Progress of the War.—On June 30 the chief signal officer with the American army in Cuba reported that a cable station had been established within two miles of the city of Santiago, showing that the troops were less than that distance from the city. On the following day, July 1, an attack was made on the outer defenses of Santiago by the combined forces of Shafter and Garcia. The battle lasted from morning till night, and was joined in by Admiral Sampson. Eight hundred Americans were killed and wounded in the day’s fighting, and hundreds of the Spaniards suffered similarly. The Americans captured many of the outer defenses, and at night held the trenches occupied by the enemy earlier in the day, which were literally strewn with the bodies of the dead. The battle was continued on July 2, the American troops advancing upon Santiago from all sides, and at nightfall they had captured every fortification outside of the city. The Spaniards fought stubbornly, and the loss of life on both sides was terrible. While the fight was in progress the fleet was again bombarding the fortifications of Santiago harbor, especially Morro Castle. General Linares, the Spanish commander, was wounded, and two thousand of his men were taken prisoners during this engagement. Three of Admiral Sampson’s small war vessels, on July 2, report having sunk two Spanish gunboats and one sloop and disabled one torpedo-boat in the harbor of Manzanillo. One of the American vessels was disabled in the fight and towed out of danger by the others. ...... In view of the large number of wounded in the army in Cuba, General Shafter has requested that another hospital ship be sent him. The request has been complied with...... On July 3, Admiral Cervera, with his four armored cruisers, Vizcaya, Almirante Oquendo, Maria Teresa, and Cristobal Colon, and the torpedo-boat destroyers Pluton and Furor, steamed by the wreck of the Merrimac, and out of the harbor of Santiago. They were no sooner within range than they were given battle by the American squadron, which was temporarily under the command of Commodore Schley. The Spanish vessels attempted to outrun the American ships and reach either Cienfuegos or Havana, but the speed and accurate gunnery of the American vessels prevented this, and every one of the Spanish ships was destroyed. The torpedo-boats were sunk by the little gunboat Gloucester; but the cruisers were run ashore, scuttled by their crews, and set on fire by American shells. Admiral Cervera was taken prisoner with 1,600 of his men. About 350 of his sailors were killed or drowned in the battle, and 160 wounded. But one American was killed...... A report from Havana states that the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XIII. attempted to run the blockade on July 6, and was promptly sunk by the American war vessels at that place. As she was run ashore by her commander, a detachment of Spanish infantry appeared and rescued her crew and part of her cargo. On the same day the last vessel of Cervera’s squadron, the Reina Mercedes, attempted to escape from Santiago harbor, and was sunk in the mouth of the channel by shells from the American war vessels......A despatch from Hongkong states that the American transports City of Peking, City of Sydney, and Australia, convoyed by the cruiser Charleston, arrived at Manila on June 30, having taken the Ladrone Islands on the way. The Spanish governor of the Ladrones was taken to Manila, and a force of 300 Americans was left in possession of the islands.
Casualties and Calamities.—Five persons were drowned in the lake at Cleveland, Ohio, on July 3. ......The river steamer Marquis of Dufferin, which was being towed from Victoria to St. Michael for use on the Yukon River, was completely wrecked off Cape Flattery on June 30. A few days previous to this disaster two river steamers being towed from Portland to Alaska were swamped and sunk. ......The little excursion steamer Surf City, plying between Beverly, Mass., and Salem Willows, was overturned by a severe squall on July 4, and a large number of her passengers were drowned. Six bodies have been recovered from the wreck, and it is believed that as many more lost their lives......Nine persons were killed by a tornado which struck the beach at Hampton, N. H., on July 4. Cottages, hotels, and other buildings were leveled, and it is reported that over one hundred were more or less seriously injured......A despatch from Vienna states that violent thunder-storms have been raging in the northern part of Hungary, accompanied with hail and cloudbursts. Property and crops to the value of 40,000,000 francs have been destroyed, and many persons and innumerable animals have been killed. ......Five workmen were killed and fifteen others terribly injured by the explosion of a case of cartridges which was being loaded on the Atlantic liner Manitoba, at London, on July 6. ......The worst marine disaster of modern times occurred off Sable Island, near Nova Scotia, on July 4. The unfortunate ship was the French liner La Bourgogne, with 727 persons on board. She was run down by the British ship Cromartyshire, and 549 of her passengers were drowned, or killed by the inhuman members of the crew. Knives were used by the crew and many of the foreign steerage passengers upon men, women, and children indiscriminately. Only one woman of the whole 727 passengers was saved. Many of those struggling in the sea were stabbed, or beaten to death with oars, by those in boats or on rafts. The Cromartyshire remained afloat, and her crew rescued many of those who were saved.
Domestic Miscellany.—Six bandits held up a train on the Texas and Pacific Railway on July 2, near Stanton, Texas, blew up the express car and safe with dynamite, secured considerable booty, and escaped into the wild country thereabout. Three posses of officers have taken up the trail of the robbers......A train was held up on the Rio Grande Railway on July 5. The robbers escaped into the mountains after relieving the passengers of a considerable portion of their valuables......The report of the director of the mint at Washington shows that during the fiscal year ended July 1 the coinage at the mints of the United States amounted to $72,603,933, of which over sixty-four million was in gold......By a suit decided on July 2 the Pullman Palace Car Co. was compelled to pay to the Central Transportation Company damages amounting to $1,317,402. The litigation had been continued since 1885, and a large share of the amount was accrued interest......A strike of the stereotypers of Chicago was inaugurated on July 1, because of the refusal of the publishers of the Chicago dailies to increase their wages from $3.25 to $4.00 per day, reduce their working hours from eight to seven, and to allow certain other demands. The Stereotypers’ Union has refused to sanction the action of the Chicago stereotypers, stating that the demands are unjust. For several days Chicagoans were without their regular daily papers......The Commissary Department of the United States Army has in charge the work of relieving the distress of the Cubans. It is reported that this work has been going on quietly for the last two months, and that hundreds of thousands of rations have been distributed. On July 5 the steamer Port Victor was loaded at New York with 875 tons of food for the reconcentrados.
International.—Mat Salleh, a rebellious chief of British North Borneo, who has given much trouble to the English authorities in the past, has inaugurated another rebellion, and now has 5,000 fighting men at his command......The English troops recently sent to punish the natives of Sierra Leone for the murder of white missionaries, have returned from their work, having killed a large number of the “war boys.”......The German Government has established a lottery to “promote the prosperity of the German colonies.” The lottery is expected to produce 5,000,000 marks, which will be expended under the guidance of the Colonial Department and the Foreign Office......On account of coercion and intimidation at the recent German elections, the Socialists are preparing to contest many seats. So formidable has this party grown that the emperor is taking measures preparatory to a systematic campaign against its progress. There is also prospect of trouble between the Centrists (Catholic) and the emperor over the question of the recall of the Jesuits, which the Centrists demand. ......A rebellion on the island of Porto Rico was prevented recently by the arrest and execution of the three principal conspirators. The plans of the insurrectionists were well laid, and provisions and ammunition for a considerable force had been secured......A report from Madrid states that disorder is rapidly growing among the military since the news of Admiral Cervera’s defeat off Santiago; that the crowds are becoming riotous, and signs are apparent everywhere that the population is arming for civil war.
Obituary.—Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the famous English painter, died at London, on June 17, at the age of 66. He was knighted in 1894, and was one of the most gifted painters of the day......The death of Samuel Plimsoll, the “sailor’s friend,” is reported from London. Plimsoll became famous by the work which he did in securing legislation for the protection of the lives and rights of sailor men.
Fires.—20,000 tons of coal were burned at Racine, Wisconsin, on July 2, causing a loss of $100,000. ......Twenty-five buildings in the business portion of Dunsmuir, Cal., were destroyed by fire on July 5, entailing a loss of $60,000. On the same day a fire at Sacramento, Cal., resulted in a loss of over thirty thousand dollars.
National.—The Newlands resolution annexing the Hawaiian Islands was passed by a vote of 42 to 21 in the Senate on July 6. The resolution now needs but the signature of the President to make the islands American territory.
Delightful Excursions.
Great Aggregation of Tourist Points for the Season of 1898.
For the Tourist season of 1898 the Grand Trunk Railway System offers a list of summering places beyond which the tourist need not look for variety, as they will meet every desire, whether for sightseeing, fashion, hunting, fishing, or absolute rest. The itinerary will comprise the following: Chicago to Toronto, Muskoka Lakes, Alexandrian Bay, Thousand Islands, River St. Lawrence, Montreal, Quebec, Sagueney River points, White Mountains, and North Atlantic Coast resorts.
Chicago to Niagara Falls, Watkins Glen, Glen Summit, Atlantic City, Asbury Park, etc.
Chicago to Petoskey, Bay View, Traverse City, Harbor Springs, Mackinaw, and other famous Northern Michigan resorts. Handsome brochures containing full information concerning rates and routes will be sent free to any person interested, on application to L. R. Morrow, 103 Clark Street, Chicago, Ill.
BIBLE SANCTIFICATION: 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.
Address. PACIFIC PRESS. Oakland, Cal.
BAPTISM: Its Significance, Its Nature, and the Necessity for It.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
By E. J. Waggoner. Bible Students’ Library, No. 79. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 16 pp.; 2 cents.
Lesson Helps
The following books are all referred to in this series of Sabbath-school lessons, and are excellent helps to its study.
Patriarchs and Prophets
The Great Controversy between Good and Evil as Illustrated in the Lives of the Holy Men of Old. This wonderful volume throws great light on the book of Genesis, and will richly repay a careful perusal. Prices are, $2.25, 2.75, 3.00, 3.50, 4.50.
The Gospel in Creation
There is no better commentary on the significance of creation week than that contained in this volume. It will give the reader much food for thought, and is calculated to inspire a love for Scripture study. It is especially appropriate in connection with our present Sabbath-school lessons. Contains 176 pages. Prices:
A companion volume to “Steps to Christ,” by the same author. It is not a book to be read once and then laid aside, but one that will be taken up again and again. “A book for the quiet hour.”—Western Christian Advocate. Contains 209 pages, is illustrated and bound in:
Compiled from the writings of Mrs. E. G. White, and containing a vast amount of valuable instruction on this important subject. An excellent book for study and reference, 292 pages.
Cloth bound.................... $0.50
Sacred Chronology
The design of this book is to place before those not having access to larger works, the simple evidences by which scriptural events are located. An original feature is the presenting in full, and in chronological order, the words of inspiration which have a bearing on the time of the events and prediction therein recorded. One chapter is devoted to the “Peopling of the Earth,” and is especially valuable. 298 pages. Prices:
Attention is called to this pamphlet, as it contains one chapter on the “Two Covenants,” which subject is prominent in this series of lessons. 190 pages.
Price.......................... $0.20
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In the Heart of the Sierras
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This is an authentic description of the Yosemite Valley and Big Trees. It contains nearly 500 pages of text, and 150 illustrations, 28 of which are beautiful full-page artotypes.
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Says Horace Greeley of this world-renowned valley:—
“Of the grandest sights I have enjoyed—Rome from the dome of St. Peters, the Alps from the valley of Lake Como, Mount Blanc and her glaciers from Chamonix, Niagara and the Yosemite—I judge the last named the most unique and stupendous.”
Says Joaquin Miller of the book:—
“Many books have been written about the glorious and wondrous story of the Sierras. But it seems to me that this scholarly and venerable pioneer is the one man who is entitled by his culture, his fine tastes, and, above all, his long and wonderful experience, to write the one great and responsible authority about the Heart of the Sierras.”
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Testimonies for the Church
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A General Agent’s Opinion
The General Canvassing Agent of District No. 5, S. C. Osborne, writes us as follows:
“In behalf of STORY OF REDEMPTION, I can say it is one of the best books I ever read. I am well pleased with its make-up. It brings out all points of truth in a brief, smooth, mild way. I am sure it will sell well.”
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TRACTS FOR MANILA
The California Tract Society has just sent one thousand each of the following tracts with the soldiers going to the Philippines:
“Bible Questions and Answers Concerning Man” ........ 1c
“Elihu on the Sabbath” ........ 1c
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“Choose Ye This Day” ........ ½c
“The Riches of His Grace” ........ ½c
“Coming of the Lord” ........ ½c
In addition to this the “Alarm of War” has been widely distributed in the camp at San Francisco. Are there not other societies desirous of doing a similar work? For tracts address,
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Alarm of War Published in Four Languages
NOTICE.—The “Alarm of War” is now published in English, German, Swedish, and Danish. Price, $2.00 per hundred.
A Parallel Case
A Parallel Case.—Referring to an article in the Missionary World, the Examiner (Baptist, of New York) of June 23 says:—
“An eminent Baptist scholar once said that our Pedobaptist friends could write books and pamphlets and editorials in defense of their unscriptural mode of baptism to the end of time, but there was one thing they could not do, namely, translate the Greek word baptizein. But it seems that they can mistranslate it, as has been done in China, or they can translate it into foreign tongues—a process against which Baptists, from the time of Judson until now, have uniformly protested—or they can alter a long-accepted and confessedly faithful version, in the interest, not of truth, but of denominationalism. For various reasons, the majority of Baptists in England and America have been content to fight their battle for the truth under the time-honored Anglicized word ‘baptize;’ but they have always held that a new translation of the Bible into a foreign tongue should be a true translation, and from this position they can not recede without recreancy to the Word of God.”
And this is as true respecting the Sabbath. The Word of God knows but one weekly Sabbath, or Lord’s day, but, nevertheless, the Word is warped and twisted to make it mean what God does not say, and in some translations “Lord’s day” is translated “Sunday.” Let God be true, tho it make every man a liar.
German Feeling against America.
As showing the German sentiment toward America a Cornell University bulletin says:—
“It is sometimes said that it is only military Europe which is hostile to the United States at this juncture. But American students in the German universities tell a different story. A Cornell student named Clymer has come home, because, he said, his professor at Berlin informed the class that America is ‘a thievish, clamoring nation, like Athens in the days of Demosthenes, and is only awaiting its Philip to be overthrown.’ Professor Orndorff, of Cornell, now studying in Heidelberg, on a leave of absence, was so annoyed by German taunts that he is preparing to come home and enlist, and another Cornell professor, now at Munich, Professor Bailey, writes that it is unpleasant for Americans there. This is pretty good testimony to the state of educated public opinion in Germany.”
The carnal mind is “enmity against God,” and it is not to be expected that carnal minds would not be at enmity with each other if selfish interests clash. European nations feel that America stands between them and their satisfying their earth-hunger in South America.
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National Reform Intolerant and Oppressive
Read on another page, “National Reform Intolerant and Oppressive.”
There Can Be No Good Conscience
There can be no good conscience apart from the regenerating, keeping power of the Spirit of God. It takes the power of the cleansing blood to make a conscience clean, and the power of the Spirit to keep it clean.
New York Independent Changes Format and Price
The New York Independent changes its form to a new 84-page magazine, and cuts its price from $3.00 to $2.00 a year. It is a big step from its present form. Among popular religio-secular papers the Independent stands easily at the head.
Pay the Postage Due
When one takes the pains to write a letter of condemnation to another person, he certainly ought to exercise his own conscience enough to be so “void of offense” as to pay to Uncle Sam the postage his due, instead of sending first-class mail matter as third-class.
Christ the Friend Who Never Fails
Do you desire a friend, a real true friend, who will never fail you under any circumstances? Did you ever try the Lord Jesus Christ? He is just such a friend as that. How do we know?—We have tried Him, and so have thousands of others; and He has never failed. We earnestly invite you to make Him your friend.
July Cosmopolitan Magazine
An interesting sketch, fully illustrated, of Emperor William II., of Germany, is a marked feature of the July Cosmopolitan. Besides this there are: “The Government in War Time,” “With the Waiting Army,” “Scenes in a Cartridge Factory” (all illustrated), and other articles of interest. Price, ten cents. For sale at all news stands.
Unawares and Ye Did It unto Me
No. 54 of Apples of Gold Library consists of two little poems, “Unawares,” and “Ye Did It unto Me.” The first was once published by Elder B. F. Richards in a little leaflet, but as his edition was exhausted by repeated calls, request was made that it be published in the Apples of Gold Library. This has been complied with, and there has been printed with it a complementary poem, beginning, “A poor wayfaring Man of grief.” The lessons in this little tract will appeal to all who read it. May it be blessed in leading many to work for Christ in relieving the poor and needy.
Do you wish an instructive book for your children?
Well, then, purchase volume 8 of Our Little Friend, beautifully bound in cloth; price, only $1.00. Its 416 pages are filled with excellent reading and instructive pictures. Address, Our Little Friend, Oakland, Cal.
The Temperance Congress
At this writing the Temperance Congress is in session at Prohibition Park, Staten Island, near New York. This congress this year deals with a broad subject, and is seeking to unite the various temperance forces of the country, especially upon three lines of work, educatory, prohibitory, and moral suasion. The educational efforts are to be put forth among teachers, Sunday-school and public school, universities and colleges, life insurance companies, physicians, clergymen, army officers, etc. The congress seems to be purely temperance, having left out all references to religio-political matters, such as Sunday-closing and Sunday laws, which are but a subterfuge at best. Certainly there is need of earnest work in the great temperance cause.
A SAMPLE ARGUMENT.
SOME one has sent us a pamphlet on “The Number Seven,” which comes to the conclusion that “the first day of the week has been the Sabbath for God’s people ever since the day of Pentecost.” Here is one of the arguments on Matt. 5:17: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil”:—
“It is thought that because the command to ‘remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ stands in, and is a part of, the Decalogue, it therefore ought to be observed by Christians, but as this was one of the items of the law, and as our Lord came to fulfil the law, and as Jesus did all He came to do, it therefore follows that it was fulfilled, with the other types and shadows; and if fulfilled, it can not be regarded as being in force over any people.”
Then, if no longer in force, that law was destroyed, a thing Jesus says He came not to do. Again, an argument which proves too much proves nothing. If the Sabbath was so fulfilled as “not to be regarded as being in force,” this would be true of every part of the law. And, therefore, “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” according to this writer’s logic, “can not be regarded as being in force over any people.”
All this perversion of Scripture and logic might have been saved to the author if he had but discerned (1) that the Decalogue is not a law of types and shadows, and (2) that to fulfil a law is to do the law, fill up by perfect obedience its every requirement. This Jesus did as respects the Decalogue fifty-two weeks a year for thirty-three and one-half years. But He obeyed that we might obey. See Titus 2:14; Matt. 19:17.
Here is another thought which shows the absurdity of such argument, which, by the way, is not original with the above. He says that the Decalogue “was superseded by the law of Christ.” Well, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2. This means, according to this man’s reasoning, that the “law of Christ,” as soon as obeyed, “can not be regarded as being in force over any people.” If the writer of “The Number Seven” had studied God’s Word to a better purpose, he would have found the Decalogue to be Christ’s law, and the seventh-day Sabbath, the only weekly Sabbath of the Bible, to be filled with Christ, the seal of His creatorship, the sign of His power to redeem.
A Question in Point.
A correspondent to the San Francisco Examiner asks this proper question: “I will ask what good is a chaplain in the army? If this is a Christian war, what are those infidel boys doing that I know in the First California Volunteers fighting for Christianity? But of course the war is not Christian.” God is able to care for genuine Christianity. He does not arm His soldiers with carnal, but with spiritual weapons. 2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:11–18.
The World's Method.
“Avenge the Maine,” “Remember the Maine,” are prominent slogans among the clans gathering to battle. But, O, what a losing remedy is that of vengeance! In a recent number of the London Review of Reviews the editor tells us:—
“To avenge the Bulgarian atrocities the Russians invaded Turkey, and for every Bulgarian man, woman, and child who had been massacred by the Turks, two Russian soldiers fell in battle or died of disease, and probably at least double that number of non-combatant peasants—Bulgarian, Armenian, and Turkish—were done to death between contending armies. The Bulgarian atrocities were avenged, no doubt, but at a very low computation it cost five lives to avenge one.”
A religious exchange truly says: “The remedy is truly worse than the disease. War, as a cure for inhumanity, is very much like suffocating a man to death to cure the asthma. Nevertheless, it is the best remedy the world knows. O, that men would learn that the Gospel of Christ solves every perplexity and heals every ill!”
Birds and All Nature
“Birds” for June contains, besides its instructive general articles, illustrations and sketches of Brünnich's Murre (a sea fowl), the Canada Goose, the Brown Creeper, the Downy Woodpecker, the Old Squaw Duck, the White-faced Glossy Ibis, the Arkansas King-bird, a page of life-size eggs. All these (birds and eggs) are in their natural colors, or as near as printer's art can make them. In the July number Birds covers a larger field, “Birds and All Nature.” Each number will present at least two birds, four animals, and other plates will present insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. This unique magazine ought to be in every home where there are children. Monthly; $1.50 per year; Nature Publishing Company, Chicago and New York.
