—It is coming to be quite a fad for Protestant ministers to come to the defense of Catholic measures when assailed by other Protestants.
—In San Francisco a Christmas dinner was given to 4,000 poor people, and their holiday fund still contained large quantities of clothing, fuel, and provisions, which were distributed among needy families during the week.
—A steamer lately arrived at Port Townsend from Alaskan parts brings news of the suicide of Rev. J. W. McFarlane, a Presbyterian missionary at Hoonah. No cause is known for the rash act, but a sudden fit of insanity is conjectured as the cause.
—While Mr. John D. Rockefeller is being greatly praised by the Baptists for his occasional benevolences in the line of church work, he is purchasing a $750,000 site on the Hudson River for a $1,000,000 residence. This is piling up costly fuel for the final great conflagration.
—A colossal statue of the Virgin Mary, fifty feet high, is to be erected on one of the loftiest summits of the Rouergue Mountains in France, where it will be visible for many miles. The enterprise is the pious thought of a wealthy duchess, and the work is under the patronage of thirty-four priests.
—After a railroad accident near Wilkesbarre, Pa., not long ago, there was found the dead body of a man who had been working as a brakeman. It turns out, so the story goes, that this man was a sensational preacher, who was taking this means of gathering up from real life subjects for attractive sermons. There are many ministers now who apparently deem the word of God too tame for their aspirations.
—Rev. E. M. McGilvary has resigned his mission work in Siam under the Presbyterian Mission Board, because of the action of the General Assembly in the heresy trial of Professor Briggs. He is a sympathizer with the professor, hence cannot see his way clear to continue under the auspices of a church that condemns his own views. There are continually arising indications that Briggsism has quite extensively permeated the Presbyterian Church. If all who hold with Briggs and Preserved Smith were disciplined, it would give the denomination a pretty thorough shaking.
—Prominent in the ranks of Spiritualists is a mystic order. Its societies or lodges are called "temples." Its badge or seal is a triangular figure, containing the rising sun, the temples, the obelisks, the sphinx, and the pyramids—all emblematic of ancient Egypt. When we see the professed Christianity of the day becoming so absorbed in Spiritualism, it reminds us of the Israelites journeying through the wilderness; when, on the borders of the promised land, they lost faith in the leadership of God, their cry was, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."
—Central Africa seems to have become a scene of extensive religious conflict, as will be seen by the following dispatch from Berlin: "The news has been received from Uganda that the Mohammedans have been expelled by the Christians. Severe fighting is now inevitable between the Christians and Mohammedans, and the encounter will probably take place at Myoro. It is believed there will be renewed conflicts between the Protestants and Catholics, owing to the fact that the former have broken their agreement with the Catholics and depopulated the provinces of Kiama, Bivenkula, and Large Sese, whose populations were Catholic." The Protestants are also said to have declared vengeance upon the native converts to Catholicism, and it is believed that peace can only be secured by the permanent expulsion of the Mohammedan Bagandas and the separation of the Catholic and Protestant spheres by Nile tributaries."
SECULAR.
—A new and reputedly rich gold mine has been discovered on Douglas Island, Alaska.
—Amid all the horrors of war in the city of Rio Janeiro, dispatches announce that the plague of yellow fever has been added.
—The grand jury of New York City has presented bills of indictment against eighty-five persons for violation of the election laws.
—In Atchison, Kansas, persons who apply to the police for food or lodging are set to work breaking stone to pay for what they get.
—The residence of Thomas Ransdal, near Bohon, Ky., was burned on the 27th ult., and his wife and three children perished in the flames.
—In Chicago it is said that ten bakeries under control of the Bakers' Union have been compelled to close because of a strike of employees.
—At a skating party at a "charity carnival" in Nijni Novgorod, Russia, December 30, 28 persons were drowned by the breaking of the ice.
—Continued rioting against the octroi duties is reported in Palermo, Italy. The octroi is a tax collected for the privilege of selling products.
—In Tacoma, Wash., a free shower bath for tramps has been erected in the county jail, and it is claimed that all the tramps now evade the city.
—The municipal authorities of this city are having all the unemployed men register, with a view to giving them work. The list contains about 900 names.
—In Washington, D. C., Joseph Donjon has been held to answer before the grand jury for sending threatening letters to Vice President Stevenson and others.
—The National Woman Suffrage Association will hold its annual convention at Washington, D. C., February 15-20. The Union Signal hopes much from it.
—Prendergast, the assassin of Mayor Harrison, of Chicago, was found guilty of murder in the first degree, with penalty of death. The jury was only absent an hour.
—It is said that the government of Nicaragua has been collecting forced war loans from American residents in violation of treaty stipulations, and U. S. Minister Baker has made a vigorous protest.
—Press dispatches announce that serious rioting and bloodshed at many polling places attended the late elections in Servia. At Schabatz twenty-four men of the opposition party were seriously injured.
—Mayor Carlson, of San Diego, Cal., who recently went to the City of Mexico, telegraphs back that he has obtained a concession and liberal bonus for the construction of a railroad from San Diego across Lower California to Yuma.
—In Pasadena, Cal., on the 27th ult., a large barn near the center of the city was struck by lightning, and, together with seventy-five tons of hay, was burned to the ground. It was with great difficulty that the fire was prevented from spreading.
—The Midwinter Fair in San Francisco is having one good effect that all other forces have heretofore failed to produce,—it has caused the Chinese Consul and other leading men of his nation to take active measures to have Chinatown cleaned up.
—The way of the world was aptly illustrated recently at Leicester, England, when the dead president of a football club was carried to the grave by the members of his club dressed in their field uniforms, with a large football lying on the coffin.
—It is said that Governor Mitchell, of Florida, will, if necessary, declare martial law to prevent the prize fight between Mitchell and Corbett. Cripple Creek, Colo., offers $40,000 if the fight is transferred to that place. Could one-tenth that amount be raised for the poor in Cripple Creek?
—A late St. Petersburg dispatch says that hosts of Jews are being expelled from Kieff. The expulsions from St. Petersburg continue, but upon a milder scale. The Jews in the interior are being provided with tickets to the frontier by the government for speedier expulsion.
—The California State Board of Education has decided to have the State series of language books rewritten, as those in use are unsatisfactory. A Mrs. Pierce has been chosen for the constructive work, under supervision of a corps of editors, and the time is limited to two years.
—The visitor who wishes to take in all the side shows and amusements at the Midwinter Fair may do so at the cost of $10.10. The gate fare on the regular opening of the Fair will be 50 cents. It is now only 25 cents. This entitles the visitor to view all the main Exposition buildings and exhibits.
—The news from England's war against the Matabele in Central Africa is somewhat variable. One day, King Lobengula's forces are scattered to the four winds, the next day, they are about surrounded or almost annihilated, and lastly they have cut to pieces the commands of Captains Wilson and Barrow.
—Owing to the fact that the grounds and other original calculations concerning the Midwinter Fair have been multiplied by four, and to the further fact that Eastern exhibits have been delayed in preparation, the formal opening has been postponed until February. Until that time the entrance fee will be only 25 cents.
—An injunction from the United States Circuit Court of the Eastern district of Wisconsin was served December 30 on General Master Workman John H. Sovereign, successor of Powderly, restraining him from interfering in any way, shape, or manner with the strike on the Northern Pacific road; that he shall exercise no power or influence to bring about a strike on the first day of January or at any time thereafter; and that all of these restrictions shall remain in force until the injunction is dissolved by the court in a lawful manner.
—A Phoenix, A. T., dispatch says: "Work on the great South Gila dam, after a suspension of six months, is about to be resumed with a force of 600 men. The work will cost in excess of $1,000,000 before its completion. The dam will make a lake thirteen miles long, serving to impound enough water for the irrigation of 160,000 acres."
—December 26, at Amsterdam, about 2,000 unemployed workmen, organized into a parade by agitators, marched through the leading streets. They were charged upon by 600 policemen with drawn sabers, and resisted the attack by throwing stones. A number of persons on both sides were severely injured before the paraders were dispersed.
—In Hartford City, Ind., a band of armed tramps undertook to have their own way in the town, "holding up" citizens in the street and compelling barkeepers to supply them with drinks. At last the people attacked the marauders and succeeded in arresting six of them. The leader escaped, and it was thought he had at least $1,000 in money with him.
—The Italian Countess di Brazza, who has instituted many lace factories in her country in order to assist poor working girls, is now in California. She was sent to the World's Fair by the queen to exhibit Italian laces, and has made a flying visit to this State "just to see what Charles Dudley Warner really meant when he called California the 'modern Italy.'"
—There are 20,000 unemployed men in Detroit. The city decided to give two days work in a week at breaking stone at 75 cents a day, and, contrary to all expectation, there were hundreds of applicants who had to be turned away. A rich capitalist has taken 60 families to a community he has founded to feed, clothe, house, and meet their expenses as members of that community.
—A dispatch from Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa, notes extensive rioting the day after Christmas in the mining town of Witwatersrand. It is stated that about 2,000 native miners were engaged in rioting, and 100 men were wounded. An attempt was made to destroy public buildings, but the effort was thwarted by the police, who eventually quelled the disturbance.
—The San Francisco Examiner says editorially that it may be that the nominal peace of 1893 will not last through another year. It is estimated that there are 130,000 more men under arms in Europe now than there were a year ago, and it is said to be the universal opinion there that the strain has at last reached the breaking point, and that something must give way during 1894.
—A great sensation was created last week on account of charges filed in the U. S. Circuit Court at Milwaukee against the receivers and certain members of the board of directors of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The complaint is made by the general counsel of the company, and sets forth that the accused officials have swindled the company to the extent of $60,000,000 in the past year.
—A Monclova, Mexico, dispatch of the 28th ult. says that several hundred Chinese miners and agricultural laborers are on their way to a point below Del Rio, where they expect to cross the Rio Grande into the United States. The Chinese are under the guidance of immigration agents, who have contracted to land them safely within the line for $50 a head. The custom authorities have been notified of the movement.
—A British gunboat and a French war ship have recently been engaged in chastising the cannibals on Pentecost Island (New Hebrides group), Pacific Ocean, for the murder of French and American sailors last September. The natives have been defeated in several engagements and their villages burned. Some of the leaders in the outrages mentioned were sent to the French convict settlement at Noumea, where they will be kept for life. Over thirty white sailors and traders were known to have been murdered, and large quantities of human bones and other remains indicated that there have been other victims.
—Chris Evans, the noted train robber and murderer, who was recently sentenced to a life term in the State prison, escaped from the jail at Fresno, Cal., on the 28th ult. A man in the guise of a restaurant waiter brought the prisoner a dinner, and was allowed to go into his apartment and remain while it was eaten. On being let out of the apartment the two men presented pistols and compelled the jailer to open the outside door. They met the city marshal in the street and held him up, and when he attempted to resist, Evans shot him in the back, giving him a severe wound. The culprits then took a horse and cart from a newsboy and left town. At last accounts a hundred men were in pursuit. Evans' wife was paying him a visit at the time of his escape, and she is retained in jail on a charge of complicity in the affair. The prisoner was to have been taken to the penitentiary next day.
Government Support for Catholic Indian Schools
Father Stephan, of the Catholic Indian Bureau of Washington, has created a sensation by his report to the Board of Indian Commissioners. He reported thirty-nine boarding schools and thirteen day schools for which the government had given $69,935, and five private schools maintained by the church at an expense of $50,000. Then he criticised the Protestant denominations, which have declined further assistance from the government, stating that their action was an effort to secularize the government contract schools, and characterized it as "hypocritical, and a covert effort to drive the Roman Catholic Church from the field." There is no doubt that his deduction is correct. The Protestant churches had admitted the principle of government support of religion until it was demonstrated that the Catholics could beat them all at the game, and they suddenly discovered that the principle was wrong. And, when it is too late to retrace their steps, they will find out that the Roman Church has all the advantage in every effort to advance the interests of religion "through the gateway of politics," and that in all such efforts Protestants are simply playing into the hands of Rome.
TEMPERANCE IN IOWA.
IOWA is no longer a prohibition State. The Republicans since last election held two-thirds of the Legislature. The liquor plank in the last platform was originated by Spencer Smith, of Council Bluffs, and the same gentleman has brought before the Legislature a bill which will in a slightly modified form, probably become law. This allows local option, or a continuance of prohibition, in those rural districts which so elect, with the manufacture and sale of liquor in counties which under the provisions of the law so decide. The permit to sell is quite severely restricted in several points, a Sunday sop being thrown in to please the Sunday folk. The restrictions and provisions are summarized by, the World as follows:—
(1) No liquor shall be sold or given to an habitual drunkard; (2) nor to an intoxicated person; (3) nor to a minor; (4) the “place of business” shall be closed between 11 P. M. and 6 A. M.; (5) also on all election days; (6) also on Sunday; (7) the business shall be carried on in a single room facing a public highway; (8) no games shall be permitted in this place; (9) the place must be orderly and respectable; (10) no music will be allowed on the premises; (11) a “fee” of $1,000 in all first and second-class cities and of $500 for other cities shall be required, one-half to go to the general county fund, and the other half to go to the city fund of the city where liquor is sold; (12) a copy of this permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the room where liquor is manufactured or sold. This permit may be revoked upon proof of a violation of any of its provisions.
The Roman Church in America
RAYMOND BLATHWAYT, writing to the London Chronicle in defense of Cardinal Gibbons on the labor and other questions, says:—
"The Roman Church in America is in the van of the forward movement to a greater extent than is generally imagined, and those who have studied the question with open, generous minds have no doubt that the future welfare of the republic lies in the hands of the Italian mission now flourishing in its midst."
The future doom of the republic rests in the hands of the Roman Church, and professed Protestants have put it there. Right in line with this is the following from a dispatch from Rome to the New York Herald:—
"It will be placed on record in the history of the world that the latter years of Leo XIII.'s reign were passed in interested contemplation of the progress of the Catholic Church in the United States. This is in fact the dominating interest of his closing years, and he shows this in every way possible. He takes the deepest interest in the progress of Monsignor Satolli's work."
The above are both clipped from the daily Examiner of December 31. They show the current of affairs.
California’s Woolen Mills
To show the unwisdom of the commercial wise men, take the following from the annual address of Mr. Henry L. Davis, president of the Board of Manufacturers and Employers of California:—
“California is the second wool-producing State in the Union and lies right at the door of Australia, from whence all the mixing wools come, yet the woolen mills of California are struggling hard to live, and much of the product of these mills is sent to New York, stamped with the name of an Eastern manufacturer, and then sold back here in California against an advance of twenty per cent. Could anything be more absurd than this?”
Investing in Heavenly Treasures
By Editor
WITH half a dozen of the largest railroad concerns in the hands of receivers, and other large establishments going down all over the country, the outlook for worldly investments is decidedly discouraging. It is a good time now to lay up treasures in heaven by helping the poor and investing in the spread of the gospel of the coming kingdom of Christ, wherein "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."
The Current Is Romeward
By Editor
It is said that since the Bishop of Lincoln case, which terminated last year, fourteen clergymen of the Church of England have joined the Roman Catholic Church. All this is very proper; they are going to their own. Sad it is, but the current is Romeward, except on the part of a few.
The Vatican Master of Europe
The letter of the pope to the czar of all the Russias threatening to "protest in the face of all Europe" if the persecution of Roman Catholics in Poland and Russia did not cease, is said to have brought the czar to terms. The Triple Alliance would be only too glad to have an open rupture between Russia and the Vatican, but it is not in the interests of Russia and France that this shall take place. The Vatican more and more is becoming master of Europe and will soon dictate at least its religion.
Encouragement from the South Seas
By Editor
In our Work and Workers department there will be found interesting items from our missionaries in the south seas. Two months before Brother McCoy was writing so encouragingly of the work in Norfolk his wife and child were dying, but he knew it not. "God giveth his beloved sleep." May God bless and sustain his servant.
Peace or War
By Editor
In our Watch Tower department will be found an article which very well sets forth the present state of Europe. It is entitled "Peace or War."
Cheering Reports from Prayer Week
By Editor
CHEERING reports already begin to come in from our week of prayer in various localities.
Effect of Parliament of Religions in Japan
By Editor
READ the "Effect of Parliament of Religions in Japan," on another page.
BIBLE SANCTIFICATION:
By Editor
A CONTRAST OF TRUE AND FALSE THEORIES.
By Mrs. E. G. White.
This is a pamphlet of only 84 pages, but its value is not to be judged by its size. It is just what its title indicates: a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Every believer in Bible truth should read it. Buy it, read it, and lend it to your neighbor. Price, 10 cents.
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Question Corner.
By Editor
"If ye will inquire, inquire ye." "But avoid foolish questions."
[From time to time we will reply under this head, if deemed advisable, to such candid inquiries as may be sent us. Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best. It is always well to inclose stamp. Let the questions be short and pointed, and such as may be answered in limited space. The questions will be numbered continuously.]
128. CHRIST COME IN THE FLESH.
Please explain 1 John 4:3. Some say that the apostle was speaking of Christ's first coming, when he took on the form of humanity. Others say that he was speaking of Christ dwelling in our flesh.
The apostle has reference to the work of the gospel; and the gospel to every soul who believes it is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16), "Christ in you the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27); Christ dwelling in the heart by faith (Eph. 3:17), "the life also of Jesus" "manifest in our body," "manifest in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:10, 11). That it is this to which the apostle refers is evident from 1 John 4:4: "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." The only power which will enable us to overcome is the life of Christ within us, held by faith but not the less real and actual.
129. THE BIBLE AND SLAVERY.
Does the Bible sustain slavery or involuntary servitude?
The Bible sustains nothing but what is of Christ-likeness and character. But "whom the Son makes free is free indeed." The freedom of Christ knows no kind of slavery, and this is the only condition of man sustained by the Bible. God permitted slavery, and at the same time mitigated it as far as possible. God has also permitted sin, and at the same time in his great mercy he has restrained it and mitigated its effects. But he has never sustained either sin or slavery.