—The pope has granted the request of Cardinal Vaughn that St. Peter be made the patron saint of England.
—A Methodist Episcopal Church consisting of about thirty Japanese members has been organized at Portland, Oregon.
—It is said that Rev. W. D. Morgan, of the Baltimore Methodist Conference, has applied for orders as a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church.
—The Christian at Work says that of the 7,000 Presbyterian Churches, last year 1,254 were reported vacant, not even having a stated supply, and that during the past six years the denomination has been compelled to draw on other denominations for 550 ministers to do its work.
—The new ordinance of the city of San Jose, California, forbidding religious meetings within certain boundaries, is to be tested as to its constitutionality. Thirty-five members of the Salvation Army were recently arrested for violating the ordinance. All were released but the captain, and he is to test the ordinance in the courts.
—The London Present Truth says it is reported that the recent harsh measures against the Stundists in Russia have in several places had the desired effect, that of bringing them back into the Russian Church. Great popular rejoicings are alleged to have taken place at Kanev, where 130 Stundists, including several leaders, have recanted.
—At the recent session of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church South, the following decision was passed: “The session must absolutely enforce the injunction of Scripture forbidding women to speak in churches (1 Cor. 14 : 34) or in any way failing to observe that relative subordination to men that is taught in 1 Cor. 11 : 13, and in other places.”
—It is announced that the Catholic bishop, Bonacum, will soon be tried before Archbishop Hennessy of the archdiocese of Iowa on charges of tyranny toward priests and nuns, refusal to obey orders from Rome, collecting and foolishly expending large sums, extortion, falsehood, etc. It will be the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in America that a bishop was put on trial.
—In connection with his work in Great Britain, Mr. Moody says: “The Nonconformists are not flourishing. They have not been faithfully preaching the word, and are being crowded to the wall. Unitarianism has crept in, and growth and prosperity have dropped out. The influence of the Established Church is overshadowing. Men of wealth and ambition go into it, because it means ambition and honor.”
—The W. C. T. U. people of Albuquerque, New Mexico, are making special effort for the “preservation of the Christian sabbath.” At a union meeting of all denominations, held June 18, it was resolved to request the local authorities to take such measures as shall result in the enforcement of the Sunday laws, and to call upon all the people of the Territory to rally together in the interest of Sunday. Then it was decided to devote one month to special efforts in that city in behalf of the cause.
SECULAR.
—James Sheakle, of Alaska, has been appointed governor of that Territory.
—Typhoid fever is epidemic in this city. July 3 318 cases of typhoid and typho-malaria had been reported.
—Eighteen Honolulu schoolteachers arrived in San Francisco by the last steamer en route to the World’s Fair.
—During the month of March there were eighteen cases of suicide and eighty-two attempts at suicide in the German army.
—The collector of customs at Portland, Oregon, has been suddenly removed on account of alleged fraudulent practices in the landing of Chinese.
—Another revolution is in prospect in Chile. A politician named Pierola wants to be president, and as he appears to have no chance of an election, he is preparing to bring about the desired result by a revolution.
—The Hartly Bank of Jericho, Missouri, was robbed on the 28th ult. of over $8,000. Four men went to the house of the cashier early in the morning and compelled him to accompany them to the bank and open the vault.
—Arctic Explorer Peary left New York on the 2d inst. in pursuit of his favorite scheme, finding the North Pole by way of the east coast of Greenland.
—A. J. Drexel, the intimate friend of George W. Childs, and the richest private banker in America, of the Drexel Banking House, of Philadelphia, died at Carlsbad, Germany, June 30.
—The cut rates adopted by the northern transcontinental railroad lines are commanding the attention of the central and southern competitors, and are being met by counter cuts.
—Governor Altgeld, of Illinois, has pardoned the three Anarchists who have been in the State Prison since 1886, on life sentence, for complicity in the great Haymarket riot in Chicago.
—In view of the financial condition of the country President Cleveland has called an extra session of Congress, to convene Monday, August 7, at 12 o’clock noon, at the Capitol in Washington, D. C.
—In the vicinity of Aspen and Leadville, Colo., all the silver mines have shut down and hundreds of men are thrown out of work. And this is true of many other industries throughout the country.
—It is said that the Belgian Government proposes to convene a special conference of the Latin Union States for the purpose of considering what action they shall take in view of the recent fall in silver.
—The U. S. Consul General of Shanghai reports to the Washington authorities that there is no danger of a boycott of American trade on account of the Exclusion Law. Chinese merchants will buy in the market that offers the best inducements, regardless of other considerations.
—Advices from Morocco state that there is no diminution in the slave trade, batches of girls being sold publicly in Tangier and other towns. Like reports come from Zanzibar, on the east coast of Africa, where it is estimated that not less than 40,000 slaves are carried away every year.
—There is trouble and omens of war between France and Siam. A French gunboat was in the River at Bankok last week threatening to fire on the city, and the king was threatening to blockade the river’s mouth twenty miles below with sunken vessels. The dispute is in regard to the possession of certain territory.
—The will of the late Senator Stanford bequeathes $2,500,000 to the Leland Stanford Junior University, at Palo Alto, Cal.; $100,000 is given to each of the nephews and nieces of himself and Mrs. Stanford, with various other legacies. Mrs. Stanford is residuary legatee and sole executrix, with the power of disposing of the property by will or deed.
—The New River country in Louisiana is suffering terribly from unexpected floods, caused by a sudden enlargement of the break in the Mississippi levee, known as Rescue Crevasse. There is said to be from five to seven feet of water at Dutchtown, and in all the New River settlement, a distance of twenty-five miles, there was only one house with floor above water on the 2d inst.
—A Cleveland dispatch of June 28 says: “On account of the great depression in trade one after another of the great iron mines in the upper Michigan peninsula are shutting down indefinitely. These mines employ thousands of men, and are practically the sole support of whole towns in the peninsula. A protracted cessation of work is bound to result in widespread suffering.
—The newly-appointed governor general of Siberia is now in the United States, endeavoring to become acquainted with American industries, with a view to closer business relations between America and Siberia. The completion of the trans-Siberian railroad to the Pacific Coast is destined to create a new interest in that hitherto comparatively unknown region, and this new channel of business and travel will have an important relationship to the west coast of the United States.
—Bishop Taylor appeals to the U. S. Government in behalf of the little republic of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. A few years ago England appropriated about 100 miles of the northwest portion, and now France is laying claim to seventy-three miles of the southern portion of the defenseless territory, known as the Ivory Coast. As all the European governments are in the gold game for African territory, the bishop thinks the United States is the only government in a position to defend Liberia.
—June 27 a daring revolt was made by sixteen State prisoners at Folsom, California, led by George Sontag, who is under life sentence for train robbery. In the fight which ensued, three prisoners were killed and four wounded, one fatally. Sontag was seriously wounded, and if he recovers will be a life cripple. The revolt was a failure, not a guardsman being injured, although many shots were fired at them. Sontag says he wanted to escape in order to liberate his brother John and Chris. Evans from Fresno jail, where they are confined on charges of murder and train robbing. But his brother at that very time was in a dying condition.
—As announced by Secretary Carlisle, the policy of the Administration will be, in view of the lack of funds, to rid the country of all Chinese who have entered unlawfully in violation of previously existing laws before endeavoring to send out those who came in lawfully but are under the ban of the Geary law because they failed to comply with its requirements of registration, etc.
—A bold attempt at train robbery was made thirty-five miles south of San Antonio, Texas, on the 28th ult. After killing the fireman, two of the three robbers ran off, and the third, finding his single-handed effort unavailing, also ran. The conductor gave chase with a revolver in hand, followed his man into the bush and captured him. The conductor will get the $1,000 standing reward for the capture of train robbers.
—Recent China advices state that on the 15th of May, without a word of warning, a crowd attacked and destroyed the front portion of the mission premises at Kiangtsin, on the Yangtze River. Three ladies in the building escaped over the roof into the house of a neighbor, where they were kindly received. Civil and military authorities came to the rescue before the work of destruction was completed, and several arrests were made.
—The Fresno (California) Canning Company has closed its doors. This will be a serious loss to the community. Many women and girls were last year employed, and $30,000 was paid out in wages alone. Large quantities of tomatoes that were planted for this cannery, will now have to find sale elsewhere or rot. Many tons of blackberries ripening will have to be disposed of elsewhere or they will be lost unless the cannery reopens.
—The financial crisis now affecting this and other countries is not confined to banks, but is sorely pressing manufacturing interests as well. Several cotton establishments in the vicinity of Philadelphia shut down last week. The silver mines of Idaho and Montana are being closed on account of the fall in the price of silver. The recent stoppage of silver coinage in India has had a blightening effect on the white metal the world over.
THE ATONEMENT.
The author, in a book of 368 pages, takes up this great central doctrine of the gospel, and treats it in two parts. Part first,
An Atonement Consistent with Reason.
In this he shows that the doctrine of an atonement through the medium of a voluntary substitute is consistent with reason. Part second,
The Atonement as Revealed in the Bible.
In this is discussed the plan of redemption through Christ, by which every sinner who accepts Christ will be justified; sin will be turned back upon the head of its originator; the earth will be cleansed from the curse; God's righteous government will be restored over the entire universe; and all who will not become loyal subjects of that government will be destroyed.
The book presents a CRITICAL AND EXHAUSTIVE TREATISE on this interesting subject, by a thorough Bible student, and wholly from a Bible standpoint, and cannot fail to be of great value to everyone who reads it.
Third edition, bound in cloth, embossed in black, with gold title on back and front cover.
Price, postpaid, $1.00.
Address, Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal. Or 43 BOND ST., New York City.
TO THE WORLD’S FAIR.
Weekly Excursions.
ARE you going? If so, it will be to your interest to call on, or write to, the undersigned before arranging for your trip.
The “Santa Fe Route” being the only line under one management from California to Chicago, we can offer you advantages, for a safe and pleasant journey, unsurpassed by other lines.
It is the only line running Pullman Palace and Tourist sleeping cars through to Chicago, every day, without change, on the same train.
Select Overland Excursions leave every Tuesday, with manager in charge through to Boston. Baggage checked to destination. Steamship tickets sold to and from all European points, via all the popular steamship lines. J. J. Warner, Agent, 972 Broadway, Oakland, Cal., or W. A. Bissell, G. P. A., 650 Market Street, Chronicle Building, San Francisco, Cal.
THE MEDICAL MISSIONARY.
By John Harvey Kellogg
(J. H. KELLOGG, M. D., EDITOR.)
A TWENTY-FOUR page monthly journal, devoted to the various phases of medical missionary and benevolent work. It contains each month also articles of general interest on missi. fields, and items of missionary intelligence. Each number is illustrated.
Published by S. D. A. Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association.
Price, 25 cents per year. Address Medical Missionary, Battle Creek, Mich.
Notes on Current Events
By Editor
WE begin next week a series of articles on the "Millennium, or the Millennial Reign of Christ," by Elder J. H. Durland. We hope they will be read with care.
A SERIES of articles on the "Coming of the Lord" will shortly appear in the Signs. They will show the fallacies of some of the erroneous views now afloat by presenting what we believe to be the scriptural view.
WE call attention in another column to a candid statement of belief on "The Fate of the Wicked." In a general way we believe that it states the scriptural side of the question, which is also the side of justice and mercy.
QUITE a change has taken place the last few years in Imperial Germany, when one of the pet measures of the emperor is defeated in the Reichstag; and in a new election, with all the resources of the empire at his back, the emperor barely gets a majority. Socialism is growing and spreading. The clay is becoming more potent than the iron.
WE understand that our general Year Book of 1893 is out, though we cannot positively testify personally to that fact, but the Review of May 16 has so stated, and we believe the Review. We would have ordered personally, but expected that the usual courtesy would be extended of sending a copy for notice. Our house has had an order in for some time, but no Year Books have yet come to hand. Was the Review mistaken? or what was the matter?
MANY are the curses which have been uttered against the World's Fair directory because of their action of opening the Fair on Sunday. One minister is said to have expressed himself as preferring to have cholera sweep over this country rather than hear of the decision of the Appellate Court that the Fair remain open. Cyclones, earthquakes, and various other destructive agencies have been invoked and threatened by the professed followers of the merciful Redeemer, because the Fair has been opened Sundays. But the breach of contract with Congress is not what hurts these prophets of evil. It is because Sunday, the usurper of the Sabbath of the Lord, is "desecrated." The violation of the Constitution by Congress does not even affect their moral stomach. The violation of God's law in substituting Sunday for the Sabbath is not even deplored. But the Sunday Fair is a crime against morality too great to be pardoned. Well, we are glad that God has "committed all judgment unto the Son," and that he has declared that the "curse causeless shall not come."
"Christ and the Sabbath."—The sermons by Prof. W. W. Prescott on the above subject, which have lately appeared in the Signs, will soon be published in tract form as a number of the Bible Students' Library. We say this for the benefit of those who have asked for this. Action was taken in this respect before the sermons were published. We felt sure that all who read the sermons would wish the tract, and that many would get the tract who did not read the sermon, therefore we decided to publish in both forms.
GLAD are we that there is once in a while a minister of the gospel who sees the true bearing of the present clamoring of the church for Sunday laws. Rev. N. S. Haynes, in the Christian Oracle of the 15th ultimo, truly says:—
If the church has the right to compel the people not to go to the Fair on Sunday, it clearly has the right to compel them to go to church on Sunday. Compulsion was not Christ's method. He taught, helped, and thus won the people. The great cry of the church for compulsory Sunday observance is a pitiable confession of the inefficiency of the church to win people. It seems to rely no longer on God, truth, or good living, but appeals to an arm of flesh. 2 Cor. 10: 4.
And this is the melancholy fact.
An exchange says:—
The opening of the World's Fair on Sunday is now definitely settled. The Tennessee persecutions of Sabbath keepers have ceased, and the prisoners discharged. What about the United States being the two-horned beast and the image already formed? Has the Supreme Court rendered a decision in favor of Sunday, thus compelling individuals to pay religious regard to that day? Evidently in the transpiring events of the past few days this imaginary two-horned beast has been deformed, and in that condition will do no one much harm.
No, the persecution of Sabbath keepers in Tennessee has not ceased, and it is now more bitter in Maryland than it ever was in Tennessee. The Supreme Court has not passed on the Sunday question as such, but it was all involved in its decision that "this is a Christian nation," February 29, 1892, and the Supreme Court will never reverse that decision. The opening or closing of the World's Fair has nothing to do with it; the government recorded its sentiments when it passed the Sunday-closing condition. The writer of the above does not comprehend the first principles of the question. The prophecy still stands and is rapidly fulfilling.
DEPOSITORY FOR DISTRICT NO. 5.
By S. N. Curtiss
Our canvassers and others in District No. 5 have long been asking that a branch of the Pacific Press Publishing Company be established in that district. This is now an accomplished fact, and the office has been located at No. 18 West Fifth Street, Kansas City, Missouri. No publishing will be done at this office, but a full stock of all our denominational publications will always be on hand. The canvassers will still order their books from their State tract society, but instead of being shipped from Battle Creek, they will be sent from Kansas City.
Although this point is not exactly central for the district, still it is by far the best shipping point, as so many railroads center in Kansas City, and shipments will make good time to all parts of the district.
The Fifth Street cable cars, which pass the Union Depot, run right past our door, and we are very accessible to all the street car lines of the city. Our "latchstring" is always out, and we shall be glad to have our brethren and sisters who are passing through, give us a call. If we can be of service to them, we shall be pleased to render assistance in any way we can.
Address all communications for this branch to Pacific Press Publishing Co., 18 West Fifth Street, Kansas City, Mo. S. N. CURTISS, Manager.
Church Discipline and Restoring a Brother
(Continued from page 546.)
tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.” Matt. 18: 15-17.
He has no right to tell it to the church till he has followed the first steps above pointed out. He should go in the spirit of meekness (Gal. 6: 1), with not so much a burden for himself as for his brother (Lev. 19: 17), with earnest prayer to restore him to the favor of God. If his brother will not hear either him or the witnesses, who ought to be of the most spiritual, then let the matter be brought before the officers of the church. If the church are so blinded that they cannot see the right, then let the brother bear and forbear, knowing that God will right all wrongs. But let him first be sure that he has done his part in the light of the scripture above quoted, and such others as Gal. 6: 1; James 5: 19, 20. The worldly position or standing of a brother does not affect duty of man or church. “God is no respector of persons.”
Daniel Webster on Religious Reformers
By Editor
100. DANIEL WEBSTER AND RELIGIOUS REFORMERS.
What do you suppose Daniel Webster meant by the saying, “There is a boldness, a spirit of daring, in religious reformers not to be measured by the general rules which control men’s purposes and actions?”
We suppose he meant just what he said. He recognized, evidently, that there was a power, spirit, and influence in them which were not in men generally. This is true. In false religions it is the supernatural power of Satan. See Acts 16: 16, 17. In the religion of Christ it is the power of God. See Acts 16: 18-25.
The Sunday Sabbath Is All of Rome
By Editor
The Northern Christian Advocate, in speaking of the Anglican clergy and their position on an open Fair on Sunday, says:—
These same Anglican clergy in Argentina have been exhibiting great interest in, and predicting, a “Sunday Fair” at Chicago, while the bishop of the Falkland Islands has declared the fourth commandment abrogated! This is all of a piece with the action of the Romanist clergy in Mexico in expurgating the second commandment because it strikes at image worship in that church! Why not vote the whole ten commandments en bloc obsolete?
“The fourth commandment abrogated!” But what else do those teachers teach who claim that the fourth commandment enjoins a day which it does not even so much as name, and for a reason not even so much as intimated? The fact is that the whole Sunday question is on a piece with all of Rome's dealings; and why not? The Sunday sabbath is all of Rome.
Congress and Religious Legislation
The fact that the World's Fair is opened on Sundays does not alter the position of the government in the matter of having established a precedent for religious legislation. The Pittsburg Gazette says, "The moral victory for Sabbath observance was won when Congress made Sunday closing obligatory upon the directory." That is an acknowledgment that Congress established by law a religious institution in defiance of the Constitution, which expressly forbids such legislation. But as evidence that no backward step has been taken by the government in the matter of assuming a religious function, it should be noted that neither of the courts dealing with the subject have recognized either a religious or an unconstitutional feature in the act of Congress. It is evident that the flagrant innovation by Congress in practically establishing a union of Church and State is here to stay, unmolested by either branch of the government.