Earlier text: The Commentary—A man in Paris has recently completed a fifty days' fast. —Eleven hundred coopers went out on a strike at Cincinnati on the 14th inst. —It is reported that a volcano has been discovered in the Bad Lands in Dakota. —The State House at Springfield, Ill., suffered a loss of $10,000 by fire a few days since. —An organization has been effected in Chicago to counteract Socialism and kindred ideas. —The English Government has decided to supply the army with the Austrian Fischer repeating rifles. —In order to reduce the revenues of the Government it is now seriously proposed to abolish the tax on sugar and tobacco. —A man has just been imprisoned for debt in New Hampshire. He owes $6,000 and can be kept in jail for fifteen years. —The English Government has decided to reduce the Egyptian standing army to 10,000 men and the army of occupation to 5,000. —A suit was lately decided in the District Court of Wurzburg that had been in litigation ever since 1755. An appeal was taken. —In the municipal elections at Brussels, a Socialist workman is among the successful candidates, the first instance of the kind on record. —A man at Newark, Cal., died a few days since from the effects of strychnine which got into his system through wounds in his hands. —An interesting discovery has been made at Altbunzlau, Bohemia, of a fifteenth-century codex containing four autograph letters of John Huss. —Negotiations are pending looking to the appointment of a joint commission to settle the boundary between Alaska and British America. —English and French authorities are quarreling over a slice of African territory. In a case of that kind, however, it is not difficult to tell who will take the spoil. —The cave-in of a coal mine at Shenandoah, Pa., a few days since badly wrecked about four acres of the town, causing damage to the amount of $50,000 or $75,000. —McQuade, another of New York's "boodle" aldermen, has been found guilty of bribery and will no doubt be sent to Sing Sing. The jury was out only half an hour. —It is said that recently in one province of China 700 able-bodied men crippled their hands to escape military service, and 300 of them were taken out and beheaded. —The Anarchists of Chicago have made a demand for the red flags, etc., captured by the police during excitement in that city last May. The authorities refuse to give them up. —Advices from Mandalay, Burmah, say that an engagement between British troops and natives has taken place near Pakoka, recently, and that 200 of the insurgents were killed. —The condition of Irish affairs seems to be constantly growing worse and worse. A crisis has been reached and the English Government must adopt the most stringent measures or else acknowledge itself unable to cope with existing difficulties. It will certainly choose the former alternative. —December 17 a steam whaling vessel was destroyed by fire in San Francisco Bay. The loss was about $75,000. The vessel would have sailed in a few days for the South Pacific. —John Dillon the noted Irish agitator has been arraigned before an English court for seditious language and ordered to give bonds in the sum of £2,000 or go to jail for six months. —It is stated that not 100 chimneys out of 14,000 in Charleston, S. C., escaped damage during the late earthquake, and 95 per cent. of these 14,000 were broken off at the roof and went to the ground. —The Union Pacific Railroad Company has recently announced its intention of establishing a series of weather observations and reports. The head-quarters for the system will be at Omaha. —Advices from Calcutta say the cholera is decreasing there. Heavy rains are destroying the crops in the northwest provinces of India, and floods are causing much loss of life and damage to property. —At Kokomo, Ind., the other day gas was struck while a well was in process of drilling. The gas immediately ignited and the explosion which followed injured thirty-five persons, some of them seriously. —On the night of the 13th inst., the steamer J. M. White, running between Vicksburg and New Orleans, was burned to the water's edge while lying at the bank at Blue Stone. Over thirty lives were lost. —The tithe war in Wales still continues and it is feared that the rebellion may lead to serious results. In one section the farmers expelled the collecting bailiffs from the farms and escorted them out of the district. —It is said that one of the curious results of the Charleston earthquake is the loss of animals from terror. Many of the milch cows have gone dry since the earthquake in the country about Charleston, and one man is said to have lost seven horses from the effects of terror. —Some idea of the magnitude of the dry goods business in this country may be obtained from the fact that there are now about 80,000 traveling dry-goods salesmen on the road in this country, and that their expense accounts alone will average $1,500 a year, or an outlay of $120,000,000. —It is openly charged that the city government of Philadelphia is in the hands of gamblers and thieves. Every form of vice is carried on with open doors. The police are demoralized and are paid to protect every sort of vice which is flourishing as it never flourished there before. —It is stated that the French deficit during the present year will be about $150,000,000. The French national debt has increased since the Germans left the country at the rate of $120,000,000 a year, and it is claimed that the French Republic régime has cost the country more than it did to buy peace from Germany. —An insane man who was the husband of twenty-six wives, died a few days since in the Michigan State Asylum. When examined by the physicians it was discovered that when with one wife he was oblivious to the existence of the others. On all other subjects he was sane. The superintendent of the asylum says it was the most remarkable case of mania ever known. The man was a commercial traveler. Is it not possible that this case suggests a solution of the Mormon problem? —At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 17th inst. the whaling bark Atlantic was wrecked within a mile and a half of the Cliff House, San Francisco, and out of a crew of forty-two men only twelve escaped. There was a very heavy sea with no wind, and the consequence was that the vessel lost her headway and was drifted upon the sand, where she was soon pounded nearly to pieces. The Atlantic was bound for the South Pacific in quest of whales and had left San Francisco harbor only the evening before the wreck. —December 12 and 13 there was considerable rioting in San Francisco owing to a parade by the striking employés of one of the street-car lines. On Sunday the mob indulged in throwing stones, sticks and mud, and the windows of every street-car that passed or met them were speedily demolished but no serious damage was done. On Monday, however, there was a disastrous collision between a mob of strikers and one of "toughs" hired by one of the street-car companies to "protect its property." Quite a number of shots were fired and one man was fatally wounded. The police were conspicuous by their absence, though they had every reason to suppose that there would be trouble. Half a dozen officers could easily have preserved order. —Colonel Robert Lincoln has presented to the Lincoln Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church of Chicago President Lincoln's Bible, which he frequently read while in the White House. —A mandate from Cardinal Taschereau, read in Catholic churches at Quebec, Sunday, prohibits Catholics from attending meetings of the Salvation Army. Tracts and hymn-books distributed by the Salvationists must be thrown in the fire. —A telegram from St. Catherines, Ont., November 22, said: "This city is considerably agitated over a Sunday work meeting held recently, at which it was decided to petition the Government against opening the Welland Canal on Sunday." The same day summonses were issued for the arrest of twenty lock-tenders employed on the canal for working and passing vessels through on Sunday. —The Watchman (Baptist) says: "A single church in one of the Boston associations reports this year $25,000 for home expenses, and yet in the last fiscal year's report of the convention, the name of that church does not appear as contributing a penny for the common cause in the State." Surely the members of that church are described by the apostle in 2 Tim. 3:2,—"lovers of their own selves." —Professor Elliot Whipple, of New Mexico, says, in a recent letter to the Cynosure: "Sante Fe is evidently regarded by the Catholics as a strategic point, and here they are massing their forces with full purpose to hold in perpetuity their present ascendancy in the affairs of the Territory. The public schools of New Mexico, outside of Albuquerque and possibly a few other places, are under priestly control and of little practical value." —Speaking of the condition of Japan, the Advance says: "The whole population is seething in the ferment of a new intellectual life. . . . More than three hundred newspapers, many of them pictorial, are eagerly conned by hundreds of thousands of readers. But they are, in the main, unutterably, almost inconceivably, vile. A chaos of skepticism, a pandemonium of iniquity, is the future into which Japan is rushing unless saved by our gospel." —A correspondent of an Eastern Baptist paper complains of Baptist preachers running for office; and asks: "Why should he [the minister] entangle himself with civil or political affairs? Can he serve two masters?" If the correspondent will only be patient for a few years the National Reformers will probably be able to solve this problem satisfactorily. They propose to "crown Christ king of this nation," and then the minister may be a politician and still serve only the one Master. —In an address before the late Prophetic Conference at Chicago, Rev. Dr. Frost, of Sacramento, Cal., said: "There are more unconverted persons in the world to-day than ever before. So long as sinners increase far more rapidly than saints, will some one tell how long it will take to convert the world? At the rate of advancement for the last eighteen hundred years the endless cycles of eternity would not be sufficient to furnish the requisite ages for the conversion of the world." —The Hackmen's Union of Montreal has issued a circular stating that, as God commanded man to keep the Sabbath-day holy, they have agreed to abstain from labor on Sundays, and have requested all the hackmen to follow their example. Just what God's commandment to keep "the Sabbath-day holy" has to do with abstaining "from labor on Sunday" the hackmen do not explain. Indeed it is not an easy matter to make it appear that when God says the seventh day he means the first day. Even "theologians" find that rather difficult. Publishers' Department.
By Editor
CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE FUND.—Geo Derrick $2.85, R C Austin $5.50, C A Newbie $10, Healdsburg $57.15, St Helena $27, Santa Barbara $140.08. CHURCH DEBT FUND.—L N Whisby $25. RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT.—Kansas T & M Society $150. CALIFORNIA T. AND M. SOCIETY.—Dist No 1 Eureka $31.71, Dist No 4 $27, Dist No 6 $24.50, L A Scott $6. CALIFORNIA CITY MISSIONS.—M E Darling $25, Mrs J T Butler $25, Mrs H M Wallace $5. Renewals of the Signs.
By Editor
QUITE a number of subscriptions to this paper expire during the month of December. Please examine the address label on your SIGNS this week, and if the date opposite your name is Dec., '86, or Jan., '87, please send us your renewal at once. Terms: $1.00 for six months, $2.00 for one year, or $5.00 for three years. We are happy to announce that Mrs. E. G. White will continue her series of first-page articles in the SIGNS during 1887. Something for the New Year.
By Editor
For $1.00 we will mail a "Revised Version of the New Testament," post-paid, and the American Sentinel one year. Or for $1.00 we will send you the Pacific Health Journal one year, and a copy of the "Revised Version of the New Testament." Or for $1.00 we will mail post-paid a copy of the "Practical Manual of Hygiene and Temperance," 300 pages, in cloth binding, and your choice of either the American Sentinel or Pacific Health Journal one year. Address, Pacific Press, Publishers, 12th and Castro Sts., Oakland, Cal. WE have a select stock of this beautiful and instructive steel-plate engraving, with keys in the Danish, Swedish, German, French, and English languages. The design of this engraving is to present at one view the leading events in the history of man as related to the divine plan of redemption, from the time of the first sin and the fall to the final restoration of the race to the Paradise of God. Its central figure is that of Christ hanging upon the cruel cross. By taking our position at the foot of the cross, we look backward in the history of man, and trace the steps which have led to the scenes of Calvary. The scenes which suggest the provisions of the gospel are enacted in the shadow of the cross, which is cast far back over the history of the race, reaching even to the gates of Eden. The "Way of Life," as a work of art, commends itself to all lovers of the beautiful. Unlike many religious allegorical pictures, this not only presents a sacred theme, but by its skillful grouping, and its harmonious combination of light and shade, it delights the cultivated taste, and suggests abundant food for thought. An elegant 12-mo. pamphlet of 48 pages, containing a description of every part of the picture, and an impressive article by Mrs. E. G. White, accompanies each engraving. Price, printed in first-class style on heavy plate paper, size 22x28 inches..........................$1.50
Price, India Proofs, size 24x32 inches..........................2.50
100 AGENTS WANTED.
Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal., General Agents for Pacific Coast States and Territories. A tract of 24 pages, which fully answers this question, and shows how Sunday displaced the Bible Sabbath. Extracts given from Catholic writers. Price, 3 cts. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. A MINE OF INFORMATION.
By John Nevins Andrews
HISTORY OF THE SABBATH AND FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK.
The Bible record of the Sabbath; the secular history concerning it; the successive steps by which the change to the first day was made, and the work of restoration, are given in detail. EVERY TEXT OF SCRIPTURE concerning the Sabbath is commented on at length; and the COMPLETE TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS in regard to the Sabbath and first day is given. The comparative merits of the seventh and the first-day Sabbaths are fully shown. A copious index enables the reader to find any text, or the statement of any historian. Should be read by everybody. 528 pp. Price, $1.25. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. BIBLE-READINGS.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
EMBRACING A PORTION OF THE BIBLE COURSE AT HEALDSBURG COLLEGE.
(Including also the readings given at the State Meeting in Oakland.)
By ELD. E. J. WAGGONER. These Readings differ in two respects from other series of readings that have been published. They were prepared especially for the use of colporters and those who intend to conduct Bible-readings in missionary fields, and they present a connected chain of argument upon the fundamental doctrines of Present Truth. NUMBER ONE contains 57 pages, embracing sixteen readings, as follows:— NUMBER TWO contains 46 pages, embracing twenty-two readings, as follows:— PRICE FOR THE TWO, 50 CENTS.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION.
TOLD in simple language; adapted to all ages, but more especially to the young, and will be read with pleasure as well as profit by every member of the family. Of its illustrations of Bible subjects, hundreds in number, many are of the greatest merit, and all are of interest. As a contribution toward the more general understanding of the Bible, ITS VALUE CAN SCARCELY BE OVERESTIMATED.
It is not merely stories about the Bible, but it is the Bible story itself, told in a simple, easy style, which makes it both interesting and comprehensive, even to young children. Comprising more than 700 pages, printed on fine, calendered paper, and bound in cloth, it is a very attractive and useful book. IT SHOULD BE IN EVERY LIBRARY.
Price per copy, bound in cloth, . . . . . $1.00
Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. THE ATONEMENT:
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
AN EXAMINATION OF A REMEDIAL SYSTEM, IN THE LIGHT OF NATURE AND OF REVELATION.
THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED. This work is a critical and exhaustive treatise on the plan of salvation as revealed in the Scriptures, showing its harmony with the principles of justice and mercy, its consistency with reason, and its final results as affecting the destiny of the human race. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. STIMME DER WAHRHEIT.
By Editor
AN EIGHT-PAGE GERMAN SEMI-MONTHLY PAPER.
Devoted to the furtherance of practical Christianity and Bible religion. Bold and outspoken in its explanation of the prophetic portions of the Scriptures; a firm defender and advocate of the doctrines of the Soon Coming of our Saviour, and the binding obligation of the Law of God; a thorough expounder of the Bible doctrine of the Soul; also a warm friend of true Temperance. TERMS—PAYABLE STRICTLY IN ADVANCE. Single copy, per year, - - - - - $1.00 Five or more copies, for missionary purposes, each 75 On foreign subscriptions an additional 10 cents will be charged to defray the extra postage. The choice between two charming premium pictures is offered to every new subscriber, one of which he may have free upon receipt of the subscription price. Old subscribers may have either premium by paying 25 cents additional. Price of either picture alone, 50 cents. Should subscribers prefer we offer them the "United States in Prophecy," in the German language, 224 pp., handsomely bound, and the paper one year, for only $1.25. Write for special terms to agents. Address, REVIEW AND HERALD, or STIMME DER WAHRHEIT, Battle Creek, Mich. 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, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. PEARLY PORTALS.
By D. S. Hakes
The music and words of this book are mostly entirely new, and well adapted to the Sabbath-school and social circle. It is receiving the most unqualified praise from all who have examined it. The music is of a high order throughout, and yet not at all difficult. 160 pp. Per copy, 35 cents; $3.60 per dozen. Bound, 50 cents; $5.00 per dozen. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. NEW SABBATH-SCHOOL SONG BOOK,
By Editor
Contains 216 pages, or over 40 pages more than the ordinary S. S. song book. It is THE LARGEST BOOK EVER SOLD FOR THE MONEY. The book is neatly gotten up, printed on good paper, and substantially bound. Notwithstanding the fact that this book is so much larger than other popular S. S. song books, it will be furnished at the usual prices—35 cts. per copy post-paid; $3.60 per dozen, by freight or express. If to be sent by mail at dozen rates add five cents per copy for postage. All orders west of the Rocky Mountains should be addressed to
PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.
General Agents for Pacific States and Territories. THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM.
By J. H. Waggoner
AN EXAMINATION OF THE ACTION, SUBJECTS, AND RELATIONS OF THE ORDINANCE OF BAPTISM. Also, a Brief Refutation of the HISTORICAL CLAIMS FOR TRINE IMMERSION.
SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. Prices, post-paid,—In flexible cloth, 35 cents; paper covers, 25 cents. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. THE AMERICAN SENTINEL.
By Editor
AN EIGHT-PAGE MONTHLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO the defense of American Institutions, the preservation of the United States Constitution as it is, so far as regards religion or religious tests, and the maintenance of human rights, both civil and religious. It will ever be uncompromisingly opposed to anything tending toward a union of Church and State, either in name or in fact. SINGLE COPY, per year, . . . . . 50 cents. To foreign countries, single subscriptions, post-paid . . . . . 2s. Address, AMERICAN SENTINEL, 1059 Castro Street, Oakland, Cal. Important to Students and Readers of History.
By Editor
For a long while we have been wishing that there was in print a good historical atlas, one that we could heartily recommend to our ministers, to college students, and to our people and the public generally. An atlas is as essential to an understanding of history as it is to an understanding of geography. But a common geographical atlas is of little use in the study of history even a few years back, and is of much less use when studying medieval or ancient history. On the other hand, an atlas of ancient times is good only for the study of ancient history and is useless for either medieval or modern history. What we have long wished to see is a historical atlas giving maps of the different countries at all the principal periods of their history, from ancient times to our own day. And now, we are happy to be able to say that in "Labberton's New Historical Atlas and General History" our wish is gratified. This atlas is all that could be desired in this direction. In a brief notice such as this must be, it would be impossible to portray a tithe of its real merit, but we shall try to convey some idea of its worth. Beginning with the beginning of history, it gives in a series of one hundred and ninety-eight maps the history of the principal nations from ancient Egypt and Chaldea to the United States. The beginning and the growth of each of the great empires—Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome; the division of Rome and the development of the nations of medieval history; the empire of Clovis; the empire of Charlemagne; the empire of Otto the Great—the Holy Roman Empire; the Mahomedan Empire; the empire of the Mongols; and the different countries of Europe through all periods of their history down to 1886, are all mapped in clear, bright colors, on pages 7½x10½ inches. And each country retains its own color throughout, so that if desired the history of any single country can be followed clear through at once, by simply turning a few leaves. The history of the United States is mapped from the first discoveries and settlements, through the times of the English patents and grants; the times of the French and English struggle; and the times of the original thirteen States, down to 1886. In addition to all these maps there is printed an excellent outline of the history of all the nations that are mapped. Besides all this there is a chronological table of the principal events of each nation, from Sargon I. of Chaldea to the death of General Grant; twenty genealogical tables of the principal houses that have ruled in history from Alexander the Great till the present day; an index by which the account of any person, place, or event, can be found in a minute; a table of contents, and a list of maps, and the maps are all clearly numbered and dated at the top of the page. Not the least valuable feature of the book is the splendid list of works for reading or reference upon the history of any nation or period. We might easily write pages of commendation and not exhaust the subject. Of course the book is not perfect, as no human production is. There are a few points at which we think correction might be made with profit, but they are so few that when we view the great merit of the book as a whole, it would seem almost like carping criticism to speak of these minor defects. Any single feature of the book, which we have named, is worth the full price of the book. And the book, taken altogether, simply transcends all praise. It is invaluable to every student, and must be seen and studied to be appreciated. From what we have said the reader might suppose that the price would be so high as to put the book beyond the reach of those of moderate means. Well, if the price were graduated according to the worth of the book, it would be so, but it is not. The price is as admirable as is the book, being only $2.50. It is surprisingly low-priced indeed. For sale at this office. Address, Pacific Press, Oakland, California. Get one of the books, and in it get the latest and best aid to the understanding of history that there is in existence. Payment for Unordered Papers
By Editor
We send no papers from this office without pay in advance, unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read. American Sentinel Copies for Distribution
By Editor
WE have a few hundred copies of the American Sentinel dated March, April, May, and June, 1886, which we can mail to those who desire them, at $2.50 per hundred copies. They are just the thing to distribute at Conventions, to the members of your State Legislature, to place in tract distributors, etc. Address, Pacific Press, Publishers, Oakland, Cal. The Sunday Law Tract
By Editor
NOW THAT the Sunday law agitation is up again in California, we would call the attention of our readers to the fact that there is yet on hand at this office a supply of the tract entitled "The Sunday Law," which was written especially to meet this issue when the question was agitated before. It is just the thing to hand to your neighbors, or to put in the distributors. The tract is just as good now as it was then. Send in your orders and scatter the tract. Price, $4.00 a hundred.