(Registered at the G.P.O., Melbourne, for transmission by Post, as a Newspaper.)

VOL. 21, NO 39. Warburton, Victoria, October 1, 1906 ONE PENNY

little inconvenient to those under the influence of the rise. The Liquor Traffic. Whisky, on the other hand, has its effects upon the constitu- Two evils which are engaging the attention of our tion also, for it has the result of raising a man to the hills legislators at the present time are the drink traffic and the of enchantment, but it lowers him as surely to the very gambling mania. In regard to the drink traffic it is a depths of misery, despair, and death. These well-built common thing to observe in all our great cities, towns, and death traps are standing to-day in many a noble thorough- country villages the most desirable corners embellished by fare. The shelves glitter with the rows of decanters and the facade of a hotel or village inn, and under the sign of silver-topped bottles, all bearing the label of the various

;IFiVir/ever,‘"

Interior of Catholic Church, Philippine Islands.

the "Royal Oak," the "British Sovereign," or the "Magpie decoctions contained within. The so called "bar" is orna- and Lark," may be seen the open doorway or window, upon mented by handsome counters, brass mounted, and the which is painted in gaudy letters the significant word recesses shine with a variety of bottles, marked "Old Tom," "bar." Whether this word bar is a contraction of the word "Gin," "Scotch Whisky." These various brands are all barrel it is hard to say. Presumably there are as many of celebrated for the power their contents possess of depriving these casks stowed away in the capacious and fusty cellars a man of his senses, his pockets of their silver, and his as there were powder barrels placed under the Parliament stomach of its coating, and the impetus which they give Houses in the days of Guy Fawkes. The contents of both him towards a disreputable future, and a drunkard's grave. had and have the reputation of elevating men, only Fawkes Drink has proved itself to be the greatest power in impel- wished the elevation to be sudden, realistic, and perhaps a ling men upon the broad road to ruin, and it has many 482 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906 times proved a curse to what might otherwise have remained Physical Degeneration- of Englishmen. a happy and prosperous home, had the bottle remained outside. The effects of its destructive influence upon the THE class of English who follow the plough, work the human family meet the eye everywhere; you smell it as mills, and dig the ditches and excavations of the land, the you pass the street corners; you constantly see men under class which Goldsmith called "its country's pride," is said its influence; you remark its effects upon the countenance; by the London Daily News to be decaying in physical the nose assumes an unwonted colour; you perceive it often stamina. It is from this claSs that the legions of the in the rotundity of the figure; you perceive it in the palsied empire are recruited; and the fact of this gradual dwindling and shaky hand; you recognise it in the sullen and dogged of bone and thew and sinew in the adult Englishman is look. You meet it in the "dead beats" who hang on to the indicated by the enlistment returns, which present a social edges of society, dilapidated wretches who have lost interest problem of most serious import to British statesmen. in all things under the sun, and who are only aroused to From these returns we learn, according to the journal cited, enthusiasm by the smell of a whisky bottle. "Whisky is that while thousands are willing to join the colours, not one their heaven as well as their hell." Our cities are cursed in three desiring to enlist is passed by the military doctors with too many of these dejected parasites, and the country as suitable for the service. This unfitness is due, the too, for that matter. As you pass through life you are rubbing shoulders with writer thinks, to the social conditions under which the all grades of drinkers, and the rank and file of society classes live from which British soldiers are usually drawn. presents every kind of specimen of the drink traffic, from He says :— the moderate drinker to the hardened toper. The effects of "How far this state of things is due to lack of food and drink upon the human race to-day are to be seen every- to general poverty of surroundings in childhood is a very where. Intemperance has opened an avenue for disease fair subject for inquiry. Moreover, if a third of those who to obtain a foothold upon the debilitated constitutions of would enlist into the army lack the stamina which the army the progeny of those who have loved the bottle more than standard demands, how can they be deemed efficient for their respectability, their morality, or the health and future the purpose of civil work ? We have, therefore, a picture of their own children. Health and respectability have been of 24,000 youths, whom the recruiting sergeant would bartered away at the beer-shop, and the cursed money thus gladly snap up, being thrown back in one year with the obtained has gone to inflate our public revenue. stamp of physical inefficiency. At the same time it must Our government, however, is now taking several steps be remembered that army rejection is but one means by to counteract some of the evils which its desire for revenue which we may measure the physical degeneration of our has so long licensed, and allowed to prevail. The respecta- race. Perhaps there is nothing else that places this degen- bility of the community is assailed by the tremendous eration in so startling a light. It reminds us that the one output of liquor. Drink is one of the world's greatest truly imperial question is the social question." curses, and any protection which legislation can give its people to guard their welfare against the pernicious results of the drink traffic ought to be received with pleasure by all who have any respect for the welfare of the community Expenditures for Luxuries. at large. We are glad to see that efforts are being made FROM a report of the twenty-seventh annual meeting of in the direction of limiting the sale of intoxicating drink, for the Women's Foreign Missionary Society held recently in indulgence in the various narcotic poisons has become a Washington, U. S. A., I clip the following :— national curse. Any government which has the welfare of its people at "The walls of the church were hung with charts, telling heart should legislate both for the protection of the health, in round figures how much money went for various 'luxuries' and for the sobriety of its people. Of late years the Vic- people allow themselves, the first and most startling of all torian government has failed to deal with this vital question. was the announcement that eleven million dollars goes for Laws are good, but it takes more than laws to enable men chewing-gum, and only seven million five hundred thousand to lead righteous lives. It is only Christ who can save dollars for foreign missions. One hundred and seventy-eight individuals from misery and vice. Only the reforming love million goes for candy; jewels entice to the amount of of Christ in the heart can save the drunkard, the gambler, seven hundred million, and tobacco and millinery go away the profligate, and the libertine. Christ only is mighty to up into the millions; tobacco considerably in the lead." save. The above figures furnish food for serious reflection. The rising generation has little to secure itself against The mere bagatelle given for the spread of the gospel, the overwhelming inroads of present-day evil customs. compared with the enormous extravagance manifested in Nevertheless it is well to see that there is still such a thing in the expenditures for so-called "luxuries," is a striking in existence as a public conscience, and that efforts are commentary on the moral trend of the world. Eleven being made to minimise the evils of intemperance which million dollars for chewing-gum ! Three and one-half are grappling for the mastery. We hope that success will million dollaii more for this one nuisance alone than is attend the efforts of the government to stay the flood of given for the extension of the Master's kingdom ! One intemperance which has already reached high water mark, hundred and seventy-eight million for candy! Twenty-five but the alarming prevalence of national vices shows us times more expended for this luxury than is given in all the plainly where we are in human history, and the nearness of earth to save souls from perdition ! Other sums expended the final crisis to which the world is fast approaChing—J. B. for jewellery; tobacco, millinery, etc., run up into such a fabulous sum that it is incomprehensible, so not given. But CHINA is in receipt annually, it is estimated, of some only seven and one-half million for the Lord who created 10,000,000 remitted by coolies employed in various parts the universe and owns it all. Yet with these figures staring of the world—the amount contributed by the Chinese in the them in the face, men talk about the millennium and the Transvaal being placed at about -1,000,000. world's conversion !—G. B. Thompson. October 1, 1906 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES 483

Effects of Church Domination The Pacific Press Fire. in Russia. THE American mail just to hand brings further par- SOME surprising figures are given by the Christian ticulars concerning the great loss sustained by the Pacific World to show that the state church in Russia is largely Press Publishing Co., whose plant and buildings were on responsible for the poverty of the people. It begins :— July 21 utterly destroyed by fire. The entire plant, which "Nothing is more remarkable among the consequences was the most complete and best equipped on the Pacific of the Russian revolution than the almost complete unanim- Coast, was swept clean with the exception of the boarding- ity with which the press attacks the monastic system, the hall and the stables. The only things rescued from the monks and nuns, and all belonging to them. 'Russia must burning buildings were some of the valuable records and be freed from this plague spot,' exclaims one of the most the typewriters from the business offices. widely-read Moscow newspapers. Five years ago such an As stated in our previous issue, the loss on the buildings, utterance would have meant Siberia for life to anyone bold stock, and equipment will reach somewhere between enough to print it. It is mainly the riches of the monas- £50,000 and [60,000, while the insurance is only £20,000. teries which excite public ill-feeling. Hardly a monastery, The loss is felt the more keenly, coming as it did just after even the poorest of them, that has not an enormous income they had restored at great expense the ruin wrought by the from lands and gifts of the faithful, and among the more earthquake. famous houses are some that are fabulously rich. There is, The loss of books and plates was very great. An for example, the Alexander Nevski monastery with a yearly edition of 25,000 of "Heralds of the Morning" was nearly church' income of [10,000 and an income from its domains completed. These were all lost, together with much other of [50,000. In addition to this its wandering monks bring valuable book material. it in an average income of £75,000 for building churches. Another tremendous loss is the destruction of the The richest monastery, however, in Russia is the Troitsa editorial library, which contained many choice books, and Sergiyevski house near Moscow, with its capital of also the most complete files of Advent literature to be 300,000,000 roubles, or thirty millions sterling. Its annual found in the denomination. Besides this, the editor's income is almost incredible. It possesses over twenty extensive collection of manuscripts, photographs, drawings, million acres of land. It is no uncommon thing for a monk clippings, and other valuable matter, the result of many in this establishment to leave a fortune of a million roubles. years' work, has gone up in smoke. Many of these treas- Convents and monasteries are studded all over the country. ures can never be replaced. In European Russia alone the number is about 700." The managers are planning to rebuild should no unfore- seen circumstances prevent. A small, temporary plant for our denominational work only will probably be erected immediately, and already money is pouring into the office AN excellent innovation has been adopted by the for this purpose. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the parents' committee of a state school in Coburg, one of the brethren in our sister institution in their deep misfortune, suburbs of Melbourne. A portion of the school grounds is and our prayer is that the Lord may be their guide, to be railed off for a garden, and an expert gardener is to counsellor, and comfort in their hour of trial. be engaged for one day every week to give instruction in horticulture to the children. The gardener's fee will be IT is only when we are going forward that we encounter paid by the parents, and a glass-house is also to be con- obstacles. It is easier to descend the mountain than to structed and implements provided. This is a feature of, ascend it; it is easier to go backward than to go forward. education which we would fain see adopted wherever facilities could be provided, for the closer the children are brought into contact with nature the more they can see of OUR the wonderful workings of God. 600D HEALTH PRACTICAL AND IMPORTANT THE Committee appointed to consider the matter of This journal aims to impart knowledge in Eating, Drinking, juvenile smoking in England, says Present Truth, has made Cooking, Dressing, the Care of a very drastic report. It recognises that the use of tobacco Children, Treatment of Diseases, eta., etc., so as to prevent bodily is responsible for the rapid increase during the last few and mental indisposition, and to secure length of days, peace, and years of physical deterioration, and recommends strong prosperity. measures for grappling with the evil. One proposed clause Become the Physician of your own household by subscrib- is :— ing to this journal "Every child under the age of sixteen who shall be PRICE: 2/6 PER ANNUM found in possession of cigarettes or found smoking tobacco POST FREE in any form shall upon conviction be liable to a penalty of not Special rates for Signs of the Times and Good Health exceeding forty shillings for each offence, and shall be to one address subject to the provisions of the "Youthful Offenders Act, Signs of the Times, ordinary ' price - - - 416 1901." Good Health, ordinary price 2/6 The Committee would, also empower constables to stop If both papers are ordered at the same time, price 6/6; thus effecting all youths apparently under sixteen seen smoking in any a saving of lid. public place and confiscate their tobacco. Probably no Send 2/- extra for postage to New Zealand and South Pacific Islands. policeman would run the risk of possible trouble by interfer- Combination rate to foreign countries, 9/6. ing with any boy likely to be near the age limit, but such a provision might abolish public smoking on the part of Address: Good Health Office, Cooranbong, N. S. W. children, which is now very common. 484 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906

receive life, and breath, and all things. "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." Acts 17 : 25, 29. Speaking of the folly of idolatry, the prophet says: "He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest; A. W. ANDERSON, EDITOR. he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn, for he will take thereof and WARBURTON, OCTOBER 1, 1906. warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part The Revelation of Jesus Christ.—No. 89. thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he The First and the Last. roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire; and the "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Rev. 22 : 13. residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image : he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth Six times in the book of Revelation Christ declares unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god." This Himself to be "the first and the last." In the opening ironical language makes the idolater appear very ludicrous, chapter of this book He tells us He is "Alpha and Omega, but does the man who tries to delude himself with the idea the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and that there is no God, show any greater wisdom than the one which is to come, the Almighty." Rev. 1 : 8. And now in who takes a tree, with one part of which he cooks his din- the closing verses of the book the statement is repeated for ner, and out of another part carves a god for himself ? Or the sixth time. Among the Jews the phrase which was is the man any wiser who makes a god of money, or devotes used to denote from first to last, was "from Aleph to Tau," all his energies to the pursuit of pleasure, never thinking of these being the names of the first and last letters of the the claims of Jehovah ? Day by day God sends His bless- Hebrew alphabet. Through Isaiah the Lord asks, "Who ings upon the just and upon the unjust; and of the teeming hath wrought and done, calling the generations from the millions who inhabit this earth but very few acknowledge beginning ?" Then the answer comes, "I the Lord, the His goodness. Many there are who know their duty, yet first, and with the last; I am He." Isa. 41 : 4. Again in the wilfully ignore God's claims upon them; but what untold forty-fourth chapter He uses this expressive language in multitudes there are who know nothing of the Saviour, who reference to Himself, "Thus saith the Lord the King of are sitting in the darkness of Mohammedanism, Confucian- Israel, and His Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first ism, Buddhism, and Paganism, whose ears have never and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God. Verse heard the glorious gospel of salvation. But little time now 6. In the forty-eighth chapter the same declaration con- remains in which the church can send the gospel into all cerning the eternity and perfection of God is again made, the world. Nineteen centuries have rolled by since the "Hearken unto Me, 0 Jacob and Israel, My called; I am command was given to "Go ye into all the.world and preach He; I am the first, I also am the last." Verse 12. the gospel to every creature," but still hundreds of millions The book of Revelation being written in Greek, the of men and women have never so much as heard of Jesus first and last letters of the Greek alphabet are therefore Christ, the Alpha and the Omega. used to express the same idea. He who is the same How much longer will the professed people of God sit yesterday, to-day, and forever (H eb. 13 : 6.), is the One at ease, enjoying the peace and contentment which are the whom we should make first and last in everythifig, or as result of the influence which Christianity exerts in the world, Milton said :- while so many of their fellow-beings are perishing for lack -Him first, Him last, Him midst, and without end " of knowledge ? Let the church arouse and obey the man- date of her Lord and Master, and thus hasten His coming. In the Lord our God is comprehended all things. "0 When the Lord returns with all His holy angels with Him, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge then "the idols shall utterly pass away." "And they shall of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty the Lord ? or who bath been His counsellor ? or who bath when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, again ? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are which they made each for himself to worship, to the moles all things : to whom be glory forever. Amen." Rom. 11: and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into 33-36. "Though there be that are called gods, whether the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many), the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all the earth." Isa. 2: 18-21. Let us each and all do what things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by we can to save men and women from undergoing this whom are all things, and we by Him." 1 Cor. 8 : 5, 6. "By terrible ordeal. Only one way of escape has been provided Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that and that must be availed of now, for soon it will be everlast- are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, ingly too late. or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by Him, and for Him : and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Col. 1 : 16, 17. "IT is not by regretting what is irreparable that true 0, the folly of offering worship to any other god save work is to be done, but by making the best of what we Jehovah, the Creator of the universe ! "In Him we live are. It is not by complaining that we have not the right and move, and have our being," and it is from Him that we tools, but by using well the tools we have." October 1, 1906 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES 485

that are irredeemable. These spots slowly penetrate plaster, stain paper, darken paint, crumble cement, and make their obnoxious, pestilential character manifest in spite of all efforts to hide and obliterate. No chemical is Oettqral Artielo8 strong enough to overcome their deadly ingredients. So with sin. Cover it, paint it over, decorate it, live over it, smile above it, it will find you out. It will break through 5j the glance of your eye, the smile of your lips, and show in "Redemption Draweth Nigh." spite of the most costly covering. It is a leprous spot. By R. Hare. The blood of Christ alone can wash it away. The Divine Hand only can touch and heal it. THE orient gilds, the day draws near, Bright visions of the dawn appear, We think uncleanly at our peril. What a hot iron would The dawn of life and peace. be to a delicate skin, so is a harboured evil thought to the Long o'er creation death has reigned, sensitive soul. The physical effects of evil are disastrous. And long has sin God's work profaned, The pure grow stronger and stronger, more and more But soon the wrong must cease ! beautiful and noble; the corrupt grow weaker and weaker, Descending on His sapphire throne, more and more hideous. Every kind of evil thought is a The Saviour comes to call His own, worm that eats the foliage of our lives and destroys the To joys that wait above. Beyond that coming naught of pain heart of our future. Our secret sins are in the light of the Can ever mar the glad refrain, countenance of Him whose glory is unapproachable. There In life's long psalm of love. is in reality no secret sin. Nothing is hid that shall not be Hail, glorious home, when from the tomb made manifest, and be even now made manifest; for now Shall rise in bright, immortal bloom the heart breaks through into life. "Out of the abundance The slumbering forms of clay, of the heart the mouth speaketh," and "as a man thinketh Awakened by the voice divine, A transformed multitude to shine in his heart, so is he." As stars that ne'er decay. "No man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel," and no devil lights the fires of passion but that its con- Immortal life, abiding joy, And endless years of glad employ, flagration spreads in disaster all about us. "No man liveth Without time's rain of tears. unto himself." The shadow that lurks in the heart falls on There, face to face before the throne, the hearts around us. With Him, to know as we are known, Hearts are sensitive even to the looks of the face. They Throughout eternal years ! shrink and sorrow in the chill atmosphere of doubt and sin, Oh, welcome hour, now promised long; they blossom and expand under the radiance of love. This Speed, lingering moments, hasten on, subtle influence is one of the issues of life. The heart And bring the expected day. needs keeping with all diligence, keeping for purity, lest the This side, the grave, the gloom, the pain; Beyond, all life, all joy, all gain, baleful poison of impurity flows out of it. And tears all wiped away ! If we would refresh others, we must have hearts filled with refreshment. There is no use in trying to deceive. The heart will beat through words fair or foul, and tell its The Issues of Life. true mood. The devil's suggestions, finer than mists of gossamer, assail the heart, and strong and large must be the 13y Frances E. Bolton. shield that wards off his evil influence. THE mind of Jesus was rich with moral health, but ours To the young, he presents bewitching air castles, and is sick. His heart was full of submission to the will of His leads them into the delusive paths of day dreaming, until he Heavenly Father, our hearts are full of rebellion, His was has entangled them in his net of enchantment, and intoxi- ruled by love, for He knew only the abnegation of self, and cated them with evil imaginations. Thus many are unfitted devotion to others; ours are filled with selfishness, a great for the noble activities of life. Sentimentalism, sensuality, cancer inwrought in the fibre of our being. His was a evil thoughts, like a fever, corrupt the being; and from the white heart of purity, ours are dark hearts of impurity. delirium of sin, men and women waken to a bitter reality; Such was His power that evil spirits were prostrate before for "he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap cor- Him, the waves were calm at His word, nature was obedi- ruption." ent at His feet, the madmen were tamed at His glance, the miracle of miracles, the hard, unclean, stubborn, rebellious heart was made an heart of flesh by His power. All power Leaving Certainty for Uncertainty. is His in heaven and earth. By T. C. O'Donnell. There is nothing capable of giving more exquisite pain No COMMAND of the Bible is enjoined with more definite- than to see the face of a beautiful boy or girl losing its ness, more certainty, than the Sabbath commandment of radiance of innocence, losing its fair promise of developing the decalogue. Even of the ten "words" eight are negative spiritual grace, losing its glory in sensual lines. Such in form, while the fourth shares with the fifth the distinction evidences spring from those things which defile. Out of of being positive in its injunctions : "Remember the Sab- the heart proceed evil thoughts, and as they proceed they bath day, to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the walk with hot, scarring feet, and stretch forth cruel hands. Sabbath of the Lord thy God." No mob ever spoiled the fine art of a city more reck- When, however, we come to the substitution of Sunday lessly, more diabolically, than do these evil thoughts the for the seventh-day Sabbath the whole question becomes beauty of the human countenance, and graces of the soul. involved in ambiguity. We are told at once and in the "Be sure your sin will find you out," even here and now. same breath that the ten commandments are not binding on There are leprous houses on whose walls break out spots Christians, and that Sunday by the apostles was exalted 486 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906 into the place of the old Jewish Sabbath. Two questions, A Friend at Court. however, immediately arise : (1) If the ten commandments WE should seek a friend in Jesus Christ—the best, the are defunct, by what authority did the apostles create a new truest, kindest, surest Friend man ever had. Ever-living, Sabbath ?—for a new creation it was if the Sinaitic law ever-loving, and everlasting, there is no father like our, expired with Christ on the cross. (2) If the institution of Father who is in heaven; and as there is no fatherhood like Sunday was merely a matter of exalting Sunday into the God's, there is no friendship like Christ's—to be once place of the Sabbath, and not the question of a new creation, named with His, who, dying for us, the just for the unjust, why should the day have been changed at all, especially if laid down His life, not for friends, but for enemies. Other the change substituted an unhallowed for a .day hallowed friends change; not He. Of them we may, and often do, and bleskd by God Himself ? Unless we recognise the expect too much; nor will friendship be long maintained claims of the seventh-day Sabbath, we must either disclaim between us, unless we lay our account with sooner or later any sabbath whatever, or accept Sunday as a sabbath of discovering and bearing with, their faults. But Jesus is convenience—convenient because the larger part of the faultless, altogether lovely—a Friend on whose favour we Christian world observe it, and make it inconvenient, even can not reckon, and from whose kindness we can not expect a matter of personal loss, for a man or woman to keep the too much. With a wider and far deeper meaning than the seventh day of the week according to the commandment. world attaches to the expression, in Him we have "a friend The ambiguity, the want of definiteness, of which we at court," whose intercessions for us are addressed to a spoke, is well set forth in a passage in Neander's "Planting gracious ear and a loving heart. In the presence, of His of Christianity," as follows :— Father, and amid the glories of the upper sanctuary, at the "A perfectly unquestionable and decided mention of the ecclesias- eternal source of all love, and blessing, and power, where tical observance of Sunday among the Gentile Christians, we cannot finddn the times of the apostle Paul, but there are two passages which pardons are granted to save, and grace is bestowed to make its existence firobable. If what Paul says (1 Cor. 16 : 2) relates sanctify, and angels wait to welcome, and mansions stand to collections which were made at the meetings of the church, it would ready to receive us, He pleads our cause at God's right be evident from this passage that at that time the Sunday was hand, omnipotent to save.—Thomas Guthrie. especially devoted to such meetings. But Paul, if we examine his language closely, says no more than this : that everyone should lay by in his own house on the first day of the week, whatever he was able to save. This certainly might seem to mean that everyone should bring with him the sum he had saved to the meeting of the church, that thus the individual contributions might be collected together, and be ready for Paul as soon as he came. But this would be making a gratuitous .0 tbr ogkit Ribto Nan supposition, not at all required by the connection of the passage. [A footnote at this point says on the verb of the verse before us, "The word, thesaurizon, applied to setting aside the small sums weekly, is against the notion of a public collection. "1 We may fairly under- stand the whole passage to mean that every one on the first day of the week should lay aside what he could spare, so that when Paul ..THE.. came, everyone might be prepared with the total of the sum thus laid MILLENNIUM by, and then, by putting the sums together, the collection of the whole church would be at once made. If we adopt this interpretation, we The word "millennium" is from two Latin words, could not infer that special meetings of the church were held, and collections made on Sundays. . . . In this passage we can find no " mille," meaning a thousand, and " annus," year, a evidence for the existence of a religious distinction of Sunday. . . thousand years. It is also mentioned in Acts 20 : 7, that the church at Troas assembled on a Sunday and celebrated the Lord's supper. Here the question How many resurrections will there be? John 5 : 28, 29. arises, whether Paul put off his departure from Troas to the next day because he wished to celebrate the Sunday with this church—or What class only have part in the first resurrection? 1 whether the church met on the Sunday (though they might have met Thess. 4 : 16. on any other day) because Paul had fixed to leave Troas on the follow- What special honour will this company enjoy during ing day." the one thousand years? Rev. 20 : 4, 6. These are the two texts most frequently quoted in favour When will the rest of the dead, the wicked, be raised ? of Sunday observance; but as we see from Neander, their Rev. 20 : 5. support of the change of the Sabbath is very weak indeed, What does Paul say will happen to the wicked when and any interpretation that reads a religious, sabbatarian Christ comes? 1 Thess. 5 : 3. significance into them, aside from their evident, literal What description does the prophet Jeremiah give of the meaning, must be involved in obscurity and ambiguity, earth during this time? Jer. 4 : 23-26. offering for certainty uncertainty, and for definiteness the What will the Lord do with Satan and his angels at indefiniteness that always comes from an attempt to improve that time? Isa. 24 : 21, 22. upon'the plain statements of God's Word. How long is Satan's imprisonment to last? Rev. 20 :1-3.

HELPFUL PUBLICATIONS ON the cross the suffering Saviour died to save to the The Millennium, 16 pages (postage extra), uttermost; on the throne the risen and loving Saviour, through the agency of the Spirit, does His uttermost to Thoughts on Revelation, 410 pages (postage 4d.), 1/, save.—Rev. R. Earnest Little. Orders for these publications should be forwarded to our General Agents or Signs of the Times, Warburton, Victoria, Australia "THE gold of life does not lie hidden in any mines—it sparkles in tiny sands all along the common path of every Study Next Week : day. He only who gathers it bit by bit from daily duties THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE and pleasures will find himself the possessor of the real treasure at last." October 1, 1906 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES 487

1886, and the Benedictines in 1895. The Jesuits came in 1581, but were expelled from all Spanish colonies by order of the king in 1768, but they returned to the Philippines again in 1859. World:41de The last census of the Philippines gives the population as 7,635,426. Of this number the Church of Rome claims over six millions as adherents. Of course this claim is over-rated. Thousands have only given up pagan idols to worship Catholic images, otherwise there is no change in Work On. their religion. However, in counting on religious feeling "WORK on while yet the sun doth shine, in these islands it must be borne in mind that it is a Thou man of strength and will; Catholic population. Four hundred years of absolute For golden hours are fleeting by, And youth is passing still. control have served to bring this about. Soon will this busy life be o'er, In some of the southern islands of the group the people And earth recede from view, are either Mohammedans or savages, and sometimes both. And heaven with all its glory shine, In fact, in most of the islands, and even in Luzon, there Where all is pure and true; Ah ! then you'll understand full well are numerous tribes living back in the mountains who have The proverb deep and vast, never been Christianised (?). Some of them still take their `The mill will never grind again enemies' heads and hearts, and offer human sacrifices. With the water that is past.' " Wherever priestly influence has extended, massive stone churches are to be seen, surrounded by, the miserable, squalid huts of the natives. The different orders have The Philippine Islands. No. 2. acquired a vast amount of property, some by fair, but mostly by foul means. The best agricultural land was Religious Situation, Past and Present. owned by them, and was a source of immense wealth. PROBABLY nowhere else in the world does the old This land has been bought by the government. The orders adage, "Like priest, like people" find a better illustration still own a great deal of property—great churches, con- than it does in the Philippine Islands. To give a full ventos, and much private property. We have been told statement of the past religious situation would call for the that the house we live in belongs to the friars. writing of a history of Romanism and the Inquisition. In the walled city, Manila proper, the area probably As brought out in the first study, the first real effort to does not exceed 1;500 acres, yet in this circumscribed space occupy the islands was made by King Philip of Spain. there are eleven large churches, as many large conventos, His motives for doing so were chiefly religious. As a schools, and nunneries. Outside the walled city large Catholic king he was impelled to use the means at his dis- churches are seen every few blocks. One stands almost posal to further the interests of the church. To this end aghast at the evidences of priestly influence. Many have he sent the expedition headed by Legaspi and Urdaneta. paid with their lives the penalty for incurring the dis- Both of these men had considerable ability, and they have pleasure of the church officials. It was an easy matter, left a lasting impression on these islands. Accompanying especially when the archbishop acted as governor-general, U rdaneta were five Augustinian friars. Probably their to charge a man with treason and have him shot on the first success was in baptising the king of Cebu and some of Luneta, when the crime he was guilty of was religious and his subjects. From the very first the Spanish officials not political. During Spanish times it was dangerous to supported the church personally and officially. Indeed, it be anything but a Catholic, or even to think upon inde- is impossible to differentiate between the church and state pendent lines. The tortures of the Inquisition were often in studying conditions here. The state was simply the used on people who were believed to be out of harmony agent by which the church enforced her dogmas. The with the church. archbishop and bishops formed part of the council of In 1889 the British and Foreign Bible Society made an administration advisory to the governor-general. One attempt to circulate the Scriptures among the Filipinos. writer says : "On examining the political administration of One of the agents, M. Alonso Lallave, died a few days the Philippines, we must be prepared to find a kind of after his arrival in Manila. His death was sudden, and outer garment, under which the living body is ecclesi- without doubt was due to poison. His fellow-agent, Senor astical." Castells, was also taken ill but recovered, only to be The early emissaries entered upon their work with zeal. imprisoned and banished. These friars had, no conception of what it meant to be a The agents of the American and British and Foreign Christian. They planned on wholesale conversions and for, Bible Societies entered the field immediately after the baptising whole communities. In those days, as well as occupation of the islands by the Americans. They have now, it is doubtful if whole communities would freely been doing a noble work ever since in scattering the Scrip- consent to such methods, but provision was made for just tures among the people. There are, however, many such conditions if they should arise. An order was sent languages in use in these islands into which the Bible has to the expedition in 1565 to this effect : "(1) Priests; and not yet been translated. (2) a goodly number of soldiers and muskets, so that if the At present there are at least five Protestant denomina- natives will not be converted otherwise, they may be com- tions operating in this field. Some of them entered soon pelled to it by force of arms." Thus the work of Chris- after American occupation. The Methodists and Presby- tianising the natives went on. terians are especially strong. They have a large corps of A number of orders have been represented in the work workers, and are constantly adding to the number. Three of the Catholic Church. The Augustinians were the first large Protestant churches are now in course of erection to arrive in 1565, the Franciscans in 1577, Dominicans in in Manila. These are for white congregations. They have 1587, Recolletos in 1606, Paulists in 1862, Capuchins in many mission halls and churches for the natives. 488 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906

These denominations have formed what they call the is away with Dr. Miller, and although they are only four Evangelical Union. This Union divides and allots the days' journey away from us, it was impossible for us to get territory to the different bodies. To work in the territory a message to him and have him return in less than eight of another denomination is considered a very serious days, and so we had to bury the little one before his return. offence. But the third angel's message must go to "every But she is an earnest Christian, and the texts that we gave nation, kindred, tongue, and people." We cannot recognise her through the aid of our evangelist were a great comfort such divisions, and when we commence our work in the to her. territory claimed by these bodies, they will, doubtless, bitterly oppose us. There is always the strong and bitter When my husband went to make arrangements about Catholic element to be met, and now there will be this the coffin, he found that one could not be procured, and so Protestant element as well. carpenters were hired to come here and make one. The There are many other difficulties to be met in the work evangelist told us that the Chinese here do not bury their here. Strange and unfamiliar languages must be mastered children, but throw them over the city wall. There the before we can do a great deal for many of these people. dogs and birds eat them. When a Chinese woman wants Conditions of living are very trying. Privations are to ask another how many children have died in her family, abundant, yet these things must be faced, and the message she asks her how many children she has "thrown out." carried to these people. To do this, some must prepare to Such is the disregard of the Chinese for their infants. come here. Let there be no romance or glamour about it. The carpenters finished the coffin about midnight, an, When one is out in the field surrounded by people who are our evangelist called us to put the child into its narrow bed not far removed from savagery, shut away from home asso- Our hearts were full as we performed the sad duty, anc ciations and comforts, he can then realise, to a small sadder still was the thought of the many little ones in this extent, the sacrifice made by our Saviour in laying aside heathen land who are daily "thrown out." After death everything and coming to this earth and taking upon Him- children are sometimes crushed and mutilated dreadfully, self the form of a servant. To successfully carry the third that the evil spirit will not again visit the family. angel's message to the people of the Philippine Islands it We had to have the burial at night because of the is necessary to "let this mind be in you, which was also in crowds who would have gathered around us in the day time, Christ Jesus." J• L. MCELHANY. and so at nine O'clock we took the little coffin outside the city wall to a grave in the same enclosure where Sister Miller is sleeping. There as we knelt in prayer, we realised more than ever before how bright is our hope, and how An Experience in China. dense is the darknesS around us. We are able to point SEVEN weeks have passed since our arrival in Shang this mother to a glorious resurrection, but there are thou- Tsai Hsien, and during this time we have had many new sands and millions around us who know nothing_ of the experiences. We have felt the rich blessings of God with glorious hope of the Christian. us, and have realised that the prayers of our friends in Mr. and Mrs. Chen are earnest, humble Christians, and Australia have followed us. We can do but little direct their home is a constant object lesson to their neighbours. work for the people as yet, as we must put a good deal of The contrast between it and the surrounding homes is most our time on the language before those around us can under- striking. Our hearts rejoice every time we look at this stand us. Although we have been here but a short time, dear brother and sister, and realise what the gospel can do the fact is very apparent to us that numbers of young for the Chinese. people should be here studying this language preparatory to On the other hand, our hearts are constantly made sad actual work for the people. The missionaries here on the by sights of misery and degradation. Among the women field tell us that it takes at least two years' hard study to get we see the greatest misery. They are of no account in this language so as to be able to use it to advantage. This China, except as slaves, and the bondage is often a long seems so long to us when we see the conditions that are and bitter one. If she ventures on the street, no matter here present. how respectable she may be, she is made the object of Six days ago Dr. Miller left us to attend a council meet- brutal chaff, descending sometimes even to obscenity. She ing at Losan, and on account of the heavy rains we do not has to run the gauntlet of jeers from a crowd of rough men, expect him back for another week. My husband and I are and as her small bandaged feet handicap her pace, her rude the only two here now who understand English, and as our reception is slow torture. Dr. Miller tells us that he knows vocabulary in Chinese is very limited, we have to use the of no Chinese woman in this city who can read, with the few words we know in a variety of ways, and accompany exception of Mrs. Chen. One could not realise how them with numerous gesticulations to make ourselves under- degraded the women are without living among them and stood. If the one who wants anything can write Chinese, seeing them day by day. we can soon find what it is by referring to the dictionary, Our hearts burn within us when we think of how little but there are very few who can write at all. those in the home lands realise the vast need of there On Sabbath our Bible woman's little son died. For millions of precious souls. In the final reckoning we shall several days before its death we knew it could not live long, each be responsible for what we might have done with our- but we did all we could for it. On Sabbath afternoon it entrusted talents. Our daily prayer is that the Lord will fell asleep, and I attended to laying it out, while my husband arouse men and women to action who should be in the made arrangements about the coffin. Mrs. Chen was worn foreign lands, and fire them with a zeal and devotion that out with watching the child, and she was almost heartbroken. will lead them to consecrate their lives as never before to She had buried four children before, and now to lose her the uplifting of their fellow beings. Let us follow the only son seemed almost too much for her, as the heart cf example of the One who said, "For their sakes I sanctify every Chinese mother yearns for a son, and she truly loved Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the her child. The trial is still harder to bear as her husband truth." EVA ALI.UM. October 1, 1906 THE SIGNS OF ? HE TIMES 489

PROBABLY few people ever stopped to think what a greatly among the different orders of birds, a fact which wonderful organ a bird's bill really is, less as to structure results in considerable difference in size and shape of bill. than to what is accomplished with it. It has been asked The flamingo, feeding in more or less shallow lagoons, what a man would do if he had to build his home and pro- on certain crustacea, is compelled, by his height, to take his cure his food with his hands tied behind' him. This is in food with bill inverted—that is, the lower mandible is above effect what the bird has to do, and the constructive and while feeding, as the bird's neck is bent down. Often artistic work shown in nest building has ever defied all scraping the food from the bottom of the pools, an exceed- effort of man successfully to imitate. ingly peculiar shape of bill is the result of the bird's A bird's bill is hand and mouth.' As a hand it takes, special needs. holds, and carries food and nesting material, constructs Robin. and cleans its nest, dresses its feathers and cares for the cleanliness of its young, and in some cases, as the parrots, assists itself in climbing. As a mouth the bill tears, cuts, or crushes the food, accord- ing to what it consists of. The bill is both lip and tooth to the bird, which has neither. The general shape of the bill is such as to give the greatest strength with the utmost lightness and delicacy. It is formed of light, projecting / skull bones, sheathed in horny cases, instead of being covered with skin. The primary functions of a bird's bill are, first, the securing of food, and, secondly, the building of the nest. These being the general main requirements, it might be supposed that there would be comparatively little deviation from one general pattern of bill. The difference in the nature of the food, however, and in the manner of procuring it, among the different orders and families of birds, is such that there is probably no other one feature common to the members of any group, in which is to be found so much diversity in the matter of form and general size. For the most part the form of the bill is found to corre- spond pretty closely with the nature of the food and the Crow. manner of procuring it. Long-Billed Thrasher. The various requirements of nest building and minor The typical shape of bill in the duck family is familiar matters seem to be made subservient to this essential one. to every one from the bill of the domestic bird. It varies Taking as a type form of bill, the shape common to birds In degree to a considerable extent in the different forms, which are omnivorous in food habits, we have a nearly but the general shape remains. The spoonbill has a very straight conical bill, of moderate proportions, of which the well shaped ladle for scooping up his food. crow's is a fair example. Such a bill, while not as well There are examples of very remarkable bills, whose adapted to the procuring of any one kind of food as some strange shapes are not explained by the requirements of specialised form, yet seems best adapted to meet the needs food-getting or nest-building. These are most conspicuous of obtaining a varied bill of fare under diverse conditions. among certain foreign species. The rhinoceros hornbill of In many cases the general nature ,of the food of two or Africa is an example of one of these very peculiar forms of I...ore families is alike, but the method of procuring it varies bill. In such cases it is supposed that the decorations of 490 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906

the bill serve as sexual attractions. The gallinaceous birds, Music Makes Work Easier. to which our domestic fowl belong, are more or less omni- vorous in feeding, and the bill forms are not widely diver- THERE is at least one railroad in the world that was gent from the type. built to music. It is a line extending through the kingdom The bill of the parrot is well adapted to its fruit-eating of Dahomey, Africa, to the Niger River, built under French habitS, but is also a very useful member in climbing. It is auspices, by native labourers. It was difficult to get the very heavy and strong, with the upper mandible well curved. sons of Africa to work continuously. Various expedients The tongue of the parrot is also remarkable among bird were tried to keep them at it, without satisfactory results, tongues for the resemblance that it bears to the human until it was found that their native music seemed to stimu- tongue. This probably accounts for the facility with which late them. these birds learn to articulate words. The food of hum- Accordingly, the supervising engineers secured scores of ming-birds consists of two quite different substances, the musicians, with tom-toms, horns, and other native instru- nectar of flowers and minute insects. Even the latter are ments, more or less musical. taken chiefly from the interior of flowers, and to facilitate All along the line the musicians were distributed. the obtaining of this food the birds are equipped with bills When the music struck up, the blacks seemed to forget taking the form of long, slender tubes, and with tongues of fatigue, and laboured with great vigour. unusual and very interesting structure. Most labour is wearisome; otherwise it wouldn't be - labour. Work, when it has a sameness, day by day, however As in the time of Noah, the dove returned to the ark necessary the task, is apt to become monotonous. But it with an olive branch in its bill as a token of promise, so becomes so much less of what we sometimes call a grind if now, each spring, the birds return to our door-yards and we can put a little music into it. shade trees, bearing nesting material, as though it were a A heart that summons to its aid a song has gained an sign of the delightful intercourse we may have, and the antidote for weariness that seldom fails. It is a stimulant study of the beautiful creatures we may enjoy if we will that never leaves one weaker after the immediate influence but meet them in friendly spirit half way. is gone. By its aid you can build railroads through the land of difficulty into the country of the better day.—Young People's Weekly. A New Heart Will Make a New Environment. The Value of Lemons. THE plea that a change of environment is the great need of our irreligious poor, has been, in my judgment, THESE are some of the things the lemon can do for you : overworked, says Dr. A. C. Dixon, of Boston. It is difficult Squeezed into a glass of water every morning and drunk, to decide what kind of environment is best suited to make it will keep your stomach in the best of order, and will people good. As the city missionary climbs the rickety never let dyspepsia get into it. stairs of an old tenement, he sometimes hears a strange If you have dark hair, and it seems to be falling out, rub mingling of praise and profanity. In one room is a family a slice of lemon on your scalp, and it will stop that little with the mother singing at her work, "Jesus, Lover of My trouble promptly. Soul," or "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me," and in another Squeezed into a quart of milk, it will give you a mixture room next door a family with father and mother both drunk to rub on your face night and morning, and give you a com- and boisterous. The same kind of environment, and yet plexion like a princess'. the characters developed there are as far apart as heaven If you have a bad headache, rub slices of lemon along and hell. When he goes into the homes of the wage- the temple. The pain will not be long in disappearing, or earners, he finds piety and worship side by side with de- at least in growing easier to bear. bauchery and profanity. He also learns that on the avenue If a bee or an insect stings you, put a few drops of of the wealthy, where the environment is all that money lemon juice on the spot. can make it, piety and worship still live side by side with If you have a troublesome corn, rub it with lemon after debauchery and profanity. taking a hot bath, and cut away the corn. You need not be surprised that a practical Christian Besides all this, it is always ready for the preparation worker looks puzzled when you talk to him about a revival of old fashioned lemonade. Altogether, the lemon is an . to be brought about by a change of environment. He article few can afford to get along without.—Health. knows, perhaps, of the wealthy philanthropist in New York, who had heard reformers talk so much about better environ- "Iv the poultry-raisers can not afford double-acting, ment for the poor that he determined to buy an old rookery, steam-heated chicken-hatchers, observes The Technical tear it down, and build on the site a modern tenement, with World Magazine (Chicago), they make use of anything water and bath-tubs, which he could rent to the poor for which is handy in place of the ordinary sitting hen. It has less than they were paying for their present squalid quarters. remained for Henry Decker, an old farmer living near Rome He took great pleasure in the enterprise until he learned in the Buckeye State, to use beehives for this purpose. Mr. from his agent that, before the first month of the experi- Decker happened to have two or three empty hives; and ment had expired, some of his tenants were using his bath- as his hens 'went on strike' and refused to sit on their nests, tubs for coal bins, and others had disappeared with all the he decided to raise his chickens without their help. So he gas fixtures and piping that they could rip from their places took a piece of cotton cloth, and laid the eggs in it, then and sell in the junk shop. It cost him something to learn covered them over with a thick chair-cushion, placed the that swine cannot be made into sheep by change of environ- eggs in the hive and awaited results. In a short time 18 ment. A new heart will soon make a new environment, out of 20 eggs were turned into chirping chicks. Since then though the new environment does not make the new Mr. Decker swears by the beehive, and all he asks of the heart. hens is to do the laying, and he will do the rest." October 1, 1906 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES 491

fluid, and then settle gently to the coral foundation. Their fathers and mothers are already dead; and they, an the third quarter of the ensuing November moon, at the hour of midnight, will rise to the surface, commingle a few hours, and at 8 a.m. they will also die, and the next gener- ation will, sink, even as they, to the mysterious home of the balolo." NATURE STUDIES In this account we can plainly recognise the power of FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.—No. 10 God in the marvellous instinct here displayed, and under- stand more fully the words found in Ps. 139 : 9 : "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts The Balolo Worm. of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me." C. HALLAM. Declare His [God's] glory among the nations, and His marvellous works among all the people." Ps. 96 : 3. THE balolo is an insignificant little sea-worm, a mere Splitting Granite with Air. transparent tube, headless, though not mouthless. This THE expansive force of compressed air is employed in little creature is a natural almanac, working with an a very interesting way by the North Carolina Granite accuracy that is miraculous. It comes to the surface of Company. On a sloping hillside, composed of granite the sea from the depths of the coral reefs twice a year; which shows no bed planes, but splits readily in any direc- and, fair weather or foul, hurricane or calm, has never yet tion when started, a three-inch bore is sunk about eight been known to fail to appear at its appointed time, feet, and the bottom is enlarged by exploding a half-stick although it has been watched by European scientists for of dynamite A small charge of powder is fired in this over sixty years, and by the natives for many generations. hole, which starts a horizontal crack or cleavage. Charges It appears on the coasts of Fiji. increasing in size are exploded until the cleavage has The following is an account of this wonderful occur- extended over a radius of seventy-five or one hundred feet. rence, by Mr. A. H. Hansford Then a pipe is cemented into the bore, and air is forced in, "At midnight, on the third quarter of the October moon, under a pressure of from eighty to one hundred pounds. appears what is known to the natives as the 'little balolo,' The expansion of the air extends the cleavage until it a forerunner of the event of the coming month. It seems comes out at the surface on the slope of the hill. A to be a trial trip to the surface by the worm, and no reason horizontal sheet of granite several acres in extent may thus has yet been assigned for this preliminary appearance. be separated.—Youth's Companion. Possibly the explanation may be found to be in the sugges- tion that the 'October balolo' is sterile, and is driven out from the family, as are drones from the hives by working bees. On the October appearance the natives commence The Balance Rock of Tandil. their preparation for the November arrival. My brother, who assisted at one of the 'November balolo' gatherings, ABOUT one hundred and seventy-five miles south of was astonished that the natives should know the time to a Buenos Ayres is the celebrated balance rock of Tandil. minute when the worms would appear. It is of great size, but so nicely balanced that it is moved "At midnight on the third quarter of the November by the impulse of a strong wind. The movement is so moon the 'great balolo' occurs. Vast myriads of these slow that it is not easily perceived, but it is the pastime of worms then appear, remain at the surface for about eight the many people who visit the place to put bottles under hours, and then suddenly, within a few minutes, each the rock and see them crushed to atoms by its motion. I living, wriggling worm of that enormous shoal will die. have been told that others pass a rope under the stone, as "The balolo keeps its appointed times by sun and moon. you have seen boys and girls playing "skip the rope" do, The sun directs its choice of month, and the moon directs two taking hold at each end, and as the rock moved from its choice of day, and at the appointed time the balolo are side to side, pulling out the rope. What a strange object swarming up incessantly with a spiral motion. to skip the rope "Place a few handfuls in a large glass jar of sea water, You would think a stone so lightly poised would be and take out specimens for the microscope. They show easily pulled from its place. So thought General Rozas two colours—brown and green. They are in segments. when he was governor of the province of Buenos Ayres. From the broken ends of the green worms, and from every It is said that he caused more than fifty yoke of oxen to be joint, minute green eggs, with a faint white spot on each, hitched to the rock in an attempt to pull it over, but pour out. From the joints of the brown worms there happily his efforts were in vain, and it still remains the exudes a milky fluid. . . . The green worms are the balance rock of Tandil, a wonder to all who behold it.— females and the brown the males. The density of the Arturo Fulton. water in their home is too great; they have come to the lighter waters for reproduction. Up they swarm until about, daylight the whole family has arrived. The spiral A BUTTERFLY is the very last creature almost that one motion has brought the worm to the surface and thoroughly could suspect of carrying a useful tool, and above all, of mixed the mass. Almost at a given signal the individual using it. But it is true that this beautiful insect carries, worms break into pieces, and brown and green discharge coiled up under its head, a long pump, shaped like two half their contents. tubes (as though you split a tube lengthways). This tube "The worms in the glass jar at that identical moment he can open, and after hooking the two sides together, he have joined action with the writhing mass in the sea; the sticks it deep into the flower, and pumps out every drop of green eggs rest a few minutes, immersed in the fertilising honey there.—Selected.

THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 1, 1906

"EVERY little while," says The Medical Standard, "one sees a revival, usually in the sensational daily press or in an equally sensa- tional novel, of the idea that a photograph of a murderer may be made upon the retina of his victim and lead to the former's identification with the crime. An optical exchange, commenting on this popular fancy, points out the condition necessary to such a phenomenon. The subject or victim would have to be strapped in a chair, so as to be absolutely immovable, and also placed under the influence of an anesthetic; his eyelid held open by means of a speculum, and the pupil dilated with a mydriatic. The murderer would likewise have to have his face kept immovable, at a certain fixed distance, during the whole We send out no papers that have not been ordered; if persons receive THE SIGNS of ten minutes' exposure, his face brilliantly illuminated, and all OF THE TIMES without ordering, it is sent to them by some friend, and they will not be called noon to pay. extraneous light excluded. The refraction of the victim's eye should be We hem sometimes of subscribers not getting their papers. We shall take pleas- known and the proper lens so placed as to focus sharply the image of ure in promptly rectifying all such mistakes if you will call our attention to them. the face of the murderer on the victim's retina. The moment the PRICE, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE: exposure was sufficient the eye would have to be smeared over with For twelve months, post free in the Commonwealth ... 4/6 lamp black, and taken from the orbit in a non-actinic (ruby) light, For six months, post free in the Commonwealth ... 2/6 divided in two, and the posterior half placed in a solution of alum. For three months, post free in the Commonwealth 1/6 Evidently before such a means of discovery and identification can Five or more copies to one or five addresses, post free in the Commonwealth, twelve months ... each 4/- become available it will be necessary to establish a school for murderers, Twelve or more copies to one or twelve addresses, post free in and either enact a statute of compulsory education or establish a the Commonwealth, twelve months ... ... each 314 system of immunity baths in connection therewith." PRICES TO NEW ZEALAND. For twelve months, post free ..: 6/6 For six months, post free ... . 3/6 EMPLOYMENT WANTED. For three months, post free ... 2/- Five or more copies, twelve months ...... each 4/6 SABBATH-KEEPER seeks employment, manual labour, Seventh-day Twelve or more copies, twelve months ...... each 3/6 All to be sent to one address. Adventist employer preferred. Address this office. To other countries in the Postal Union ... 8/6 Single copies, postage extra ... ld. All orders sent direct to the publishers or their agents, either for single subscrip- FOR SALE AT AVONDALE. tions or for clubs, must be accompanied by cash. FOUR-ROOMED cottage; two acres of land well fenced; over 100 All orders for reductions in clubs must be received fourteen days previous to date of issue. assorted fruit trees; poultry shed, etc. Near the church and the Address SIGNS OF THE TIMES PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, Warburton, Victoria. School. Suitable for family wishing to attend the School. For particulars, apply to Mrs. H. B. Allum, c/o Miss Osborne, Vegetarian Cafe, 45 Hunter Street, Sydney, or Mr. E. C. Chapman, Avondale Press, Cooranbong, N.S.W. A REMARKABLE find of tin is reported from near Stannum, N. S. W. The reef, which is almost solid tin, is expected to yield about 16 cwt. of pure tin to the ton. CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN, a Scandinavian navigator, has recently accomplished the feat, many times before attempted in vain, of HEALTH navigating the North-West Passage. AT THE "THE great majority of the London Zionists, after a discussion of Sydney Sanitarium Dr. Dowie's vagaries, decided to sever themselves from the Euston Road Tabernacle, and to form a new Zionist Church for Great Britain, to be called the Evangelistic Mission. The new body renounces to The Sydney Sanitarium makes some extent Dr. Dowie's narrowness, and will not anathematise all use of all rational means in aiding the restoration of that who disagree with their principles. They have adopted "Sankey" priceless treasure—Health. instead of the Dowie hymn-book, but will continue their surpliced Baths of all kinds, Massage, choir and their processions." Electricity, Diet, etc., are the agencies chiefly employed. THE largest camera in the world is owned by a Chicago professor. Very few chronic diseases are incurable, at least they should With it several noted pictures have been taken including views of not be pronounced incurable factories and towns. until the Sanitarium methods "The body of the camera is nine feet four inches wide, six feet high, have been given a trial. and twenty feet long when fully extended, and in its construction over The Sydney Sanitarium is located at WAHROONGA, a beautiful thirty gallons of glue were used. The lens is twelve inches in diameter and cost 300. All moving parts, including the curtain slide, run on suburb of Sydney, at an elevation of about 700 feet. roller bearings. The focussing is done by two panels of glass, which The winter climate is bracing and delightful. can be moved to all parts of the field. The plate holder weighs nearly 500 pounds when loaded, and is put into the camera by means of a • — ADDRESS-- derrick. Great care is used in loading, as a broken plate would result in the loss of £30. The plates are made of plate glass, eight feet long SYDNEY SANITARIUM, WAHROONGA, N.S.W. by four feet eight inches wide, and weigh:over two hundred pounds.' For Descriptive Souvenir "AN eminent New York engineer and practical builder who has to his credit many of the finest sky-scrapers of the metropolis states," says Rock Products, "that a one-hundred-story building, built of re-enforced OUR GENERAL AGENTS 'PM: concrete and towering more than 1,000 feet from the ground, may yet Victorian Tract Society, Oxford Chambers, 473-481 Bourke St., Melbourne. be seen by people who are living and even reached middle age. The New South Wales Tract Society, 80 Hunter Street, Sydney. fifty-story buildings, which are now being seriously considered as a Queensland Tract Society, 186 Edward Street, Brisbane. future possibility, will constitute but a stepping-stone to the seventy- North Queensland Tract Society, Eyre Street, Nth. Ward, Townsville. South Australian Tract Society, 93 Franklin Street, Adelaide. five-story buildings and then to the one-hundred-story buildings. The West Australian Tract Society, 246 William Street, Perth. principal drawback which now presents itself is said to be the impossi- Tasmanian Tract Society, 127 Liverpool Street, Hobart. bility of providing elavator accommodations for even a fifty-story New Zealand Tract Society, 37 Taranaki Street, Wellington. International Tract Society, 39/1 Free School St., Calcutta, India. building, for the reason that the weight of the cable to support the car International Tract Society, 28a Roeland St., Capetown, Sth. Africa. in the numerous thirty-story buildings now in commission, is enormous, International Tract Society, 451 Holloway Road, London, N. and some other method of utilising the upper floors will have to be invented and introduced before the sky-scraper can be built any higher. The limits of the elevator, as understood at this time, have been already Printed and published by THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION LTD.. reached." Warburton, and registered as a newspaper in Victoria.