18 (258) THE LITERARY DIGEST. THE " BIBLE. ·HE appearance of the first part of the so-called “Woman's Bible," edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others, has called out, as might have been expected, the disapproving comment of the religious press. This disapproval has been couched in strong terms and is practically unanimous. This edition of the Bible, it will be remembered, has been "purged of all invidious distinction of sex.' It excludes from its pages the story of Eve's creation, "edits out” a part of the conversation between Eve and the serpent, and makes numerous other omissions and alterations to bring the text "into conformity with modern ideas of the status of woman." But what gives as much offense as anything else is the statement by Mrs. Stanton in the preface, that she does not believe in the "divine authority" of the Scriptures, nor that the Old Testament or the New was inspired, and that she does not believe that woman's emancipation is possible as long as she accepts the position assigned her in the Christian or any other religion, for "all the religions on the face of the earth degrade her." The method under which the work of revision was carried on savored also, it is charged, of irreverence. This method, according to Mrs. Stanton, was as follows: "Each person purchased two Bibles, and ran through them from Genesis to Revelations, marking all the texts that concerned women. The passages were cut out and pasted in a blank-book and the commentaries were written underneath. On this particular point a writer in The Universalist, of Chicago (Rev. Mary J. Delano), says: "The audacity of the plan suggests the old adage of those who break in where angels even fear to tread. Nothing but entire ignorance of the hold which the Bible has upon the affections of Christian people, lack of knowledge of modern Biblical research, of the higher criticism, could excuse any one in adopting such a method in commenting on the Scriptures. When one remembers the reverent attitude of mind, the wisdom, the wide learning, the patient comparison of texts, the inquiries into contemporaneous history, the painstaking research which characterized the eminent scholars who gave us our new version, and which continued for twenty years, and contrasts this with the flippant, almost vicious attack upon sacred things by these women, one is humiliated beyond measure; especially if she be a woman hoping for the best for her sex. Mrs. Stanton has been compared to Colonel Ingersoll; but it is doubtful if even he could have used language more irreverent." In further comment on the project as a whole, Mrs. Delano says: "No woman of reverent mind and true Christian feeling can contemplate with anything but sorrow the appearance of this book, of which Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is the instigator and editor. No woman who sincerely honors Mrs. Stanton for the work she has done in lifting so many of the legal disabilities under which the sex has suffered for so many generations can help feeling that in taking up a work for which she was so illprepared and so incapacitated, by reason of prejudice and a lack of learning, from doing well, she has made the greatest mistake of her life, and one vital in the direction in which she has so long labored. Those of us who knew Mrs. Stanton best, and her peculiar prejudices concerning the influence which the Bible and Christianity have had upon the political status of women, were prepared for anything she might say against them, but not for the flippant, irreverent way in which she has said it." In an editorial upon the "New Bible" itself, The Sabbath Recorder (Seventh-Day Baptist) says: "Had Mrs. Stanton been satisfied to make the proper and rational interpretations of the Scripture, rather than to condemn it, and all ministers who even read it from the pulpit, it would have seemed more modest, to say the least. A fair and just interpretation of the Scriptures will not degrade any woman. It is in Christian countries that woman receives her greatest elevation [Dec. 28, 1895 and freedom from the bondage in which she is held where the light of the Gospel does not shine. There may be, and we honestly believe there are, just grounds for complaint that she is still denied some rights and privileges to which she is entitled. But it is a great mistake to attempt to slide the responsibility off on the Bible. This is an error which will react fearfully against the cause in which Mrs. Stanton has expended her best efforts for the past fifty years. We do not predict a very large demand for the 'Woman's Bible.' In the same general line are the comments of the St. Louis Observer (Cumberland Presbyterian). It says: "It will arouse the opposition of all who love and reverence the Bible as a consistent whole. Those who are ready to lay sacrilegious bands upon the Word of God are but a feeble few. The women have taken courage from the attitude of those daring critics who have run their pens through so many passages as inBut they are a terpolations or emendations of ignorant editors. little more consistent than the critics. Where the scholars have used the blue pencil the women have boldly employed the knife. The work of taking to pieces the greatest book ever written has begun. How long it will continue no one can predict with any safety, but it is safe to say that those women who reject any part of the Word of God as authoritative will end by denying it all. We are profoundly sorry that the women, who owe all they are to the influence of the Word of God, have dared to assail its integrity." Referring to a particular utterance in the book The Congregationalist says: "We wonder whether the advocates of a larger use of silver in our currency will welcome the assistance of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who interpolates her comment upon Gen. xxiii. 16, in that fearful and wonderful book, the ' Woman's Bible,' as follows; 'That Abraham paid for all this in silver "current money of the merchant" might suggest to the financiers of our day that our commercial relations might be adjusted with the same coin, especially as we have plenty of it. If our bimetalists in the halls of legislation were conversant with sacred history they might get fresh inspiration from the views of the patriarchs on good money.' Either this is the most deliberate irony or Mrs. Stanton ought, by parity of reasoning, to accept the practise of the patriarchs as suggestive upon the 'woman question.' "Protestantism is fast losing every vestige of the supernatural and is becoming the spirit of man embodied in forms of worship and phrases of evanescent conviction. Truth is not eternal nor is veracity any attribute of the Deity. The religion of the Protestants will soon differ in nothing from that of the Japanese, the Chinese, and the Hindus. These have their sacred books and their progressive revelation, and their Vedas are as much inspired as our books of Moses. The Catholic preacher need take no further account of Protestantism. His duty is to teach religion to Protestants, and he must begin where he would begin with a class of Mongolian children. The Bible will soon be sent back to Rome, whence it went forth to the modern world, and in future it will be classed as a popish book and combated as containing only Romish superstition from Genesis to Revelation. It was fetish, a divinity, three hundred years ago; it now lies broken, like another dragon, at the feet of modern Protestant enlightenment. Mrs. Stanton can kick it and spit on it, and there is none to say nay." The Catholic Mirror (Baltimore) says: "The 'Woman's Bible' is receiving but scant favor from the sex for which it has been prepared. No good Christian woman will give it countenance. The ladies of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Richmond, Va., have lost no time in putting themselves on record in regard to it. At a meeting a few evenings ago resolutions were adopted condemning this fantastic product of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lillie Devereaux Blake, and in the last clause of the resolutions these Richmond ladies say: 'We accept the place given us in God's Book with joy; that 1 we believe the attempt to mar the perfectness of the Holy Scriptures for personal reasons or self-aggrandizement is a sin. Therefore, that for this movement we have no sympathy-only sincere and sorrowful condemnation.'" IS THERE A GREAT REVIVAL COMING? THE 'HE direct prophecy of a fourth great revival among the American churches has not been uttered, but hints of its approach are becoming frequent. Thus The Advance (Congregational, Chicago) notes with gratification that "the thoughts of many Christians are turning with longing hopefulness to a future, and that not distant, which shall witness a great spiritual awakening." It says that "there are signs in the sky that the coming of a new and larger kingdom is at hand;" that the churches, "tho not living up to the heights of spiritual attainment and effectiveness which belong to their duty and privilege, have fairly emerged from the militant state which is a sure sign of declension, and have come into a condition of peace if not of life." The next great awakening, it says, will go a long way toward the conquest of the world, "for the world now lies at the feet of the Christian church.” "It will be a conquest for the subordination and consecration of wealth, the purifying of politics, the comforting of the poor, the reclaiming of the desert wastes of heathendom.” The three great revivals which have already marked the progress of evangelization in America are reviewed in detail by Dr. Daniel S. Gregory in the closing paper of his series on "The Preacher and Preaching for the Present Crisis," in The Homiletic Review for December, from which we condense as follows: "The first era of American revivals was that under Edwards and Whitefield and their successors, contemporaneous with the movement in England under Whitefield and the Wesleys, and dating back to 1740. In the Great Awakening, as it has been called, Edwards, Bellamy, and their contemporaries planted themselves solidly on the assumption and distinct reaffirmation of the authority of the Word of God. They met the ultra-Arminianism and churchly legalism by appealing to Paul's doctrine to the Romans in analogous circumstances-the doctrine of justification by faith in the divine Redeemer. This was the one comon burden of the preaching of the day. As essentially connected with justification, tremendous stress was laid, in this era, upon the condemning power of the law, and the lost condition of the sinner, in order to leave the sinner hopeless, unless he could obtain justification through the righteousness of the crucified Savior, and find refuge in Him; while the necessity for the new birth was emphasized, in order to bring the formal and godless professor to despair of deliverance and salvation except by the power of the Holy Ghost. mon "The second era of American revivals-that in which President Dwight, Dr. Edward Dorr Griffin, and others were among the leaders in its earlier phase; and Drs. Nettleton and Finney the leading revivalists in its later phase-may be reckoned from 1797, and it extended well into the nineteenth century. A period of backsliding and moral defection followed the Great Awakening. The errors and sins of this period were again of a peculiar character. The leaders in the reaction-such men as Dwight, Griffin, and the elder Mills-fell back once more upon the Bible, assuming, affirming, or proving by unanswerable arguments its divine authority, and they directed their preaching intelligently against the prevailing errors and sin. The peculiar dogmatic feature of this era, appearing to a large extent in all the preaching, was necessarily the sovereignty of God. The people had largely revolted against God, and needed to be made to feel to the utmost that there is an infinite God, above all and controlling all, and the arbiter of future destiny. ... "The third era of American revivals began with the great awakening of 1858. It was a revival among the people. It made revivalists rather than was made by them; and has been estimated to have added a million members to the churches. This religious awakening came in a most unusual way, and took on an entirely new aspect. The previous movements were intimately connected with some special presentation of dogmatic truth, or with the appearance of great leaders; but the revival of 1858 came as one result of the pressure of a peculiar providence. A great financial crisis had some time before prostrated the industries of the country; the depression continued and increased until vast numbers, left without work, were on the verge of abject want. In their despair they were driven to turn to God in prayer. New York city, the center of commercial depression, was the place in which the movement originated. The Fulton Street Noon PrayerMeeting, established October 8, 1857, with a layman, Mr. J. C. Lanphier, in charge, was the point of origin. That meeting was itself an inspiration. In three months after it was opened the great revival had already begun. In six months 'Noon PrayerMeetings' had spread across the continent, in all the cities and centers, and the revival went with them." Dr. Gregory says that the revival of 1858 transformed the life and work of Protestant Christendom, and gathered its forces together to hold them in readiness for some mighty future enterprise; that the church of to-day is confronted by such an enterprise, having as its end a fourth era of revivals in which everything promises to be on a grander scale. He then proceeds to define the doctrinal preaching which will be absolutely necessary for hastening the coming of this fourth era. We brief his points as follows: First, the divine authority of the Bible, and the supreme and sovereign authority of God. Secondly, the requirements and obligations of the Law of God. Thirdly, justification by faith and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Fourthly, necessity for a new baptism by the Holy Spirit. Fifthly, the present and immediate obligation of the church to give the Gospel to all the world. Sixthly, necessity that the ministry and the officers of the church should take their places as the called, appointed, and authorized leaders and directors in the Gospel work that must be done. IT THE GREEK PATRIARCH ON CHURCH T is well known that Pope Leo XIII. has been very anxious to have the two great Catholic churches, the Greek and the Latin, reunited after their schism and separation of a thousand years. Months ago an official invitation went out from the Vatican addressed to the dignitaries of the Oriental Church, asking for negotiations on this proposed reunion. The reply from the Patriarch of the Greek Church, Archbishop Anthimus, of Constantinople, and signed by ten other bishops of the Anatolian Church, has been issued, and has been published broadcast in ten thousand copies, so that there may be no uncertainty as to the position of the writer and the Greek Church he represents in regard to the burning question at issue. The reply is an emphatic declination to take part in any reunion project between Rome and Constantinople, as long as the former will not recant of its errors and false teachings. The document says, among other things, this: "An honorable war is better than a peace without God." This war is now to be carried on by the Greek against the Latin, and also against the Protestant churches, as has been the case all along, in fact ever since the schism of Photius in the tenth century. The reply declares that at that time Rome adopted innovations contrary to tradition and the Scriptures, while "the great Oriental Church" has been content to adhere to the teachings of tue Fathers. Anthimus says: "Who would not desire a reunion? The Oriental Church in its daily prayers petitions for the return of the scattered and erring brothers. But a reunion with Rome is impossible as long as these errors, accepted since the tenth century, are not recalled and the church returns to the seven Ecumenical Councils and their teachings. Unless this is done it is useless and without purpose to speak of a union between the two communions." Anthimus then proceeds to give a list of the doctrines in which he regards Rome as teaching falsely. Naturally the doctrine of the procedure of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the Father heads the catalog. Then, too, he mentions baptism by immersion, the use of leavened bread in the Eucharist, in the celebration of the Supper the giving of both bread and wine to the participants, etc. He condemns as innovations of the Roman to Catholic Church the doctrine of purgatory, the application of the Further, the author of this remarkable document denies that the "Ye who love Christ, we greet you with joy and admire your zeal for Christ, called forth by the conviction that it is impossible to please God without having faith. On the other hand, it is clear to every one who understands matters aright, that the true faith in Christ must in all particulars be orthodox and be in harmony with the sacred Scriptures and with apostolic traditions, upon which foundation the holy Fathers stand, and must also agree with the teachings of the seven Ecumenical Councils." CHURCH FEDERATIONS. WHILE the outlook for a union of any number of the various sects of Christendom upon a basis depending upon belief can not be considered as promising, several plans are under consideration for a federation of churches for practical work. One of these plans is that proposed by the Massachusetts Committee of Congregational ministers, a body having for its chairman the distinguished writer and reform leader, Edward Everett Hale. This plan involves cooperation in parish work, especially in the charge of "outlying families." There is scarcely a town in any State, it is said, in which, particularly at a distance from the center, there are not certain families which fall under nobody's ministerial care. It is urged that some method be devised by which ministers of Congregational churches might agree on a plan for a visitation of these outlying families. They might thus be brought under somebody's sympathetic care. This subject of cooperation was brought up for consideration in many towns throughout New England at the union meetings on Thanksgiving Day. The Congregationalist, The Evangelist (Presbyterian), The Christian Register (Unitarian), Zion's Herald (Methodist diverse as our denominations. The so-called liberal denominations, which deny the divinity of Christ or the danger of the second death, can not be given standing among the evangelical churches; tho most of their individual members, by wise and patient treatment, might be profited by worshiping with orthodox churches. Foreigners who do not speak the English language are apt to be clannish; but by providing afternoon services for them in their own tongue, and welcoming them to English meetings, great gains would be made in every way. "One hundred and fifty denominations might as well be reduced to the seven churches of America: Baptist, Congregational, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. Except the latter all these might be federated into one body in every town. This federation would involve the exercise of charity and brotherhood in a practical way. Christians would have to recognize that forms and ceremonies were matters of taste and conscience; that the intent of the worshiper was the chief thing before God. Majorities and minorities would have to bear with each other in minor matters. "If one house of worship was large enough for all the evangelical population who could attend church at one time, that might suffice; provided each one would respect the liberties and convictions of others. There might be two or three pastors and two or three places of worship, and any number of voluntary societies connected with the once church of Christ in that town. If one pastor would immerse those who felt that this was the only proper way for them to be baptized, and these would permit others to follow their own conscience and light as to the subjects and mode of baptism, the worst problem would be solved. "Those who wished to say Amen should be permitted to do so, without any criticism. It might warm up a frigid hour a little. Those who wished to work with the Epworth League or the Baptist Society could do so. They could provoke each other kindly to good works, as home and foreign mission societies do. They could maintain the positive principles for which they stood, without attacking other truths for which others stood. Denominations are not opposed to each other; they are complementary to each other. No one sect can reach all kinds of minds, or emphasize all sides of truth. But the federated church would do this more fully." DECADENCE OF DOGMA. N eminent English divine recently declared that much of the weakness of modern Christianity comes from the general indifference to the intellectual aspects of Christian doctrine; that theology is dethroned from her position as queen of the sciences; that ministers are even applauded for attacking in the pulpit what they were ordained to preach; and that multitudes of church-going people are densely ignorant of the very rudiments of theology. "This utterance," says the New York Observer, "may sound like a jeremiad and be counted a pessimistic wail by many readers, but beyond any doubt there is a strong element of truth in it. The decadence of dogma in our generation is too significant to be overlooked by the careful student of the tendencies of the times." The writer continues: Episcopal), and other denominational journals heartily commend AN "It does seem to us that when a town has a thousand people "It is not wise to undertake too much at first. The Roman Catholics unite their various schools of thought, which are as "How to account for this decadence is not so simple a matter as it appears at first to be. Part of the cause is to be found in the intensely practical spirit of our generation, which is apt to lessen the emphasis on dogma and strengthen the emphasis on conduct. Superficial thinkers are early led astray by the popular fallacy that it does not matter what a man believes if he only does right. Conduct is exalted to the supreme place, and creed is relegated to a very secondary position. The folly of such a course of procedure is apparent on reflection. How can a man know what is right and what he ought to do unless he has a welldefined belief concerning duty here and destiny hereafter? "Another factor in the decadence of dogma is the place given to so-called practical preaching in the pulpits of the time. There seems to be an avoidance of great truths and a seeking after the little truths bound up in the lessons of current events, and philosophizing about the Gospel instead of proclaiming the Gospel in all its simplicity and fulness. The unpardonable sin in a sermon in our day is dulness, and a desire to be interesting is a will-of-thewisp which leads many a minister into the marshes of theological decadence. Under the influence of a morbid dread of being commonplace and of a juvenile passion for originality, men avoid the great highways of Christian thought and wander off into by-paths which, however pleasant, do not lead into the secret place of the Most High. Fuller experience of life and keener realization of the sacred urgency of the message entrusted to their care must teach such ministers that they are deliberately excluding themselves from the subjects which in all ages have exerted the profoundest influence on the moral and spiritual life of mankind. If any permanent effect is to be produced by preaching, there must be the vigorous and frequent attempt to put before the people the great truths of the Christian faith in their native dignity and power. "Like pastor, like people,' says the old adage. It holds true in the matter under discussion. There was a time when two or three men could not meet by the fireside or on the wayside without reasoning high 'Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate, Fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute.' That time has passed away, and discussions range on the lower levels of gossip, politics, and the questions of the hour. With its passing there has gone out of the Christian life of our generation a solidity of thought and strength of conduct for which our fathers were famous. A revival of dogma would, we believe, do much to bring both back, and restore to many a pulpit a large measure of its waning power." GROWING POWER OF RITUALISM IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. THE `HE recent dedication of the new Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin, in this city, will, says The Tribune (December 15), be taken by many as an indication that the ritualistic movement is growing in the Episcopal Church. The editor regrets that there are no statistics at hand to settle this question, but says further that a perusal of the denominational organs makes it evident that the tone of churchmanship has been generally raised during the last twenty-five years, and, on the whole, to the great advantage of the church; that the service in the average parish to-day is more reverent and less slovenly than in the old days of "High-and-Dry" churchmanship, while at the same time it has been so enriched as to appeal more strongly to the growing esthetic sense in the community. We quote the remainder of the article: "But everybody knows that ritualism has come to mean much more than a deepening of the old spiritual lines in the Episcopal Church. Its ultimate ascendency in the church would be nothing less than a revolution, in which almost every distinctive characteristic of the Protestant Episcopal Church would disappear, and in its place would arise a reproduction of the medieval church. The Oxford movement in 1832 began by defending and explaining itself. It felt that it must fight even for a tolerated existence, and for some years it seemed as tho, in spite of all its efforts, it would find no permanent lodgment in the Anglican Communion. But that day of apology and defense has passed. Instead of trying to show that they are not dishonest quibblers and traitors, the leaders of the ritualistic party have now got to the point of denouncing as dishonest quibblers and traitors those in the church who interpret its doctrines in the light of modern critical investigation and modern life. This change of attitude is in itself a striking indication that, in its own opinion at least, ritualism has grown to a position of power. It is no longer a question whether it shall be driven out of the church, but how long it will be before it will drive everybody else out of the church. "The really strange feature of the situation is the meekness with which it is accepted by the Broad Churchmen and Low Churchmen, who constitute the overwhelming majority in the Episcopal Church. Once in a while some of them venture to say that they are not disloyal tricksters, and occasionally, as in The Contemporary Review for December, an old-fashioned churchman has the courage to declare and prove to his own satisfaction that the ritualists are both disloyal and dishonest, because, as he says, they hold and teach doctrines distinctly repudiated in the prayer-book. But, as a rule, whether because they think ritualism merely a passing fad, or because they secretly believe it to be the best expression of the church's system, the non-ritualists in the church have let it pretty much alone during the last few years. If ritualism fails to become dominant in the church, it will not be because of any organized opposition it has encountered; for there is no such opposition. “Tho ritualism has thus conquered for itself a secure place in the Episcopal Church, there is little possibility of its ever doing more than that. The insuperable obstacle to its acceptance by the church as the exclusive type of churchmanship is the fact that it is a recrudescence of outworn religious ideals. Doubtless it has an attraction for people of a certain religious temperament, those who love to dwell on the past, or who appreciate the esthetics of religious worship. Its doctrines and beliefs, however, will appeal in vain to the vast majority of the men and women of to-day who live in the present and for the present, and who are striving, however imperfectly, to free the world from the abject slavery to the past, which did so much to weaken and benumb the church of pre-Reformation times." First Woman Pastor in New England.-The statement having recently been made by The Church Union that Mrs. Amelia B. Frost, of Littleton, Mass., is the first woman whom any New England church has made its pastor, Mrs. Mary A. Livermore corrects the mistake in the columns of the same paper (December 15), by giving a list of ten women ministers and pastors whom she has known in Massachusetts during the last thirty years and prior to the installation of Mrs. Frost. We quote what Mrs. Livermore says in relation to New England's first woman pastor: "Mrs. Frost was ordained to the ministry of the Congregational Church more than a year ago and was installed as pastor of the church at Littleton less than a month ago. I have had personal acquaintance with over twenty women ministers of New England, who have been regularly ordained and then installed over parishes. The first woman minister was Rev. Olympia Brown Willis, who graduated from Antioch College, Ohio, in 1860, under the presidency of Hon. Horace Mann, and from the Theological School at Canton, N. Y., three years later, when she was regularly ordained by the Universalist Church. She was formally installed as pastor of the Universalist Church in Weymouth, Mass., a suburb of Boston, July 8, 1864, thirty years in advance of Rev. Amelia Frost. She remained in her first pastorate ten years and then removed to Bridgeport, Conn., in 1869. Her husband was a successful man of business, but was a member of her church and her most interested, active, and devoted parishioner. Her two children, a son and daughter, have recently graduated from Chicago University. As wife, mother, housekeeper, minister, and pastor Mrs. Willis has been very successful.” RELIGIOUS NOTES. The Standard, of Chicago, discusses the partition of Turkey and the beneficial results to religious research that would follow: "It would mean much to Science if Turkey should cease to be, unspeakably much to archeological and Biblical science. The government of Turkey controls the majority of Biblical sites and districts where material lies hidden of value to the student of the Bible and of ancient history. Exploration and excavation are now made as difficult and as costly as possible to the scholar. The Turk will do nothing himself, nor let any one else do anything for which he is not himself well paid. THE Jewish Congregation, Shearith Israel, has adopted plans for a new synagogue to be located near Central Park, New York, which will be the finest edifice of its kind, it is said, in existence. The design of this temple is in the classic style of architecture, the Corinthian order. The ark will be a beautiful work of rare marble, and it is said that the decorations will be finer than any other Jewish temple in the world. The New York Sun suggests that wealthy Jews throughout the world be asked to subscribe to a fund of $100,000,000 to build a temple in this city as magnificent as that of Solomon. It is proposed to restore the Castle of Avignon, the former home of the Pope, to its former splendor, and present it to the Vatican. This castle on the River Rhone is the most imposing relic of the Middle Ages, and the French people think that were the chapel, conclave hall, and apartments offered to Leo XIII. the future of the Popes would be assured. ARRANGEMENTS for the International Conference of the Pan-Presbyterian Council in Glasgow next summer are being rapidly pushed forward. The council was formed in 1874, since when five conferences have been held-in Edinburgh, Philadelphia, Belfast, London, and Toronto. THE Bible Institute Colportage Association, organized last summer by Mr. Moody for the free distribution of religious reading among prisoners in jails, has during its short existence distributed 12,619 volumes in twentythree States. 22 (262) THE LITERARY DIGEST. FROM FOREIGN LANDS. TH THE STRUGGLE IN CUBA. HE latest reports from Cuba are a little more favorable to the Spaniards, but this does not give grounds for the hope that the rebellion will speedily subside. That hope has been relinquished by the authorities. During the cool weather the insurgents will lie low, as they did in former insurrections. As soon as the vomito again fills 'the Spanish hospitals, a greater number of insurgents will take the field. The Handelsblad, Amsterdam, in commenting upon the gravity of the situation, says: "The passage in President Cleveland's message in which he refers to the Cuban insurrection shows that the Washington Government intends to retain a correct position in the matter. Yet it contains a warning for Spain. We have pointed out some time ago that there is much sympathy with Cuba in the United States. The Presidential Message shows that the objections which at present exist in the United States against interference on their part are not of such great weight that they could not possibly be removed. The Imparcial declares that Senator Hill will advocate annexation or purchase of the island, and the Cuban question will therefore be mentioned in Congress during the last part of January, and perhaps even before that time. It is therefore easy to understand that the Madrid authorities wish Martinez Campos to come to blows with the rebels in a decisive battle. General Campos has men enough to do this, but the insurgents continually manage to evade him, and they tire out his troops by guerilla warfare." There is, however, good reason to suppose that the importance of the rebellion is of a more national than local character. Spain is in danger of losing the island, but the people of Havana go . about their business as usual. The Frankfurter Zeitung, quoting from a private correspondence, says: "Many people may suppose that all Havana is in a turmoil, but the truth is everything is as quiet as before. The war is, indeed, going on, and each party does its best; that is, each party gives the other a wide berth and takes care not to come to blows. True, we hear that two battles have been fought; that is to say, they are called 'battles,' but we know nothing of it all, except that there is, every now and then, a service in the churches in -celebration of some victory. We would not know that there is a war if it were not for the New York papers, which tell us a great -deal about it. In this city trains arrive and leave on schedule time just as before, the coffee-houses are filled by their usual customers, and the theaters are as well frequented as ever. Within a radius of 150 miles from our city there are no troops, and no -communications have been interrupted." A bright side in the present struggle as compared with former rebellions is the evident desire of both parties to act in a more humane manner than during the sixties and seventies. The National Zeitung, Berlin, says: "Gen. Martinez Campos has, indeed, proclaimed martial law, but it is handled very gently. Executions, during the former rebellion the order of the day, are now rare, and the culprits taken with arms in hand or serving as spies to the rebels are sent as prisoners to the North African colonies. This applies only to civilians who assist the rebels in an underhand manner. Such of the insurgents as may be identified as soldiers of the rebel forces are treated no worse than the prisoners of war in a struggle between two powers according each other belligerent rights. This mild treatment of the insurgents does not meet with approval in Madrid; many Spaniards think that Martinez Campos is thus granting the rebels rights which they have not yet obtained from any of the powers. But such fanaticism is neither wise nor humane. If anything is likely to bring the rebellion to an early close, it is this courtly behavior on the part of Marshal Martinez Campos, and if he succeeds in his plan to introduce reforms, the rebellion must collapse." As the present state of the Spanish finances makes it necessary to draw a large part of the money necessary for carrying on the war from Cuba itself, the Spanish Government is anxious to re [Dec. 28, 1895 MI move all difficulties in the way of the usual exportation of sugar. The rebels, on the other hand, do their best to hamper the export of sugar. Marshal Campos, to protect the sugar-trains, has caused small forts to be erected all along the principal railroad lines. These forts are round towers, strong enough to resist attacks of infantry and cavalry. They are built similarly to the Moorish watch-towers which adorn the Spanish coast, and from whose tops the coast-guard gave the alarm when Algerine pirates approached the Spanish coast. The insurgents favor the export of tobacco, for the majority of their exiles resident in the United States are cigar-makers. If the United States recognizes the rebels as belligerents, the export of Havana tobacco will probably be prohibited. It is said that the Florida Cubans contribute $12,000 to $15,000 per month to the war-fund of the insurgents. The Union Ibero-Americanor, a powerful organization with headquarters in Madrid, quietly but effectively influences the white population of South America against the Cuban insurgents, who are mostly colored or half-breeds. The Patria, Mexico, re A CUBAN RAILWAY FORT. marks that other countries have but one ambassador in each South American republic, but Spain has as many as as there are Spanish residents. And, like Canada and other British Colonies proclaiming their loyalty to the mother country, there are not wanting offers from Spanish colonies to assist in the present war. From the Canaries and from Africa volunteers will be sent. Referring to the possible annexation of Cuba by Mexico, the Partido Liberal, Mexico, says: "There are a few difficulties in the way. First, Spain may want to keep the island, and it looks very much as if she did. Second, we ought to find out whether the Cubans want to join THE laws regarding slander and libel in Germany are very strict. Some years ago an English countess was imprisoned for insulting a railroad porter, just as a rich American was recently punished for insulting an official. In the case of private individuals the aggrieved party must institute proceedings in person. When the head of a state is insulted, the public prosecutor takes up the case. The dignity of the republican governments of Germany is upheld as strictly as that of the Emperor. Thus the Socialist editor of the Berlin Banarbeiter Zeitung was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment for insults to the Senate of the state of Homburg. Foreign governments rank as private individuals, and must prosecute through their ambassadors. An insult against the United States Congress would be punished as heavily as an attack upon the Emperor. ALTHO the French press is very wroth if anti-German agitation is suppressed in Alsace-Lorraine, France is compelled to follow precisely the same course in the Department of Nizza, where a large part of the people still wish to return under Italian rule, tho their country has now been French over forty years. Thus the Pensiero, Nizza, an Irredentist paper, has been sequestrated for its anti-French articles. |