Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1882 — CURRENT TOPICS [ARTICLE]

CURRENT TOPICS

The Mississippi river was sixty miles wide at Helena, Arkansas, a few days ago. It is the fashion to drink champagne in the private boxes at the opera in Philadelphia. An alarming increase of a malignant scarlet fever is shown by health statistics at Philadelphia. It is said tbat’thenavy of this country contains one commissioned officer fbi every two and. a half men. One hundred and fifty lives were lost in a recent mine explosion at Lefferi in Styria, a province of Austria. It is said that 100,000 persons are annually killed in England from causes directly resulting from industrial occupations. It is now stated that the President refuses to reopen the case of Fitz John Porter, unless he shall be directed to do so by Congress. A student in the University of Tennessee forty eigarets, inhaling the smoke, and very properly laid himself down to die. The City Chaimberlain of New York, receives a salary of $25,009 a year, the Mayor $10 : 000, the City Attorney $12,000, and all other officers are paid in the same lavish proportion. * A woman who from drunkenness and exposure, was found dead in the streets of Grand Rapids, Mich., a few days ago. She left a husband and a family of grown-up children. A movement has been organized among the ministers of Chicago to secure the abolition of Sunday theatrical performances, and of the indecencies and immoralities connected with the theaters in that city. Pope Leo XIII. has addressed a letter to the Italian Bishops instructing them to encourage Catholic societies among the laity, to develop the Catholic press, and to advocate boldly the temporal independence of the Holy See.

The member of Cougress who introduced a bill authorizing the Government to provide and supply vaocine points, lost a beautiful and beloved daughter by a horrible death from vaccinatiou. The Philadelphia Times, Independent, is authority for the statement that had Garfield lived, the nomination of Conkling to be Associate Justice wonld almost certainly have been made by hirh. A foreign item says that the vault of U rich family in Germauy was recently broken into and twelve of the corpses stolen. This “industry,” invented in America, appears to be flourishing in Europe. Hon. R. B. F. Pierce, of the Crawfordsville district, will attempt to get a bill through Congress appropriating $150,000 for the improvement !of the Wabash river from Lafayette one hundred miles down stream. The pay fund of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, was robbed of $7,3U0, the other night, in the express office at Lima, Ohio. At last accounts detectives were on the track of the thieves, and it was thought the money would be recovered. Major Warner, aged eighty, former keeper of Libby prison, at the revival meeting of Mrs. Oliver, the evangelist, at Atlanta. Ga., has been converted. It is stated that a brother of the lady was starved to death at Libby under Major Warner’s administration. The purchase of 28,000 head of cattle autl 140,000 acres of laud was a pretty good-sized transaction, even for Texas, where everything is done on a large scale. Such a transaction is reported to have occurred the other day in Lavaca oounty, Texas. The consideration was $600,000. Herbert Spencer’s long meditated journey to America is now definitely fixed. He sails August next, and intends to be absent three months. He visits Canada and also possibly California. He has refused all proposals -to lecture, bis design being solely to see <he country and people without any ulterior object. Commissioner Raum appears to be in “dead earnest” In his crusade against the adulterants, glucose and oleomargarine, and determined to press upon Congress the necessity and

propriety of legislation which will protect the people against the fraud and injury of their use. He deserves the thahks of the Nation for his service to it in this important matter. The biggest girl in the school at Hammond’s Corners, Ohio, was whipped by the teacher with great severity. Her father had the young man arrested, and a few days ago the case was called for trial, but the Prosecuting Attorney said that the matter had been amicably arranged; the girl was not only convinced that the punish ment was deserved, but accepted the teacher’s discipline for life as his wife. An English resident of Odessa, who has lived there many years, writes to the London Daily News that the reported outrages upon the Jews in Russia are grossly exaggerated. He says that the number of persons who have been tried for taking leading parts in these riots could scarcely have been less than four hundred. They were all tried publicly, in open courts, whether civil or military. And though several were fouud guilty of having caused the death of Jews, nothing ever seems to have been proved about charges of rape. Had this crime, or any of the more horrible and exceptional crimes set forth in the indictment, been really perpetrated, the papers would have noticed it.__ - In Verona, Italy, the official intrusted by the Syndic to issue licenses for marriage mixed up the names of the applicants in such sort that when the day arrived for uniting a number of young couples the wrong found themselves named in the document and had to choose between taking the partners selected for them, br postponing their marriage altogether for some time. With much reluctance on the part of some, and joy on the part of others, the ceremony was allowed to proceed, a number of people who, until then, had been strangers to one another, being declared respectively man and wife in true Italian form. In the opinion of the Syndic this was not a matter of much importance, it being certain, in that gentleman’s opinion, that thus mated they would experience quite as few disappointments as they w’ouhl had they each chosen their own mates for life.; while promptly agreeing to accept the official arrangement they had saved the State representatives much trouble and not wasted the time of its clerks in preparing fresh licenses in return for the fees.

The question of disestablishment which is so strongly coming to the front in Scotland gains further impulse from the diligence with which one of the Scotch papers has for a long time been slily taking a census of all the leading churches in the land. The results are now being published, and one of the sets of figures shows that in the Leith division, out of a population of over 58,000, little more than one-third attend church. The three leading Presbyterian churches ran close in the number of worshipers. The Established, with eight churches, had 5,525 worshippers; the Free, with seven churches. 5.098, and the United Presbyterian, with five churches, 5,0'i8. The United Presbyteriaubad, therefore, the best average. Another * way of contrasting the statistics shows that while 5,583 people attended two services in eight Established churches, ,10,105 attended twelve Free aud United Presbyterian churches; and that wnile 5,585 worshiped in the Establishment, 14,151 were present at two services in the other churches.

A considerable sensation has been produced iu European medics 1 circles by the recent appearance iu the drug market of a new narcotic, hailing from Queensland, aud at present only known to the trade by its quaint ua tive name of “pltchery-bidgery.” It is indigenous to northern Australia—-a sort of stunted shrub, from three to four inches in neight when full grown, and bearing blossoms of a waxy texture, white iu color aud flecked ■with pink spots. The flowers are picked in the month of August, dried, uacked tightly in canvas bags, and then subjected to a high degree of pressure, which imparts to them the consistency of cake tobacco. By chewing a small plug of this substance relief is speedily obtained from bodily fatigue, hunger and thirst. A larger dose of pltcherybidgery produces obsolute insensibility to pain. 1 itchery-bidgery, administered iu minute doses, acts as a stimulant; in larger quantities, a 9 a powerful sedative. But it has the peculiar property of enabling those who take it habitually to withstand fatigue aud undergo physical exertion upon a low diet. The Edmunds anti-polygamy bill as passed by the Senate, meets the .or will meet it when it becomes a law, as it probably will, exe-

cuted by President Arthur:lt prohibits bigamy or polygamy in any place under the jurisdiction of the United States, under penalty of heavy fine and imprisonment. Cohabitation with more than one woman is also heavily punishable, thus leaving no chance ior Mormons to say they are not married, but are living in adultery as they do now when pressed under the present law. No bigamist or polygamist shall sit on a jury trying a case under this law. The President is empowered to grant amnesty to those whom he may choose. The issue of Mormon marriages born up to January 1, 1883, are hereby legitimized. No bigamist or polygamist shall vote or hold office, and all registration and election offices are declared vacant by the act, and their duties hereafter shall be performed by a board of five persons, to be appointed by the President until the legislature of the territory shall make provision for filling the offices; said legislature to be elected by electors entitled to vote under this act; that is, no polygamist or bigamist or any person cohabiting with more than one woman.