Earlier text: THE WORK IN NORWAYCHRISTIANA, NORWAY.
By John G. Matteson
The past week has been full of interesting events to us. Our rooms are crowded at every lecture. About five hundred persons will come in, and nearly half of them stand up, while the rest, who come late, have to go home again. Last Sabbath we formed a church under the law of dissenters in this country. We went before the authorities, and were by them acknowledged as a Christian church agreeably to law. Thirty-three persons had signed their names. Our Bible-class Sabbath afternoon was attended by about sixty persons, and was full of interest. There is a general desire to learn from the Scriptures. I got a little sheet printed this week called the Signs of the Times, and intend to continue to print one every week. It is no subscription paper yet. We sell them by the piece. We sold about five hundred copies on Sunday. The people must have the truth in print, and our tracts are nearly all gone. Sunday evening I spoke of the Sabbath of the Lord. About twelve hundred people were present, and many others went away who could not get in. Friday evening I attended a lecture by Professor Bugge in the University hall. He tried to establish some divine authority for Sunday. There is a great stir among the people. They seem determined to hear the truth. It is unreasonable the way they crowd together. There is hardly room left for me to stand. The professors in the University and the bishop are preparing for a discussion. After the 15th of February I cannot have the large hall in the Latin school any more, and it is doubtful whether I can get any other hall of suitable size. I pray that God may direct the minds of our dear brethren in America so that we may have a tent and a man with it as soon as spring opens, and the weather permits us to use it, so that all in this city who desire to hear the truth may be given an opportunity. Osterhausgaden 12, Jan. 13. Harvel.—I closed a series of meetings in Harvel last evening. I continued the meetings about five weeks, and spoke about thirty-five times. Several commenced the observance of the Sabbath. A Bible-class was organized, and placed in care of a brother whose correct deportment before those without has won him the esteem and confidence of all his neighbors. One discourse was preached against the Sabbath, which confirmed some on the Sabbath question. On account of poor health, I reluctantly leave the field awhile. C. H. Bliss. Big Springs and Sunny Side, Feb. 3.—I came to Big Springs Jan. 27, and was there two evenings, and held a meeting the day between to organize a tract society. Eight out of eleven members joined. Others purpose to do so as soon as they get their dollar. Raised a club of twelve for the Swedish paper and three for the Signs. The outside interest was good, which was especially cheering to the church, as they have had much bitter opposition. I came to Sunny Side the 29th, and held one meeting. The outside attendance was large, the school-house being crowded. Here I obtained a club of eighteen for the Tidende and four for the Signs. The 30th I came to Swan Lake to attend to some business with the acting State secretary of the T. and M. society, and make preparations for a course of lectures in Finlay, Turner Co., which is to commence this evening. Spent the Sabbath at Swan Lake, and held two meetings. Bro. Olsen was with me at the above places, and rendered efficient aid among the Scandinavians; but he goes this week to Lincoln Center to give a course of lectures.
S. B. WHITNEY. MASSACHUSETTS
By D. A. Robinson
Athol Center.—We began meetings here Jan. 18, and to date, Feb. 5, have held nineteen. Our audiences have averaged about 75, but the same ones attend nearly every time. Six have decided to keep the Sabbath, yet we have not fully canvassed the question. The consistent Christian course pursued by Bro. Crandall and family, who have lived here for some years, helps us much. It is not because they have argued the various points of our faith on every street corner, but because they have tried to represent correctly the truth we profess. Athol is in Worcester county, and there are places all around here where the truth has never been preached, the South Lancaster church being the only church of S. D. Adventists in this county. A letter from the secretary of the V. M. society at South Lancaster reports a deep interest in the work of sending out the Signs. Encouraging letters are received. They now have a club of 275 copies, and yet their cry is, “more papers.” Are they rich? says one. Yes; see Jas. 2:5. Brethren, go ye and do likewise.
D. A. ROBINSON. Another French revolution, but with no violence, and with hardly more noise or excitement than the ordinary advent of the morning makes. Yesterday President MacMahon; to-day President Grevy. The “crisis” which the provisions of the Constitution proved competent to cover, was this, as briefly stated by President MacMahon in his letter of resignation: “Being in disagreement with the Ministry, and being hopeless of forming another Cabinet, and unwilling to assent to the measures which he regards as contrary to a good army organization, he withdraws from power.” The measure proposed by the Ministry was the dismissal from the army of a number of Generals in command who are known not to be in sympathy with the Republic. Thus President MacMahon positively refused to do. As the Ministry in presenting to the President the demand were acting under instructions from the Chambers, nothing remained but for the Congress to accept the resignation and elect a successor. This was immediately and quietly done, M. Jules Grevy receiving 536 votes out of 670. According to the Constitutions, the term of the Presidency is seven years. The orderliness, dignity, and grace with which, obedient to the popular voice, this presidential transition has been effected, reflects the highest honor upon the French people of to-day, and affords a happy omen for the future “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” in France. May God’s own voice give verity to the enthusiastic shouts of the people: Vive le Republique! Gambetta, who was too wise to allow himself to be elected, now, President of the French Republic, has been elected President of the Chamber of Deputies (the popular legislative assembly). Dufaure was chosen President of the Senate, but declines to serve; and M. Waddington has been called upon by President Grevy to form the new Cabinet, himself being Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry, which consists of nine members, are as a body responsible to the Chambers for the general policy of the government, and individually for their personal acts. The salary of the President is $100,000, with $60,000 extra for household expenses. President Grevy is in his 76th year, was born of poor parents—farmers—near the Swiss frontier. He is described as “the French Aristides, with a dash of Franklin.” He is a lawyer by profession, of a judicial cast of mind and manner; terse and lucid in his style of oratory; from his youth an unwavering advocate of Republicanism; and since 1848 a prominent leader of the “moderate Left.” In his own curt phrase, which was in 1868 a kindling watchword throughout the country, he has been “neither dupe nor accomplice” to imperialism. Prime Minister Waddington is a Protestant, born in Paris of English parents, in 1826; and educated at Rugby, Cambridge, England. His wife was an American lady, Miss King, of N. Y. How much is due in this new era of French Republicanism to the timely infusion of the Anglo-Saxon element cannot be exactly told. It is at least remarkable that a man of English birth and education should, in these eminently critical years—since 1875—have given him positions of such peculiar responsibility. It was due to M. Waddington, three years ago, when Minister of Education, that measures were inaugurated which tend to detach the public education from the control of the Romish authorities.—The Advance. A Phenomenon in the Gulf.
A statement which at first made its appearance in a somewhat untrustworthy manner has at last gained the credence of trustworthy authorities, to the effect that an extraordinary change has taken place in the waters washing the western coast of Florida, whereby the Gulf of Mexico is poisoned to the distance of 150 miles from the shore. The fish are killed in enormous numbers, and the pestilential stench which arises threatens serious consequences. The poisonous outflow seems to come from the inland waters of the everglades, and spreads in strata of dark reddish color into the blue gulf. The fishermen, who carry cargoes of live fish in wells to Havana, find it impossible to make successful voyages, as their fish invariably die in transit. The only explanation offered is that the poisoning is the result of volcanic action, and the recent earthquake reported in Florida would seem to give color to this theory. At all events, the matter deserves investigation, and the U. S. Coast Survey officers whose winter stations are in that vicinity would seem to be the proper persons to search out the mystery.—Christian Union. Praise as well as pray. If you would arm yourselves for trouble and duty, recount the marvelous acts of the Lord, as well as supplicate the communications of his grace. Before they parted—the Redeemer to the terrible agony, the disciples to the dreaded separation—the last thing was to sing a hymn, a chant of thankful psalms. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth.” Rev. 14:13. DIED of diphtheria, at Edenville, Midland Co., Mich., Feb. 1, at the age of 3 years, 10 months, and 4 days, Clark W., son of Wm. and Josephine Bowman. Funeral discourse delivered by the writer on Sunday, Feb. 2. W. H. LITTLEJOHN. DIED, at Richland, Dakota Territory, Jessie May, youngest child of Edwin L. and Mary E. Pettis. Funeral discourse by the writer from 1 Cor. 15:54. M. M. OLSEN. DIED at our home, near Oswego, N. Y., Dec. 28, 1878, my dear father, Abel Tuttle, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. Father was for more than thirty years a believer in the Advent doctrine, and was among the best in this State to commence the observance of the Sabbath. He dwelt much on the coming of the Saviour, and the resurrection. We believe he is of the blessed dead mentioned in Rev. 14:13. SUSAN E. T. KINGSBURY. DIED of a cancerous affection, at Mechanicsville, Vt., Jan. 22, 1879, Sister Caroline Hemenway, in the sixty-ninth year of her age. Sister H. was a member of the Methodist church until the sound of the present truth reached her ears and heart, when she readily turned her feet into the way of the testimonies of the Lord. She united with the little church of Sabbath-keepers in Andover of which for nearly eleven years she was a valuable member. In her death her husband and children have lost a faithful wife and mother, and the church a worthy member; but we sorrow not as those without hope. M. B. PIERCE. THE funeral services of sister M. Jane Lyon were celebrated Feb. 2 at the Congregationalist church ten miles south of Nebraska City. With her parents, Sister Jane embraced present truth under the labors of Brn. Cook and Rogers, in Missouri about six years ago. Though in the tender age of youth, she chose the people of God as her associates and Jesus as her all, and till her death lived a consistent Christian life. In confidence of soon meeting their loved one the parents say, “Thy will be done.” Services by the writer. CHAS. L. BOYD. THE PROMISE VERIFIED.
By M. Wood
“ALL the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.” 2 Cor. 1:20. And we are glad to know that the people who are looking for the speedy advent of their Lord are arousing to the importance of believing that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. When we seek God, we desire to know his will; and if we are faithful subjects, loyal to the government of the Great King, we shall delight to do those things which please him, and bring the promised blessing to the obedient. There is a most remarkable promise in Malachi 3:10, and, like all other promises in the Bible, it has clusters of conditions to make the promise the more brilliant. That which can be obtained for naught is of little value. The blessing of God is of priceless worth, and yet how easily we may obtain it. “Prove me,” says the Lord. How? by bringing half the tithes into the storehouse? No. Two-thirds? No. But prove me by bringing all the tithes. What will follow? God says, I will pour you out such a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. The church at South Lancaster, Mass., has just had a sprinkling of this promised blessing. A recent Sabbath meeting was one long to be remembered on account of the wonderful manifestation of the Spirit of God. For several weeks there had been a special burden resting upon this church for the young. And since we adopted the Bible plan of paying s. B., at times God has been very near to us. The hearts of the fathers have turned to the children, and the hearts of the children have turned to their fathers. Truly God’s promises are yea and Amen. They were verified to us at this Sabbath meeting. Fathers confessed to their children, and the whole congregation wept before the Lord. It was good to be there, and hear the sweet testimonies of the children who were just starting for the kingdom. One little girl of eleven summers, with deep feeling begged the privilege of praying, and as Christ says, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” we bowed in humble prayer with this little child to lead. God came divinely near; it was a solemn place on account of his presence. We take this great blessing as an evidence that God is well pleased with his people when they prove him in deed and in truth. One little boy who had not paid any S. B. for a long time came on first-day and paid up his dues, $1.20. This is not caused by excitement, dear reader, nor by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God. Try a little of the remedy, brethren; it will warm you up, and unloose your purse strings. It is an effectual cure for a dead church or a backslidden people. Try it.
M. WOOD. —Civil strife has broken out in Cabul, Afghanistan. —The American Home Missionary Society is out of debt. —Yale College has a daily paper, The Yale Daily News. —There is a Baptist church with a congregation of a hundred at the “city of Samaria,” where was Jacob’s well. —A disease has appeared at Xanthi, Thessaly, which is thought by the sanitary board of Trieste to be identical with the plague. —“Hoopla” is classical Californian for the plural of “hoodlum.” There are 600 of him in San Francisco, according to the latest estimates. —The Anti-Chinese bill has passed the House by a vote of 155 to 72. It prohibits the importation of over 15 Chinese on a vessel owned by a United States citizen. —No liquors, wines, or lager beer may be sold in any part of the new Connecticut State House. The resolution passed the Assembly with decided enthusiasm. —The Japanese churches connected with the Presbyterian, Reformed, and Scotch United Presbyterian Missions propose to send a pioneer missionary to Corea. —A company of 22 young Japanese meet weekly in the Chinese Methodist Mission House in San Francisco, to study the Bible and to discuss religious questions. —The pope has sold the last ship of his navy. Sensible! What does the head of the church want of a ship of war? St. Peter, from whom he claims descent, was a fisherman, not an admiral. —Professor Cox, of Indiana, who recently examined the Arizona mining region, says that the mining property of Southern Arizona, once developed, would supply the world with precious metals. —A dispatch from Copenhagen says that the Danish ministers at Berlin and Vienna will probably be recalled. There have been previous rumors of trouble between Denmark, and Germany and Austria. —England wants to purchase, out-and-out, certain crown lands in Cyprus, and offers Turkey £15,000 for them; but Turkey discounts the advance in consequence of British occupation, and demands £55,000 for them. —The pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Easton, Pa., has printed a pocket list of prayer-meeting topics, interspersed in which, in attractive style, is this suggestion, which members of many other churches might accept: “Take a front seat.” —The English language is spoken by 87,000,000 of people over the world, the Spanish by 63,500,000, the German by 53,000,000, and the French by 43,000,000. The Spanish thus stands second in importance as a commercial language as it regards the numbers reached by it. —The military cordon around the Russian districts infected by the plague is 1,000 miles long. According to the investigation made by the German Board of Health, the plague has existed in Astrakhan since May, 1877. Even paper money in the district has been ordered burned. —The Christian Union says: “A good many people write to the city dailies that they are greatly annoyed when out sleigh-riding Sunday afternoons by boys who pelt them without especial care in selecting soft snow. Strange that these people do not understand that this is the boys’ way of intimating that there may be two opinions about the propriety of sleighing on Sunday.” —The city of Bagdad, in Asiatic Turkey, says Grattan Geary, in his journey from Bombay to the Bosphorus recently published by Harper & Bros., is remarkable for a mysterious malady which affects everybody, whether citizen or stranger. It is a dry, eating sore, which comes generally on the face, lasts for a year, and then goes away forever, leaving an indelible mark about the size and shape of a date. The spot looks as though the surface had been seared by caustic or a hot iron. European and American physicians have tried in vain either to ascertain the cause of the malady or to find a cure. —A recital recently held in the Chapel of St. Paul, an elegant American church opened in Rome on Christmas day, was attended by many of the Roman and foreign aristocracy, including the crown prince of Sweden, the American Minister, the Ambassadors of England, Germany, Holland, Bavaria, Switzerland, and Japan, and several ladies and gentlemen of the royal household. —The new capitol building at Albany, N. Y., it is said, will mark a new era in building on the Western Continent. It is a vast pile, expensive and complicated in its interior arrangement. A fire occurred in one part of the building the other night, and a company of firemen got lost in the building. They could neither find the fire nor their way out. Many millions have already been expended upon it, and it will require about $4,000,000 more to finish it. —The Legal Committee of the Federal Council of Germany have eliminated the most obnoxious provisions of Bismarck’s disciplinary bill, and have toned down other provisions. The bill, as amended, limits the power of the Reichstag over its members to their conduct as members, that is, while exercising the privileges or discharging the functions of members; and a warning is in every case to precede an official reprimand. But though the bill is now harmless enough, the feeling among the members continues opposed to it. They think that a measure curtailing their privileges should originate with themselves, and not with the government. —Mr. Pentecost, who has recently entered upon evangelistic work in Chicago, stepped into an engagement on “the woman question” about the middle of the week. He was given the conduct of the daily noon prayer-meeting in Farwell Hall. In the course of the meeting an excellent Christian woman, well gifted in prayer, rose and took part. As she closed, Mr. Pentecost requested that “women should hold their own separate prayer-meetings, and not pray in Farwell Hall.” His course has aroused too much opposition to justify any expectation of a Pentecostal blessing from his preaching, though he put his request on the ground that women could not make themselves heard. —The Rev. Monsignor de Haerne, of the English College of Bruges, has prepared a statistical work on the progress of Catholicism among the peoples of Anglo-Saxon origin. He states that in the year 1855 the number of Roman Catholic sees existing in the British colonies, including British America, Australia, India, and the West Indies, was forty-four. In 1876 the numbers had doubled, being then eighty-eight. Taking the ten dioceses of Canada, it is found that in 1869 the number of churches in these dioceses was 779, while in 1876 the increase had been 913, the Roman Catholic clergy increasing from 768 to 1,171, and the number of religious houses from 73 to 196. —The celebrated cathedral of Cologne is said to be threatened with ruin. The stone of which it is built is a prey to atmospheric ravages, turns soft, and crumbles. In the oldest part of the noble southern tower, the cornices, moldings, and fillets are so much injured that the original profile is no longer to be seen. Some large square stones, which are being withdrawn, fell into crumbs at the lightest stroke of the hammer, and experts fear that decomposition is going on in the gigantic arched buttresses. The cathedral was commenced about the beginning of the ninth century, and completed A. D. 873. This structure was ruined by the Normans, was rebuilt, but in 1248 was almost wholly destroyed by fire. The new choir was consecrated in 1322. The cathedral, which is in the form of a cross, has a length of 480 and a breadth of 282 feet; the height of the central aisle is 154 feet; that of each of the towers, when completed, will be upwards of 200 feet. The heaviest of the six bells weighs eleven tons. TRACT AND MISSIONARY INSTITUTE AT SIGOURNEY, IOWA.
By George I. Butler
I HAD the pleasure of spending a week at this Institute, and it was a very profitable season to me. The instruction given by Bro. Haskell was just what was needed by those who design to act the part of laborers in our noble tract and missionary work. I deeply regretted that more of our people were not out. Iowa greatly needs instruction of just the kind furnished, that our society may take that position of usefulness which the Lord has for it to fill. As it was, we trust much good will result from the Institute, but much more might have been done. I was sorry I could not be there all the time it was in progress; but I am grateful that I had the privilege of spending a week there, and trust I shall be much better qualified to impart instruction to others in keeping accounts straight and creating a greater interest in the T. and M. work. We hope all our people will feel these institutes are seasons of great profit. Geo. I. Butler. Sister Wealthy McNitt, an aged lady residing in Broome Co., N. Y., thus gives her testimony in favor of the tithing system:— I received the message about twenty years ago, and paid s. b. awhile; then I was left a widow, and did not pay my dues as I should have done. I did not get along well. I was in Wisconsin then. Nine years ago I came to York State. There are no Sabbath-keepers near me, so I send one-tenth of what I earn to the Office. Since I have adopted this plan, I have had money to take the REVIEW, the Health Reformer, and the Signs, and to buy quite a number of books and help the cause some, and I have had all I needed besides. Bro. J. H. Dostch, writing from Henry Co., Tenn., Jan. 28, says:— I commenced keeping the Sabbath about twelve months ago, by reading. Two brothers and my father are now with me in keeping the Lord’s Sabbath. We want a preacher very much, as many are anxious to hear the truth. I think the way is open here. I have been distributing tracts and the Signs, and I know of at least a dozen persons who are almost or quite convinced. MORE ABSURDITIES.
By G. V. Kilgore
DURING my absence from Flint, Iowa, Eld. Cornell (Christian) preached eleven sermons on the law and gospel; but instead of injuring our cause he helped it; for every one I have talked with says he declared the law abolished and left them without any Sabbath. They all say that is too bad a doctrine to believe. The following statements by Eld. C. were noted by a gentleman of this neighborhood: “If a man should attempt to hallow a day that God has not hallowed, it is not only presumption, but folly.” At another time he said: “We have a day [the first day] that is as far superior to the seventh day as Christ is superior to Moses.” I have in my possession the above notes, and the following remarks which this gentleman wrote in reply. The only regret is that he did not address the audience in reply to Eld. C.; but he is a farmer, and not a minister. His remarks are these: 1. “Moses was man; Christ is God, or equal with God. Then Christ’s superiority over Moses is infinite, and the superiority of the first day over the seventh is infinite.” 2. “Moses was not responsible for the Sabbath; God sanctified and blessed it, and in the hearing of all the people commanded it to be kept holy, and then wrote the command on a tablet of stone (that the hand writing of God might be proof of its divine authority).” 3. “We have no evidence that God blessed, sanctified, or hallowed the first day. He did not command it to be kept holy. Christ did not command it to be so kept. The apostles did not command it to be kept in any way different from the ordinary working days. Then when man attempts to hallow the first day of the week, he attempts to hallow what God has not hallowed; hence it is folly.” 4. “Conclusion: Man’s folly is infinitely superior to God’s wisdom.” W H Crawford $10.75, Geo Foreman 13.80, Eli Osborn 9.00, B L Whitney 9.98, J W Tait 9.92, J G Holroyd 18.75, I E Wilson 5.00, Julia Burdoin 4.00, G S Honeywell 11.27. Signs of the Times $240.43, A J Stover 24.94, J B Gregory 259.86, Andrew Brorsen 12.94, S N Haskell 159.94, J G Matteson 152.68, Lizzie Hornby 70.56, C Black 13.40, John Fulton 23.73, A J Stover 20.20. Kan T & M Society per A J Stover $86.48, Wm Ings per J M Rhodes 50.00, Signs of the Times Wm Ings 12.00, J Fargo 17.47, Iowa T & M Society per Lizzie Hornby 100.16, John Fulton 10.00, A O Burrill per Wm R Evans 37.00, Me T & M Society per J Sawyer 8.57, N Y T & M Society per B L W 364.50, N Y T & M Society B L W 155.69, Pa T & M Society B L W 69.31, Neb T & M Society per A P Van Horn F D Allen, rent 4.00, G S Honeywell 8.60, Neb T & M Society per C L Boyd 25.00. Gen. T. & M. Society.—Donations.
M L Dean $1.00, Calverton, Md 19.45. N Y Conf per C E Green $40.50, Calverton, Md 26.60. Bushnell $93.97, West Plains 11.70, Carson City 5.12, Greenville 49.85, Alaiedon per D Hale 47.22, Battle Creek 200.00. Dist 6 per F Howe $64.59, Dist 11 per D Hale 13.50, Dist 14 per E B Lane 11.35, Dist 1 per M B Miller 7.25, Dist 4 per Alex Carpenter 7.10, Dist 15 per L G Moore 2.00. H H Bramhall $1.25, F D Starr 1.25, Calvin Green 5.00. Alfred and Emma Bostwick $5.00. D A Owen for press $10.00, Annie Rasmussen 100.00, Niels Jensen 2.00, Ole Hansen 1.75, Jens Hansen 1.00, Peter Jensen 1.00, Rasmus Nielsen 1.00, Ellen Christensen 1.00, Ole Jorgensen 50c, Jorgen Jensen 50c. W H Snook $1.00, J E Lewis 1.25, Noah Hodges 25.00, J T Mitchell 10.00, Laura Buck 3.00, J B Vaughn 24.66, Mary Conklin 2.00, E C Chandler 1.31, Joseph Sutherland & wife 25.00, Hattie Gilmore 5.00. Wm H Hankins $50.00, James Rentfro 10.00, A C Hardy 25.00, Noah Hodges 25.00, Jacob Adams 5.00, A L Brown 5.00, Jane McLaughlin 5.00, Jacob Noble 2.00, S O James 1.00, Ruth Nichols 2.00, Rebecca Glunt 5.00, J D Chapman 1.00, L Hackett 3.00. Advertisements and Notices
WANTED, a man to work on a farm; will pay $15.00 per month for eight months. Have land for sale or rent. Apply to Henry Versey, Sauk Center, Stearns Co., Minn. ANY Sabbath-keeper in Michigan who wishes to rent his farm of 80 or 100 acres for a term of 3 or 5 years, will please correspond with E. L. Rathbun, Allegan, Mich. A YOUNG MAN would like a place to work on a farm among Sabbath-keepers. For particulars, address Wm. H. Bolter, South Amherst, Mass. THE ADDRESS of H. H. Wilcox is West Pierrepont, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. W. H. RICHARD, as noticed in REVIEW, No. 5, wants to work for a harness-maker who is a Sabbath-keeper, not to set up the business. LIBRARIANS of Dist. No. 3, Michigan T. and M. Society, will till further notice send their business to Nellie M. Sawyer, Battle Creek, Mich., REVIEW AND HERALD Office, who will hereafter act as secretary, the former secretary being absent from the place.
R. Sawyer, Director. FOR SALE.—Bro. L. R. Long, of Half Rock, Mo., being desirous to be more free to give himself to the work of the Lord, desires to dispose of his farm. Address him as above for particulars. NOTICE.—The change of figures on the address labels, will be in all cases a sufficient receipt for money sent for the paper. If these changes do not in due time appear, and if books ordered by mail are not received, notice should be given. All other business is acknowledged below. Christ declared emphatically that the result of the preaching of his gospel would be strife and confusion, and not peace; but his gospel is not responsible for the strife. Truth has the right of way, and the first claim. Error is the intruder and the usurper. Truth only is legitimate, having a title in its own right to exist; and if error and worldliness, by disputing and opposing this claim, make disturbance, truth is not to be held responsible for this. Perhaps there are no religious questions discussed at the present day over which people seem more inclined to give way to hostile agitation than over the views advocated by S. D. Adventists. And the root of all this is not in the truths presented, but in the individual passions and prejudices of men. According to a report received from Bro. J. Bartlett, of Iowa, he has been the innocent occasion of the exhibition of some feelings not very amiable, to say the least, on the part of some of the members of the Presbyterian church of Onawa in that State. The question came up among the Presbyterians, as reported in another column, whether they should longer permit him to use their house in which to lecture. A division at once arose. Some were in favor of his having it, and others opposed. The excitement at length ran so high that one of the trustees took off his coat to fight one of his brethren, and, calling him an unquotable name, declared that he could whip him. When a church reaches such a condition that scenes like this can take place among its members, it is evident that a reform is sorely needed. To assist in preparing a work on the “Signs of the Times,” I am in want of such works as the pamphlet entitled, “The Signs of the Times.” Those who can assist me in collecting them, or to facts from papers or books containing statements, paragraphs, and items as to the increase of crime, amount expended for liquors and tobacco, record of famines, pestilences, wars, and the spread of spiritualism, or any other facts bearing on the subject in the scientific, political, moral, or religious world, will confer a great favor. Address, TESTIMONY NUMBER 28.
By James White
We have received copies of this work and are pleased with its appearance. The subject matter we had read before it went to press. We only regret that the press of work at the REVIEW Office, which always comes at the beginning of the year, made so long a delay unavoidable. The contents, “Experience and Labors, General Testimony, Appeal to Ministers, Epistles Number One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six,” give a general idea, to those who have read the preceding numbers, of the reading matter of No. 28. Will Bro. Haskell arrange to have the tract societies circulate this important little work without delay. Single copies, postpaid, 25 cents; five copies for $1.00, one-fourth discount by express or freight. Address, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. JAMES WHITE. Change in Brother Haskell's Appointments
The friends in Minnesota will please notice the change in Bro. Haskell's appointments as given in this number. Review and Supplement Reading
By Editor
Having more matter for the SUPPLEMENT than the four pages would contain, we make room for some of it in the REVIEW by leaving out other matter which was prepared for this week's issue. With the REVIEW and SUPPLEMENT together, the reader will find a rare treat of interesting and encouraging reading. Charts Stolen at Embarrass
Bro. S. S. Smith had his charts stolen while he was laboring at Embarrass, Wis. This is one of those exhibitions of pure and unadulterated spite which the laborer sometimes has to meet; for any one who really wants the charts for the instruction they contain has enough regard for the commandments not to steal, and any one who is so far down in the scale of morality as to steal, does not want the charts for any good purpose. We trust the miscreant will find himself in imagination by day and in dreams by night pursued by heads, hoofs, and horns till he will be glad to make amends for his malicious misdeed. Papyrographic Matter and Postal Rates
In our news column last week we noticed the decision of the P. O. department that matter printed by the papyrographic process, a process now beginning to be used quite extensively by our T. and M. societies, would be rated as first-class matter and subject to letter postage. On application from the president of the Papyrographic Company, the Post-Master General has suspended his ruling till the fourth of March next. We quote the following from his letter:— “I therefore hereby agree to suspend so much of my orders, as published in the ruling quoted, as relates to matter (which is not in the nature of correspondence) produced by the electric pen and papyrographic process, and permit the same to pass in the mails as heretofore at rates for third-class matter, until March 4, 1879, unless earlier action shall be taken by Congress in the premises.” Bro. S. B. WHITNEY reports that he finds brethren all ready to co-operate in steps for the advancement of the cause; that he has succeeded beyond his expectation in getting T. and M. societies into working order, finding persons for officers who are capable and interested in the work, and bringing T. and M. matters into a tangible shape. But he thinks the American brethren should reach a higher degree of spirituality, or the cause will suffer loss in consequence. ALL ABOARD FOR JERUSALEM.
A railroad from Jaffa (ancient Joppa) to Jerusalem seems now to be well assured. Capital has been secured for its construction, a builder has been found, the contract has been completed, and the man is now in Europe making preparation for the immediate commencement of the work. Modern progress is to produce strange scenes in that land of old-time ways and customs. But we remember that from this land came the first prophecy of these wonderful chariots with which we are now so familiar. Nearly twenty-six hundred years ago Nahum gave his glowing description of these chariots jostling one against another in the broad ways, and dashing through the land like flaming torches, with the speed of the lightning. And the world waited more than twenty-five hundred years to catch a sight of these marvelous objects which the prophet described; but they came at last, as will the fulfillment of all other prophecies. And what is a striking coincidence is that the supposed site of the prophet’s tomb is at a little village now called Gibbin, near Emmaus, probably in the direct line of the proposed railroad. Particulars in regard to this enterprise are given in the following paragraph from the Cincinnati Enquirer:— “Ohio is again honored.—Ohio in general and Cincinnati in particular. This time it is in railroad building. General T. D. Lovett, of this city, formerly Chief Engineer of the Southern Road, has just completed a contract for the building of a narrow-gauge railroad from the city of Jerusalem to the port of Jaffa, in the Holy Land, and has written to Major John Boyne, also of this city, the champion narrow-gauge railroad man of Ohio, to join him in the enterprise. The road will be some forty miles in length, the air-line distance between the two points being something over thirty miles. Joppa is a small maritime town of Palestine, on a tongue of land extending into the Mediterranean, and lies in a north-westerly direction from Jerusalem. It was formerly the port of Jerusalem, and was the landing place of the cedars and stones of which the temple in that city was built. It has a considerable trade in cotton, corn, and fruit, as has also the country lying back toward Jerusalem, through which the road will run. A large factor in the business of the road, however, will be in the annual visits of the pilgrims at the Easter season, and travelers at all seasons. The proposed road is backed by a party of French capitalists, and is to be pushed forward to an early completion. Mr. Lovett is now in Paris preparing for the work.” A pamphlet of 32 pages, entitled “Seed Thoughts,” has just been placed upon our table by its author and compiler, Miss A. C. Hudson. The nature of the work is clearly suggested by its title; and it fully meets all its promises. It is partly original, partly selected, partly prose, partly poetry, but all good, readable, and practical. It deals with the fundamental principles of financial, mental, and moral success; and he must be remarkably dull who does not find many thoughts springing up in his mind suggested by its well-filled pages. Price 10 cts. Address Miss A. C. Hudson, Allegan, Mich. THE SOUL AND THE RESURRECTION, showing the Harmony of Science and the Bible on the Nature of the Soul and the Doctrine of the Resurrection. This work is the outgrowth of an address delivered by request before the S. D. A. General Conference held in October, 1878. By J. H. Kellogg, M. D. 224 pp. 75 cts. TESTIMONY FOR THE CHURCH, NO. 28. Containing appeals to ministers and people, with valuable warnings and instruction to individuals and to the church. It also contains a sketch of the writer's experience for a period of two years. By Mrs. E. G. White. 192 pp., paper covers. 25 cts. THE SONG ANCHOR. A choice and popular collection of both old and new songs for the Sabbath-school and praise service. In preparing this book, the object has been to present a collection of music which has become popular throughout the world, and to add to this new music which is equal to anything published. Over seventy of the pieces in the Song Anchor are entirely new. 160 pp. 50 cts. THE BIBLE FROM HEAVEN. By Elder D. M. Canright. This work is an argument to show that the Bible is not the work of men, but is in deed and in truth the word of God. 300 pp. 80 cts. Revised edition, tint paper, (in preparation) $1.00. THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM, being an examination of Christian Baptism: its Action, Subjects and Relations. Also a Brief Consideration of the Historical Evidences for Trine Immersion. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 190 pp., Flexible Cloth, 25 cts. Paper Covers, 25 cts. DIPHTHERIA. A concise account of the nature, causes, modes of prevention, and most successful mode of treatment of this now prevalent and fatal malady. A most carefully written and reliable popular treatise on the subject. By J. H. Kellogg, M. D. Board covers, 25 cts. CONSTITUTION OF THE T. AND M. SOCIETY. with instructions to Officers and Members. 86 pp. 5 cts.