeth Foundation like a rock, And strong supports and braces To guard against life's shock; But of all the "helps" to aid her, And all the "props" beside, That keeps her dignity alive, The weakest is false pride! —Selected.

The True Woman.

By Horace Bushnell

You cannot be a soldier or a preacher; but I wish, in the best and truest sense, to have you become a woman. This you cannot be without great and patient cultivation of your mind; for neither man nor woman has any basis of character without intelligence. You must be able to maintain intelligent conversation; and this requires a great deal of intelligence of every sort, and the more in a woman because she must not seem to be book-wise and scientific, as men may do, but to have her fund in herself, and speak on all subjects as if she had the flavor of all knowledge in herself naturally.

But if intelligence is necessary to make a fine woman, other things are quite as necessary. Her mind and heart must be perfectly pure, as that of infancy. She must be the very expression of modesty, and without the least affectation in her manners. Here the best rule is always to feel beautifully, and she will act beautifully, of course; whereas, if she undertakes to fashion her manners by rule, or to copy others, she will surely be stiff and affected. As to her looks, she will look best if she is never conscious that she has any looks at all, provided only that she has enough beauty and refinement of feeling to clothe her person out of it; for dress itself is never happy or becoming if it is not the natural clothing of a lovely spirit. As to temper, a woman should never seem to have any. A sharp temper pricks through the garment of softness, and it seems to be only a covering of thorns—of which the observer will be duly cautious. She ought never to vent or entertain a harsh judgment of others, but to cast a mantle of sweetness and charity over all she looks upon; for harsh judgments savor of passion, and imply a kind of grossness which is unbecoming to a woman. Study contentment, look on nothing with envy; for it is half the merit of a fine woman that she can bear so much with so beautiful a spirit. The bright side of life is in her; therefore she is to make adversity and loss smile by her patience. The angel who comes down to cry peace and good-will to mortals must not fret himself because there are clouds in his way; and if his locks are wet by the rain or singed by the thunder, he will not justify the beauty of his message if he is not able still to smile and to sing.

Do nothing to excite admiration, for that is the way to excite contempt, and, what is more, to deserve it. The woman who flatters and fawns, and studies her methods to attract the admiration of others seems to ask for it, and in asking, to confess that it can be gotten only by means that are without the scale of merit. The humblest flower is never so unwise. It gives out its colors and sheds its fragrance in the air because it has the secret stores of color and fragrance in its cap, and not to please some casual observer. Above all, the fine woman must be unselfish. We demand that she shall seem to have alighted here for the world's comfort and blessing, and all the ways of selfishness are specially at variance with her beautiful errand.—From Dr. Bushnell's Letter to His Daughter.

News and Notes.

By Editor

—Five cases of leprosy are reported from Chicago.

—Union City, Ind., was partially destroyed by fire, May 4. Loss, about $250,000.

—On Wednesday of last week, 2,875 immigrants arrived in New York from Europe.

—Nearly 300 sheep, belonging to Mr. Dusy, of Fresno, were killed in a recent hail-storm.

—Judge McKee of Oakland has resigned his position as one of the regents of the State University.

—The steamer Grappler was burned last week off Vancouver's Island, and fifty lives were lost.

—The late rains are said to have been quite general throughout the State, and were quite welcome.

—Senator Edmunds, acting Vice-president of the United States, is sojourning on the Pacific Coast.

—It is believed in London that a wide-spread conspiracy to murder exists in County Clare, Ireland.

—There are 4,000 boats and 25,000 fishermen employed in the sardine business on the French Coast.

—In New York, April 29, a snow-storm raged all the forenoon, an unprecedented occurrence at this season.

—The telegrams from Tucson, Arizona, for one day include a robbery, two murders, and the lynching of a murderer.

—The last census of India gives that country fifteen times as many people in proportion to area as the United States.

—A San Francisco daily of the 1st inst., reports four suicides in the State the previous day, two of which were in that city.

—Milwaukee has a female lawyer, and she was recently fined $10.00 for throwing a glass of water in the judge's face in court.

—The reduction of the national debt in April was only $3,500,000, owing to the fact that $10,000,000 was paid out for pensions.

—A few nights since, four deaf mutes had a quarrel over a game of cards in a San Francisco saloon, and one of them was badly stabbed.

—Twenty-nine new national banks were established during the month of April, one of which is at Los Angeles, with a capital of $100,000.

—It is reported that the Government had special agents watching the proceedings of the late Irish-American Convention at Philadelphia.

—A former City Treasurer of Buffalo has just been sentenced to five years' hard labor in the State Prison, for misappropriation of city bonds while in office.

—Several Police Captains of New York have been indicted for giving notice to the keepers of gambling-houses of intended raids upon their establishments.

—A steamer recently arrived in Boston from Liverpool with 1,200 steerage passengers, most of whom were brought over at the expense of the English Government.

—Another great storm is reported; this time the northwestern part of Texas is the scene of disaster and destruction, houses being blown down and individuals killed.

—A storm of rain, hail, thunder, and lightning did great damage to property in the vicinity of Scranton, Pa., May 4. Several large buildings were struck by lightning.

—The inland sea which M. De Lesseps proposes to create by letting water into a part of the Great Sahara Desert, Africa, would be 200 times as large as the bay of San Francisco.

—A London dispatch, says a document, containing charges against a dozen persons now in America, has been forwarded to the British Minister. The charges are of murder in Ireland.

—Salmi Morse has been headed off so persistently by municipal officers, public sentiment, and finally by Legislative enactment, that he has given up the idea of producing the "Passion Play" on the stage.

—Poor and small as Egypt is, the khedive's income is $750,000 a year, and members of his family receive $600,000 more. He has magnanimously (!) given $15,000 a year to be devoted to the payment of indemnity claims.

—The Judson Manufacturing Company, at Oakland, have just mounted a pair of shears of their own make, which are said to be the largest in the United States. They weigh eighteen tons, and will cut a bar of iron four and a half inches square.

—A yacht, containing a pleasure party of forty-five ladies and gentlemen, was suddenly capsized in San Joaquin River, near Antioch, last week. Fortunately the entire party were rescued, and the citizens of Antioch came to the rescue with dry clothing.

—A terrible explosion occurred in a coal mine at Ashland, Pa., last week, and several lives were lost. One of the pillars gave way, which caused an immense quantity of coal to rush in, forcing down the gas with such velocity as to cause it to explode.

—In San Francisco recently, a Chinaman was shot through both legs, and although amputation was deemed necessary to save his life, his friends would not permit the operation. Chinese surgeons are trying their skill with bandages without any hope of success.

—May 1, the reduction in the tobacco tax went into effect, which will make cigars from $3.00 to $6.00 per 1,000 cheaper than heretofore, and cigarettes in proportion. Of course all the smokers will rejoice, but how about the revenue argument as an excuse for the use of the weed?

—The arrest of nihilists continues in Russia. Eight officers have been arrested in St. Petersburg, and sixteen in Smolensk. It is said that an extensive military conspiracy has been discovered; that although the coronation will be permitted to proceed unmolested, desperate doings may be expected soon afterward.

—It is reported that a Turkish official recently refused transmission through the mails of an American hymn-book on account of its containing the well-known hymn, "Hold the Fort!" which he declared to be revolutionary. So far as his Government is concerned, his suspicions are not wholly without foundation.

—Fred Douglass heads a movement for a convention of colored citizens in Washington next fall, to urge the matter of more appointments of men of that race to positions in the various departments of the Government service. Secretary Folger says they have already more than a pro rata of the places in his department.

—Great suffering is resulting from the effects of the recent cyclone in Mississippi, and several societies are receiving and bestowing aid. The track of the terrible storm is 300 miles long and from one to two miles wide, in which everything was demolished. About fifty deaths are reported, and very many wounded and destitute.

—A New York dispatch of the 29th ult. says: "The Central Labor Union discussed the relation of the labor question to the revolutionary movement of Europe, and the general sentiment favored the use of dynamite. The argument was that kings and potentates used every engine of destruction in their wars, and particularly against the people when revolutionary outbursts take place."

—In West Oakland, April 30, the engines of the local passenger train and a freight train from Sacramento collided at the intersection of Cedar and Seventh Streets. Both engines were badly damaged. The passengers had an exciting shake-up, but no one was seriously injured. The accident was occasioned by the failure of the man, whose duty it was, to give the proper signals.

Religious Notes.

—"Pilgrim's Progress" has been translated into nearly all the languages of India.

—Bishop McNamara has recently organized the first Independent, or Reformed Catholic Church of Chicago.

—Sitting Bull, with 140 other Sioux, has espoused the Roman Catholic faith, and is soon to be received into the church.

—Joseph Cook makes a strong plea for female medical missionaries for India. There is no question but that they are needed.

—The Roman Catholics of Germany are not in favor of the proposal to keep the fourth centenary of Luther's birth as a great national festival. They strongly protest against it, and call it "persecution."

—Of seventy-one churches in India and Ceylon connected with the American Board, there are fifty that receive nothing from its treasury. The proportion of self-supporting churches in this country will hardly exceed that.

—Joseph Cook, speaking of Christian missions in foreign lands, says: "We have thrown but a pebble into the great ocean, yet we stand back in our conceit, and, watching the ripples created by our pebble, imagine that we are reforming the world."

—By a majority of two to one the Special Committee of the Free Church Assembly in Scotland have decided that the Scriptures do not forbid the use of instrumental music in worship, and that no constitutional prohibition of the church stands in the way.

—Dr. McLean, of the First Congregational Church, Oakland, presented some petitions at a recent prayer-meeting, in favor of high license. The people showed their good sense by refusing to sign the petitions, saying that they were not in favor of a liquor monopoly.

—The S. F. Jewish Times notes as proof that the Lord watches over his own, the following item: "There were about forty persons of Jewish extraction in Beaugard (Miss.) during the cyclone. All of them were picked out of the débris, but not one was seriously injured."

—At the California State Sunday-school Convention, which was held at Los Angeles last month, a resolution was passed deprecating the repeal of the Sunday Law, and praying and beseeching all persons, and the press, both secular and religious, to work and labor for its reenactment.

—Dr. Pentecost (Congregationalist), of Brooklyn, N. Y., received a hundred members by profession last year, fifty of whom he immersed. He prefers immersion, and commonly practices it, yet he thinks sprinkling is also baptism. He does not, however, believe in infant baptism.

—Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently celebrated the twenty-third anniversary of his pastorate in Brooklyn, and the thirty-seventh of his ministry. Among other things, he said that most of all he thanked God that he was a minister, for no throne was ever built that came within ten leagues of a pulpit for the preaching of Christ.

—The Episcopal Register says: "To get men for the ministry of the city churches, combining piety, education, ability, and social refinement, in sufficient numbers to supply the demand, is becoming an increasing difficulty. Piety, education, and ability are in demand for the country churches. Yet the men are not forthcoming."

—The strife has so culminated between the High and Low church parties in the Episcopal Church of the Evangelist, Philadelphia, that the Low church members are going to bring the matter before the courts on the ground that they have been defrauded of their place of worship by the ritualists. Several policemen were present at a recent service where trouble was expected.

—The Presbyterians of the Pacific Coast have resolved to establish a college which, "while it is unsectarian in its spirit and purpose, shall yet be positively and decidedly Christian in its character." The committee in charge of the project announces the intention that "this shall be not a school merely, but a college in fact as well as name, and that it will ultimately become to the Pacific Coast what Princeton College is to the Atlantic Coast." Proposals for eligible sites are invited.

—An exchange says: "About two years ago one native Chinaman in the village of Kokei, China, was the solitary follower of the Christian religion among the dwellers in that place. Through his influence, and that of the ministers, a neat little chapel has been built, which now has thirty church members, and over fifty regular attendants on worship. The native Christians have contributed two-thirds of what the building cost. They now carry on their Sunday services themselves, and provide for the expenses."

—A writer in the Congregationalist affirms that in the Connecticut Valley and to the west, in almost any community, may be found "scores, and even hundreds of people who, a few years ago, were regular attendants upon church, but have now dropped the practice altogether." He adds further: "Many towns are truly sinking down into heathenism, so far as Sabbath worship is concerned. Men often pay well to support preaching, and are friendly to the minister, but never are seen in the house of God."

—The Jewish Times (San Francisco) takes a firm stand against the desecration of the Sabbath by the Jews, and pleads for its strict observance. Closing an article on the subject it says: "We plead for a faithful observance of the Sabbath, not because it will not prove unprofitable, but because it is divinely commanded. It is not for us to calculate whether it involves profit or loss. It is not a matter of dollars and cents—It is a matter of duty, and if we perform that duty, it will be a matter of peace, joy, and heavenly blessing."

—Dr. Sprecher, of San Francisco, in a recent sermon on "Eternal Punishment," said: "Philosophically, we can see nothing in death to change character. In the absence of a revelation to the contrary, we must conclude that men must go on sinning after death as before." The thought just occurs to us that we would like to have the Doctor give his opinion of Rev. 5:13. There is "a revelation" to the effect that a time will come when sin will not be known in God's universe. Sin is the transgression of the law, and God will not perpetuate rebellion. God did not create sin; and when the "times of restitution of all things" come, sin will be left out, as a natural consequence.

Obituary.

By William M. Healey

WRIGHT—Mrs. Lydia Wright, aged 54, wife of Brother Isaac Wright, after a severe illness of a few months, fell asleep at Petaluma May 2. Sister Wright became interested in the Third Angel's Message by reading our publications, and united with us by baptism at the Sacramento camp-meeting. She loved the message, and lived to see her husband, and others dear to her, embrace it. We trust she sleeps in Jesus, and while she will be missed here from her place in the family, the church and the neighborhood, we know that God is good and we feel like trusting him to do all things well. He can see the end from the beginning, and will direct all things to the final good of those who trust him and do his will. Funeral service conducted by the writer May 4, assisted by Eld. J. H. Waggoner. W. M. HEALEY.

THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

By Eld. J. H. Waggoner.

THIS is a thorough expose of the system of spiritualism. The author has carefully studied the subject, and has given such copious extracts from a large library of spiritualist publications, as to fully condemn them in their teachings and in their practices, by their own testimony.

It is also shown from the prophetic scriptures that spiritualism is one of the most impressive signs of the times. 184 pp. Price, 20 cents.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.

Advantages of Drinking.

By Editor

SOME weeks since we noted a horrible crime committed by a man while drunk, and remarked that in a legal point of view no crime was committed, as the man was too drunk to be responsible for the action, and the man who made him drunk had a Government license to do that kind of business. Somebody in Oakland, who had not manliness enough to sign his name to his letter, ridiculed our position, assumed wondrous knowledge of the law, and intimated that the most desirable qualification for an editor was ignorance of the subject under discussion. We exposed the folly of his assumptions at the time, and in corroboration of our position copy the following from the Chronicle's report of a case in Oakland:—

"It being urged that the circumstance had somewhat unsettled his brain and that he was drunk when he took the purse, the Court discharged him, holding that the money was not taken with criminal intent."

Can a man in a drunken frenzy be said to have any intention at all? Has he any power of self-control left to him? If not, can he legally be convicted of criminal intention? It is well-known to every one conversant with Court matters that this plea is often urged, and often to good effect before both judges and juries. Perhaps a desirable quality in some half-fledged lawyers is to be ignorant of current events.

Time of Camp-Meetings.

KANSAS, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 17-22 PENNSYLVANIA, Olean, N. Y., . . . . May 31 to June 5 UPPER COLUMBIA, Milton, Or., . . . . . . . . June 6-12 IOWA, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 7-12 WISCONSIN, Portage, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 14-19 NORTH PACIFIC, Beaverton, . . . . . . . . . . . " 14-20 MINNESOTA, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 21-26 DAKOTA, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 27 to July 2 TEXAS, Waxahachie, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 13-23 VIRGINIA, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. 2-7 OHIO, Galion, Crawford Co., . . . . . . . . . . . " 15-21 MASSACHUSETTS, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 23-28 VERMONT, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 MAINE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. 6-11 ILLINOIS, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 11-18 NEBRASKA, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 19-25

Logical? Hardly.

By Editor

The Christian Herald, a paper which dispenses the truth to the inhabitants of Oregon, in the course of an editorial on the immortality of the soul, says:—

“We mean by immortal principle the never dying principle of man called the soul or spirit. That principle which cannot be killed. In Matt. 10:28, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ This shows, . . . (2) That the body can be killed, but no man can kill the soul. We can kill that which is mortal. The body is mortal as admitted by all; therefore it can be killed, or it may and does die a natural death. But we cannot kill that which is immortal or ever living. Jesus says we cannot kill the soul; therefore it is immortal, or never dying.”

It needs no argument to show the fallacy of such reasoning. But we are a little surprised at the editor's assurance. He frankly admits that “we” cannot kill the soul; and it may not be too much for him to claim that what “we” cannot do, cannot be done by human power; but we really think he ought not to say that because “man cannot kill the soul” therefore it cannot be killed at all, or that God cannot do it. At any rate he ought to have made such an assertion so soon after quoting the words of our Saviour in Matt. 10:28.

Results of Ship Missionary Work.

LAST year an English vessel visited San Francisco, and the captain became somewhat interested in the truth of the Third Angel's Message. He attended one or two meetings, at the request of the ship missionary, and before he sailed he bought about fifteen dollars' worth of our publications. As the result of his investigations, he soon commenced to keep the Sabbath, and allowed no unnecessary work to be done on that day. The few extracts which we give from his letter will be of general interest. It was written before he had reached his destination:—

"Hitherto have we been guided in safety; hitherto have we kept the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord our God; and hitherto have we been blessed with beautiful and steady winds and weather, scarcely necessitating the ordinary trimming of sails on the seventh and first days of the week. Even my officers remarked it with me, as if God had taken notice of us and was pleased with us. The sailors and the young men seem impressed with the sacredness of the day."

"My next crew will be apprised before engaging, of the keeping of the Sabbath. I am very much pleased and benefited by the works I received, and have allowed the crew to peruse them." "I would be exceedingly thankful were you making me a speciality in your prayers before God." "I wonder how many ships there are afloat that keep the seventh-day Sabbath holy to God. I may have some difficulty in Liverpool, but I must do the best I can. I will write you of my next destination."

Let no one think that the ship mission is a side issue. If all the labor expended had borne no other fruit, it would not have been in vain. But this is only one; other similar instances are known, and many will never be known till the Judgment. And the seed sown multiplies. As this vessel with its Sabbath-keeping crew visits different parts of the world, leaving tracts and papers at every place, who can estimate the good that may be done?

The value of the ship mission has not been realized as it should be, and the work has sometimes been allowed to suffer for lack of means. The men who are engaged in it are devoted men who have had experience in the work, and God is blessing their labors. Shall we not aid them by our prayers and our means?

Appointments.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

Meeting at Los Angeles.

THERE will be a general meeting held at Los Angeles, in the S. D. A. meeting-house, commencing Friday evening, May 18; meetings will continue till the following Monday. At this meeting we hope to see the friends throughout the southern field, and as many others as can come. It is expected that Sister White will attend. Those living in San Diego, Ventura, and Bernardino Counties, are especially invited.

S. N. HASKELL.

North Pacific Camp-Meeting.

By Chas. L. Boyd, T. H. Starbuck, Wm. L. Raymond

It is decided to hold our camp-meeting at Beaverton, Oregon, June 14-20. The grounds are directly on the railroad, twelve miles west of Portland; by wagon road seven miles. There will be a book-stand with all our publications for sale. To save expense, the secretaries should be prepared to replenish their libraries at this time. There will also be a stand from which such provisions can be obtained as will be needed on the ground. Directions for coming by railroad, connections at Portland, and a reduction of fare, which we expect to obtain, will be noticed in the SIGNS in another issue. An extra large tent will be pitched, a part of which can be used for a home by those destitute of small tents.

CHAS. L. BOYD, T. H. STARBUCK, WM. L. RAYMOND, Camp-meeting Committee.

North Pacific Tract and Missionary Society Meeting

By Chas. L. Boyd

THE next annual meeting of the North Pacific Tract and Missionary Society will be held at Beaverton, Or., June 14-20. The first meeting to be held Thursday morning at an early hour. All interested in the spread of the present truth should be on the ground at this time, as Elder Haskell, President of the International Tract and Missionary Society, will give an address at the first meeting which none can afford to lose.

CHAS. L. BOYD, Pres.

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