Knowing how greatly our local societies lack the enthusiasm that should characterize them, and thinking perhaps a few words of encouragement would inspire to action, I address you on the subject. I have just been reading Bro. Butler's article in REVIEW of March 11, on “Missionary Meetings in Battle Creek,” and heartily rejoice to hear of the interest felt there. I wish that each of you would take the trouble to re-read the article, and at once go to work to cast in your mite. Brethren, we in Dakota are not doing what we should. To be sure, we are many of us young and inexperienced, but we should take more interest in T. and M. work and the proper scattering of the large stock of tracts and books on hand in our State depository.
The books in our depository have been practically idle for some time. In looking them over, I find there is an over-stock of many kinds, and none at all of many others that are the most needed. As the financial standing of the society is rather discouraging, I have written to the president of our society, and to the Office, to learn what can be done.
The object of this appeal is to call your attention to the work. Very little has been done in the past year, and I wish to encourage each one to work,—to do something,—so that at our next quarterly meeting each one may have something to report. Then, brethren, don't fail to report it. Don't allow the meeting to pass without your presence as a means of encouragement, and without your report, be it ever so small. Remember that—
“Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean,
And the beauteous land.”
Every little helps to swell the aggregate.
Next, don't forget sales. Try to sell something, either tracts, pamphlets, or bound books, of which we have a great supply; and those of you who have not already done so, procure the books mentioned in the last few numbers of the REVIEW, and read them. We need their instruction, our neighbors need them; and the tract society needs the proceeds of the sales to pay the offices of publication. Now, don't say, “Oh! I cannot do this;” for we must. It is high time for us to awake out of sleep, or we shall not receive even the penny awarded to the eleventh-hour workers.
Again, our State depository is very sadly in want of more tracts. But our indebtedness is quite large, and I do not feel as though we should ask the Office to advance us more stock on credit; for I do not see how we are to pay a much larger amount, unless we can pay the smaller. In view of these things, will you not adopt the system of paying an amount equal to one-third of your tithes (not forgetting the tithes); or if you do not pay tithes, a donation with your report; so that we can see our way clear to replenish our depository and pay our indebtedness. I am aware that all feel poor, but we can all do a little each quarter; and by this means we shall soon have the sweet satisfaction of being out of debt.
Now, let each individual take courage in the work, and make an earnest effort. Go to the Lord in faith, asking his blessing on our tract society, and for ways and means for its advancement, and he will so aid and instruct us that we may be a power for good in the land.
G. E. HENTON, Sec.
S. J. HERSUM,
By S. J. Hersum
To Dists. No. 3 and 4, Me. T. and M. Society.
Dear Brethren and Sisters: The time for our next quarterly meeting of the T. and M. society is drawing near, and we want to call your attention to this important work. I do not address these lines to those who work, but to those who do little or nothing in this cause.
James tells us that “faith without works is dead.” Chap. 2:20. We profess to believe that the third angel’s message is now being given to the world, that this is the last message of mercy this world will ever have, and that the time is very short. Now, brethren, what are we doing to show that we believe this? Are we doing what we can to bring this truth before those who are in the broad road? or are we rejoicing in the truth ourselves, yet doing little or nothing to help the thousands who are perishing for want of the light? It seems to me if we are in this condition, we are virtually denying what we profess to believe.
There are a large number of our brethren who belong to the T. and M. society who seldom attend the quarterly meetings or send in a report of their labor. Such do not realize what a blessing they lose. Our T. and M. quarterly meetings are among the most interesting ones that we have; and how much more interesting and profitable they might be, if all our brethren took that interest in this work that they should take. Come, brethren, look about yourselves and see what you have been doing during the weeks and months that have passed, and note it down. In this way you will learn something of the interest you have in this work. Send the report of your labor to the librarian. And this is not all that is wanted of you. We want you at the quarterly meeting in person; for it takes means to carry forward the work, and at these meetings plans are devised to raise it. Your presence is greatly desired.
S. J. HERSUM,
TELLING TRIBUTES TO RELIGION.
SOME thirty years ago, a young man from Southern Pennsylvania was on his way to college, and entering the stage-coach he found as passengers several men whose loose talk was chiefly in ridicule of religion and the Bible. He himself was not a Christian, but he was of a Christian family and reverenced his father and mother and their faithful piety, which he felt were both the strength and beauty of his early home. Pained and provoked by the blasphemies of his fellow-travelers, he was silent till he could bear it no longer, and then he contradicted their statements and denied and opposed their assertions. Amused at his unexpected boldness, and thinking to make short work of the youth, they became more reckless and impudent than before. He was not then the keen and practiced debater he afterward became, but by the Christian teaching of his home and church, he had been well informed; and with his spirit roused, and speaking on the side of truth, he gave them blow for blow and facts for arguments, till soon they were silenced and gave up the discussion. At the end of the stage-route they all entered the steamboat which was in waiting, and had not been205long on board when one who had been foremost in opposing and ridiculing religion came to the young man and asked,—
“Have you a state-room?”
“I have.”
“Will you let me share it with you?”
“Why?”
“Because I have a large amount of money with me, and I am afraid to sleep with any one I do not know, lest I should be murdered for my money. If you will let me have one of the two berths, I shall esteem it a great favor.”
His request was granted. But what a commentary on his previous words and his ridicule of the Bible and Christians!
About fifty years ago, a gentleman from one of the Southern States was obliged, on a journey, to pass through the then wild region now known as Western Virginia. He was an avowed infidel, often saying that Christianity was false, and would ultimately lose its influence and die out. He had been advised to make a certain part of his journey by day, as at night the region spoken of was unsafe. But being delayed, he was on his way through this very region when night overtook him. Approaching a small cabin and inquiring where he was, he found to his dismay that he was in the very neighborhood he had been warned to avoid; but thinking it as dangerous to go back as forward, he determined to stop where he was. So he entered the hut, in which there was only a woman, and among the rude furniture he saw knives that in his eyes looked very large, and guns enough for many assailants. Before long, the cottager himself came in, a rough mountaineer, and in a frank but uncouth manner welcomed the stranger, who quietly took a seat. When supper was ready, they invited him to draw up and eat with them; but as his appetite was spoiled by anxiety and fear, he declined, saying he was not hungry. After supper had passed in a long silence, as he expressed a desire to rest, the cottager replied,—
“You can lie down wherever you like on the floor there. I am sorry I haven’t anything better to offer you. But we always, before we go to sleep, read a chapter in this book,” taking down a Bible, “and ask God to take care of us through the night.”
The stranger’s relief from anxiety and fear was instantaneous. The book which he had often ridiculed and opposed, he at once felt was the guarantee of his safety during the silent watches of the night, and he lay down as securely and quietly for his rest as if he had been in his own home, and with a lesson to his conscience and sober judgment that made him a wiser and better man.—Christian Weekly.
PEORIA, TEXAS, V. M. SOCIETY.
By Mrs. M. B. Miller
THE following is the report of the V. M. society at Peoria, Texas, for the three quarters beginning April 1 and ending Dec. 31, 1881:—
No. of members, 50
“ “ reports received, 21
“ “ missionary visits, 21
“ “ letters written, 28
“ “ Signs taken in clubs, 40
“ “ subscribers obtained for periodicals, 3
“ “ pages tracts and pamphlets distributed, 3,048
“ “ periodicals distributed, 687
Cash received, $9.00
WM. L. RAYMOND, Sec.
Wisconsin Tract and Missionary Society.
By Mattie A. Kerr
Report for Quarter Ending January 1, 1882.
Districts
No. Members
No. of Reports Returned
Members Added
Families Visited
No. of Letters Written
No. of Signs taken in Clubs
Subscribers obtained
Pages of Pamphlets & Tracts distributed
Periodicals Distributed
Annuals sold and given away
Cash Rec'd on Tract, Books & Periodicals
1
70
....
....
....
....
....
6
2488
418
....
....
4
23
7
....
....
1
5
....
31
74
....
....
7
50
31
7
85
51
13
23
10708
461
8
....
8
23
9
....
4
....
7
6
2160
130
....
5
16
28
5
3
....
1
....
8
200
28
....
20
Total
194
52
10
89
53
25
43
15587
1109
5
$145
NOTE.— Received for membership and on donations, $45.44; on tract fund, $2.70; on periodicals, $94.88; on other funds, $33.65; total, $176.67. Members dismissed from society, 2.
MRS. MATTIE A. KERR, Sec.
Pennsylvania Tract and Missionary Society.
By Mrs. D. C. Phillips
Report for Quarter Ending January 1, 1882.
Districts.
No. Members.
No. of Reports obtained.
Members Added.
Families Visited.
No. of Letters Written.
No. of Signs taken in Clubs.
Subscribers obtained in periodicals.
Pages of Pamphlets & Tracts distributed.
Periodicals Distributed.
Annual and given away.
Cash, rec'd on Tract & Periodicals.
1
35
20
—
—
—
—
6
3280
830
—
$37
2
93
62
1
44
118
15
13
23594
1150
710
$67
3
61
31
1
15
—
6
5
8955
715
320
$30
4
89
39
2
98
26
30
39
16565
708
184
$74
5
—
—
—
62
10
—
3
3644
156
14
—
*
—
2
—
—
—
—
10
5924
6
115
$182
278
154
4
219
154
51
76
61962
3068
1305
$408
NOTE.—Received for membership and on donations, $42.47; sales, $130.00; periodicals, $231.28. Collected on other funds, $15.00. Subscribers obtained for REVIEW, 16; Signs, 6; Good Health, 14; Instructor, 9; other periodicals, 31. Members dismissed from society,
MRS. D. C. PHILLIPS, Sec.
THE SHEAVES.
“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
No shadow o’er the silver sea,
That as in slumber heaves,
No cloud on the September sky,
No blight on any leaves,
As the reaper comes rejoicing,
Bringing in his sheaves.
Long, long and late the spring delayed,
And the summer, dank with rain,
Hung trembling o’er her sunless fruit,
And her unripened grain;
And, like a weary, hopeless life,
Sobbed herself out in pain.
So the year laid her child to sleep,
Her beauty half expressed;
Then slowly, slowly cleared the skies,
And smoothed the seas to rest,
And raised the fields of yellow corn
O’er summer’s buried breast;
Till autumn counterfeited spring
With such a flush of flowers,
His fiery-tinctured garlands more
Than mocked the April bowers,
And airs as sweet as airs of June
Brought on the twilight hours.
O holy twilight, tender, calm!
O star above the sea!
O golden harvest gathered in
With late solemnity,
And thankful joys for gifts nigh lost,
Which yet so plenteous be!—
Although the rain-cloud wraps the hill,
And suddenly swoop the leaves,
And the year nears his sacred end,
No eye weeps—no heart grieves:
For the reaper comes rejoicing,
Bringing in his sheaves.
—Selected.
“DON’T GET TIRED TILL THE WORK IS DONE.”
This remark was recently made in regard to worldly labor, and we thought how well it would be if the same untiring energy were manifested concerning the things of eternity. Especially should this spirit be manifested in those living near the close of the day of grace. Many have borne the burden and heat of the day. They long for rest, and cry out in the bitterness of their souls, “How long, O Lord, how long?” Many feel their strength almost gone, and look ahead feeling they can never go through. But weary, sick, and fainting ones, “Don’t get tired till the work is done.” It soon will be done, and the day of rest will come. Push forward the work you have to do with untiring energy. Be sure you have done all the Master requires of you, and then you can rest. This message of warning must be heard and accepted by many dying sinners. The night will soon come, when no man can work. But till you know you have done what you could, and the hours of probation close, don’t get tired, but keep at work earnestly, prayerfully, unceasingly.
Bismarck’s Failed Compromise Bill
—The bill which has been introduced by the Bismarck Cabinet into the Prussian House of Representatives, satisfies nobody and disappoints everybody. It does not abolish the May laws, but gives to the government discretionary power to hold them in abeyance as long as it deems it convenient to do so. The government is full of mistrust toward Rome, therefore it does not want to abrogate the May laws. Yet it finds it necessary to make peace with the Romanist party; therefore it is ready to abstain from executing the May laws. Thus the bill is a temporary and a half-and-half measure. It makes no peace, but establishes a kind of truce between Germany and Rome. The Romanists scorn the bill, because it does not annihilate the May laws, and the Liberals hate it, because it makes concessions to the power of Rome without demanding even the shadow of a concession from the other side. Even the two conservative factions of the “Land-tag” disliked the bill from the beginning. The House received the first reading of the bill very coldly. It was evident that the measure was a failure. Yet it was intrusted to a commission of twenty-one members. They discussed it, pondered it, examined it, and at last repudiated it. Indeed, if this bill was to be the coach in which the old German Chancellor was to go to Canossa, it has broken down completely before he started! The situation in Germany is grave. It is watched with much anxiety by all earnest and thoughtful men. It would be a206great calamity if Bismarck, after having fought and defeated so many other foes, should at last fall a victim to Rome, as the Greek Hercules fell at last a victim to a crafty woman.—Christian Weekly.
The Tendency of the Times.
By Editor
Adventists claim that we are living in the last days, and that one distinguishing characteristic of these days is that “iniquity [lawlessness] shall abound.” This feature of our times is very prominent, and Adventist papers are not the only ones that notice and comment on the prevalent lawlessness and general tendency to immorality and iniquity of all kinds. We subjoin two extracts from recent issues of influential journals, as types of many with which we do not wish to load the columns of the REVIEW. The first, from Harper’s Weekly of March 18, is as follows:—
“Glimpses of a lamentable phase of life in New York City have been afforded by the trial which has just ended in the sentencing of young McGloin to the gallows. He is nineteen years old. With companions of nearly the same age, he went in the night to plunder the wine-shop of the old Frenchman, Hanier. They found no money, and went away. In a spirit of daring they went back after some cigars. The proprietor of the store heard them, and started to descend from the floor above; McGloin drew a revolver and shot him dead. Afterward, speaking of that night’s work, the nineteen-year-old murderer said to a companion, ‘You ain’t tough now, you know, till you’ve laid your man,’ meaning that the youth who would be greatly admired by those of his class must commit murder. Later, when a policeman entered a bar-room and posted near McGloin’s head a placard offering a reward for the arrest of Hanier’s murderer—a detective meanwhile watching the youth’s face for any sign of uneasiness—the young murderer was apparently unconcerned, and after the policeman had gone he enjoyed the complimentary remarks of his admiring companions concerning his ‘nerve.’ On the day of his conviction, when he was taken back from the court-room to the city prison, it was shown that there were young women of his class who had made him their hero; and as he passed them on his way to the cell, he rewarded their admiring interest in him by taking two gaudy handkerchiefs from his pockets, and giving them to two favored ones as mementoes. These incidents afford the barest glimpses into the life led by one class of the population of New York, yet they are significant enough to give importance to the question whether this class is not growing rapidly—whether, indeed, it has not already reached alarming proportions. There is a homicide in New York almost every day, and in the great majority of cases the slayer is a young man of McGloin’s class, though few who come to trial betray characteristics so typical of that class.”
And now read what a correspondent of the daily Inter Ocean says of the haunts of iniquity in Chicago:—
“Think of it! only 300 churches in our city, and 5,242 liquor saloons; only four hundred clergymen, and over 5,000 bar-tenders; only 1,000 school teachers, and over 6,000 prostitutes; only half a dozen art galleries, and 250 variety theaters. About a score of missions, and 126 dago shops and over 1,000 houses of ill-fame. What an army of destruction is to be found in these 12,870 instrumentalities of sin and crime, all tending to blast the life of every young man and woman in our city! Placing these places side by side, and allowing each one only ten feet front, you will have twelve miles of these infernal dens dealing out death and destruction. . . .
“What are the results arising from these places? Look once more at a few additional statistics. Last year there were, according to the report of the Superintendent of Police, 31,713 arrests in Chicago. Of this number 11,173 were discharged, and 14,125 were fined by the Police Justices. So we have over 6,000 to be accounted for. These were either bound over to a higher court or else sentenced to the Bridewell or jail. With 3,233 more arrests in 1881 than in 1880 we have over 1,000 more so bound over or sentenced in 1881 than in 1880. The value of property reported stolen in 1880 was $142,599.41 and the value of property recovered $123,509.35, while the value of property reported as stolen in 1881 is estimated at $147,144.36, and the value of property of all kinds recovered was $118,508.56. From these statistics we may infer that crime in the city of Chicago keeps pace with its growth.”
A LOST DAY.
The day on which a Christian has done nothing really for Christ may truly be described as “a lost day.” In order to have no more such blanks in my life, when no opportunity occurs for personal work for our Master, I make an extra offering, according to my means, to the missionary box. It is pleasant to have some act of service to present to him each evening before we lie down to rest. If all your readers would adopt this plan, there should have no “barren tree” among us, and the fruits of Christian love would multiply to the glory of God.—Correspondent of Church Missionary Gleaner.
Moravian Missionary Jubilee
We believe the readers of the REVIEW, remembering the articles published not long ago on some of the various mission enterprises carried on among the Moravians, will be interested in the following item from the N. Y. Independent:—
On the twenty-first of August next it will be just a century and a half since the Moravians began their missionary work in foreign lands. No church in Christendom has developed so much energy and zeal in the conversion of the world, in proportion to its numbers, as the Moravians. Its missionaries have carried the gospel with diligence and perseverance to every quarter of the globe, and have won rich triumphs in the darkest fields. Now they propose, in this jubilee year, not to glorify themselves, though they have wherewith to boast; but to mark the anniversary by the raising of a fund for the reinforcement and extension of the missions of the Unity’s Brethren. Three new missions have been established in the last fifty years—in Australia, the Moskito Coast, and Tibet."
Siberia and Its Exiles
—Mr. George Kennan, who has traveled much in Siberia, in a recent lecture before the American Geographical Society, describes that country as divided into three belts, of which the northern is a broad stretch of treeless and mossy steppes, or plains, upon a frozen soil; the middle, a range of unbroken forest; and the southern, a mild and fertile region, warmer than England in winter, and in summer not colder than Minnesota. It is to the southern belt, which is largely peopled by Cossacks and their hardy descendants, that the exiles are sent. Siberia now has more than 5,000,000 inhabitants, comprising representatives of more than 30 different tribes and nationalities, and these are divided into a nomadic and a settled population. Malefactors were first exiled to Siberia in the middle of the 17th century. In the 18th century the mineral and agricultural resources of the country began to be developed, and to meet the demand for labor, exile gradually became the punishment for a large class of crimes. “Jews were exiled for refusing to pay taxes, peasants for cutting timber without permission, and army officers for minor offenses. Many of the cruel severities have been ameliorated. Flogging with the knout is abolished, fetters and chains have almost disappeared, and labor in the mines has generally been restricted to capital offenders.” Of 160,000 persons exiled in 20 years, from 1827 to 1847, only 443 were banished for political offenses, and two-thirds of these were nobles. About 12,000 persons are exiled annually. They are not sent to a bleak waste, but to the fertile zone, and generally to a milder climate than they leave. Mr. K. said that for himself he should prefer exile for life with his family in the province of Transbaikalia, to five years in the Sing Sing prison. Speaking of the Jeannette, he said he had little hope of the safety of Lieut. Chipp’s boat; and as De Long, when last heard from, had entered the most desolate region of the country, and had but two days’ food for his party, it seemed improbable that he could long survive. But Mr. K. thinks Arctic exploration is something better than fool-hardy adventure, and cites as proof the Spitzbergen whale-fishery, and the more accurate knowledge of the physics of the globe, which, facilitated by Arctic research, has contributed to the increased extent and security of the commerce of the world.
Canon Knox-Little on Confession
—Canon Knox-Little, of the Church of England, a ritualist of a very advanced type, has expressed some extreme views concerning auricular confession. Urging the advantages of confession, which he denominated the most abused, because it is the most useful, of the means of grace, Mr. Little said most emphatically that for his own part he “found the practice of direct confession to God dangerous!”
News of the Week
SUNDAY, MARCH 19.—A furious snowstorm is raging along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad. Trains have been stopped, and the storm threatens future damage in the shape of floods.
—In South Africa, troubles of a serious character are brewing on the Transvaal border.
—A line of Bremen steamers has been chartered to bring 10,000 emigrants from that port to Baltimore at the rate of 1,000 a week.
—Reports received at the War Department estimate the number of destitute sufferers in the flooded regions between Cairo, Ill., and the Gulf of Mexico at 80,000, and it is believed that Congress will be required to appropriate $1,000,000 to their relief before they can again become self-supporting.
MONDAY, MARCH 20.—At Lawrence, Mass., the strikers, and others idle on their account, number 3,000. They have refused to work at the Pacific Mill on reduced wages.
—It is said that Prince Bismarck apologized to the German Parliament for not attending to national affairs by stating that his time was fully occupied in preserving the peace of Europe.
—In County Sligo, Ireland, a police sub-inspector was fatally shot.
TUESDAY, MARCH 21.—Three strong shocks of earthquake have been felt at Chios, Greece, to-day.
—The sympathy for Sergeant Mason has assumed a tangible form, and is resulting in raising a fund for his wife and baby.
—The storm to-day has raised the Ohio River at some points from 25 to 40 feet. Great damage has been done by the wind and rain in Southern Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
—A terrible railroad accident occurred at Bismarck, D. T., to-day. A construction train broke through a bridge, precipitating several cars into the river. By this accident 8 persons met a terrible death.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22.—The 86th anniversary of Emperor William’s birthday was celebrated throughout Germany to-day.
—A Mormon elder has succeeded in making about 175 converts in the Southern States.
—A disastrous conflagration at Ripon, Wis., destroyed property to the value of $175,000.
—800 Jews have been expelled from Moscow, Russia, for not having passports.
THURSDAY, MARCH 23.—The bill prohibiting Chinese emigration to this country for 20 years, passed the House of Representatives without amendments.
—A tug-boat exploded in Philadelphia harbor this morning, killing five men.
—The Czar has refused to confirm the recommendation of the commission on the Jewish question in favor of compelling the Jews to quit the rural districts of Russia, on the grounds that such expulsion would almost ruin agriculture, and that the recommendations are generally conceived in a vindictive spirit.
FRIDAY, MARCH 24.—Henry W. Longfellow, one of the best known and best loved of American poets, died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., this afternoon, after a severe illness of nearly a week’s duration. On the 27th of February, the 75th anniversary of his birthday was widely celebrated in this country.
—The Russian government has again resorted to severity, and many arrests have been made. The discovery of a depot of arms and military uniforms led to this course on the part of the government. The uniforms were evidently intended as passports to the presence of the Emperor.
MISCELLANEOUS.
—The national debt was decreased $9,783,511 during the month of February.
—Last year Philadelphia paid $23,220,000 for liquor, $1,000,000 more than for rent.
—In Australia the Roman Catholic Church is waging uncompromising war on the system of public education.
—86 town elections were held in Massachusetts this spring, only 23 giving a majority in favor of liquor license.
—Thirty Russian Jews, possessing an aggregate capital of about $27,000, have gone to Palestine, where they intend to form a farming colony.
—The construction of railroads in this country during 1881 was larger than during any previous year, aggregating 8,242 miles of track.
—From recent statistics of suicides it appears that there are about six times as many suicides among the divorced as among the widowed.
—There is a bill before the Mississippi Legislature forbidding the sale of tobacco to minors, without the consent of their parents or guardians.
—General Booth, the leader of the Salvation Army, proposes to build a Salvation Temple in London. It is to cost $500,000 and will seat 10,000 people.
—New Zealand is spoken of as a country having a prosperous future in store. It has an area of 105,000 square miles, and is capable of supporting a large population.
—A huge meteorite recently fell with a great shock at a point 50 miles southeast of Fort Assinaboine, causing consternation at Fort Benton, nearly 100 miles southward.
—A Boston hook and ladder company have just made successful experiments with an instrument by which they can, in case of fire, send a rope to the highest building.
—The Catholic bishop of Hong Kong, China, states that the Catholic mission there took 400,000 Chinese children last year, and is bringing them up in the faith of the church.
—During the past ten years the cost to the United States of protecting the frontier from Indians, employing an average 73 per cent of the regular army, has footed up over $223,000,000.
—The indefatigable lobbying of Captain Eads has brought forth from the Senate commerce committee a favorable report on his bill to guarantee $50,000,000 of his ship-railroad bonds.
—Despite all efforts to break up the slave trade in Africa, it is estimated that not less than 50,000 are annually captured and exported, to say nothing of the hundreds of thousands who perish in the process.
—An inmate of the lunatic asylum in Utica, N. Y., believing himself to be Guiteau, and an ambassador from Heaven, shot and seriously wounded Dr. Gray, one of the physicians of the institution.
—Nice, Italy, has a society whose object is the protection of vegetation. The members are to destroy injurious larvæ and guard harmless birds. During 1881, they destroyed over 2,000,000 grubs, larvæ, eggs, and insects.
—A member of the British Parliament has recently summed up the outrages committed on Russian Jews, as follows: 56 persons killed, 201 women assaulted, 20,000 families rendered homeless, and $80,000,000 worth of property destroyed.
—Count Campello, the Canon of St. Peter’s, Rome, who recently left the Catholic Church and entered the American Methodist Episcopal Church in Rome, has applied to the Archbishop of Canterbury to be received into the Anglican communion.
—Mrs. Mackay, the wife of the California money-king, has recently bought for $20,000 the dress ordered by the municipal authorities of Paris as a present to the Empress Eugenie. It cost to make it fourteen years of assiduous work of the best lace-makers of Normandy.
—The United States Senate has passed a bill prohibiting Chinese laborers from coming to this country for a period of 20 years. It is said that should the bill become a law, the Celestials propose to dissolve diplomatic relations between their country and this, and to discriminate against Americans trading in China.
—Fancy horticulture among the Chinese consists in raising miniature trees. By trimming the roots and cultivating in a shallow pot or pan, they contrive to grow miniature pines and cedars which, on a small scale, exactly resemble the natural plants; and by appliances of strings, wires, and pegs, they fashion these dwarfs into all sorts of grotesque shapes.
—The Census Bureau has just completed its report on the population of Utah. The inhabitants are classified as Mormons, Gentiles, Apostles, Josephites, and Doubtful. Of the Mormons there are 120,283, about 49,000 of whom are over twenty-one years of age, while 40,000 are less than nine years old. The number of Gentiles is given at 14,156, of whom a little more than one-half are over twenty-one. There are 6,988 Apostle Mormons, 820 Josephites, and 1,716 persons classified as doubtful. Of the whole number of Mormons, 37,000 are of foreign birth.
—Work on the tunnel under the channel between France and England has commenced. The company having the enterprise in charge have command of a large capital, and are said to be in earnest. If ever completed, it will be the wonder of the world. But as 24 years were required for the construction of the tunnel under the Alps, and nearly as many for the work on the Hoosac tunnel, which is next largest, many years must elapse before the traveler can expect to pass from England to the continent by land,—more, probably, than will dawn on this world in its present state.
