—Satolli says there is no occasion for the pope's interference between him and his alleged enemies in this country, and he thinks there is no foundation for the rumors that such a course is contemplated.
—More and more prominently does the subject of the division of the public school funds come before the country. It is a religious question, for it is a religious body (Roman Catholic) that makes the demand. It is clear, however, as declared by Rev. Dr. C. O. Brown (Congregationalist), of San Francisco, that the division of the fund means its destruction. As soon as one sect draws out its share, all others may do the same, and there will soon be little or nothing left for the maintenance of the public school.
—Dr. Dille, of the Central M. E. Church, San Francisco, in a recent discourse on the subject of the condemnation of parts of Myers' History by the School Board of that city, noted some ominous facts. School Superintendent Swett had marked all the passages which are under the ban of the Catholic archbishop, showing that about one-fourth of the book had been expurgated. Dr. Dille is reported to have said that "while we are not under such a government as that of Russia, still the School Board is so far subject to the pope as to permit one of the textbooks in our schools to be mutilated as effectually as the czar's censor did an article in the Century magazine, by George Kennan, exposing certain Siberian atrocities."
—On Sunday, the 20th inst., at St. Michael's Church, Newark, N. J., at the close of mass, as Father Murphy was about to begin his discourse, two able-bodied detectives took hold of him and led him from the church and into the parish home. He had been dismissed from the church by Bishop Wigger, and was attempting to continue in defiance of the bishop's decree.
SECULAR.
—Several failures of large business houses in Valparaiso have been announced.
—Crop reports for the State of Washington forecast the heaviest crop ever harvested in that region.
—Press dispatches announce destructive floods along the principal streams of Western New York and Pennsylvania.
—There is much uneasiness in Arkansas because of reports from all over the State that locusts are appearing in great numbers.
—The government patrol fleet, consisting of six vessels, has gone to the North Pacific sealing grounds to look out for poachers.
—In the Chicago market, on the 19th inst., wheat dropped to fifty-three cents per cental, the lowest point touched in seventy years.
—A Milwaukee dispatch of the 18th inst. reports a "worse snowstorm than any in winter" raging in Wisconsin and part of Michigan.
—The fruit growers of Yolo County, Cal., are said to be fearful of a raid by the "industrials," and are arming their Japanese and Chinese employees for defense.
—Two American pleasure steamers plying on Lake Erie are said to have been confiscated by the Canadian authorities for infringement of the Dominion fishery laws.
—Severe hailstorms are reported at Anderson, Ind., Decatur, Ill., and Port Huron, Mich., on the 17th inst. At Decatur it is said there were hailstones as large as goose eggs.
—Two children, aged 11 and 9 years, committed suicide at Vienna last week, in order to relieve their mother of the burden of their care. They jumped off a bridge into the river Danube.
—Over 100 persons, mostly students, have been arrested in Russia on account of membership in a new organization called Friends of Political Liberty. Many of them are to be sent to Siberia.
—A storm in Peru, Ind., on the night of the 17th, demolished a schoolhouse and five barns and unroofed a large flourmill. Other buildings were damaged, and fruit trees were greatly injured.
—On the 20th inst. twenty-two saloons in Fresno, Cal., were opened in defiance of the Sunday-closing ordinance, the proprietors having determined to test the constitutionality of the ordinance in the courts.
—It is said by astronomers that there is now a stormy time in the sun. Astronomer Larkin, of Galesburg, Ill., reports a "solar cyclone" 86,000 miles in length and from 22,000 to 43,000 miles in width.
—At Roubaix, France, on the 17th inst., a conflict took place between an Anarchist procession and the police, in which several persons were severely injured. Half a dozen prominent persons were arrested.
—A cyclone passed near Kunkle, Williams County, Ohio, on the 17th inst., causing the death of five persons. Two others were seriously injured, and great damage was done to vegetation in the track of the storm.
—The president of Argentina reports that the last revolution cost the government $6,000,000. As revolutions down there are of frequent occurrence, the annual drain on the treasury on that account must be very heavy.
—The inmates of the Wisconsin State prison at Waupun have been given a change of employment from making boots and shoes to knitting woolen goods. An Ohio firm puts in the machinery, and is to take the entire production.
—Brooklyn, N. Y., had a great fire on the 13th inst., which destroyed $1,780,000 worth of property, including the Talmage Tabernacle. The loss on the church is $300,000, and this is the third time the congregation has been deprived of its house of worship by fire.
—An attempted stage robbery on the line between Milton and Angels, Cal., last week, resulted in the wounding of two passengers and the killing of one of the robbers. The other robber escaped. The robbers were foiled by an armed express messenger riding inside with the passengers.
—It has been discovered that an ex-clerk of the district attorney's office of New York City had hidden away over 5,000 criminal indictments against lottery men. He is now dead, and after his death it is stated that an expert burglar was employed by persons interested to open the ex-clerk's private safe and the accumulated mass of indictments were burned.
—"Industrial armies" continue to spring up in all parts of the country, and "General" Frye, whose Southern California "command" at last report was in Indiana, predicts that there will be 200,000 industrials in Washington inside of two months. He says there are thousands of organizers at work.
—Damaging floods are reported along Rush River, Minn., every bridge from source to mouth being carried away; also several mills and farmhouses. A dispatch from Hudson, Wis., notes great damage by flood in that region; and Harrisville, Mich., was the scene of a disastrous storm and flood on the 17th inst.
—Dr. McGlynn, who was deposed from his church by Archbishop Corrigan for publicly advocating the Henry George land tax theory, and was restored by order of Satolli, has again taken the rostrum. He and George recently addressed large audiences in New York, taking the ground that single tax is the only proper remedy for the growing Anarchism.
—A tramp in the city hospital of Knoxville, Tenn., recently sold a piece of property in Edgemont, S. Dakota, to a railroad company's agent for $500, which is said to be worth $100,000. He had bought the property some years ago for a nominal sum and paid no further attention to it, hence did not know its value. The agent had had a long hunt to find the owner.
—On the night of the 15th inst. Detective Len Harris, one of California's oldest and most successful officers, was fatally shot while attempting to arrest a man who was in the act of robbing the railroad station at Boulder Creek, Santa Cruz County. Harris was almost killed two years ago by train robbers. His last assailant has been arrested, and proves to be a Russian named Azoff.
—A band of industrials, who had been camped near Winters, Cal., started out to rid that region of Chinese and Japanese laborers. They followed down Pleasant Valley, raiding houses and driving the occupants before them, continuing on into Vaca Valley. The people of Vacaville gathered a party of armed citizens to resist the progress of the mob, and arrested eighty-seven of them.
—The Prohibition party of California has nominated Henry French, of San Jose, for governor, together with full State and Congressional tickets. The rest-day plank of the platform is as follows: "We declare for the preservation of one day in seven as a day of rest as a civil institution, without oppressing or interfering with any who observe any other day of the week as such a day of rest."
—A curious case is being tried in Buffalo, N. Y. Last January Mrs. Catherine Backus, a resident of the East Side, died, leaving $1,000 in bank and several children. She bequeathed the whole sum in trust to be used to pay for masses for the benefit of the soul of the deceased and her husband. The children have contested the will. The attorney is raising the point that the soul of Mrs. Backus cannot receive any benefit from masses; that even if it could, a soul has no standing in a temporal court, and the trust is illegal because it is not for the benefit of any human being.
—One of the most imposing funeral occasions ever witnessed in this city was that of Captain Paisley, of the "industrial army," on Sunday, the 13th inst. Deceased had been shot by a constable at Rocklin, Placer County, and brought here for burial. The large B. Fay Mills Tabernacle was packed to overflowing. The services were conducted by Dr. Graif, of the English Lutheran Church, and the assistant pastor of the First Presbyterian Church also delivered a short address. Two ladies then spoke in eulogistic terms of the character of the deceased. There was an elaborate song service and a profusion of flowers. The corpse was borne to the grave on the shoulders of comrades, and buried beneath the stars and stripes.
—A press dispatch from Washington says: "An enterprising real-estate man here has offered to set the Coxeyites at work. He has a tract of land about three and a half miles distant from the city which he desires to have cleared of underbrush and made ready for subdivision. It is a pretty spot and much healthier than the seven-month camp now occupied by the Coxeyites. The owner, Dr. P. G. Herring, offered to let the 'army' camp on the ground and to pay them $500 if they would clear the ground. The proposition struck Coxey favorably, but Browne was unwilling to move the camp so far from the city, and the offer was rejected."
—A week ago George Decker was in jail at Yreka, Cal., and the people were talking strongly of lynching him. The finding of some human bones by a shepherd led to the suspicion that Decker had murdered his wife and child, who had disappeared from their home twenty-seven years ago. Suspicion followed suspicion, until he was accused of having murdered ten persons at different times, including a second wife. But the defense succeeded in finding the first wife and child, and, the wife having been identified by old neighbors, Decker has been released, and is now congratulated by his neighbors. The woman who disappeared so long ago states that the separation was by mutual consent, and she has been twice married since that event.
Deceptions
Deceptions.—When a person accepts a grand truth, the first thing which Satan does is to endeavor to obscure it, or make it of none effect, by placing between that truth and its Author some great lie. It was a glorious truth which Mahomet grasped when he learned that God was one, and that idols were nothing, but that truth was made utterly worthless by the falsehood that Mahomet is his prophet. The error severed the truth from God, the Author of truth. The coming of the Lord is a precious truth, but Satan has induced many to accept of certain unscriptural doctrines, like "the return of the Jews," "Anglo-Israelite" domination, "secret rapture of the saints," "age to come" and others. Beloved, be not deceived. Truth is effectual when connected with God. Separated from him by cherished error it is but an empty form.
THE "CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE" ON THE SABBATH.
By Editor
THE Christian Alliance of some time ago, the editor of which is the Rev. A. B. Simpson, so earnest in missionary work and faith healing, had the following:—
"The Sabbath Question.—We receive many communications respecting the Sabbath question, and a good many of our friends have given us more scriptural references than we have time to read on this subject. We have read them all, we believe, on former occasions. Meanwhile, we would be glad to ask them a question.
"When we were in China, a few months ago, we found that the American sabbath was Monday there. Now, the question is, Which was the true Sabbath?
"And another question is, Is there any absolute time demanded or even possible, according to physical and geographical laws? Is it not simply one day in seven that the Lord requires, that day being the seventh in the Old Testament, and the first in the New?
"And yet one question more, Is this question as important as the question of the world's evangelization, and the unity of the people of God in promoting it and hasting the Lord's return, and the one eternal Sabbath for which the ages are waiting?"
There are two things in the above which may be worthy of notice, (1) the matter of the day, and (2) the importance of the question.
1. Mr. Simpson must know that no "American" sabbath was any other day anywhere else. He must also know that starting from China and traveling westward to America, he will find himself in perfect harmony with all the people in the count of the days of the week. He must know that among intelligent men there has been no question as to whether Saturday was the seventh day of the Jews, kept for long centuries both before and after Christ. He must know that the first day of the week is Sunday, and is conceded to be such by all authority of note. And Mr. Simpson must further know that there is no question as regards the identity of these days of the week in all Christendom. Sunday keepers or Sabbath keepers have no difficulty in observing the respective days in any country of the world.
The question is not one of "physical or geographical laws." Such reasoning would deny the incarnation of the Son of God and the regeneration and resurrection of man. It is a question of God's law, and that law declares that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." God rested on a definite day, blessed a definite day, set apart a definite day, and for forty years by a threefold miracle, weekly repeated, showed that no other day could be the Sabbath. Jesus Christ said that one jot or tittle could not be changed. Mr. Simpson must know all this, and know that to change the law to the first day of the week would demand the change of jots and tittles.
2. The importance of the question. The relative importance of God's commands it is not for mortals to judge. The Sabbath question when rightly understood is a very part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and its last message to the world to prepare a people for our Lord's coming. Over and over again has the Spirit of God in both the Old and New Testaments brought this great fact before us. The Sabbath is a great test of loyalty to God, the center around which the forces which make for righteousness are gathering. The false sabbath, now shown in its true colors by both Protestants and Catholics, by its friends confessedly dependent on the powers of earth for its support, is the gathering ensign of the hosts of apostasy. It is the Sabbath of the Lord our God, the true Lord's day, or it is the Sunday of heathen tradition, Sunday sustained by human law. God is the author of the first; what of its opposite and counterfeit?
Faith does not question God's commands or Christ's example. Has God said it? That is sufficient. Eve thought the forbidden fruit was not a question of importance. Saul thought it made little difference whether God's commands were obeyed or not. Naaman thought that the dipping in Jordan was nonsense. Nadab and Abihu concluded that strange fire was as good as the fire of God. Will the servants of Christ hide their eyes from God's Sabbaths and put no difference between the holy and profane? See Eze. 22:26–31; compare with Eze. 13:4–11.
The evangelization of the world is important, because God has commanded it, and souls are perishing. The true servants of God are burdened for it. But Satan is also at work. Buddhism, Mohammedanism, and Roman Catholicism are his agencies to press forward the work of the gospel of darkness, professedly of peace. The question is, Shall we bear God's message, or the message of darkness? Are we bearing a message for past generations, or the one God would have borne now? These questions are answered in God's word. Will not Mr. Simpson and his colaborers take the word? "Ye are my friends," says Christ, "if ye do whatsoever I have commanded you." Faith does not judge between the things of God; it rests on God's word.
"BIBLE STUDENTS' LIBRARY."
By Editor
(Continued.)
READ the following and see if there is not some publication in this list which you wish to read yourself, or which may be of eternal benefit to some friend. The numbers omitted are not now published.
No. 85. Twofold Evidence of Acceptance with God. This is an eight-page tract by M. C. Wilcox. It shows from the Scriptures that God's law of two or more witnesses is true in the Christian life, and that therefore the Christian need not be in doubt as to his acceptance with God; and not only this, but the evidence is not one of feeling or emotion, but constant and unwavering. Price, 1 cent.
No. 86. Justification, Regeneration, Sanctification. A tract of 16 pages by M. C. Wilcox, showing the scriptural use of the above terms and what they should mean to the Christian. Price, 2 cents.
No. 90. The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity. This tract of 16 pages is a reprint of an article in the New York Independent, by the late Samuel Spear, D.D. It presents the Bible view of the doctrine of the Trinity in the terms used in the Bible, and therefore avoids all philosophical discussion and foolish speculation. It is a tract worthy of reading. Price, 2 cents.
No. 93. Christian Science. What Is It? Is It Science? Is It Christian? This pamphlet, of 86 pages, by H. A. St. John, discusses a very important subject. Part I treats on Unscientific Theories; Part II, on Unchristian Theories, especially considering Christian Science as compared with Modern Spiritualism; Part III, Modern Spiritualism, Its Origin and Progress. It substantiates its statements by liberal quotations from these various theories. Price, 15 cents.
No. 95. From Sabbath to Sunday. A tract of eight pages, by E. E. Franke, showing by various testimony, biblical, historical, and religious, that there is no ground for Sunday observance. Price, 1 cent.
Any of the above will be sent post free on receipt of price. Order by number, not by name. Address Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.
Pastor Holser's Jottings
By Editor
ONE of Pastor Holser's interesting "Jottings" comes just too late for this number.
Affairs at the Corners
By Editor
The article "Affairs at the Corners" presents a picture which will be of interest, and we hope of profit.
Delusions of the Last Days
By Editor
READ the article "Delusions of the Last Days," by Mrs. E. G. White. It is a warning which our readers cannot afford to pass.
The Perfection of the Law
By Editor
The series of articles on "The Perfection of the Law" closes with this number. It will be issued in tract form in the Bible Students' Library.
Freedom in the Sabbath Truth
By Editor
ONE correspondent who has just been reading "Andrews' History of the Sabbath," writes us in this way. After stating that he finds the book is explicit and interesting, he says: "I am surprised at the flimsiness of the arguments for Sunday keeping as a holy day. This Sabbath question to me is becoming a serious one, for it is becoming to look as though the followers of Christ had been sold out to the devil."
And that is the case so far, as the Sabbath is concerned. But although sold out to Satan there is freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ and his truth, for whom the Son makes free is free indeed, and the promise of God is that "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The message now going to the world concerning the true Sabbath of the Lord, is that which is making free many precious souls.