"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what He will speak with me."
ANOTHER SUNDAY-LAW CAMPAIGN IN CALIFORNIA.
We are already forewarned that the next Legislature of California, to convene next month, will be urged to enact a Sunday law. The following petition is now being circulated throughout the State:—
PETITION.
"To the Senate and Assembly of the Legislature of California—
"We, the undersigned, residents of — , in the county of — , California, respectfully ask your honorable body to enact a sabbath law that will prohibit all unnecessary secular labor and business and all public sports and amusements inconsistent with the sanctity of the day, and that at the same time will secure the necessary weekly rest to all classes of weary toilers."
The people are being urged to sign this document, and many of them will sign it. Some will sign it thinking they are doing God service; others will sign because they are asked to do so; still others will attach their names as a matter of business or political policy—fearing the oft-threatened boycott, which many people who favor such measures deem a Christian argument. Because many may and will be induced to sign this memorial thoughtlessly, not knowing the possibilities for evil that underlie such a law, we ask whoever may read this to pause and consider what is involved in legislation of that character.
1. Do you want the California Legislature to outline your religion? We anticipate your answer; you unhesitatingly answer, "No!" Not even the most ardent Sunday-law advocate in the State wants such an act in his own behalf. Not a single individual who has signed, or will sign, this petition—not even the author of the petition, or the authors of the proposed law—would think of asking the Legislature to formulate any religion for him to profess, or a religious dogma for him to support. Yet this is just what you ask the Legislature to do for other people when you sign this petition. More than that, you ask the Legislature to enforce upon other people, not the religion which that body might of itself invent, but the religion which you already hold, or, by your signature to the foregoing petition, profess to hold. And you do this in the name of Christianity, the basic principle of which is stated by Christ himself in these words: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." Note that He proclaims this doctrine as "the law" of Christianity between man and man. Now to ask any power to legislate in opposition to this law is antichristian in the extreme. And it is asking the Legislature to commit the State to a policy that must antagonize one class of citizens professing Christianity against another class professing Christianity, and against those who make no profession at all.
2. The advocates of the Sunday law will tell you that such legislation is not religious; that it is a necessity to the physical well-being of the individual, etc. But the words of the petition, and the results in other States where the Sunday laws are enforced, prove that it is religious legislation. The petition calls for "a sabbath law that will prohibit all unnecessary secular labor and business and all public sports and amusements inconsistent with the sanctity of the day." Why, if it is merely for the physical necessity of rest, is that particular day designated? Could the clergy and other religious people who have inaugurated this move be induced to advocate a compulsory cessation of labor for physical rest on any other day of the week? You know they could not be so persuaded. It is a fact patent to every observer that in their councils, in their sermons on the subject, in the statements of purpose of all their unions, leagues, associations, or societies, as the case may be, their expressed design is "a better observance of the Lord's day." The Sunday law is expected to put an end to "desecration of the Sabbath." In whatever language they may couch their memorials or the proposed statute, the purpose is enforced observance of a religious institution. A noted champion of State and national legislation on this subject, the one whose arguments have been most frequently quoted by other advocates, says, "If you take the religion out, you take the rest out." The law is demanded by religious people. Every movement of the kind in the State has been inaugurated by the ministers; and if the law be enacted, it will be enforced only at the instance of religious people, or by a vicious class of irreligious people who may find the law a convenient weapon with which to annoy or persecute those against whom they may hold prejudice or personal grudge. This is the way such laws have worked in all other States where there has been any pretension of enforcing them.
3. An organ of one of the leading factors in the present crusade says: "The Israelite and the seventh-day Christian are not required to rest on the first day, if they observe the seventh." This implies that this particular faction of the Sunday-law crusaders intend that there shall be an exemption clause for the benefit of those who observe the seventh-day Sabbath, which is another proof of the religious character of the day. (By the way, if the Israelite and the seventh-day Christian can rest on Saturday without a State law to compel them to do so, or to protect them in so doing, why can not others keep Sunday without a special law to that effect?)
4. It is not a question of which day is the Sabbath; it is not a question of differences of opinion between different classes of people professing to be Christians. It is a question of rights for all classes. What about people who have no religious scruples, who do not recognize an obligation to observe any day in a religious manner? Have they no rights which the State is bound to respect? or is the State made for the sole benefit of those who profess to be Christians, and who think all others ought to be compelled to formally observe at least one of their institutions? How about the people whose employments do not engage them more than half the time? How about those who have no employment at all, or those who catch odd jobs of a day or two at a time? Must they needs be compelled to rest on Sunday? These classes comprise a very large number of people. But if one of them should happen to find some work on a Sunday, the pay for which was much needed by himself or his family, this tyrannical Sunday law, urged onto the statute-books by professed Christians, would rob him of his earnings to pay a fine, or it would lay him up in prison for a time.
5. These are not fancy sketches. There are thousands of unemployed men in the State to whom a day's work, even on Sunday, would be a welcome boon. It is safe to say that where there is one man overworked by Sunday labor there are a score that have not employment one-half of the time. Go amongst the laboring classes, in whose behalf so much of this Sunday law ado is made, and the burden of their appeal is, "Give us work." They are not crying for rest. They have too much of that now. Go into our cities, and one of the most difficult problems is how to furnish something for the unemployed to do, something to satisfy the demand for bread. Already the calendar in the Police Court is larger on Monday morning than on any other day; and why?—Simply because so many people are idle on Sunday. Now it is clear that if there are so many people compelled to work on Sunday as the Sunday-law adherents claim, the number of men idle on that day would be quite largely augmented.
6. Those who are circulating this petition will probably renew the oft-repeated plea that the Sunday law is needed to protect the people at worship from unnecessary annoyance. These need to be reminded that there is already a section of the code covering that ground on every day of the week. Section 302 of the Penal Code reads as follows:—
"Every person who wilfully disturbs or disquiets any assemblage of people met for religious worship, by noise, profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior, or by any unnecessary noise either within the place where such meeting is held, or so near as to disturb the order and solemnity of the meeting, is guilty of a misdemeanor."
And section 19 of the same code provides that crimes of the grade of misdemeanor are punishable by "imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or both." So, for the purpose of protecting from annoyance those who are assembled for worship, there is now a statute far more potent than a Sunday law, because it is far more comprehensive in its scope.
7. Before you sign a petition for a Sunday law, remember that those who are conscientiously opposed to being coerced or to coercing others in the matter of Sabbath observance have rights which the State is bound to recognize, and that the true recognition of one person's rights will not make it possible to prohibit the exercise of the rights of another person.
The Dangers of Hypnotism
By T.
A man who writes "professor" in front of his name advertises in an Eastern paper to teach hypnotism by mail. Hypnotism is becoming quite a topic for study, and thousands are taking it up. But before jumping into it people should consider what they are doing. The subject, to be hypnotized, must absolutely surrender his mind and will to the hypnotist. This is a very dangerous thing to do. There is a fallen angel who then steps in to form the connecting link between you and the man who hypnotizes you. There has been a great deal of so-called "scientific investigation" of this subject, but the true scientific fact is that Satan is at the bottom of all hypnotism. He may not figure personally in every individual case, but he is seeking to lead the world into his realm of mysterious mystification so that he can sweep it by his great delusions prepared for these last days. Curiosity may lead one to want to "investigate" hypnotism, or the desire to go about the country as a hypnotist and entice people to spend their money to see his "marvelous power," may come up as a strong temptation, but it is best to let the subject entirely alone. Make a careful study of what the Bible says concerning the deceptions of Satan, and it will help to dissipate idle curiosity concerning the many hidden mysteries that we are being urged to investigate in these days. T.
DISEASE AMONG GERMAN CATTLE.
THE press despatches give the information that "official statistics show that German cattle everywhere are suffering from tuberculosis and other diseases. . . . At least 40 per cent. of all the German cattle have tuberculosis, and in some districts the percentage is as high as 79 per cent."
These figures should be eye-openers. And it is not in Germany alone that tuberculosis, and other diseases as well, are prevalent among cattle. Indeed, our eyes can not be blinded to the fact that diseases among both man and beast are becoming more and more prevalent. This old earth is being filled with disease and decay. And how merciful it is that the Saviour is to come so soon and redeem all who can be led now to receive Him! T.
"TRY TO KILL THE CZAR."
By T.
If the Russian czar moves out where the crowd can get near him, or can have access to the carriage or car in which he rides, we are very apt to find such announcements in the papers next day as the words at the head of this paragraph. Several times during the past few weeks attempts have been made on his life. These are some of the constantly-recurring evidences of the anarchy and violence that are so prevalent in these times. And as you look out upon the world, would it not give you a sense of relief if you could truly say that none of this evidence of anarchy and violence could be seen outside of Russia?
T.
The Close of Probation
IT is a thought filled with sublime solemnity that we are now living in the time when the divine decree will soon be proclaimed: 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.'
MISSIONS
By Anon.
"And those who have wisely taught shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and those who have turned many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." Dan. 12:3 (Boothroyd).
MISSIONARY DEBTS.
Men said:
We would give to the Lord if He gave us more,
But the times are hard, and the world wants war;
The mouths of our cannon are yawning for gold;
The Lord must wait till the ships are coaled.
His armies must shift for themselves this year,
For our own boys need us, and they are near;
Our taxes are rising, and profits fall;
The news and the noise and the bugle call
Have made us deaf to the still, small voice.
The debts must stand; it is not our choice.
God said:
My world is larger than yours this day;
My armies march when yours delay.
Where the smoke is thickest the light shines clear,
And My captains know not the name of fear.
Are your pleasures greater than black men's pain?
Is your ease the price of a dark world's stain?
Must you wear soft raiment and have your pleasure,
And lavish on silken flags your treasure,
While My prophets lack for the needs of life,
And My flag droops tattered above the strife?
There are left some faithful stewards still
That heed not the passing good or ill,
But serve Me steadily day by day;
I can call on them in your long delay.
If one yields her life to set you free,
Will you take light heart in the year to be,
And take your ease as you long have done,
Waiting once more till the year is gone?
Or shall this gift, of life and death,
Shame your neglect and quicken faith?
See, your debts are lifted and you are free;
Then live like men in the year to be.
THE WORK AT HILO, HAWAII.
By H. H. Brand
IT has been a year and three months since we arrived here from Honolulu. During this time we have been laboring principally for the Chinese, as that is the wish of the Foreign Mission Board; yet there has been, and is at the present time, much that ought to be done for the people here of different nationalities. The little that we have been able to do aside from the Chinese work, has been done for the Hawaiians. These are a noble people, and appreciate any kindness that is shown them. Some are much interested in the study of the Bible, and a few are keeping the Sabbath. But as the Chinese work has taken up the most of our time, the work for others has been limited.
The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Our hearts are made glad when we see the different peoples desirous of learning the truth of God, but sad when there is not one to instruct them. And we pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest. God has been calling long to His people, and has waited patiently to hear them say: "Here am I, Lord. What wilt Thou have me to do?" God has a place for all that have a desire to work.
Of the Chinese alone there are over four hundred million to be enlightened; and how few there are to enter that field! God is opening the way, and inviting us to enter it; can there be a better time than the present?
We have much to praise God for, as we see the willingness of the Chinese people to study His Word, when they are able to understand what they read. There are many precious souls here in Hilo, who are anxious to understand the Bible, and a few of them are studying it with a view to going back to China to work for their people.
The Chinese are appreciative, and always ready and willing to assist in carrying on the work; and here they have more than met all our running expenses.
The work is steadily growing, and for this we praise God. There have been fifty different persons in our mission. Some have attended steadily, and some only a short time, until they could get into business or go back to China. As a rule they are constantly changing; but we always instruct them the best we can, believing if we can get them to learn a few of God's words, they will not return unto Him void.
H. H. BRAND.
Hilo, Hawaii.
THE WALDENSIAN COLONY IN URUGUAY.
By Jean Vuilleumier
THE Waldensian colony in the Uruguay republic, from which I am now writing, was founded forty years ago by some landowners.
MISSIONARY H. H. BRAND AND HIS CHINESE SCHOOL, HILO, HAWAII.
Mr. Pendleton, an Episcopal minister at Montevideo, went over to Italy for the purpose of forwarding the scheme. The colonists were three months crossing the water. As is generally the case in such enterprises, the beginning was marked by hardships and dangers. Aside from Indian robbery, the enmity of a priest made the fanaticism of his parishioners a menace to the existence of the colony. His sermons abounded in allusions to the weeds which had entered the country, and which it was the duty of all to root out by day or by night. Some of the colonists were assassinated. It seems that the enemies of "heresy" went so far as to plot the destruction of the whole colony in one night. A man who played at mass for the priest, and passed for a Catholic, ventilated the plot, and it was thus brought to the ears of the government at Montevideo. Mr. Pendleton went to the president for help. The priest was sent for and was seen no more in that region. As a token of appreciation, the Waldenses gave the president a copy of their history.
At the present time the colony has doubled and trebled, and scattered in various directions.
It has schools and churches and ministers. Temporally it has done well; morally it has won the respect of the authorities, and has given a better idea of Protestantism than would otherwise exist among Catholic populations.
Comparisons are odious; still it may not be forbidden to wish that the day might again come when the Waldensians would be evangelists of the world. Historians tell us how they used to send out missionaries two by two, an aged man and a young man. After four years of missionary travel, the latter could hope to be given charge of a home church. Their work was so efficient in the darkest days of papal rule that one of them could travel from Milan to Cologne, and stop every night at the home of a brother in the faith.
Says Pierre Gilles: "Each one of these barbes (i. e., uncles, a name used to avoid the suspicion raised by the word pastor), besides the exercise of his ministry, was taught some practical avocation. Especially were they apt and clever in the practise of medicine and surgery, a profession which they followed in order to help charitably their own people, and to cover the expenses of their long and dangerous tours."
The same author, who was pastor in the Waldensian valleys in 1644, mentions the relations which these people had with the Reformers, and which I thus sum up: When the barbes, or pastors, of the valleys heard about the Reformation in Germany and Switzerland, they sent out representatives to gain information about the matter. These men visited Zwingle, Œcolampadius, Bucer, and others whom God was using for the reformation of the church. These men were highly pleased with the zeal and piety with which the Waldensians had maintained the pure religion for so many centuries and amid such dangers. However, they exhorted them to correct some defects which still existed among them. After several consultations and visits back and forth, a general meeting was appointed at Angrogne, Sept. 12, 1532, where the matter was fully presented and discussed.
They differ on free moral agency, predestination, oaths, auricular confession, fasting, celibacy, etc. The sixth point read thus: "6. On10Sunday, things earthly must be set aside for the spiritual service of God." It is difficult to tell from this whether the Waldenses had no day for religious rest, or whether they had until that time retained the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week. The latter is the more plausible conclusion, as their ancient confessions prove that they considered the Ten Commandments a rule of faith, without excepting the fourth precept.
The final message is now being presented in this colony. Will the sons of the heroic Waldenses of yore be as eager to return to the truth as their fathers were to retain what light the Lord had committed to them?
JEAN VUILLEUMIER.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
AT Bertram, Minn., three candidates were recently baptized by Brother A. Mead.
THE addition of four to our ranks is reported by Sister Lulu Wightman, at Silver Creek, New York.
OUR Walla Walla Mission served a Thanksgiving dinner to the poor and friendless of that city. See Luke 14: 12-15.
BROTHER JOHN HOFFMAN and wife have arrived safely at their destination in Finland, whither they have gone as Gospel missionaries.
ON Sunday, November 20, a new house of worship was dedicated at Fulda, Minn. The exercises were conducted by Brethren D. Nettleton and A. W. Kuehl.
A COMPANY of fifteen adherents to “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” is the visible result of recent labor by Brother F. C. Bush, at Pineville, Mo.
THIS good counsel is given by Brother F. Johnson, of Minnesota Conference: “Brethren, whenever you hear of an appointment that is within your reach, remember Heb. 10: 25, for it contains present truth.”
THE address of the Helping Hand Mission in St. Paul, Minn., is 145 East Third Street. Donations of provisions, clothing, especially under-garments, or cash, are needed and solicited. A report in the Worker, from Brother J. H. Behrens, says, “The cold weather has brought many to our doors who avail themselves of the meals at one cent per dish, and bed with bath for ten cents.”
A LETTER from the tract society librarian in Salem, Oregon, says: “Our church seems to be working in earnest, but it is mostly the children. They are in earnest selling the SIGNS, and fairly clamor for more papers. . . . Even my little five-year-old is selling tracts and papers.”
THE brethren of New South Wales Conference set apart November as “self-denial month,” in which they were to live for four weeks on the usual expense of three weeks, and give the income of the fourth week (less the tithe) toward the needs of the Union Conference and Australian Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association.
THE managers of Walla Walla (Wash.) College have erected a new building for a bakery. It is 26x48 feet, two stories high, above a seven-foot brick basement. The building cost $1,500, and the apparatus nearly as much more, making a complete establishment for turning out health foods. Those who patronize it will serve two good purposes,—secure good food for themselves, and assist a worthy educational institution.
ONE brother in Iowa has ordered 1,000 copies of the quarter-centennial edition of the SIGNS, which he expects to sell. There are hundreds of others who could do likewise, “if—” “but—.” These two little words are the rocks on which many timid souls will yet be wrecked. When the “fearful and afraid” had turned back from Gideon’s original army, less than one-third were left. When the ease-loving ones of the remainder had been sent back, there were left less than one in a hundred of the whole—300 out of 32,000—and these went on to victory.
THE mission work in Butte, Mont., according to The Bivouac, is on a good footing. It says: “The mission is now located in new quarters, on South Main Street, in a building which, had it been made for mission purposes, would not have been better adapted for our work. The room is ample, neat, and clean, with an abundance of air and light. A firm in the city has just constructed for the mission forty iron beds, which are the perfection of neatness and durability. . . . Many men come to the mission in a very needy condition, out of work, with but little means, and without home or friends. Many of these are men who have seen better days, but through drink or misfortune have become stranded. These need encouragement, and a helping hand. They also need to be directed to a power which can save and keep from sin.”
JUDGING from the sentiments and reports in all of our conference organs, the brethren are awakening to the importance of the quarter-centennial issue of the SIGNS. By the time it reaches them, we expect that most of them will have even more fully appreciated that the circulation of a million copies is not out of reasonable expectation. The office force, altho a little late getting fairly started, is demonstrating that the issuing of the edition is not an impossibility. With the experience gained on this number, future efforts of the kind should be only within common expectation, and not be deemed extraordinary at all. Both in the office and in the field we must learn that the proper announcement of the coming of the Lord in glory requires immense editions. As the time draws near, millions must take the place of the tardy thousands with which we seem to have been satisfied in the past.
LESSON I.—SABBATH, JANUARY 7, 1899.
BIRTH OF CHRIST.
Nazareth and Bethlehem, B.C. 5.
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away11privily. But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name JESUS; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins. 22 Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. And they shall call His name Immanuel; 24 which is, being interpreted, God with us. And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth a Son; and he called His name JESUS."
26 "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. 34 And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God."
1 "Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born Son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling-clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
What soon took place after their arrival in Bethlehem? Vs. 6, 7. See note 4. (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:6.)
What humble resting-place was assigned to Jesus? V. 7. Why was this? (2 Cor. 8:9; Matt. 8:20.)
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," pp. 43, 44.
NOTES.
1. The generation of.—Inasmuch as Christ was to be manifested to the world as the "promised Seed" of Abraham (Gal. 3:16), it was absolutely necessary, in giving an account of His life, for the evangelists first to trace his ancestry on the fleshly side, back to Abraham, and so establish His identity as the Messiah. Matthew, therefore, begins with Abraham, and follows the genealogy down through David to Joseph, the reputed father of Christ. Matt. 1:1-16. By this he attempts to prove that Jesus is the heir of the everlasting covenant made with Abraham, and renewed to David. Gen. 17:7; 2 Sam. 7:12-17; Isa. 9:6, 7. To this end he shows that Jesus stood in such family relations to Joseph as to have claim to all that belonged to him as the lineal descendant of Abraham. Luke, however, presents the ancestral line of Mary, inverting the order followed by Matthew, and tracing her lineage from Heli, her father, back through David and Abraham, to Adam, who was the son of God. Luke 3:23-38. This record says that Christ was the "supposed" son of Joseph, but He was, in reality, the son, that is, the maternal grandson, of Heli, the son of Matthat, etc. It will be noticed that both genealogies unite in Abraham, making it doubly sure that Christ was the promised "Seed" of that patriarch.
2. Put her away.—It seems that a divorce was easily obtained at that time. The form of such a bill among the Jews was called "Gett," and was written upon parchment by a Jewish notary, in the presence of one or more of the rabbis, and was to contain no more than twelve lines. It was not supposed to state the reason or reasons why the separation was decreed, but simply to say that the woman was discharged from all obligation to her former connection, and was free to marry whomsoever she pleased.
3. Enrolled.—In such registrations, or enrolment, it was necessary for each person to report for enrolment in the ancestral town. Joseph and Mary being both lineal descendants of David, they must repair to the "city of David" to be enrolled, according to the decree of the Roman emperor, whose subjects they were.
4. Brought forth.—"And so it was" that Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in fulfilment of the prophecy, when his mother was a resident of Nazareth in Galilee. This is but one of many examples of how decrees of nations or kings have been steps to the fulfilment of prophetic utterances. Not that God made kings issue such decrees, but He, seeing the "end from the beginning," could fully state beforehand the results of these mandates.
BIBLES IN COLOMBIA.
A DECISION was recently rendered by the courts of the United States of Colombia by which the agent of the American Bible Society is now permitted to continue the sale of the Scriptures in that country. The case went into the courts through an attempt to show that the colporters of the American Bible Society were violating the laws and corrupting the morals of the inhabitants by offering the Bible for sale, and by attempting to distribute it gratuitously. The agents of the Bible Society have been working in Colombia for years without hindrance, and in some places a great many copies of the Scriptures have been sold. Recently an agent sent one of his assistants to canvass the town of Socorro and the towns and villages adjacent to it. He was subjected to some annoyance, and was brought before the alcalde, who seized his saddle-bags and books, confiscated the latter, and ordered him to offer no more books for sale in that place. A series of legal and ecclesiastical examinations followed, and then came a decision of the authorities in Bogota that the sale of the Scriptures is not prohibited by the laws of the republic; that the articles of law that the Roman Catholic clergy attempted to use gave no right to the Roman Catholic Church to interfere in the commerce of books that were not prohibited, and that the censorship is to be invoked only in the case of books used for public instruction in the government schools.—N. Y. Christian Advocate.
PUBLICATIONS WANTED.
SIGNS, Review, Sentinel, and Our Little Friend for missionary work. Also French or German tracts or papers. Send post-paid to O. Glass, Kit, Dallas Co., Texas.
CLEAN health publications, also SIGNS and Youth’s Instructors for missionary work, and small second-hand books and Bibles to loan. Address, post-paid, E. P. Auger, lock drawer H, Corinth, Miss.
CLEAN copies of our denominational papers and tracts for missionary work. Also books and magazines for free reading-room of Workingmen’s Home, and donations of clothing would be thankfully received. Address, post-paid, Workingmen’s Home, 220 The Drive, Topeka, Kansas.
INFORMATION WANTED.
By E. Lizzie Launder
I WISH information concerning my five brothers, who left their home in Redruth Cor., England, in the year 1851 or ’52, for San Francisco, Cal. Their names are James, Thomas, William J., Bennie, and Richard Hicks. About thirty years ago they worked a claim at Angels Camp, Calaveras Co., Cal.
Address, E. LIZZIE LAUNDER, 701 cor. Fulton and Graham Streets, Richmond, Va.
