[This article on the great Hyderabad flood was written by Elder Geo. F. Enoch, formerly editor of the Caribbean Watchman, before the great earthquake in Italy. The awful catastrophe at Hyderabad was dismissed with a mere paragraph in our newspapers. We will better know its awful horrors after reading this article.—EDITOR.]
IN the wail of wo arising from great modern disasters, no country is omitted. Even the most distant lands join the sad chorus. On the 27th and 28th of September, the city of Hyderabad, the capital of the native state of the same name, was overtaken by a disaster which is doubtless the greatest of all disasters of recent years in India.
Hyderabad is a Mohammedan state, whose chief ruler, called the Nizam, reigns with all the glory of a Mohammedan Oriental. It has occupied no small place in India's history. When the great Mogul Empire, whose kings ruled at Delhi, began to go to pieces, the territory now occupied by this large native "state" was one of the first to make itself independent. For a long time a three-cornered contest with the Delhi kings on the north, the Mahrattas on the west, and Mysore on the south, was carried on with international alliances, sometimes with England, again with France. Fortunately for their existence as a separate state, the Nizam reigning at the close of the eighteenth century recognized that England was eventually to be supreme in India, and was the first of the great native states to enter voluntarily into the new political system of the Marquis of Wellesley, which has since proven the political salvation of India. In a nutshell, the native states were to surrender their international life to Britain in return for British protection, their internal affairs being left largely to themselves. By entering early into this agreement, the Nizam secured great advantages for his dominions. His young men have been sent abroad and have been well educated.
In order to grasp something of the results of the recent disaster, it is necessary to know the conditions prevailing in a native state outside the direct authority of Britain. In fact, this is one of the first great disasters happening in a state wholly under a native administration.
The city of Hyderabad is a city of about 400,000 population. Like all Oriental cities, it has densely populated and congested centers, where the buildings are of the frailest construction. The river Musi, usually quite an insignificant-looking stream, flows through the city. On a peninsular-like portion, around which the river makes a horseshoe bend, were crowded thousands of people. There was an unusually heavy rainfall for a few days, at the end the rain coming down in torrents. Many artificial tanks, or lakes, had been built along the river for irrigation purposes. The river rose rapidly and threateningly, as it had done many times before, but the people paid but little heed. Finally these great tanks overflowed, and some of them burst their dams, and a great four-foot wall of water swept down upon the doomed portion of the city. No sooner had the first great wave carried desolation as far as it could reach, than it was followed by one after another. The great bridges that lay between the people and safety one after another gave way. Over one bridge had passed the traffic of centuries. One great army after another had found safety from annihilation by flight over its wide roadway, supported by massive masonry. In fact, as generations came and went, men began to consider it almost eternal. It remained for a modern disaster to ruin it.
Wrecked houses in a better portion of city destroyed by flood, Sept. 28, 1908, at Hyderabad City, Hyderabad, India.
Among all the sufferers who were not destroyed by the overwhelming waters were the zenana women. Thousands of these women from childhood raised behind the "purdah" (curtain), upon whom no man's eyes were to look excepting their husband's, found their "purdah" swept away by the disaster and themselves in a moment exposed to the gaze of the world. Senseless and foolish as the custom is, still they have been reared according to it, and their suffering was very acute.
It is not known how many perished in the floods of waters. It was first reported that 100,000 had lost their lives, but more recent estimates place the dead at 4,000. [The last London "Times" places it at 10,000.] It was not less than this. In other words, more people perished than in both the San Francisco and Jamaica earthquakes. The Nizam's government arose nobly to the situation and relief has been quickly and efficiently rendered to the survivors.
"The black grave," Hyderabad City, Hyderabad, India. The wreck near the Afzul Gangbridge, where thousands of houses filled with humanity were overwhelmed early in the morning, Sept. 28, 1908.
So these nations of the Orient are beginning to see the signs of the fast-approaching end of all things. To the missionary struggling to bring the message of salvation, such a disaster means that a great host have gone beyond the reach of the Gospel he is striving to carry to them, and nerves him to greater efforts and deeper consecration in the sowing of the good seed; for he knows not what evil shall be upon the earth.
Poona, India. GEORGE F. ENOCH.
California Sunday-Rest Bill.
(Continued from page 9.)
the law is religious in its exemption. See lines 50 and 51. Inquisition must be made as to whether the worker on Sunday has kept another day as a Sabbath.
2. THE PROPOSED LAW IS CLASS LEGISLATION. It proposes to take one day, held by a part of the religious community, and place behind that the sanction, support, and strength of civil law. That very act at once places the supporters and promoters of such a measure in a favored class, loyal to law and order and government, while it correspondingly places a ban upon those who oppose it. It does this not because of any intrinsic virtue or merit which the one class possesses above the other, but that condition is created simply and solely BY THE LAW which makes the discrimination. A few months ago in dark Turkey one class was composed of loyal citizens, the other classes were tolerated criminals. To-day all are free and equal. No change has taken place in the character of either class. The difference in yesterday and to-day is a matter of the presence or absence of iniquitous law. To-day the Jew or Seventh-day Christian, or no-day man is as good a citizen as the Sunday-keeper. Pass a Sunday law, and you make the three first named criminals. Whatever the motives of the misguided men behind the law, it is unequal and iniquitous.
3. IT ERECTS A FALSE STANDARD. It declares that a business is legal, proper, laudable on six days, but criminal, wrong, on the other day of the week. Smith may keep open his one grocery store of the village on six days, but he is a criminal if he opens it Sunday. Why? Smith prefers to do the work. He delights in it. He enjoys the day better in honest work. He wrongs nobody. He accommodates some. He has conscience in his work. Who has the right to forbid him? If he were busy every moment, he could not begin to do the mischief that the man would do who preaches false doctrine every Sunday. The next step, if the Sunday religionists should become strong enough, would be to suppress all freedom of speech and doctrine which did not agree with them.
4. SUCH A LAW IS UNCHRISTIAN. It is unchristian in that it seeks to enforce morals—a thing which pertains to motive. Morality, the instructed Christian knows, can only be lived on the basis of a good conscience and a right heart. It is unchristian in that it is unequal. "One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." No Christian would seek to compel his brother or fellow to obey a law the infraction of which harmed no one.
It is unchristian in that it is contrary to the Golden Rule. If the Mohammedan were in power, would Mr. Tufts desire the follower of11the prophet to compel him to keep Friday? Would he like the orthodox Jew to compel him to keep Saturday? Would he like the no-day man to compel him to work every day? To all these he would enter an emphatic negative. Then according to Christ's Golden Rule he should not seek to enforce upon any one of them the observance, of Sunday; "for WHATSOEVER YE WOULD that men SHOULD DO unto YOU, DO YE EVER SO TO THEM." It is unchristian in that it is a denial of Christ. The Master promised "all power" to His servants, apostles, preachers. To seek the aid of civil law to enforce religious dogmas is to deny faith in Christ's promise, or to repudiate the institution as Christian.
5. THE "IDEAL LAW" IS NOT YET. The exemption granted and the mildness of the law is not, according to Mr. Tufts and others, the ideal thing. The ideal law does not fall short of the Puritan Sunday law. Then, too, power which grants an exemption may remove it. The exemption is presented as an act of kind tolerance. Dr. Philip Schaff and others have truly said that Americans demand equality, liberty, and not tolerance.
6. IT IS CONTRARY TO ALL RIGHT LEGISLATION. Civil law is designed to protect men in their rights, never to promote or support class institutions. Just as soon as the institution is honored above the man, just so soon injustice and inequity come in. A wise statesman will honor the freedom of men; and leave with the men the voluntary privilege of honoring the institution.
7. The law is iniquitous in that it sets a man to watching his neighbor, espying on his actions, becoming his informer, and using his efforts to convict him of crime, or be heavily fined and lose his official position. Read the blackly iniquitous section 300 B. We do not know how free men civilly, to say nothing of Christians, could frame such a law, or put such provisions in cold words.
There are many, many more things which might be said. We admit the Sunday excesses. We sympathize with the men who wish to see crime and drunkenness and lewdness and oppression and injustice banished; but religious legislation can not do it. Let the men who are pleading for such legislation preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its simplicity and power. Let them preach God's law as He gave it, and press it home upon the conscience. Let them leave with God the privilege, as it is His prerogative, to care for His own by enshrining it in the hearts of His people.
Seventh-day Adventists would be unworthy of manhood or womanhood, and so would every other soul, if they or he felt it necessary to seek to the "tolerance" of Mr. Tufts, or any one else, to know what they could do on Sunday or any other day. Every free citizen of America ought to have the God-given right assured him, every commonwealth ought to stand by him, in the exercise of the right to arise Sunday morning and do any proper, legitimate work which he would do on the next day if he were so minded. The Sabbath bears "God's image and superscription," to Him alone he renders the service done. It is not for man to assume to "permit" or "allow."
It is worthy of note that nearly all the things Mr. Tufts in his great kindness and tolerance would "permit" Sabbath-keepers to do are the very occupations which they could not very well follow. But for that they are not pleading. For themselves they are not pleading. They are pleading for the equal rights of every man, God-given rights, let him be Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Mohammedan, Christian or infidel. God grant that California legislators may be free men, willing to protect all in equal freedom.
Watchman, What of the Night?
"Watchman, what of the night?"
THE OUTLOOK
Naval Expenditures.
By Editor
A REPORT issued by England's First Lord of the Admiralty gives the following figures as the total naval expenditure during the last ten years of the four great naval powers:
Great Britain . . . . . £318,647,127 $1,590,000,000
Germany . . . . . . . . . . 107,927,573 535,000,000
France . . . . . . . . . . . . 126,122,028 630,000,000
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,642,215 520,000,000
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . £657,338,943 $3,285,000,000
All four are increasing their expenditure, as will appear from the following table, the increase of which we have given in American money. (The English pound is about five dollars.):
1899.
1908.
Increase.
Great Britain
£25,731,220
£32,319,500
$30,000,000
Germany
6,672,788
16,596,561
45,000,000
France
12,144,020
12,797,308
3,200,000
Russia
8,306,500
9,833,915
7,500,000
The war debt of Europe is overpowering in its burden.
Political.—We honor President Roosevelt for the stand that he has taken on the election of the state senator in Oregon. The vote of the people was that Governor Chamberlain should be chosen by the Legislature. He is a Democrat, tho the Legislature returned was Republican; yet it was the duty of that Republican Legislature, according to the pledges made previous to election, to elect a Democratic senator. Mr. Roosevelt believes that that pledge ought to be redeemed. It seems as tho there could be no question about it, and yet there are politicians who contend that it ought to be for party's sake. Now the report is that bribery is being used to defeat the will of the people.—Congressman Theodore E. Burton of Cleveland has been elected United States Senator from Ohio.—Hon. Geo. C. Perkins was reelected on the first ballot in Sacramento, January 12, to succeed himself.—January 12 the state-wide prohibition bill passed the Tennessee Senate by vote of 20 to 13, and the Assembly the next day by a vote of 62 to 36. By the bill, prohibition becomes effective July 1, 1909.—It is said that the Mayor of Philadelphia has been receiving requests from officials of patriotic societies and clubs of western cities, that he permit the sending of the Liberty Bell to San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, during the coming summer. One patriotic association said: "We want the sacred relic to ring out for our people as it did for our forefathers." They seem to be ignorant of history, that the bell was cracked about fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, so that it was no longer fit to use. There is a striking parable in the old bell. Many people are cherishing the idea that the same degree of freedom exists, because of the name, which existed in 1776. They do not know that in many places in this great republic freedom has been as truly cracked and rendered unusable for human rights as was the old bell. The Liberty Bell is a piece of honored metal; liberty is still an honored name, but if many of our co-religionists had their way, as they have had in not a few instances, it would exist only as a name and a memory.
From the Constitution of California.
"Section 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness."
"Section 3. The State of California is an inseparable part of the American Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land."
"Section 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be guaranteed in this State."
Germany on the Verge of Revolution
A prominent newspaper correspondent, Marquis de Castellane, writes to the Hearst papers that an ominous atmosphere envelops all classes of society at Berlin; that the arrogance of title is belittled and there seems to be no respect for it; that the army is no longer considered with the honor that it formerly was, rather with a feeling of contempt. "Berlin seems all at once to have been filled with a strange, wild fear. Emperor, deputies, nobles, bourgeois, tradesmen, working men, seem to be afraid. It is just as if you were among a people who at any moment might throw themselves one upon another. To say all in one word: From the very top to the bottom of the social ladder, no one seems to be respected. If I am not making a great mistake, Germany is on the verge of a great revolution." And all this is directly in the line of the fulfilment of prophecy. The 17th chapter of Revelation indicates that before the end shall come a condition of confusion and chaos shall exist in Europe, out of which will arise what has aptly been called, the United States of Europe;
(Continued on page 13.)
The Spineless Cactus Revolution
Luther Burbank states that one hundred and ninety-eight thousand pounds of cactus fruit can be raised from an acre of ground, and he believes that the spineless cactus will go beyond anything that he has developed. It can be used by man and beast; has a delicious flavor, combining the taste of the orange, banana and cantaloupe all in one, and the removal of the spines has had the effect of increasing the crop rather than diminishing. He referred to the Burbank potato, six million bushels of which were grown in California alone in 1908, while fourteen million bushels were grown last year in the country; but the further development of the cactus will produce a far greater revolution of horticulture than the potato. This certainly will be a wonderful boon to those who live in arid regions to which the cactus is especially adapted.
The Illusion of Millionaire Fortunes
The estate of Charles T. Yerkes, which was estimated at twelve million when he died in 1905, we are now told, would shrink to five and one-half million if his debts were paid. And this might be the case with a great many of the fortunes of the multimillionaires. Sometimes a great deal of this so-called wealth is represented in overvalued stock.
Deadly Explosion in Lick Branch Mine
January 12, one hundred or more miners were killed in the Lick Branch mine, twenty miles from Bluefield, W. Va. Fifteen days before, fifty miners lost their lives in the same mine. After the first loss, it was pronounced by officials and most experienced mine experts as absolutely safe. The explosion extended four miles. Great quantities of flames, soot, dust, rocks, slate, heavy timbers, broken mine cars, and even human beings, were thrown out of the opening of the mine.
The Best Cure for Tuberculosis
By Editor
A new cure for tuberculosis, according to a telegraph despatch of January 18, is pig's blood, medically prepared. There is but very little question but what pig's meat has been a predisposing cause of scrofula and other diseases akin to tuberculosis. It is well to take such cures with a grain of salt. The best cure in the world for tuberculosis yet discovered, is sufficient rest, an abundance of pure air night and day, and a superabundance of good food.
Our Work and Workers.
AT Jennings Lake, Fla., Brother C. B. Stephenson baptized nine persons, December 26.
BROTHER F. E. BROWN reports the addition of eight members to the Island church, near Hanford, Cal., by baptism.
FIVE were added to the church at Cedar Grove, Tenn., in December, through the labors of Brethren R. W. Parmele and C. P. Bollman.
MEETINGS conducted by Brother W. H. Branson and Brother C. P. Whitford at Orange Mills, Fla., have resulted in the conversion of twelve.
BRETHREN M. H. SERNS and F. Stebbeds conducted a series of meetings at Sparta, Wis., in December. Eight accepted the truth through their labors.
AMONG the students of Union College, South Africa, seven were baptized late in the autumn. Ten or twelve have since gone forward in this ordinance. The school is in charge of J. F. Olmstead.13
SPEAKING of his labors at Greenville, S. C., Brother Sydney Scott reports twenty-five new believers.
MR. AND MRS. M. B. BUTTERFIELD have just closed a series of meetings at Baldwin, Mich. Thirteen accepted of present truth.
TEN persons have decided to keep all the commandments of the Lord at Loudenville, W. Va., through the labors of Brother J. F. Steele.
IN the Central Union Conference, embracing the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, and Wyoming, a special religious liberty campaign is being conducted by Brother and Sister John S. Wightman. Mass meetings are held in the capitals and large cities of these states, and much interest is being manifested everywhere.
In the Philippines.
By R. A. Caldwell
DARKNESS that is gross, we are told by the prophet of old, is to cover the inhabitants of earth in the closing days of its history. This is often seen in the individual in civilized lands where depraved men yield to the lusts of the natural heart. They permit the god of this world to blind them by turning from the light of God's word, and to harden their heart by turning a deaf ear to the faithful messages which our Lord gives them.
Many times in heathen lands this is more a matter of circumstances than of choice. Men are blinded by superstition of the basest sort, and handicapped by a low mental capacity. Sometimes the natives in heathen lands have been taught the mere semblance of Christianity. They have been moved by outward forms and have been led to grasp these outward forms as tho the sum and substance of religion dwelt in them. For instance, in the recent scourge of cholera in the Philippines, many natives, in hope of escaping from the disease, adorned the entrance to their oftentimes unsanitary homes with a small wooden image. Some of them are professed Christians, and yet they are entirely ignorant of Christianity.
For over three centuries Roman Catholics have been teaching many of them, and six hundred places of worship have been erected, of good solid material—mute and cold witness to their past efforts. Still it must be admitted that the exhibition of the Christlike graces and virtues which should be the fruit of the faithful minister of the word, is not witnessed.
These might have been different if the great purpose of the preaching and teaching had been to install a love for the word of God in its purity. They could then have looked beyond the outward forms and have grasped the very life of God. For instance, one young man, not by any means of the lowest class, of about sixteen years of age, when personally questioned concerning the Bible, in return inquired as to what the Bible was. He was entirely ignorant of the great Book of books, and yet he seems to have been connected with the church and is present at the numerous church shows.
While the Bible has been in a way prohibited, yet literature of a very degrading type was given a free hand. In the providence of the Ruler of all, a different order of things is now in operation. Fifteen of the two score dialects have portions of the Bible, some the Bible complete, already translated, and these translations are being circulated at a very moderate cost by societies, headquarters of which are in England and America. These Bible societies are noble institutions, worthy of the support of the home lands.
There is a great work for us as a people, and we must follow these messengers of light and truth. We are using clubs of American papers; we must also use every other means by which we can reach the greatest number. It will take more than we have at present to reach the population of eight millions. It is a costly undertaking to provide literature for them in the various dialects, but this is our responsibility in the present situation. Who will come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty? Think of it, every letter in your Bible represents at least two Filipinos, ignorant of salvation as contained in God's word. It may be truly said that the field is white already to harvest, and as one writer expressed it with reference to the Philippines, "dead ripe." Are you a reaper? "Help us" is their cry.
Interior of Church at Santa Ana, P. I.
R. A. CALDWELL.
One Look.
ONLY take one look at Jesus,
And the heavy weight of grief,
Bowing down the soul and spirit,
Shall give way to sweet relief.
Only take one look at Jesus,
And thy restless thoughts shall cease;
Thou shalt find thy feverish longings
Hushed to calm and hallowed peace.
Only take one look at Jesus,
And thy heart, that craved and cried
In its loneliness and hunger,
Shall be sweetly satisfied.
Only take one look at Jesus—
Earth itself transfigured lies;
Every whisper of the breezes
Wakens heavenly harmonies.
Only rest thy gaze on Jesus—
Life and health and joy are thine;
Thou hast here the blessed foretaste
Of the heritage divine.
Taking Risks to Accomplish Great Things
By Sydney Smith
THE fact is that in order to do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand shivering on the bank, thinking of the cold and the danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.—Sydney Smith.
Heaven Seems High to Him Descending
“HEAVEN seems high to him who is descending.”
Had to Die to Reform.
By Editor
So a little tale was headed a few weeks ago. A great criminal had reformed, but wherever he went the police suspected and reported him, and he could get no work. His old companions in crime beset him with new temptations, and made life miserable. He went to see a friend of his among the officers of the law who believed in him. "What shall I do?" he asked when he had told his story. "You will have to die," said his friend. "Go off into obscurity again, and I will report you dead." He did so, and the press of that section carried the news everywhere that the great ex-criminal was dead.
Did he reform? — He did, and years after he told the story to an acquaintance who discovered him. "I had to die to reform," he said.
It suggests a great spiritual truth. There is many a man who is trying morally to reform, to live a Christian, but he is continually failing and falling. Troops of demons watch for his fall; good men and women have good grounds to suspect him; his old companions harass and tempt him, and he yields.
While talking with such a besieged soul once, he said in bitterness, "I wish I were dead." "Amen," we responded, "we wish you were." The soul was startled, till we explained that we wished he would die to sin, die to the lusts of the flesh, die to all the chains and bands that bound him to sin and those who love sin. There is hope then, but such a death is necessary to every soul who would live a Christian. It is a useless task for a man to reform a strong appetite for intoxicating liquors while he feeds the appetite upon tobacco. The lust for intoxicants is not conquered till it is crucified to every lustful indulgence. "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." In so doing there is victory.
For Children and Young People.
GOSPEL PRIMER
This book begins with an attractive alphabet, each letter of which is connected with some Bible scene. Following that the word method of reading is introduced, together with illustrated Bible stories. It contains 128 pages. Price in board binding, 35 cents; cloth, 60 cents. Published in German, Danish, Swedish, and Spanish at the same prices.
MAKING HOME HAPPY
A bright, cheery story in which good, wholesome lessons are taught. Contains 200 pages. Price, in cloth binding, 75 cents.
MAKING HOME PEACEFUL
A companion volume to "Making Home Happy," by the same author. It tells more about Deacon Beardsley's family and how an unhappy home was made peaceful. Cloth binding, 75 cents.
THOSE BIBLE READINGS
By the author of "Making Home Peaceful." A series of practical, helpful, family talks on Bible subjects. The "Readings" in this volume are given in narrative form, and while especially interesting to the younger members of the family, they will hold the attention of every one. Beautifully bound in cloth, 75 cents.
CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR
A graphic account of the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, interwoven with many interesting incidents in His life. Contains 182 pages. Price, board binding, 50 cents; cloth, 75 cents. Published in German, Danish, Swedish, and Spanish at the same prices.
UNCLE BEN'S COBBLESTONES
Familiar talks with boys and girls about such common things as air, water, sunshine, fire, smoke, glass, coal, salt, paper, matches, etc. Uncle Ben has a very pleasing way of telling about the origin and use of these things. Profusely illustrated. Contains 221 pages. Price, $1.00.
STEPS TO CHRIST
One of the most helpful books for young Christians ever written. It presents in a simple and practical manner the steps by which the sinner may find Christ and be made complete in Him. Contains 163 pages. Price in cloth, 60 cents. Published in German, Danish, Swedish, French, Dutch, Spanish, Finnish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, and Bohemian at the same price.
HOUSE WE LIVE IN
Sets forth in an interesting and instructive manner all the wonders, uses, functions, etc., of the human body in all its various parts. The plan of the book is conversational—a mother talking with her children. It is a book for home reading and will be of great assistance to mothers in teaching their children how to care for themselves physically, and to avoid the evil effects of narcotics and stimulants. Contains 218 pages, nearly 150 illustrations. Cloth, $1.00.
BIBLES
The publishers of this paper carry a line of Oxford Bibles, a description of which will be gladly sent on request.
Address
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN.
Mountain View, California.
61 North Park St. 1109 East 12th St.
Portland, Ore. Kansas City, Mo.
Box 666, Regina, Sask, Canada.
National Expenditures
National Expenditures.—The French people are stirred by what is denominated reckless expenditure of the French Government. "The vast sum of eight hundred million dollars was the expenditure of 1908," and it is said that the figures for 1909 will considerably exceed this vast sum. Of the budget for 1909, M. Poincaire, the ex-minister of finance, calls the budget for 1909 a Himalaya. "Its summit is hidden in the clouds, and we can not measure its height. Every year we have to report a deficit. The army and navy get the lion share of this enormous sum." And this is the case with all of the great governments of earth. Two of the British ministry are strongly protesting against the expenditure of $60,000,000 the present year on the navy; but Premier Asquith and the Secretary of State for War, Mr. Haldane, deeply feel that a great navy and a large army are absolutely necessary. The king seems to stand with Premier Asquith and Mr. Haldane, the secretary of war.—The same strife has arisen in the United States. Four great first-class battle-ships of the improved "Dreadnaught" type are asked for. Congress is disposed to grant them, too, with many other vessels of smaller type. Men are talking peace, even as the prophecy declared they would, but they are preparing for war.
Offerings for Religious Liberty.
By Editor
OFFERINGS for the cause of religious liberty are asked for in all our churches, Sabbath, February 6. It is understood that in the state of California all donations will be sent to the California Religious Liberty Association, Mountain View, Cal. All other offerings to the Religious Liberty Bureau, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. Let liberal donations be given. The cause can use much.
Notes and News.
By Editor
(Continued from page 11.)
something of a Socialist regime, in which the various powers will be united to save themselves from the great fear which is oppressing mankind of evils to come.
Right in connection with this we are told by another noted European correspondent to the Hearst papers, Malcolm Clarke, that Germany's Chinese post, Kiao-Chau, is in the greatest turmoil; that there is strong enmity against Germany; and that supporting this feeling are the Chinese merchants, guilds, and other powerful organizations which are boycotting German goods. Germany is contemplating whether to send a strong military force there to compel respect.
Superstition and Disease
Superstition and Disease.— Dr. Robert Oleson of the revenue cutter "McCullock," which arrived in San Francisco November 5, gives the information that the natives of the Aleutian Islands are dying of tuberculosis; nearly forty per cent of them being afflicted with the disease; and he declares that this is largely due to the religious ceremonies which require them to press their lips against those of the dead. The strange thing is that professedly Christian religious services should require this. If Bible instruction were followed, nothing of this kind would take place. The spirit of the ceremonial laws which God gave to His people is directly against any such superstition as this. In fact, the best code of health laws in the world is that which the Lord gave to Israel.
The Sabbath Question and Garbling
By Editor
"The Day Dawn," which insists that it shall not be misrepresented, is not at all careful as regards others. It quotes from D. M. Canright that "the one great point in the Sabbath question upon which the Seventh-day Adventists stake the most, upon which they insist the strongest, which they repeat the most frequently and the most confidently, is that the pope of Rome did change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day." But it is not so, and Mr. C. knows it. Of course, the Roman church acknowledges the claim that she did change the Sabbath, but the strongest argument on the Sabbath question is the eternal, unchangeable law of God, as taught and observed by Jesus Christ our Lord. Seventh-day Adventists do not teach that Sunday observance is the mark, save under such circumstances as shall place the individual who does it in opposition and rebellion to the plain command of God. To take a single complete sentence sometimes and tear it from its context is the worst of garbling. The church history which the Day Dawn quotes is after the same order. It is natural for those who leave the Bible to fall back upon "the fathers of the Catholic Church," which "blow both hot and cold."
Old-Age Pensions in Great Britain
The Old-Age Pension Law in Great Britain is watched with very much interest. The last estimate of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is that it will cost the vast amount of $37,500,000 a year. Of the 690,000 claims which have been made, over 51,000 have been rejected. Others are still pending. The law provides a pension of $1.20 a week for any man or woman over 70 years of age who is not receiving poor relief and has an income of less than $105 a year. If the applicant's means are less than $157 a year, he may receive a part of this weekly pension of $1.20 according to a sliding scale. The percentage of persons claiming this pension to the whole number over 70 years of age, is in England 54 per cent, in Wales, 56 per cent, in Scotland, 60 per cent, and in Ireland, 128 per cent. The number of applications filed in Ireland, 209,145, is more than half the total for England. One of the reasons why there are so many old people in Ireland is that the younger people have emigrated. There are not a few cases of fraud, but generally throughout England there are records of birth. It is certainly a noble task that the government of England has undertaken, but it will add to the tremendous tax burden.
