Earlier text: A DANGEROUS POPULAR DRIFTTHE BREACH IN THE WALL.
By S
There is perhaps no question just now that is receiving more attention in the religious and digest weeklies than the question of Biblical criticism in the church, college, and Sunday-schools. The fashionable formal church has swallowed the “higher critic” and the evolution theory, and it has come to be the “proper” and popular thing to turn the church services into “learned” criticisms of God’s Word. The precious moments that should be used in giving to hungry souls the bread of life, or God’s message for to-day, are consumed in blind flounderings in the dark pools of doubt and positive unbelief. Precious messages of instruction, admonition, encouragement, and consolation are given second or third place or none at all, while criticism of the text is all in all. One of the live questions in this field just now is the question of teaching the “higher criticism” in the Sunday-schools, and it is being warmly advocated by pastors and college professors. The primary object of the Sunday-school was to teach the Word of God, by direct study of the text, to all who could be gathered into its fold, especially the young, and in nearly all such schools the young predominate. With many of them the only Bible study they are privileged to take part in is that conducted in the Sunday-school class. They have there been taught that the Bible is the Word of God, and from it they have learned of Christ’s life and teachings, the record of His dealings with His people anciently, the story of creation, the law of God, the penalty for transgression, the love of God for man, and the provision He has made for man’s regeneration and redemption. All of this has aroused the ire of the enemy of man, and he is seeking earnestly to turn this auxiliary of the church into a citadel of his own, by contaminating with infidelity the teachings of those who have the pupil’s instruction in charge. It was only recently that this matter was taken up, but it is coming to the front with surprising rapidity. Greater progress could be made by winning first the college professors. This would bring into line the ministerial graduates and any of the clergy who consider being “up to date” as the first requisite of a clergyman. This accomplished, the winning of the multitude would be much facilitated. That was the course taken until evolution and the “higher criticism” have become a fad, and now the battle for the multitude has begun in earnest. Hitherto the protoplasm theory of creation and the kind of Bible study known as the “higher criticism” have not made remarkable progress among the rank and file of church people. They have listened to it from the pulpits, but the early education in regard to the Bible as the Word of God has kept them from any enthusiastic scramble away from the light they have known into the blinding fog of the new doubt where their feet have not strayed before and where no guide is promised or possible. All this is now to be changed. The evolutionist and the “higher critic” are now in control of the teaching force of the Sunday-school, and they will teach the old teachers how to teach the new doubt, and find new teachers for the places of those who perversely adhere to the “antiquated” belief that the Bible is God’s Word, giving the true history of creation, and the fall of man, the way of salvation, and the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice. All that must go, and in its place is to be set up the philosophy of unbelief and the doctrine of doubt. Here is what the editor of the Congregationalist, A. E. Dunning, D.D., has to say in regard to the necessity of teaching the “higher criticism” in the Sunday-school (Mr.9 Dunning is a member of the International Committee on Sunday-school lessons):— A widening chasm divides the teaching of the Bible in schools and colleges from its teaching in many Sunday-schools. The accepted principles of the development of life and the growth of literature, as taught in public schools, are being contradicted in Sunday-schools, in the effort to defend theories of the creation of the universe and of the composition of the Bible which are contrary to known laws of the evolution of nature and of literature. The consequences of such opposing teachings are not difficult to predict. The main conclusions of Biblical criticism are now accepted with practical unanimity by all scholars who have given attention to them. They have displaced traditional theories among educated people, just as the truths of geology and astronomy have supplanted the age-long imaginations of men concerning the structure of the earth and the laws of the universe. They are assumed in nearly all teachers’ Bibles and recent commentaries, and in the majority of lesson helps. The last step, their acceptance in the popular mind, can be hindered only temporarily by unreasoning conservatism, ignorance, or prejudice. The results of criticism, so far as they correct false theories of the Bible and illumine its revealed truth, should be known and used by the teacher to increase the power of his teaching. One of the principal “false theories” which that criticism seeks to “correct” is that the Biblical account of the creation is true. It is doing all in its power to “correct” that divine record by turning it into a myth, and putting man and his protoplasmic cell in the place of God and His creative Word, making man the corrector of divinity, and the plastic cell of senseless matter the giver of life and all we have and are. The “accepted principles of the development of life,” of which the editor of the Congregationalist speaks, is the evolution theory, the theory which unbelieving man has invented to discredit and subvert the teachings of the whole Bible by disputing God’s own record of His work. That theory this religious writer calls “accepted principles” and “known laws of evolution,” making no secret of the fact that he has rejected God’s Word for the theories of men, declaring that these conclusions “are now accepted with practical unanimity by all scholars who have given attention to them.” Thus we see the fearful prevalence of these faith-destroying doctrines in what should be the strongholds of Christian faith. The “last step” of which he speaks, “their acceptance in the popular mind,” is now being prepared for in the proposal to have these things taught in the Sunday-schools. As the present adult generation was taught to believe God’s Word, the progress of these worldly theories has not been sufficiently rapid. Now the minds of the children are to be honeycombed with these dogmas of doubt in order that the faithless campaign may go on unhindered. So when the last message of God is being given to this generation men will refuse to believe because they do not believe the Word in which that message is contained. That is Satan’s deep-laid plot, and he has found able lieutenants in those who should have stood shoulder to shoulder to resist his invasion. There is no reference in this extract to prevailing prayer, strong faith, and the help of the Holy Spirit to give the teacher power in his teaching, but the dissection and dissipation and disintegration of the Word of truth is the prime essential for power in that work. It may be necessary to dissect a flower in order to find its family relations and put it in its proper species; but it is evident to all that flowers do not grow or propagate by the process. Neither does faith in the Word of God grow—neither does the Word itself grow and increase in us—by our attempts to tear it into fragments and scatter the fragments to the winds, even tho the process is decorated by the gaudy title of “the higher criticism.” Camden M. Coburn, D.D., of New York City (Methodist Episcopal), declares that “there is a present need in Sunday-school work of a greater utilization of the results of modern Biblical criticism.” Amory H. Bradford, D.D., one of the editors of the Outlook, advocates the teaching of these “modern ideas” in the Sunday-school, but thinks the time is not yet ripe to begin this work because of the lack of a sufficient number of teachers who are familiar with the ideas. Milton S. Terry, D.D., of Garrett Biblical Institute (Methodist Episcopal), considers the task comparatively easy and one that should be undertaken at once. W. C. Bitting, D.D., of New York (Baptist), declares without qualification that there is need for Biblical criticism in every Sunday-school, and that “it should hold the supreme place.” The writer recently heard a well-known pastor of one of the largest churches on the Pacific Coast hold the Bible as we have it up to the ridicule of his audience the while he preached a sermon without once turning a leaf of the Book of books. Thus is Satan preparing soil for his last sharp conflict on the earth. Undermining faith is his principal occupation just now, and the land is full of his pulpits where once the Word of God had honored place. The wall of faith is his object of special attack, and doctors of divinity are helping him to widen every breach he can make therein. S. “ALWAYS DANGEROUS.”
By Editor
In 1829 there came before the Congress of the United States a demand from religious bodies that post-offices and post-roads should be closed on Sundays. The proposition and petitions were laid before a committee of which the Hon. Richard M. Johnson was chairman. In that committee’s report to the Senate are these virile and true American utterances:— It is not the legitimate province of the Legislature determine what religion is true, or what false. It should be kept in mind that the proper object of government is to protect all persons in the enjoyment of their religious as well as civil rights, and not to determine for any whether they shall esteem one day above another, or esteem all days alike holy. If the principle is once established that religion or religious observances shall be interwoven with our legislative acts, we must pursue it to its ultimatum. Let the national Legislature once perform an act which involves a religious controversy, and it will have passed its legitimate bounds. The precedent will then be established, and the foundation laid, for that usurpation of the divine prerogative in this country which has been the desolating scourge of the fairest portions of the Old World. To prevent a similar train of evils in this country, the Constitution has wisely withheld from our government the power of defining the divine law. It is a right reserved to each citizen, and while he respects the rights of others, he can not be held amenable to any human tribunal for his conclusions. Extensive religious combinations to effect a political object are . . . always dangerous. This first effort of the kind calls for the establishment of a principle which . . . would lay the foundation for dangerous innovation upon the spirit of the Constitution and upon the religious rights of the citizens. If admitted, it may be justly apprehended that the future measures of the government will be strongly marked, if not eventually controlled, by the same influence. All religious despotism commences by combination and influence; and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country, the civil power soon bends under it, and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequences. Before the House of Representatives came the same subject of Sunday legislation in 1830. The House accepted the adverse report as did the Senate, and rejected such legislation as utterly opposed to free government. And here is one of the golden sentences of that report:— If a solemn act of legislation shall, in one point, define the law of God, or point out to the citizen one religious duty, it may with equal propriety, proceed to define every part of divine revelation, and enforce every religious obligation, even to the forms and ceremonies of worship, the endowment of the church, and the support of the clergy. In 1893 the closing of the Chicago Exposition came before Congress in an effort to make the appropriation from the Federal Government dependent upon the closing of the exposition on Sunday. Congressmen were cajoled, importuned, threatened, and intimidated by religious combinations to effect a political purpose till they yielded. There were strong protests. The principle of righteous legislation was not yielded without a struggle. Yet through the influence of Christians, who profess Christ’s name but so lack His power that they feel it must be supplemented by human legislation, the right and truth were compromised; Sunday was decided to be the Sabbath, and the government (woe worth the day!) committed itself to the principle of religious legislation. Subsequent steps of a similar character have been taken since with scarcely a protest, and now we find the officers of the Federal Government insisting that such provisions of the government must be strictly carried out. This has been particularly manifest in connection with the World’s Fair at St. Louis in 1904. The government appropriated $5,000,000 on condition that “the directors shall contract to close the gates to visitors on Sundays during the whole duration of the Fair.” The Secretary of the treasury, the Hon. Leslie M. Shaw, in writing to the president of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, under date of May 27, says that This department is of the opinion that the contract referred to should be executed and filed in the Treasury Department before any further vouchers are paid. President David R. Francis, of the exposition, replies under date of June 3, and calls attention to rules and regulations adopted by the fair management, in which the intention of the management to close the fair is set forth specifically. Secretary Shaw replies that this is not sufficient; a specific contract must be executed by the fair directors. The directors, therefore, June 10, executed a contract that In consideration of the payment to said Exposition Company of the sum of five million dollars, appropriated by Congress in aid of said exposition, or so much thereof as may be found due, it is hereby covenanted and agreed by the directors of the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company that the gates to the exposition grounds shall be closed to visitors on Sundays during the whole duration of the fair. Church organizations in particular have requested that these matters be made public, and the information is therefore given to the public by Mr. Mark Bennett, of the Exposition Press Bureau. Now we are not condemning the directors of the exposition for closing the fair on Sunday. As a private concern they should have been allowed the right to do as they would. It may be better to close the exposition on Sunday; that is a matter of opinion. But what we do contend is that Congress had no right whatsoever in conditioning its appropriation on Sunday closing, any more than it would to condition it on a requirement that the directors should all be baptized and partake of the communion monthly as evidence of sincerity of Christian profession. The government ship has been steered within the dangerous Sea of Death, the civil power is bending under the influence of religious combinations to effect a political purpose, and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes the awful warning of the sad consequences which will ensue. The government has committed itself; it would be a marvelous miracle, wholly unprecedented, for it to retrace its path under the sycophancy of politics and the strength of religio-political combinations. God has foretold the end in “the more sure Word of prophecy.” We can do no other than lift a warning voice. PROF. FREDRICK STARR, of the University of Chicago, said to be one of the foremost of American anthropologists, holds, according to the Springfield Republican, that “the sway of superstition is at the present time actually gaining ground.” Among the superstitious he numbers the faith-curists, who “profess to cure disease by other than natural methods; Christian Scientists, who claim a million adherents; the Koreshites, followers of Dr. Teed, a large and widespread society made up of ordinary people, which has for its cardinal doctrine the proposition that we are living inside the earth instead of on its surface,” and those of astrological belief, constantly growing in number. “On the shores of Lake Michigan there is said to be a college devoted especially to the ancient mystic arts. There are shrines where relics of the saints are worshiped as objects of supernatural power,” says professor Starr, and the new beliefs are beyond counting. And Mr. William A. Linn, author of a recent work, “The Story of the Mormons,” believes that superstition is as vital as ever. He says: “It is no more surprising that the Mormons succeeded in establishing their church in the United States than it would have been if they had been equally successful in South America; no more surprising that their success should have been more in the nineteenth century than it would have been to record it in the twelfth.” The Springfield Republican thinks this somewhat doubtful; thinks if such a movement had started in the twelfth century it would have grown unchecked to far greater proportions. But what shall be said of Roman Catholicism, with its saint worship and adoration of relics? What shall be said of the “mascot” which so many pugilists, base-ball, foot-ball and other players, men of business, women of society, etc., put their trust in? Yes, the age is superstitious; and the only thing which saves from superstition is faith in God, the living Gospel of Jesus Christ. And yet a “science falsely so called” will call this superstition, and fall into the worst of all superstitions, the worship of self and humanity. “JEFFERSON'S BIBLE.”
By G.
On May 8 the House of Representatives in Congress adopted a resolution authorizing the printing at public expense of 9,000 copies of “Jefferson's Bible.” The full title of the work is “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French, and English.” It was explained that Congress had previously authorized the publication of all the works of Thomas Jefferson, except this one, which had evidently been overlooked, and it was not expected that there would be any serious opposition to the proposition. But the announcement of the action of the house called forth vigorous protests from various religious sources. For the most part the basis of opposition was the fact that Jefferson was a Deist, and not a Christian, and that his compilation omits all reference to the divinity or supernatural attributes of Jesus. The Jewish Exponent, however, took the ground that the publication of the book was “outside the province of the national government, and likely to do violence to the religious sentiments of many people.” Of the professed Christian opposition, the Catholic Union and Times asks the question, “Does the government mean to adopt free-thought as the national religion?” To this we might reply that free thought is the national polity (not religion) as expressed in the Constitution. The Christian Intelligencer declares the proposed action “a needless waste of money.” Rev. Charles W. Nevin, in the Philadelphia Press, objects on the ground that the publication is said to advocate certain views commonly called infidel, and that “the dissemination of these would be a direct, public, and powerful attack upon the religion of Christians everywhere.” Now we do not advocate the publication of “Jefferson's Bible” by the government, or by any other authority, for that matter; but, from the standpoint of a professedly free government, we ask, Would it be any worse to thus theoretically “attack the religion of Christians” than to practically attack the liberty of all classes by laws compelling them to observe Sunday? Most of the outspoken opponents of this Congressional resolution are advocates of the latter proposition. This question is all the more pertinent because it is said that in view of this class of objections, further action on the resolution was abandoned, the House recalling it from the Senate. Another feature of the case is that private parties desire to publish the book, and the extraordinary advertising it has received through protests to Congress is greatly increasing the demand for it. So it is likely to receive a far more extensive circulation, and be far more widely read, than if issued by Congress. In the latter case, the 9,000 copies would be distributed in public libraries, and that would virtually be the end of it. However, it is not probable that “Jefferson's Bible” will ever be read with any other purpose than curiosity. People who do not want Jesus will not read the book to learn of Him;10 and those who are really seeking to know Him will not be satisfied with anything less than the whole story. OUR LONDON LETTER.
By M. Ellsworth Olsen
Coronation Disappointment.
The keen disappointment of the average Englishman owing to the coronation postponement can not be imagined by Americans. The place which the coronation has occupied in the public mind during the last three months is nothing less than remarkable. Especially during the month previous to June 26th, business was largely at a standstill. Everybody's mind was pre-occupied with the great event which was impending. King Edward's well-known predilection for ceremonial pomp and display is reciprocated by his people. Even the poorest subject was planning to celebrate, and the more wealthy ones were making most lavish arrangements for expressing their loyalty to the king and the throne. As long as the South African war lasted, it was something of a damper to the national enthusiasm; but when that had ended, and peace was established throughout the British dominions, the people gave free vent to their feelings, and between the time of the peace announcement and up to the very day of the coronation, London as well as other parts of Great Britain was in gala dress. Coronation week was one never to be forgotten in London. Business was out of the question. The streets were thronged with people. The railways were daily bringing crowds from the country and provincial towns. The regular thoroughfares were filled by brakes, char-a-bancs, and all manner of vehicles carrying crowds of sight-seers. The public houses were reaping a harvest, as also the restaurants, cafes, etc. Other business was very slow, with the one exception of the firms dealing in decorations and illuminations of all kinds, and they were truly busy. The weather, which was the one thing people were a little doubtful about, took a favorable turn the early part of the week, and with clear skies and warm sunny days, the sale of seats to view the procession took a new impetus. For favorable places most exorbitant prices were charged. For instance, a solicitor's office with one window overlooking the route was rented for the sum of six hundred pounds sterling. The price for a reasonably good seat was six guineas, tho seats could be had also for two guineas, which was about the lowest. A coronation in Britain is a thing not liable to happen more than once in a lifetime, and many people by no means wealthy came to London to view the great event. Prospects were in every respect the brightest, and expectation was at its highest when the announcement suddenly appeared that the king was critically ill, and was undergoing an operation, and that the ceremony would have to be indefinitely postponed. It was like a thunder clap out of a clear sky. People were dumbfounded. The shock was so great that it was some time before they could recover their bearings. When they did awake to the sad fact that all their joyful preparations were in vain, and their expectations doomed to bitter disappointment, then it must be said in all justice that they bore it without murmuring. No doubt the critical condition of the king, for whom an operation for appendicitis was involved in considerable danger to life, contributed to offset the disappointment incident to postponing the coronation by fixing the sympathy of the people upon the royal sufferer and the queen and royal family. The attachment of the British people to their king is not to be questioned. It was touching to note the gloom which pervaded London the latter part of coronation week. In the life insurance offices the premium of the king's life was fifty per cent. In other words, it was regarded as even chances whether he would survive the operation or not. Anxious crowds stood guard about the royal residence, Buckingham Palace, day and night, testifying most eloquently to their real concern for the sufferer. The bulletins, posted in various parts of the city, were eagerly scanned, and the newspapers had an enormous sale. The guests made their preparations and left the city quietly. The visitors from the country went back, and now London is trying to get to work again. The latest bulletins regarding the king's condition are favorable, and there is some talk at present of having the ceremony come off in August, but it will be on a limited scale. The grand display projected for the 26th of June will never take place. The expenses of the coronation, estimated at millions of pounds, can not be repeated, and it is to be feared that business will suffer for some time to come as a result of the heavy losses all around. No doubt different lessons will be drawn from the disappointment. It surely ought to direct attention to the importance of caring for one's health. The story here is generally current that the king's unfortunate illness was brought on by an unusually hearty dinner, and if that is true, this is not the first time that a dietetic digression has affected national events in a disastrous manner. The spending of vast sums of money in such a mere display is certainly unbecoming the Christian, and the outcome has shown how utterly vain are all the most elaborate preparations of men when it concerns life and health. M. ELLSWORTH OLSEN. Mr. JOHN W. MACKAY, president of the Mackay-Bennett Cable Company, of the Postal Telegraph Company, and of the recently organized Pacific Commercial Cable Company, and officer and director in sugar refining companies and railroad companies, died at his London residence on July 20 after an illness of only a few days’ duration. Mr. Mackay had gone to London to oversee the letting of contracts in connection with the construction of the new Pacific cable from San Francisco to the Philippines. He was one of the best known and most respected of the great millionaires of the present day. His great wealth began with the exploiting of the famous Comstock Mines of Nevada, in which he was a partner with Fair, Flood, and O’Brien. The wealth there accumulated he turned into telegraph and cable companies, greatly reducing the cost of communication between this country and Europe. His son, Clarence W. Mackay, will take his place in the great enterprises which the father originated. THE government has been requested by the Pacific Commercial Cable Company to turn over to it the chart of the soundings recently made by the cable survey ship Nero when surveying for a route for the proposed cable between San Francisco and the Philippines. The government seems disposed to do this on condition that certain concessions are made, such as, that in time of war the government may take the cable; that the cable be landed only on American territory; and that a reduction be made on all government messages. At a point between Midway and Guam the Nero was unable to find the floor of the ocean, while at another place a range of mountains was found under the ocean about equal to the height of the Himalayas. THE negotiations between Judge Taft and the Vatican authorities in reference to the question of the withdrawal of the friars from the Philippines have come to a close. The United States has accepted cardinal Rampolla’s plan to submit the whole question to a settlement at the hands of the Philippine Government and a papal representative in the Philippines who will be appointed for that purpose by the Vatican. This is regarded as a point gained by the Vatican. The United States has made the withdrawal of the friars, through the influence of the pope, a condition precedent to the settlement of several questions not connected with the friars directly. This is regarded as a victory for the War Department. Whether there is any victory in it for anybody but the church is yet to be developed. THE police of France have begun the work of closing the schools of the unauthorized Catholic orders, in harmony with the law of associations enacted by the French Government. The unauthorized associations are those which have not complied with the law in the matter of making public the workings of their institutions. The law requires that the unauthorized institutions shall be closed before July 23. This act will affect 2,500 schools, attended by 150,000 pupils. A number of small demonstrations against the measure have been reported from different localities, the clerical leaders denouncing the closing of these institutions as illegal and inhuman. THE Pacific Commercial Cable Company has signed contracts with the Telegraph Construction Company of London for the manufacture and laying of the cable from Honolulu to Manila. The construction company guarantees to complete the cable by June, 1903, if furnished with the necessary soundings; or, in case these soundings are not available, as soon thereafter as the necessary soundings can be made. Eighteen hundred miles of the cable between San Francisco and Honolulu has already been constructed, and loaded on the ship which is to lay it. IN view of the insistence of some of the powers that their share of the indemnity from China shall be paid in gold, the Chinese Government has again appealed to the United States to use its good offices to bring about such an arrangement for the payment of the indemnity that China shall be able to meet the payments. Her representatives assert that it is absolutely impossible for China to pay the indemnity in gold; that an attempt to raise the necessary amount for that purpose would result in a general uprising of the people. A FIERCE tornado, accompanied by lightning and heavy rain, burst upon the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on July 20. Eleven persons were killed and a number injured, many buildings unroofed, and trees and boats overturned. Of those who lost their lives, nine were drowned in the harbor in the overturning of small boats. On the same day there were several cloud-bursts in the State of New York, resulting in the loss of several lives, and the destruction of much property. THE United Mine Workers, in convention at Indianapolis, on July 19 decided against a general strike of all coal miners, and have arranged to give financial aid to the striking miners of the anthracite regions. This will be accomplished by a general assessment of the members of the miners’ union. In addition to the assessment, all districts, sub-districts, and local unions are to be asked for a donation from their surplus funds for the same purpose. THE sultan of Bacolor, Mindanao, P. I., who recently sent an insulting letter to the American commander, in which he threatened to begin offensive operations against the Americans in August, has now written a friendly letter, in which he disavows all desire to fight the Americans, and says that he will confer with them in the future. The cholera is said to be decreasing in Manila and in the provinces, and the quarantine regulations are being relaxed. THE situation along the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa, southward, is a very disastrous one for the people living there. The river has overflowed its banks, and immense tracts of land with growing crops are many feet under water. Careful estimates are said to place the loss at $6,000,000, with every prospect that it will be increased by two or three millions by the continued rise of the water. THE steamer Portland arrived at San Francisco on July 21, apparently unharmed after her trying experience of several weeks’ imprisonment in the grinding ice of the Arctic Ocean. There were no casualties among her passengers, though her detention in the ice has put back mining operations in the Nome district very materially. AN engagement between Bulgarian and Turkish troops has taken place at Strumitza, European Turkey, in which 25 Turks are reported killed. The loss of the Bulgarians is not given. Clashes of this kind are occurring frequently of late on the Bulgarian frontier and may lead at any time to more serious trouble. A PANIC was caused on the island of St. Vincent on July 17 by a severe earthquake shock, accompanied by loud rumblings and explosions. Although the shock was a severe one, no loss of life is reported. It was caused by the choking of the mouth of the crater by an avalanche of earth. ADVICE from Germany states that the steamer Premius, with 185 passengers on board, was cut in two and sunk by a tug on the River Elbe, on July 21. About sixty of her passengers were lost. PROF. H. M. HATHAWAY, of Wellsboro, Pa., is reported to have discovered a new explosive compound of great power and much more safe to handle than other powerful explosives. This compound is named Hathamite, and is said to be practically unexplodable except with a dynamite cap. THE Government of the United States has not been invited to participate in the anti-trust conference proposed by the czar. This conference is the outcome of the recent conference held by representatives of the European powers over the question of export subsidies on sugar. ON July 16 fire destroyed 90 blocks of the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, entailing a loss estimated at $5,000,000. There is also a large loss of life reported, but definite figures have not been given. The disaster is said to be so great that the inhabitants are in a virtual panic. ADVICE from Armenia indicate that there is much apprehension among the Armenians over the outlook for the future. Unusual numbers of Turkish soldiers are being quartered in their vicinity, and they fear a repetition of the fearful massacres of 1893 and 1894. GENERAL JACOB H. SMITH, who gave the order to make the Island of Samar a “howling wilderness,” has been reprimanded by the President, and placed on the retired list. General Smith was found guilty of the charges by the military court which tried him. IT has been officially announced in London that, by the king’s command, the date for the coronation ceremonies will be August 9. Rehearsals for the ceremonies have already begun, and officials who will have to do with them are again busy with the details. A BATTLE occurred off the coast of Colombia between two government gunboats and two gunboats belonging to the Colombian insurgents on July 18. The result of the battle is not known, but it is believed that one of the insurgent vessels was disabled. A REPORT from North Dakota states that three small towns were practically ruined by a cyclone which visited that portion of the State on July 15. Many buildings in these towns were completely wrecked, but the loss of life has not been reported. A NUMBER of American Methodist missionaries in Korea were recently assaulted by a gang of Japanese railway laborers and severely beaten. The Japanese minister at Seoul has undertaken the capture and punishment of the offenders. EMPEROR MENELEK, of Abyssinia, has had the biography of President Roosevelt translated into the language of his empire. He is said to take great delight in the exploits of the President, especially in his encounters with wild animals. THE total amount of deposits in American savings banks at the present time is $2,845,691,300. There has been an increase of more than one billion dollars in savings bank deposits in this country since 1895. THE Campanile, the famous bell tower of Venice, which was built in 888 and restored in 1329, collapsed of its own weight and the deterioration of its own materials on July 14. The tower was about 316 feet high. THE strike of the Chicago freight handlers came to an end on July 16, leaving the matter of wages to be settled between the roads and the men. It is regarded as a victory for the railroads. THERE was not a fatal accident on the English railroads during the year 1901, although fifteen hundred million passengers were carried, a record unprecedented in the history of railroading. A REPORT from Peking, China, states that cholera is rapidly spreading inland from the coast. The disease is increasing among the Chinese soldiers at Peking and at Pao Ting Fu. SIR ARTHUR LAWLEY, governor of West Australia, has been appointed lieutenant-governor of the Transvaal Colony, and will leave Australia for South Africa on August 5. THE State Department at Washington has declined to interfere in the dispute between Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia regarding the possession of the territory of Acre. A SEVERE earthquake was experienced at Bunderabbas, Persia, which destroyed many buildings and caused the inhabitants to flee to the sea-beach for safety. AN explosion occurred in the Daly-West and Ontario mines near Park City, Utah, on July 15, in which 35 men are reported to have lost their lives. TWICE recently revolutionists, aided by the Colombian Government, have attacked ports of Nicaragua, but have been defeated by the Nicaraguans. CHOLERA has broken out at Moucha and Assioot, Egypt, of a virulent type. Half of those attacked so far have succumbed to the disease. • QUEEN ALEXANDRA, it is reported, will follow the custom of Queen Victoria, and refuse to admit divorced women to court functions. FOURTEEN young men and women were drowned by the overturning of a boat in the bay at Portsmouth, N. H., on July 17. THE British Government has decided to take over all the war-ships now building for the Government of Chile.