p. 256 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 16. (2/20/1893)

SECULAR.

—Forty-four deaths from cholera were reported in Marseilles, France, on the 8th inst.

—Last week the Union Pacific trains were blockaded by snow twenty miles east of Portland, Oregon.

—Rumor says that three Deputy U. S. Marshals were killed by an Indian desperado, last week, in the Cherokee nation.

—Advices from Santos, Chile, report that yellow fever is increasing. Eighty-eight deaths were reported on the 9th inst.

—The British steamship Trinacria was wrecked off Cape Villano, Spain, on the 8th inst., and forty-one persons were drowned.

—The great bank scandal at Rome has involved several high officials. Seven deputies and two ex-ministers are to be arrested.

—Heider's Hotel, Cincinnati, was burned down on the 9th inst., and the remains of four persons were afterward found in the ruins.

—A storm in Cainporieto, Italy, on the 8th inst., blew down several houses, killing thirteen persons and severely injuring fourteen others.

—A fire in the cabin of Stephen James (colored), in Kansas City, on the 8th inst., resulted in the death of Mrs. James and two children and a nephew.

—Estimates of leading Montana cattlemen are that at least 25 per cent. of the cattle on the ranges were lost by the storms and terribly cold weather the past two weeks.

—Rev. Sam. Small, the noted evangelist, has returned to the Atlanta Constitution office, where he formerly labored, having accepted a position on the editorial staff.

—The deadlock in the Nebraska Legislature, on the election of a U. S. Senator, has been broken after a long siege. Wm. V. Allen, Populist, was chosen on the 7th inst.

—The county insane asylum, four miles from Dover, New Hampshire, was burned on the night of the 9th inst., and forty-four of the inmates were burned to death.

—The accidental explosion of dynamite by James Sebastian, at Sherman, Texas, last week, blew up his house, terribly mangling himself, his wife, and three children, and two neighbors.

—Twenty-eight persons have been indicted at Lafayette, Ind., for participation in the riot, January 26, when Professor Rudolph, ex-priest and anti-Catholic lecturer, was shot by a mob.

—In Chicago, recently, a party of gentlemen sat in the office of the Long Distance Telephone Co. and listened to a concert given in New York City, 1,000 miles distant. It is said that "even the finer shades of tone of both the vocal and instrumental music were transmitted with full effect."

—It now looks as if prize fighting is to become a felony in California. A bill so defining it has finally passed the Assembly, and has been favorably recommended by a committee of the Senate.

—A pathetic appeal is made to the public in behalf of 4,000 destitute people in Concordia and Cathola Parishes, in the northern part of Louisiana. The destitution is the result of last summer's floods, which destroyed all their crops.

—A meeting in Barcelona, Spain, on the 5th inst., which began as a religious demonstration, developed into an Anarchist outbreak. It was necessary to call the civil guard to the assistance of the police, and several prominent Anarchists were arrested.

—Baron Hirsch's colony of Jewish refugees from Russian tyranny are not faring much better in the Argentine Republic than they did in Russia. They are said to be wantonly insulted and persecuted by the Spanish and Portuguese adherents of the orthodox church.

—Still further severe earthquake shocks are reported on the island of Zante, in the Mediterranean Sea, and there is intense suffering throughout the island. Supplies are being sent in large quantities from Greece, but almost the entire populace are dependent upon assistance.

—Col. John Stone and Wm. Condon report finding the ruins of what they suppose to have been an ancient Aztec city, about twenty-five miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Among the hieroglyphics they noted serpents, crosses, anchors, and monkeys. The ruins are said to be extensive, indicating quite a large city.

—Illinois Senators have gone on record in favor of repealing the law to close the World's Fair on Sunday. Senator Johnson made a good point when he said, "Whenever the church has been permitted to interfere in the affairs of the State, the fanatic, the bigot, and the priest, have become the oppressors of the people."

—It has been decided that the San Jose ordinance closing saloons on Sunday does not apply to the privilege of restaurants to sell liquors on that day. A person can order a plate of crackers and drink liquor to his heart's content, at any hour of the night, and on any day of the week, provided it is done at a restaurant.

—Serious trouble of a revolutionary character is reported in Argentine, South America. The Humboldt colonists to the number of 3,000, nearly all foreigners, are in arms against the Provincial Government on account of the excessive export duties imposed upon wheat. Troops were being sent to suppress the insurrection.

—An amnesty law has just been passed by the Chilean Congress which applies to all followers of Balmaceda, except the army and navy officers who aided in wrecking the war ship Blanco Encalada and those connected with the massacre at Los Canos. The law permits ex-Balmacedist officials to re-enter the service of the government.

—The Indians in the vicinity of the Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota, are again making trouble. Last week they coolly murdered two men and two boys in a beef camp. The murderers stealthily crept upon the victims while the latter were asleep. One of the murderers was captured and confessed that the men were murdered because they were white.

—The Pope Manufacturing Co., of Boston, proposes the formation of a society whose purpose shall be the elimination of errors from school textbooks. The company recently offered bicycle prizes for errors, and the great number pointed out is supposed to have suggested the idea of the proposed society. No doubt it will find a prolific field of operations, and one in which much good can be done.

—Disastrous floods have recently occurred in Queensland, Australia. Portions of the city of Brisbane are entirely submerged, in some parts the water being forty feet deep. There is great damage to property. At Maryborough thirty persons were drowned, and most of the town was under water. At Ipswich twenty-two persons were drowned, and the river was covered with wreckage. The loss of property is said to be not less than $15,000,000.

—The Chicago Journal of February 2 says: "Friends of Sunday opening of the World's Fair have decided to take a new tack, and now, instead of recommending Sunday opening direct, will simply argue in favor of leaving the matter entirely to the directory. This course was decided upon at a dinner given to the Illinois delegation by Congressman Cable last night [Feb. 1], which was attended by all the Illinois members, except Durborow, Fithian, and Senator Palmer."

—The United States Legation at Constantinople has learned that a Moslem mob burned the American girls' college in Marsoonan, because the director, Dr. Herrick, was believed to be the instigator of an offensive political agitation. Political placards had been posted on the walls of the college, but Dr. Herrick had explained to the governor that this was done without his consent. The governor was either unable or unwilling to protect the college, for he made no effort to defend it against the mob.

—The latest news from Hawaii is to the effect that the provisional government, up to February 21, was in full charge of affairs, under the protection of the United States cruiser Boston and her marines. All the foreign ministers had recognized the new government, subject to the approval of their home governments, and everything was quiet. Of course this tranquillity was because there was no power strong enough to oppose the new order of things. That it will continue depends upon the action of other interested nations.

—Five of the great men of France have been convicted of fraud and other felonious acts connected with the Panama Canal operations. De Lesseps, the noted Suez Canal engineer, head of the Panama Company, has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 francs. He is over eighty years old. His son, Charles, the active manager of the company, gets five years and a fine of 3,000 francs. M. Fontane gets two years and 3,000 francs; and M. Eiffel, of tower fame, two years and 20,000 francs. The affair has caused a great sensation in France.

The Atonement

THE ATONEMENT. Part I, "An Atonement Consistent with Reason." Part II, "An Atonement as Revealed in the Bible." Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. Cloth, $1.00.

RISE AND PROGRESS

By John Norton Loughborough

—OF—

Seventh-Day Adventists.

Tokens of God's Hand in the Movement, and Brief Sketch of the Advent Cause from 1831 to 1844.

By J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

This new book, fresh from the pen of one of the oldest ministers in the advent movement, cannot but be of great interest to all, and especially to those who have become Seventh-Day Adventists in recent years and know but little of the early history of the cause and its leaders.

The following are some of the chapter headings: Extent of the Advent Proclamation; The Tarrying Time; The Midnight Cry; The Disappointment; Fresh Tokens of Divine Guidance; Perils, Reproaches, Victories; New Features in the Work; Providence of God in the Publishing Work; Organization; Rapid Advancement; Though Workers Faint, God's Work Advances; Truth Advanced Even by Opposition.

The book contains nearly 400 pages, with 50 illustrations, several of them full page, and is neatly bound in cloth, and furnished in two styles.

Cloth, plain edges . . . . . . $1 25 Cloth, gilt edges . . . . . . . 1 50

Books sent postpaid on receipt of price.

Address, # PACIFIC PRESS PUB. CO., OAKLAND, CAL. Or 43 Bond St., New York.

OUR LITTLE FRIEND

An Eight-page Illustrated Weekly Paper for Children.

OUR LITTLE FRIEND is designed to be practically useful. The matter all contains the best moral and religious sentiment. It contains two grades of Sabbath-school lessons on the same subject, one for children nine years old and under, and one for children from nine to fourteen.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

One copy, one year, postpaid, . . . . . 50c. Five to nine copies to one address, each, . 45c. Ten copies, and over, each, . . . . . . 40c. Sample copies free.

Address, OUR LITTLE FRIEND, Box 548, OAKLAND, CAL.

RELIGIOUS.

By Editor

—Mrs. Laura Francis, who, with her husband, was expelled from the Christian Church at Richmond, Kentucky, for adherence to the Illinois Schweinfurth heresy, has established a branch of the "Schweinfurth Heaven" near Lexington.

—The native population of Hawaii are opposed to annexation to the United States, and it is said that on a recent Sunday evening when a minister who has served many years among them but who is known to favor annexation, arose to preach to a native congregation, they all departed and left him talking to empty seats.

—The American Baptist Publication Society of Philadelphia has deputed three leading Baptist scholars, Dr. Alvah Hovey, Dr. John A. Broadus, and Dr. Henry G. Weston, to prepare a revised edition of the New Testament, formerly issued by the American Bible Union. "This," says the Advance, "they present in two forms, one of which, presumably for the use of the faithful, translates the word 'baptize' immerse, the other accommodating itself to the unbelieving by the ordinary translation baptize."

—As an illustration of how preternaturally silly some learned men of this world can be when they become infatuated with an idol, we give the following expression of Rev. Joseph Cook before a Congressional Special Committee on the Columbian Exposition: "Sunday is the tallest of the white angels now entering foreign lands. Shall we consent to allow Chicago now to rise up and stab this angel in the back, in our country? And shall we call down the goddess of liberty from the Capitol to assist at the murder? God forbid."

Announcements and Editorial Notes

By Editor

THE Review publishes the following telegram, for which let liberty-loving people praise the Lord:—

PARS, TENN., FEB. 5.—All but two indictments quashed Friday, because names in indictments unlike the names in order for prosecution. Wm. Dorich acquitted on insufficient evidence, Tommy Dorich's trial set for Monday. Senator Tolley, ex-Governor Porter, and Ringgold volunteered services in case of appeals.

THE Sabbath school lessons for senior classes, second quarter of 1893, will be entitled "The Coming of the Lord." They will be issued as No. 102 of the Bible Students' Library. Price, 5 cents per copy. They will be ready about March 1. Orders should be sent in early through your State Tract Society, or to Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal., or New York City.

WE close, in this number, the valuable series of articles on "The Three Messages of Rev. 14: 6-14," by Elder E. W. Whitney. We trust these have been thoroughly studied. And we would ask special attention to the series on "India," by Elder S. N. Haskell, the first of which appears in this issue, under "Mission Fields." The great and growing prominence of Spiritualism gives importance to such articles as the one entitled, "Is It Not Spiritualism?," by Elder E. J. Waggoner. This will be followed next week by another of equal importance entitled "Spiritualism against the Gospel," by the same writer.

THE Sunday Gazetver, of Denison, Texas, contains the following suggestion in regard to the opening of the World's Fair on Sunday:—

Let the pastors of all the churches, not omitting the Seventh-day Adventists, unite in a week of earnest prayer for a sign that could not be mistaken even by the worldly. If the sign to close was not given, then the fair might safely be opened every day in the week and congress relieved from any further responsibility.

Of course the suggestion is a quasi joke, but it suggests a remark on the matter of special signs. God reveals his will through his word. Where that speaks plainly, it is presumption to ask a sign. But some will ask, Does the Bible say positively whether it is right or wrong to open the gates of the Exposition on Sunday? We answer, Yes, if the only reason for closing be that Sunday is the Sabbath. The Scripture is very explicit, both in word, and in the example of Him who inspired the word, in the declaration that the "seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And it is further stated in plain terms that if any "speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." There being no Scripture authority for observing any other day as a weekly Sabbath, it is, therefore, so far as Sabbath observance is concerned, perfectly right to open the Fair on Sunday.

By the time this paper reaches its readers, the General Conference will be in session at Battle Creek, Mich. The more our work reaches out to distant fields, the more important these representative gatherings become, and the greater the responsibility resting upon the delegates. Upon this Conference rests the burden of planning for a world-wide work. They hold in their hands a precious message,—the last message of mercy to be sent to a dying world, and they are intrusted with the sacred duty of devising the most effectual and the most expeditious plans for accomplishing the great purpose. They are set to counsel in regard to the conduct of the grandest and the most sacred and the most extensive business that concerns the world at the present time. They must consider and decide financial, educational, charitable, medical, legal, ecclesiastical, missionary, corporate, and personal matters—all of which in some way come into account in the one comprehensive work of the salvation of souls. And they are all ordinary, fallible mortals, only as their deliberations are guided and supplemented by the Spirit of God. Brethren, pray for them; for your votes have sent them there.

EDITOR SIGNS: Will you be kind enough to explain Isa. 45:7?

The text referred to above reads thus: "I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all these things." We presume the point that puzzles our querist is the phrase, "and create evil." Many people have stumbled at this expression, and some have made it the basis of charging God with being the author of sin. The judgments of God upon the wicked nations, or upon his own people when they rebel, are evil to them; but such evil is not sin. It is not sin for God to send his pestilence, or famine, or sword, or captivity upon a people who refuse to obey him. This is evidently what is meant by the evil which God creates. But it is better to let the Scriptures explain themselves. Read carefully the twenty-third chapter of Joshua, and you will better understand what God means by creating evil.

THE POOR.

By W. N. G.

"YE have the poor always with you," is a fact that no community in the world ever has been able to overcome. General Booth conceived a great scheme for placing the "submerged tenth" of London's population on a self-supporting basis. The people were ready to assist him with their confidence, and a large amount of money with which to start industrial enterprises. But official investigation of his plans shows that while he has lifted many out of the mire of idleness others who had previously supported themselves were forced into the mire. If he started wood and coal yards, and the people patronized them, the employes of existing enterprises found their occupations gone. The fact is there are more people in London, as also in other large cities, than there is legitimate employment to support. The tendency of the present generation is to crowd into the cities. The ambition of each city is to increase its population and become greater than other cities. But this selfish, grasping world will never devise ways and means to lift the human race as a whole above the mire of poverty. "The righteous considereth the cause of the poor; but the wicked regardeth not to know it." The efforts of the wicked will always increase poverty, and the oppression of the poor is a characteristic of the last days. See James 5. Accepting the poor as an indispensable factor of this world's experience, the following injunction comes to us daily: "The poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy." The principal occupation of the Lord while sojourning on the earth was ministering to the necessities of the poor, and his true followers will do likewise. "I was a-hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." When? "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." And what is the reward of such service? "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." W. N. G.

Immortality and the Word of God

By Editor

In a column of gleanings in the California Christian Advocate we find the following item:—

Immortality is an innate presentment of the human soul; therefore it is a reality.

There, now, that settles it! All further quibbling on the immortality question is sheer presumption. Ezekiel's inspired assertion that "the soul that sinneth it shall die," goes for naught. Paul's inspired declaration (1 Tim. 6: 15, 16) that the "King of kings, and Lord of lords" "only hath immortality" goes for naught. John's inspired words (1 John 5: 12), "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life," go for naught. And the gospel of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ that through faith men might attain to life and immortality is therefore a great mistake. The "innate presentment" does away with it all. God forbid. Give us the word of God, a sure foundation; these "innate presentments" are too vapery.

LITERARY NOTICES.

By Editor

"Daily Help" is a little book published by R. H. Woodard & Co., 220 and 222 North Charles Street, Md. Price, 75 cents. It is a compilation of sermonettes for every day in the year, from the writings of Spurgeon. It contains many rich little gems of thought which the earnest digger after truth will find stored in the mines of God's word. Bound in neat muslin.

"Little Comrade Mine," a little octavo book by Martha Burr Banks, author of "Princess Dandelion's Secret" (D. D. Merrill Co., 44 and 45 Bible House, New York). Price, $1.00. A bright little story with a good moral of making life happy by infusing itself into someone else's life. Daintily bound in white muslin, illustrated cover, and nicely printed.

A literary curiosity which we have received from Prof. A. P. Stout, of Los Angeles, Cal., is "The Life of Christ, chronologically arranged in one sentence of 500 words." We have not had time to thoroughly examine it, but on a casual examination we would say that, apart from the unique way in which it is presented, it would be valuable as a ready reference. We would like to suggest to the author that if in his reprints there could be references inserted in brackets after each event or number of the sentence, in finer type, the little leaflet would be simply an invaluable index. Price, 15 cents single copy.

We received some time ago two tracts published by the Arnold Publishing Association; the first is a paper on "Rome's Avowed Purpose to Control the State and Her Success in Great Cities," by Rev. I. J. Lansing, M.A.; the second, "Church and State, their True Relations," by the above author, and also "The Pope as Spiritual and Moral Head of the World," by Charles J. Little, LL.D. Both of these are published under the general head of "National Danger in Romanism." The first contains warnings based on facts which should be considered by every American citizen, but when the second states that we need apprehend no danger from the Protestant churches of this country, we respectfully demur. There is at present as much danger from Protestant churches as from the Roman. Many Protestants seem to fear Rome, while they are drunken by the wine of her fornication, received from so-called Protestantism.

Worthington's Magazine for February opens with a decidedly interesting paper by J. A. MacKnight, entitled "Brigham Young: A Fair Sketch by One Who Knew Him." When a boy Mr. MacKnight, as a relative of the so-called "prophet," was a member of Brigham Young's household, though not a favored one, as he was not considered a tractable young "saint." In view of Utah's struggle for statehood, and the general amnesty just granted to Mormons by President Harrison, this article possesses a timely interest; and the numerous beautiful illustrations, reproduced from photographs, admirably supplement the text. Other interesting articles follow, among which may be mentioned Mrs. Livermore's "Old Virginny—Fifty Years Ago," "The Story of the Tile Fish," and others. The illustrations are good, and the departments well filled. $2.50 a year, 25 cents a number, A. D. Worthington & Co., Hartford, Conn., or of book sellers.