It seems that the clergy are really awaking, at last, to something like a proper sense of the necessity for raising their voices against a habit which threatens to exterminate the race unless some measures can be adopted to stay its progress and rescue its victims. Ministers can do more to aid the anti-tobacco reform than any other class. They have a powerful hold upon the moral characters of their followers, and can exercise a mighty influence in instilling into their minds sound physiological principles as well as moral truths. But in no way can clergymen accomplish so much in this direction as by a correct example. It would be of very little avail for a preacher to declaim against tobacco in the pulpit when half his congregation were accustomed to meet him in the street with a cigar in his mouth.
At a recent meeting of Methodist ministers in New York, the subject of tobacco was considered, especially its relation to the ministry. A paper on the subject was read by Dr. True. A city journal gives the following brief account of the essay together with subsequent remarks: —
“Besides the well-worn arguments touching its unhealthiness and uncleanness, it contained many excellent suggestions drawn from its effect upon the minds of public speakers and writers. It destroys the logical faculties and tends to make such men very superficial. The pernicious effect which the habit has on the young, who are so fond of imitation, and its hindrance to growth in grace were made prominent reasons for breaking off the use of the weed.
“The Rev. Mr. Corbitt, who is recognized as the champion chewer, was unanimously called to respond to the essay. He did so, and entered his solemn protest, founded on many years’ experience, against the use of tobacco in any form. He did not feel called upon to sacrifice his life in the attempt to give up the habit himself; but if he had his life to live over again he would not touch, taste, or handle it. These remarks, so unexpected from such a quarter, were received with applause.”
The Rev. Mr. Corbitt, certainly deserves credit for his frank acknowledgement of the harmful nature of tobacco; but how much more good he might accomplish by resolutely discarding the filthy weed and asserting his liberty from the bondage which has so long enslaved him. His fears of dying are groundless. Many a man has done the thing before, and never one died for want of tobacco. He would doubtless feel as though his dissolution was close at hand, but he would certainly survive, and his usefulness would be immeasurably increased.
The Illinois Methodist Conference recently adopted the following resolution which augurs well for that denomination as evincing their appreciation of one of the great truths which reformers have been for years advocating: —
“Resolved, That in view of the fact of the great expensiveness and filthiness of tobacco, and of the fact that tobacco belongs to the same class of poisons and conduces to strong drink, we urge upon all our laymen to abstain from its use; we recommend that all young men admitted to the conference at this important point in life forego its use; and we suggest that the example of presiding elders using it is extremely hurtful.
Dr. Talmage, also, who has so long been a vigorous supporter of the total abstinence cause, declares himself an opponent of tobacco in every shape; and this, notwithstanding the recent demonstration by Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, who is a contributor to his paper.
Tobacco-using is adverse to piety, whether ministers or laymen indulge in it; and the wonder is that Christian ministers have been so long in finding out that the narcotic weed is one of their most powerful enemies. A narcotic Christian is not likely to be a very energetic one.—Health Reformer.
News and Miscellany.
By Editor
"MEN'S hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21 : 26.
—Large Washouts, caused by the rapidly melting snows of the Humboldt Mountains, are reported along the railroad near Humboldt Wells and Toana. Trains run slowly over many dangerous places, while men walked ahead to examine the track, and were delayed several hours for the rebuilding of places where the track had been carried away.
—It is reported by missionaries laboring in Russia that the existing demand for Bibles in that country is greater than can be supplied at present. Ten thousand copies of the New Testament have been disposed of within a short time, and another edition is in press. The British and Foreign Bible Society has circulated 27,000 volumes of the Finnish Bible during the past year. The Greek Church, in marked contrast to that of Rome, shows much cordiality toward efforts for the spread of the Scriptures. Monks are frequently engaged in the work, and Bible book shops are connected with many of the monasteries. The last few years have seen a new impetus given to missions in the Russian Church. The Czar is president of the National Missionary Society, the chief fields of which are in Kamtschatka, Siberia, the Caucasus and China.
—The number of Jews in New York is reckoned at 50,000. They have two synagogues valued at $50,000 each, and the ark in one cost $70,000.
—Nearly 1,000 families of Mennonites it is expected will soon arrive in Canada from Russia. They have chosen Manitoba for their future residence, and have commissioned an agent to buy for them several thousand head of cattle in the West. There has been a large immigration of this people to the United States during the past two years, the number being estimated at 6,000 persons, or 1,200 families.
SAD FACTS.—The superintendent of the Liverpool workhouse states, in his recent report, that eighteen out of every twenty-seven persons sent to the workhouse were suffering from delirium tremens.
One of the physicians of Bellvue Hospital recently informed me that at least two-thirds of all the patients treated at that institution, were suffering from the effects of alcohol.
It is well known that at least nine-tenths of all the crimes committed are due to the influence of liquor.
Who will say, in the face of these facts, that the sale of alcohol should not be as stringently prohibited as that of arsenic, strychnia, prussic acid, or any other poison.
FIVE cardinals have lately been created by the Pope; among them Archbishop McCloskey of the United States.
Health Department.
By James White
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." -3 John 2.
Bible Hygiene.
THE Bible, from the earliest record of man's creation in Genesis, to the closing Revelation which brings to view his triumphant redemption, exalts man as
THE GLORY OF THE CREATOR.
This is seen in the words of Jehovah to his Son, in the beginning, "Let us make man in our image; after our likeness;" and it is no less apparent in the declaration in the last book of the Bible from the four and twenty elders, as they worship at the throne of Heaven, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Whether it was man's moral character, his physical form, or both, that was made in the likeness of God, we leave with theologians to discuss. In either case, we behold man as expressed in David's song of praise to the beneficent Creator, "Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor; thou madest him to have dominion over the work of thy hands. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth." The goodness of God in creation, in the gift of his Son for the redemption of fallen man, and in the ministrations of holy angels and the gift of the Holy Spirit, through which his word has been revealed, is feebly expressed in these words of the beloved John, "God is love."
The record of his creation, its ample provisions and glorious surroundings in Eden, fully attest the love of God to man, and the glory he would confer upon him in this life. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food."
LABOR A BLESSING.
Man was formed for activity. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." It was the design of the Creator that he should derive his chief delights of existence from those pursuits that would demand physical and mental action. Before sin entered happy Eden, the representatives of the race were put into the garden, "to dress it and to keep it," where their minds could trace, in a thousand varied forms, the perfections and power of the divine creative hand. In the estimation of God, and his Son, and of the holy angels, labor was honorable and for the good of man, even for sinless hands in holy Eden.
After the transgression, God said to Adam, "Cursed be the ground for thy sake." The earth was cursed in consequence of Adam's sin. But the fact that he was to eat his bread by the sweat of his face was not the curse. Increased labor was simply a consequence which was for his best good in his fallen condition.
"God is love." We must not view the curse in the light of retaliation on the part of the gracious Creator. We call in question that lazy theology that makes work the sum of the curse, and looks forward to the time when immaterial spirits shall go to an immaterial Heaven to get rid of work, and sit on the edge of a cloud and sing halleluiahs to all eternity.
But labor, first instituted in holy Eden, is for man's best good in his fallen condition out of Eden. And as for the future, give us the tangible inheritance of the saints, in light, in the earth redeemed from the curse, and happy Eden restored upon it again. There the redeemed, in all the gladness of immortal life will enjoy the delights of activity of body and mind in a world of inexhaustible variety, bearing the impress of both the creating and the redeeming hand.
GOD IS LOVE.
And in love he created our first parents, and richly endowed them with physical and mental power. This was for the glory of the Creator, and the happiness of the creature, man. God is the author of life, health, strength, and true happiness. Death, sickness, sorrow, physical and moral wretchedness, are the legitimate offspring of the transgression of moral and natural law instituted by the divine Author of all good.
"God is love." He is not the author of sickness, sorrow, and death. In a general sense, sickness is no more a necessity than sin. At a funeral, a sensible minister once made the startling assertion that it was a disgrace to die. He did not mean that death was avoidable at a good old age; but that its existence, even in ripe age, was the result of the first great transgression on the part of the representatives of the dying race. And he might have added that premature death, in childhood, youth, or in the strength of middle life, was the result of continued transgression.
"God is love." He is not the author of our woes. And it is a stupid reflection upon the divine character to lay our sicknesses, pains, bereavements, tears, and sorrows, to the mysterious dealings of his providential hand. It may, however, be fashionable, on funeral occasions, for ministers, in their words of condolence to the bereaved, to charge, the progress of disease and the ravages of death, in those who should live to bless society, to the wise dealings of the loving Disposer of events. They may gravely state that for very good and wise reasons, he has removed dear friends from us by death. Fashion and custom may dress and decorate corpses of the youth with muslin and flowers. Taste and expense may adorn our cemeteries with the sculpture of art and the glory of nature; yet we hear the voice of revelation and of reason declaring that death is the reward of sin; and is man's dreaded foe. Poets may sing:—
"Why do we mourn for dying friends?
Or shake at death's alarm?
'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends,
To call them to his arms."
"Why should we start, and fear to die?
What tim'rous worms we mortals are!
Death is the gate to endless joy,
And yet we dread to enter there."
And yet the great apostle, when speaking off the resurrection of the just to the joys of eternal life, says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. 15: 26.
"God is love." And his revealed will relates to man's well-being in this life, as well as to that which is to come. God does not take pleasure in the miseries of this mortal state. He delights in the happiness of obedient intelligences in this world, as well as in the future joys of the redeemed in the world that is to come. The Bible teaches how to live so as to enjoy that health and happiness in this life, favorable to securing eternal life. True godliness does not neglect the laws of our present being, and dimly view only the immortal existence. It is profitable unto all things. It gives promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
The religion of the Bible was not intended simply as a garment to put on, to cover moral and physical impurities. It was designed to convert the entire man, soul, body, and spirit, that he might be pure within and without. That bogus piety which would give licenses to consecrated gluttony, devoted lust, and sanctified filthiness, is simply a burlesque upon the religion of the Bible. J. W.
Great Guns.
THE CANNON OF THE FUTURE—HOW THE MILLENNIUM MAY BE BROUGHT AROUND.
The London Standard says: England is now building a ship to carry 24 inches of armor, and she is making a gun which will be 81 tons in weight. It may be said here is proof of England's superiority. Unquestionably the ship is splendidly designed. So also is the gun, which we are to have ready some time about next July, and which will doubtless turn out to be a wonderful weapon. Artillerist's speak of the coming monster as an "awful gun." Crowds assemble at the forge whenever one of the huge coils is to be pummelled by the new steam-hammer at Woolwich Arsenal. Even in the making of the 38-ton guns, masses of iron weighing 28 tons, at a welding heat, have to be laid under the hammer.
For the larger gun an incandescent mass of 45 tons has to be fetched out of the fire, and duly hammered. The furnace has the capacity of a cottage, and the tongs by which the glowing cylinder is lifted out of its burning bed weighs no less than 30 tons. A steam crane bears the whole weight of tongs and coil, and everything proceeds without accident or hitch of any kind. At night the sight is truly grand, and well repays those who take the trouble to be present. Other nations are not likely to be blind to the advantage which accrues from the possession of guns exceptionally powerful. Already it is known that steel tubes are being made, having a diameter six inches greater than that of the tube of the 81-ton gun. These tubes may be intended for the lining of the American smooth-bore guns, which are to be converted into rifles. Possibly they are for the use of the French Government, or for the Italian. At all events such masses of steel are being made, and are destined to play some part in connection with foreign artillery. Most certainly the appearance of a 100-ton muzzle-loading gun among foreign armaments is by no means a remote contingency.
But what are we prepared to do? Assuredly the great steam-hammer at Woolwich Arsenal can accomplish something more for us than the making of an 81-ton gun, big as that undoubtedly will be, with its bore of 16 inches in diameter and 24 feet in length, firing a projectile weighing 1,600 pounds, the range of the weapon being seven miles. All this is very formidable, but it is not by any means all that can be done. We may double the weight of the gun, making it 160 tons, having a calibre of 20 inches and a bore of at least thirty feet. This would be a magnificent piece of ordinance; but even then there would be something beyond, and why should we stop short of that which must be gained at some period or other?
Let us contemplate the further step at once. Why not have a gun with a bore of 24 inches—simply 2 feet? The weight would be 275 tons, the charge of powder would be 1,000 pounds, the weight of the projectile nearly two tons and a half, and the range eight or nine miles! This is not a mere dream, a perfectly practicable piece of work. The cost would probably be a trifle less than £100 per ton, or about £25,000 for the entire piece. In weight of projectile such a gun would be something more than a 5,000-pounder. Perhaps when we had made such a weapon we might think we had gone far enough. As for armor, the projectile of the 275-ton gun would possibly penetrate three feet with a corresponding backing. As we showed sometime ago, Dr. Collis Browne modelled a ship which shall actually carry three feet of armor. This armor would also be presented at a slope, so that our 5,000-pounder would have its work to do. As for cost, there is the consideration that one such gun will give results as no number of smaller guns could accomplish. The Inflexible sheathed in part with two feet of armor, will carry four 81-ton guns, costing £8,000 each. Her four guns, therefore, will cost more than one 275-ton gun. Yet how would such a vessel as the Inflexible be able to stand the attack of so tremendous a weapon? The 5,000-pound projectiles, unless striking with considerable obliquity, would readily smash through the thickest part of the armor, and two or three such visitors, having a bursting charge of 300 pounds of powder, might decide the fate of the ship. Surely the result would be cheap at the price!—San Francisco Chronicle.
Life of William Miller.
By John Norton Loughborough
I have just completed a careful reading of every line of the book with the above title. It has been to me a feast. My spirit has been refreshed. The book contains a history of the Advent cause from its rise to the death of William Miller, such as cannot be found elsewhere. It shows by the testimony of scores of candid witnesses, among them ministers of various denominations, that William Miller was a man of sterling integrity and uprightness, and that his labors, instead of being a mere system of proselyting, were productive of the conversion of hundreds of infidels, and thousands of common sinners to the religion of Jesus Christ, and that his lectures were followed by revivals wherever he went.
We think the book should be found in the family of every Seventh-day Adventist, and widely circulated elsewhere. The nominal price of $1.00, the cost of the book, is really a small valuation of what the book contains. Send and get a copy. When you have carefully read it, you will never regret the investment.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
St. Helena, Cal., March 22, 1875.
Loss of Methodist Probationers
The Northern Christian Advocate makes the statement that the M. E. church loses seventy-five per cent of its probationers. In fourteen years 2,092,686 probationers were reported, of whom only 509,316 went into full communion, or 22 to each 100. In other words, in fourteen years more were lost than would make another church as large as itself. The Advocate thinks the prevalent revival methods of the church are at fault, and that such spiritual prodigality in labor and souls should be abated.
Drunkenness and the Workhouse
"Can't you make any allowance for a man's being drunk?" "Certainly!" said the Judge, "I'll allow you thirty days in the workhouse."
Poverty a Blessing.
POVERTY is the nurse of manly energy, and heaven-climbing thoughts, attended by love, and faith, and hope, around whose steps the mountain breezes blow, and from whose countenance all the virtues gather strength. Look around you upon the distinguished men that in every department of life guide and control the times, and inquire what was their origin and what was their early fortune. Were they, as a general rule, rocked and dandled in the lap of wealth? No; such men emerged from the homes of decent competence or struggling poverty. Necessity sharpens their faculties; and privation and sacrifice brace their moral nature. They learn the great art of renunciation, and enjoy the happiness of having few wants; they know nothing of the indifference of satiety. There is not an idle fiber in their frames; they put the vigor of a resolute purpose into every act. The edge of their mind is always kept sharp; in the school of life, men like these meet softly-nurtured darlings of prosperity as iron meets the vessels of porcelain.
The Christ Alphabet.
A is for Advocate; Alpha, Amen;
All titles of Jesus, the Saviour of men.
—1 John 2:1; Rev. 1:8; 3:14.
B is for Bridegroom, for Bishop, for Bread;
The soul that receives him with manna is fed.
—Matt. 25:1; 1 Pet. 2:25; John 6:35.
C is for Captain, for Chief Corner stone,
And safe is the man that buildeth thereon.
—Eph. 2:20; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 2:6.
E is the Everlasting Father, who stands
Inviting His creatures with wide, open hands.
—Isa. 9:6; 55:1.
F is for Faithful; and true is the name,
For he who doth bear it is ever the same.
—Rev. 19:11.
G is for Governor, God over all,
Who offers salvation to great and to small.
—Ps. 22:28; Rom. 9:5.
H is the Holy and Harmless High Priest,
Who bids us by faith on his flesh and blood feast.
—Heb. 7:26.
I is Immanuel, bringing God near;
The Son whom we worship and serve without fear.
—Isa. 7:14.
J is for Jesus, for Judge, and for Just;
Happy are those who in Him put their trust.
—Matt. 1:21; James 5:9; Acts 3:14.
K is for King; and as such he shall reign,
When death is destroyed, and his enemies slain.
—1 Tim. 6:15; 1 Cor. 15:25.
L is for Lamb, for Lord, and for Lion,
The meek Galilean, the Ruler of Zion.
—John 1:29; 20:13; Rev. 5:5.
M is Messiah, the promised of old,
By good men expected, by prophets foretold.
—John 1:41.
N is for Nazarene, humble the name;
But glory shall crown it, and scatter its shame.
—Matt. 2:23.
O is Omega, the End and the Last,
For he shall endure when the ages are past.
—Rev. 22:13.
P is Passover, Prophet, and Priest;
May peace the world o'er and good will be increased.
—1 Cor. 5:7; John 7:40; Heb. 8:1.
Q is a Quickening Spirit, we read,
The Second Man Adam, the woman's pure seed.
—1 Cor. 15:45.
R is our Refuge, our Rock of defense;
Not sorrow nor Satan shall drive us from thence.
—Jer. 16:19; 1 Cor. 10:4.
S is for Saviour, for Shepherd, for Shield;
With the Sword of the Spirit the saint takes the field.
—Titus 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:25; Prov. 30:5.
T is for Teacher, whose lessons are Truth;
Unto Him let us cry as the guide of our youth.
—John 3:2; 14:6.
U is that Unspeakable Gift from above,
The Father sent down in his infinite love.
—2 Cor. 9:15.
V is for Vine, and its branches we are;
If abiding in him, much fruit we shall bear.
—John 15:1.
W is for Wonderful, for Witness, for Word;
The Way to be saved, from which we have erred.
—Isa. 9:6; Rev. 3:14; 19:13.
X is our eXample in trial or pain;
With Him if we suffer, with Him we shall reign.
—1 Pet. 2:21.
Y is the Yoke that His followers wear;
By His help we are able the burden to bear.
—Matt. 11:29.
Z was his Zeal, and it wrapped him around;
May we put it on, and in goodness abound.
—Isa. 59:17.
—Early Days.
St. Helena.
By John Norton Loughborough
DURING the last six weeks I have been at my home in St. Helena. At such times as I could leave my companion I have spoken in our house of worship there, generally once Sabbath, and twice on first-day. The church seemed greatly encouraged. A few outside the church attended and gave good attention to the word spoken. One at least has already come out as the result of the lectures.
On Sabbath, March 27, Bro. Kellogg was with us, and spoke with acceptance to the church. At the close of his discourse six were received into the church, and one other signed the covenant to keep the Sabbath. Thus the work moves steadily on at St. Helena.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Meetings and Baptism at St. Helena
By John Norton Loughborough
I DESIGN to speak at St. Helena Sabbath and first-day, April 10 and 11, at 11 A. M., each day, and baptize at the close of the discourse on Sabbath. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
No Time to Kill.
An aged American minister states, that in the early part of his ministry, being in London, he called on the Rev. Matthew Wilks. Mr. Wilks received him with courtesy, and entered into conversation, which was kept up briskly till the most important religious intelligence in possession of each had been imparted. Suddenly there was a pause—it was broken by Mr. Wilks:
"Have you anything more to communicate?"
"No, nothing of special interest."
"Any further inquiries to make?"
"None."
"Then you must leave me; I have my Master's business to attend to. Good morning."
"Here," says the minister, "I received a lesson on the impropriety of intrusion, and on the most manly way of preventing it."—Christian Guardian.
Statistics of the World’s Languages
According to the latest statistics gathered by European linguists, there are 90,000,000 of people who speak the English language; 45,000,000 speak German; 55,000,000 Spanish, and 45,000,000 French.
European Nations Are Arming
THE London Times in a review of the situation says: "In the gloom surrounding us one thing is perceptible—all are arming. Germany is arming en masse; the surrounding nations, including the best of the world, cannot do otherwise."
English Bibles.
By Editor
We will send any of the following English Reference Bibles, by mail, post-paid, at their respective prices :
In ordering, designate the number of the Bible, in the left hand column of this list that you want. Please send in your orders.
Payment for Publications
By Editor
☞ Our publications are offered in Coin at the same prices at which they are sold in Michigan in Legal Tender. The difference between hard money and U. S. currency will simply pay freight from Michigan. Our friends will please pay for books and the SIGNS OF THE TIMES in coin value.
How to Send Money by Mail
By Editor
ALL money sent by mail to the SIGNS' office should be in drafts or postal orders, payable to the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, if the sum exceeds $2.00. Sums less than $2.00 can be in currency or postage stamps.
Business Department.
By Editor
"Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully," (margin, negligently). Jer. 48:10.
Received for the Signs.
$2.00 EACH. J C Smith, J H Kime, J H Leland, Mrs T B Kineheloe, Harlow Gilbert, Mrs D D Brady, Mrs A F Moe, Miss Mary Jenson, C W Bainbridge.
$1.00 EACH. Charity Prentis, H D Banks.
MISCELLANEOUS. G C Martin 25c, D N Abbott 20c, M J Chapman 25c.
California Publishing Fund.
J C $20, G C Martin $100, Mrs S A Douglass $20, Mary A Martin $10, R W Forbes $10, B Stickney $50, B N Berry $50, I F Berry $10, Mary Williamson $10.
California Tent Fund.
J C $5, Ruel Stickney $50.
Books! Books!! Books!!!
By Editor
☞ Our Book List.—Any persons on the Pacific Coast wishing any of the publications named in our book list can obtain them by mail or express by writing to the Signs of the Times, Oakland, California, enclosing the published price of the same. When sent by mail, books will be post paid; when by express, at the expense of the one ordering the books; but in this case a liberal discount will be made when ten dollars worth or more are paid for with any one order.