WHY should the liquor question be so hard to deal with? In every one of our States it is engrossing a large share of public attention. In several of them at this moment political discussion turns largely upon it. "While in value the manufacture of distilled spirits stands to all other manufactures in proportion of only one to seventy, in influence it surpasses them all. Such is the relation of this manufacture to the Government that one-half the entire internal revenue receipts are paid by it, and it has been known to corrupt revenue officers with a lavish hand. It elects aldermen and legislators, and corrupts members of Congress. It stands in the way of good government and good order at every corner. These are plain facts, which no intelligent person can ignore."
Thus speaks a paper of Chicago, the Herald, which, with the other respectable journals of that city, upholds the $500 license law recently enacted by the Legislature of Illinois. The Herald proceeds to consider why it is that this one interest should reappear so persistently at every turn of the political highway. The answer it finds in the nature of the commodity and in the enormous profit of the trade in it. Whisky, it observes, is an article which can be consumed to an unlimited extent, and furnishes an enormous margin of profit between the producer and the consumer. It is worth at wholesale to-day $1.16 a gallon. The total amount consumed last year was upwards of 76,000,000 gallons, of which less than 2 per cent. was used in the arts and for mechanical purposes, leaving upwards of 74,000,000 gallons to be drunk. All of this reached the consumer at prices varying between $8 a gallon and $19, the latter being the current rate over first-class bars. Taking the average at $12, we have a total of $812,000,000 as the price paid in a single year for intoxicants. Taking away from this the cost and the tax, say, $1.16 a gallon, we have left $733,840,000 as the gross profits of the traffic in a single year.
Now the entire revenue of the general Government for 1882 was $403,525,250, and the entire sum raised by State taxation was $61,612,681. The statistics of municipal expenses are not at hand, but they can scarcely have more than quadrupled the State taxation. In that case the milk in the whisky cocoa-nut is about equal to the entire sums expended for all kinds of Governmental purposes, including interest on all the public bonds and securities. And that is reason enough why the whisky men desire to control legislation, and why, above all things, they strive against anything that bids fair to cut them off from the soft thing they have in their practice at the bar.—Oregonian.
Selfish John Clark.
The meeting was a good one in spite of the intense heat, and there was more singing done by mosquitoes than by the human species.
John Clark sat by an open window, where what breeze there was came in and kept him comparatively comfortable, and then he had on a clean linen suit which his wife had washed and ironed that day, notwithstanding the mercury mounted high in the nineties, and its freshness was an additional comfort.
His first crop of hay, much larger than usual, had that day been put in his spacious barns, without damage by so much as a drop of rain. He was well, strong, prosperous, therefore happy.
The ride home was charming, and as the new horse took them through Cairnley woods with sure, fleet feet, he felt that life was very bright; and, as he thought of Brother White’s remarks about “weary burdens,” “feet tired with the march of life,” he concluded that the aforesaid brother was not in the enjoyment of religion.
John’s wife sat back in the carriage resting her tired body and turning over in her mind the remarks her John had made at the meeting. “Bear ye one another’s burdens,” had been the subject of the evening’s talk, and John’s speech had been listened-to with evident relish.
“Your husband has the root of the matter in him,” said the pastor. “I hope we shall all take heed to his well-timed words.”
“I think of hiring Tom Birch as a sort of spare hand and call-boy generally. I find this hot weather takes the starch out of me,” John said, as the horse trotted through the cool pine grove and flickers of moonlight.
“Will you board him?” asked Mary Clark, in a constrained voice, with the memory of her husband’s exhortations still in mind.
“Of course. I want him evenings to take the horse when we come home from meetings, or if I have taken a friend out. It is rather hard to have to go to work directly after one gets home.”
“You are to hire him to bear some of your burdens,” said Mary, in the same hard voice.
“Just so, wife. It stands me in hand to practice, if I preach; don’t you say so?”
“I do. I am glad you are to have help; as you say, it is hard to go to work the minute you get home. I have been foolish enough to have this ride spoiled by thinking of bread to mix, two baskets of clothes to fold before I sleep, for the ironing to-morrow, and dinner to get for four hungry men, and baby to care for.”
“Don’t crowd to-morrow’s burdens into this pleasant ride. And it seems to me that it would be better to get all your housework done before meeting-time.”
“If I could, but that is impossible; milk to strain, dishes to wash, Benny and baby to put to bed—all these duties come together, and then I am tired enough to go to bed myself.”
“Take it easy, Mary; keep cool, and avoid all the hot work you can.”
“I wish I could have a girl, John!”
“Mother used to say that girls were more hindrance than help; I guess you would find them so, and then they waste and break more than their wages. I don’t see how I can afford a girl. Do what you can, and leave some things undone; that’s the way to work it,” and John sat back with a satisfied air, and Mary thought of her husband’s glowing words in the prayer-meeting.
“I will do all I can,” said Mary, in a weary voice. “What I am obliged to do is much beyond my strength. The three meals come near together, washing and ironing must be done, baby shall not be neglected, and, of course, I must keep the clothes well mended.”
“One thing at a time is the way to think of your duties. Pick up all the comfort you can as you go along. I have made up my mind to do so in the future.”
“So I see by your thinking of having an extra hand.”
“Yes. I feel that I must take care of my health for your sake and the children’s.”
“Certainly,” Mary answered in a sarcastic tone; “how thoughtful you are for us!”
John made no further comment, but inwardly wished that prayer-meetings did Mary the good they had done once, and wondered why his wife had so changed.
“I am going with Squire Towne to see a new reaper; he says he hardly wants to buy without my opinion.” This was next day.
John left his wife ironing, with the half-sick baby sitting by the table in the company of an army of flies, and, in spite of the home scene, enjoyed his ride along the pleasant, shaded road, well pleased to be seen so much with the great man of the town. At supper time he came home with a new reaper behind the wagon.
“By taking two we made a handsome saving; and, as I intended to buy one, I thought I might as well take it now,” he remarked, by way of explanation. “It will save time and strength, and will pay for itself in a year.”
Mary made no comment, but set her teeth tighter together when she remembered that she had asked in vain for something to make her work easier. A sewing-machine had been pronounced “hurtful;” “better have fewer changes of clothing than run a machine,” John had decided when the subject was discussed; a “clothes-wringer would be constantly out of order.” “To bring the water into the house would be just to spoil the water. Nothing, after all, like the good old bucket. Mother would never have a pump in her day!”
“My mother used to say all men are selfish, and I begin to think she was right,” Mary muttered, as she went to the kitchen for the plate of hot biscuit John was so fond of for his tea.
Her husband’s appetite was good, but from fatigue and overheating herself, Mary could not eat. His ride and the society of the genial Squire had acted like a tonic, but there is no tonic in the air of a hot kitchen.
“A commonplace life,” she said, and she cleared away the tea-dishes, while John tilted back in his arm-chair on the cool, draughty porch and talked over things with neighbor Jones.
“Why don’t you buy widow Patch’s cranberry medder?” asked Mr. Jones; “it’s going dirt cheap, and you can afford it.” The sum was named, figures that astonished Mary, and she was more surprised when she heard her husband say:—
“I’ve half a mind to do it. I’ve just had an old debt paid in, and, to tell the truth, affairs in the money market are so equal, I don’t know just where to salt it down.”
No tears came to Mary’s tired eyes, but her heart went out in one mighty sob as she stood dish-pan in hand, before the disordered table, and thought how cheaply she had sold herself, really for two dollars a week and her board, to the man who had promised to love and cherish her until death. The beautiful piano she had brought to the farm was never opened, but looked like a gloomy casket, wherein was buried all the poetry of her life. The closed “best parlor” had long since assumed the grimness and mustiness of country best parlors, of which in her girlhood she had made such fun. John was a rich man, and, in spite of his marriage vows and his prayer-meeting talk, was allowing burdens grievous to be borne to press on her slender shoulders, in order to “salt down” his dollars.
Had she not a duty to perform? Ought she allow him to preach and never to practice? Had she not rights to be respected, which were not by her husband? for she reasoned, if he allowed her to do what could be done by any ignorant woman for two dollars a week, then he rated her at that price.
“Widder Patch has had a rough time on’t,” said neighbor Jones; “she is going to the west-w’rd to Tom, if she sells the medder, and Jane is going out to work. She’s tried sewing, but it don’t agree with her, and Dr. Snow recommends housework as healthy business.”
“’Tis healthy business!” chimed in John. “Now, my wife is a good deal better than when I married her. Why, she never did a washing in her life until she came to the farm. I think washing and general housework is much better than piano-playing and reading.”
“So I say to the girls, who pester me to buy an organ. Better play on the wash-board enough sight,” was the elegant response.
“Are you going to buy the cranberry meadow, John?” Mary asked, as she saw her husband making preparations to go from home.
“Yes—why?”
“Can you afford it?”
“We shall have to figure a little closer in order to do it, but it is going cheap.”
“You will have to give up Tom Birch, won’t you, and do the chores yourself?”
“I have thought of it, but Tom is poor, and to give him a good home is a deed of charity. No, we will save some other way.”
“How much do you pay Tom?”
“Three dollars and his board. And, by the way, he says you didn’t wash his clothes. Washing and mending was in the bargain.”
“I think Tom will have to go, for I have hired Jane Patch. She will be here to-night. Two dollars a week I am to give her. You want to practice ‘Bear ye another’s burdens’ as well as preach from the text, so I will give you a chance. I will take my turn at sitting on the cool piazza after tea with a neighbor, while you do the chores. I think the time has come for some of my burdens to be lifted. By exchanging Tom for Jane you will have one dollar a week for the cranberry meadow. You say strong, active Tom is in need of a home; he can make one for himself anywhere. It is a deed of charity to give Jane a home, and an act of mercy to give your wife a little rest.”
Before John could recover from his astonishment, Mary walked out of his sight, and, taking the children, went to the shut-up parlor. Throwing open the windows to let in the soft summer air, with baby in her lap, she sat down at her piano, and began to play a “song without words,” a piece John had loved to hear when he used to visit her in her home, where she was a petted girl. The song crept out through the open window, and around to John, as he sat on the porch, and memory compelled him to give the song words. Not musical poetry, but rather somber prose, wherein washing, ironing, hard days at the churn, hours of cooking for hungry men, stood out before his mind’s eye in contrast to the fair promises he had made the pretty girl he had won for his bride.
Jane Patch came that evening, and at once took upon herself many of Mrs. Clark’s cares, and no one greeted her more cordially than the master of the house. Nothing was ever said about her coming, and Tom Birch did not go away; so Mary knew the husband could well afford the expense.
She told me how she hoped to make one man thoughtful and unselfish, as we sat on her cool piazza, one hot August night; and I was glad that one woman had grit enough to demand her rights. If John Clark had been poor, his wife would have borne her burdens in patience, but she had no right to help make him selfish and indifferent as to her health and comfort.—Boston Watchman.
The Home Circle.
AT HOME ON THE FARM.
COME, boys, I have something to tell you,
Come near, I would whisper it low;
You are thinking of leaving the homestead;
Don't be in a hurry to go.
The city has many attractions,
But think of the vices and sins;
When once in the vortex of fashion,
How soon the course downward begins?
You talk of the mines of Australia;
They've wealth in red golden, no doubt,
But, ah! there is gold on the farm, boys,
If only you'll shovel it out.
The mercantile life is a hazard,
The goods are first high and then low;
Better risk the old farm a while longer;
Don't be in a hurry to go!
The great, busy West has inducements,
And so has the busiest mart!
But wealth is not made in a day, boys;
Don't be in a hurry to start!
The bankers and brokers are wealthy;
They take in their thousands or so;
Ah! think of the frauds and deceptions—
Don't be in a hurry to go!
The farm is the safest and surest;
The orchards are loaded to-day;
You are free as the air on the mountains,
And monarch of all you survey;
Better stay on the farm a while longer,
Though profit comes in rather slow;
Remember you have nothing to risk, boys—
Don't be in a hurry to go!
Counterfeit Christians
By Christian Statesman
Did you ever see a counterfeit ten-dollar bill? Yes. Why was it counterfeited? Because it was worth counterfeiting. Was the ten-dollar bill to blame? No. Did you ever see a scrap of brown paper counterfeited? No. Why? Because it was not worth counterfeiting. Did you ever see a counterfeit Christian? Yes, lots of them. Why was he counterfeited? Because he was worth counterfeiting. Was he to blame? No. Did you ever see a counterfeit infidel? No; never. Why?
News and Notes.
—There were made in the United States last year 17,000,000 barrels of beer.
—Rev. Solomon Parsons has been nominated for Governor of New Jersey on the prohibition platform.
—The Mormon Church Constitutional Convention is in session, taking steps for the admission of Utah as a State.
—Upward of 1,100 Chinamen left San Francisco for Hongkong on the steamer Coptic, which sailed on the 11th inst.
—Two negroes who boasted of killing Dick Wirlock, a white man, at Russelville, Ky., were hanged by a mob last week.
—Near Ligonier, Pa., last week, six children were poisoned by eating weeds while playing in the woods, two of them fatally.
—All persons implicated in the Egyptian rebellion have been granted amnesty, excepting those convicted of murder and outrage.
—Ex-Postmaster-General James comes back from Europe believing that our postal system, as a whole, is the best in the world.
—Hon. James G. Blaine is writing a history of "From Lincoln to Garfield," and the publishers have advance orders for 100,000 copies.
—A jealous husband named Walker, a constable of Prescott, Arizona, shot and killed a young assayer, named Ralph, on the 10th inst.
—Prominent men of the various departments of trade in San Francisco are making a determined move for a world's fair in that city in 1887.
—A wonderful mineral is said to be found only in Missouri. It is called Adam's cobite, and is so hard that it will cut steel without losing its edge.
—At the Louisville Exposition a suit of clothes was presented to Governor Berry of Arkansas, made from cotton picked only forty-eight hours before.
—The Martin Luther Society of New York has completed its arrangements for the celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of Luther's birth.
—A man named Weitna recently attempted to assassinate the President of San Domingo at Neyba, Hayti, when the President shot his assailant dead.
—An election fight between a party of thirty negroes and as many whites occurred at Cumminsville, Ohio, on the 10th inst. Four persons were wounded.
—A letter-carrier in San Francisco, named W. L. Turner, has been detected in robbing letters and packages; His bail is fixed at $1,000, pending trial.
—Iowa has gone Republican by a large majority. The election of Governor Sherman is a victory for the temperance cause, as well as for the Republicans.
—The mother of Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, over sixty years of age, married last week in Eugene City, Or., a young chap just above his majority.
—A negro was lynched at Huntsville, Ala., last week, for killing a Constable. He refused to give his name. A large reward is offered for his accomplice in the deed.
—The Lady Superior and seven ladies attached to the Maria Institute, at Warsaw, under the direct patronage of the Czarina, have been arrested on the charge of nihilism.
—A letter, upon which a Confederate two-cent stamp was affixed, passed through the mails at Richmond a few days ago without being detected by the post-office authorities.
—The prisoners in jail at Fort Madison, Iowa, escaped the other day by throwing pepper in the eyes of Deputy Marshal Young and knocking him senseless with a stick of wood.
—One hundred and eight applications for divorce are to be heard at the October term of the Divorce Court for Suffolk County, Mass., in Boston. The list for the last April term contained 210 cases.
—The Prohibition State Committee of Massachusetts has issued an address, in which it claims that the success of either the Republicans or Democrats will not effect the prosperity of the rum interest.
—The new Board of State Prison Commissioners consists of John Boggs of Colusa County, W. C. Hendricks of Butte, W. C. Van Fleet of Sacramento, D. G. Gelwicks and Chas. F. Robbins of Alameda.
—A couple of men lately made an important strike in an old mine in Cerro Gordo District, Inyo. The vein is twelve or fourteen inches wide, and consists of silver and lead assaying $1,000 to the ton.
—Under the auspices of the Women's Memorial Association, of North Carolina, the work of removing the remains of 107 Confederate so'diers from the Arlington Cemetery to Raleigh, commenced October 1.
—Hunters in Panther Creek Swamp, in Mississippi, recently shot a deer that had a human skull impaled on one of the prongs of its right horn. The prong had entered the eye and grown up around the skull bone.
—The stockholders of the Northern Pacific Railroad complain bitterly of the heavy expense—$250,000—of the late Villard excursion celebrating the completion of the road, while the company was already so heavily in debt.
—An epidemic has broken out among the children of Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, which the doctors can neither define nor control. It resembles scarlet fever, but baffles all remedies. Children take it and die within forty-eight hours.
—Rebel bands entered the city of Port-au-Prince, Hayti, last week, and pillaged the stores, set fire to houses, and murdered all those who resisted them. Among the killed were two Generals. The troops finally dispersed the rebels.
—The Democrats of Ohio have gained a decided victory, defeating both the Republican party and the temperance movements. Judge Hoadly is elected Governor, and a majority in both houses of the Legislature has been secured for the Democracy.
—During the night of the 9th inst., two distinct shocks of earthquake were felt in this city, San Francisco, and other places adjacent to the bay. About the same time, Algeria, Africa, was the scene of a like visitation, only a little more severe, some buildings being injured on that side of the globe.
—A rose farm is a new Georgia industry. Two gardeners in the vicinity of Savannah planted three acres in rose trees. This year they sold 22,000 trees to persons in the North, and had orders for 50,000 which they could not fill. The trees met with a ready sale at from $10 to $20 per hundred.
—Eight men of a threshing crew, near North Ruff, Minn., while sleeping near a granary, were suddenly covered with a large quantity of oats. Four were taken out dead, and the other four were with much difficulty restored to consciousness. The disaster was caused by the bursting of the granary.
—The Spanish Government is not satisfied with the French apology for the rabble insult offered to her king in Paris, although said apology was published in the President's official journal. The German Government is backing Alfonso in demands for reparation, and the much-talked-of European war is again hinted at.
—A number of cases of arsenical poisoning have recently appeared among the women who count the new greenbacks in the Treasury Department at Washington. The fingers are moistened by a sponge to facilitate counting, and the moisture brings out the arsenic in the green dye. The poisoning in some instances has been accompanied by quite serious results.
—A murderer named Ellis Craft was hanged at Grayson, Ky., on the 12th inst. Before the execution he was immersed by a Baptist minister. On the gallows he sang, "Did Christ O'er Sinners Weep," and then offered prayer. There was a large crowd present, and one lady gave him a bouquet. His near relatives would not go to see the execution, but his brother wrote him a letter urging him to confess his crime if guilty. However he asserted his innocence to the last.
—The advertising columns of the London papers furnish abundant evidence that there are proportionately many more unemployed persons there than with us. Servants continually advertise for places where no "remuneration is expected," and it is the usual thing for men to pay premiums to get their sons a situation.
—Mrs. Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, granddaughter of Captain Truckee, delivered an address in New York on the 10th inst. She talked of her people and told the story of their wrongs. She was overcome with emotion, and there was not a dry eye in the audience. Mrs. Hopkins advocated the appointment of women as Indian Agents instead of men.
—Miss Clara Davenport, who forty years ago was one of the most brilliant and accomplished young artist in New York, counting among her patrons many of the then prominent men, has been lost to the world for some time. She married a young man named Thornton, son of a Vermont Judge. He lived a fast life and became insane. Recently Mrs. Thornton has been discovered living in New Jersey in squalid poverty. She was living in one room, with no windows, and the floor littered with dirt, the poor woman lying sick on a miserable bed.
—WASHINGTON, Oct. 2.—Inquiries from many persons as to whether they could be compelled to pay for newspapers sent to their address without authority, have called forth the following ruling from the Post-office Department: The liability of a party to pay for newspapers must be determined by the rules applicable to other contracts. When a publisher, without request from the party, either expressed or implied, shall send a paper, the mere fact that the party addressed takes the paper from the post-office does not of itself create an implied consent.
—Leroy has been convicted of the murder of Skerrett, in San Francisco, last August. The conviction was brought about by exhuming the body of deceased, when an examination of the throat convinced three physicians that death was caused by strangulation. The body of Skerrett, it will be remembered, was found in a vacant building, the Coroner's inquest at the time failed to find the cause of death, and the matter was wrapped in mystery, although circumstances pointed to foul play on the part of Leroy. The theory of strangulation was suggested by a detective, and the case was followed up on that idea, which has proven correct.
—The Chicago Board of Health has instituted a vigorous surveillance of the meat markets, to prevent the selling of diseased meat. Health Commissioner DeWolfe states that it is impossible to estimate the ill effects upon the people of Chicago caused by the number of cancerous beeves. "The effect of eating this beef," he says, "is septic fever, being a degree of blood-poisoning, very similar to fever from other causes, hence the inability of physicians to trace the cancerous meat." DeWolfe has no doubt but that a number of deaths have resulted from the consumption of this meat, sold without the knowledge of the health authorities.
—Henry M. Stanley is still at work exploring central Africa. A recent letter says: "Since I arrived on the Congo, last December, I have been up as far as the equator, and have established two more stations, besides discovering another lake, Mantaniba. I am really struck with the dense population of the equatorial part of the Congo basin, which, if it were uniform throughout, would give 99,000,000. The number of products and character of the people are also remarkable. Rubber, ivory, camphor wood, and hosts of other things would repay transportation, even by the very expensive mode at present in use. The people are born traders and are, for Africans, very enterprising and industrious."
Religious Notes.
—The First Congregational Church of Hartford, Conn., celebrated its 250th anniversary October 11.
—Apostle Taylor, President of the Mormon Church, expresses the opinion that none will pass the gates of the celestial kingdom who do not abide by the celestial law of polygamy.
—A Neufchatel, Switzerland, dispatch says: "The State Council has issued a decree expelling all foreigners suspected of an intention to organize Salvation Army meetings.
—The Catholic diocese of Portland, Me., and New Hampshire will be divided, because of the increased Catholic population, and New Hampshire will be called the diocese of Manchester.
—The number of members of Baptist Churches in the Indian Territory, according to a statement prepared by the Rev. Daniel Rodgers, General Missionary, is 6,419, distributed as follows: Cherokees, 1,800; Creeks, 2,500; Choctaws and Chickasaws, 1,600; Seminoles, 365; Wichita Agency, 65; Ottawas, 45; Sacs and Foxes, 19; Peorias, 25.
—Mrs. Amanda Smith, who was once a slave in Delaware, and who is well known in many churches in Boston and Brooklyn, has reached Monrovia, Liberia, after three years of successful evangelistic work in Great Britain and the East Indies. She is working diligently among the Liberian colonists, but she finds herself hampered by a lack of temperance and other religious publications.
—Moody and Sankey began operations in the Royal Theater, at Limerick, Ireland, on the 10th inst., the building being crowded to its utmost capacity. But a determined opposition to the services was manifested on the outside. A crowd of men and boys assembled in front of the building, and endeavored to interrupt the proceedings. They were dispersed by the police, but threats were made that force would be used to break up the meetings.
—The Swedenborgians recently celebrated their centennial at London. There were representatives from this country and different parts of Europe. At the meeting it was said with particular emphasis that followers of Swedenborg did not profess to have intercourse with spirits. Speaking of the occurrence, the London Times took occasion to say that "Swedenborg was out of his mind for the last thirty years of his life. In every country there are a large number of persons on the verge of insanity. To such persons Swedenborg's fantastic absurdities commend themselves."
THE SUNDAY MOVEMENT,
By Uriah Smith
BY ELD. U. SMITH.
THIS is a full exposition of a portion of prophecy which applies to our own Government, showing the position the United States holds in prophecy, and the part it has to act in the closing scenes of time.
THE SUNDAY MOVEMENT,
Which is now attracting such general attention, is thoroughly canvassed, and abundant testimony is given to prove that it is fast coming to be the ALL-IMPORTANT QUESTION in this country. Facts and statistics are largely presented, showing in the most conclusive manner that this Government is the one pointed out in the prophecy quoted.
200 pp. Bound, 40 cents. Paper covers, 20 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE FORETOLD.
By Uriah Smith
THE UNITED STATES IN PROPHECY.
By Eld. U. Smith.
The Sabbath in Scripture
By Editor
The title of this little book sufficiently explains its character. It contains more Scriptural information in regard to the Sabbath than any other book of twice the size, and yet it is so simplified as to be easily comprehended. The author quotes the opinions of many learned men concerning the Sabbath, and their conflicting theories are strongly contrasted with the clear, straightforward teaching of the Bible.
64 pp. Price, 10 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THE TRUTH FOUND.
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
THE NATURE AND OBLIGATION OF THE SABBATH OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.
By Eld. J. H. Waggoner.
A Comparison.
THE Committee of the M. E. Conference on Book Depository and California Christian Advocate, reports as follows: "The circulation of the Advocate was on May 1, 1880, 2,280, since which it has increased to 2,904, which speaks unquestioned fidelity and efficiency on the part of the editor." This is an increase of about 200 a year.
The SIGNS OF THE TIMES, the only religious paper on the Pacific Coast which does not advertise, has increased its circulation about 10,000 the present year. The Advocate will have to hurry up its "Check on Adventism," or it may be left behind.
Various Matters.
By Editor
A REPORT from Eld. Haskell of the Indiana Camp-meeting came a little too late for this paper.
THE permanent post-office address of Elder I. D. and Mrs A. P. Van Horn is Charlotte, Eaton Co., Michigan.
PRIVATE letters give even more cheering reports of the Michigan Camp-meeting than the report sent for the paper. We have for months been looking for a revival of the work, and we think we shall not be disappointed.
WE have received a cheering and encouraging letter from Sister White, concerning her labors and her health. She has had strength, even beyond her expectation, in the meetings East. Her visit to the East was evidently timely. Her labor was never more needed and better appreciated than at the present time.
AT 1:30, on the morning of the 10th inst. we were awakened by the vibratory motions of our cot, and the rattling of the windows. The sharpest shock of earthquake was then felt that has visited us in some time. No damage was done.
WE must give the standing excuse, "a multitude of business," for our failure to answer letters from esteemed friends. In several cases we have sent cards where we would be pleased to send letters; but our friends understand our present circumstances and will be indulgent.
IT is seldom that we call attention to the contents of our paper. The articles recommend themselves. But we cannot refrain from making mention of the poetry on the third page of this paper, entitled, "Alone." It is a pleasure to read it.
THE Healdsburg College year has commenced with good prospects, though a larger number of advanced students is to be desired. We suppose the number will be increased as winter approaches. Many people, young and old, are needed to be fitting themselves for work in the cause of truth. We hope to be able to give more definite information soon of the working of the school.
WITH feelings of much gratitude we are able to say that our health is much improved during the past two or three weeks. The Lord is better to us than our fears. We would very much like a vacation for rest and recreation, but we cheerfully submit to every providence which bids fair to benefit the precious cause to which our life has been devoted.
IT is regretted by all our citizens of Oakland that the Post-office here has been lowered in its grade, because of the small sales of stamps, and the allowance for service has been reduced accordingly. Oakland has grown much within a few years past, and greatly needs increased service. But the P. O. Department is guided only by the sales, which is manifestly a most unreasonable basis. We believe that Postmaster Dargie has done his best to have the citizens well served. But now they must wait.
THE last quarterly meeting in Oakland was a good one. Over one hundred communicants were present at the celebration of the ordinances in the afternoon. Our efforts to have our resident members be faithful in this respect, are meeting with success, as well as our efforts to have all Sabbath-keepers in the city unite with the church, and all non-residents take letters to other churches. It is our desire to have an efficient working membership, all within the knowledge of the church officers. A good report comes also from the San Francisco quarterly meeting.
The Signs of the Times.
By Editor
OAKLAND, CAL., FIFTH-DAY, OCTOBER 18, 1883.
NOTICE. — 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 them are not indebted to the Office.
Money orders, drafts, etc., should be made to “Pacific Press;” NEVER to individuals, as they may be absent, and business thereby be delayed.
So Very Reliable!
THE "California Department" of the Christian Herald, of Monmouth, Oregon, gives us the following astounding intelligence:—
"The Seventh-day Adventists are arranging to move their publishing house from Battle Creek, Michigan, to Healdsburg, Cal. They have bought the Collegiate Institute of that place, and have established a college. They have, I presume, the largest number at that point of any place in the State. Don't know whether they have given up their old battle-ground on the east side of the Rockies or not, or whether they have given up the States to hardness of heart."
To this we reply, 1. The Healdsburg church is not by any means the largest S. D. A. Church in this State. 2. The Adventists have never had the remotest idea of establishing a publishing house in Healdsburg. They have a large one in successful operation in Oakland, and they want no other in this State. 3. Our publishing house in Battle Creek, being the most extensive printing establishment in the State of Michigan, was never more prosperous than at present. The last year has been a very encouraging year in our work there. The idea has not been hinted to move it. 4. Our camp-meetings in the East, the present year, have been fruitful of much good, and our cause is prosperous "all along the line."
We are led to wonder if this very reliable Christian did not so strongly wish we would give up our work, that he came to imagine it was so.