The Revolution in Portugal.—
Quite unexpectedly the Republican party in Portugal have seized the reins of government. A republic has been set up, and King Manoel is a fugitive. As revolutions go, there was fortunately a comparatively small loss of life. The people have hailed the new order of things with joy. In another place we have referred to one of the causes for this great upheaval, and it is to be hoped that the responsible authorities will give freer scope to Protestant workers.
Glasgow Low-Class Clubs.—
A special correspondent of the Glasgow Herald has been visiting a number of these clubs, and his accounts of what he saw are truly anything but encouraging. It would appear that hundreds of young men meet in these clubs on the Lord’s day, spending their time drinking, gambling, discussing the latest sporting news and the results of football matches. It is to be hoped that the responsible authorities may realise the seriousness of the revelations, and if there is no law to deal with these transgressors, to get laws passed that will be an effectual check to such daring defiance of God’s day.
Luther on Learning, and the Spread of the Gospel.—
In a memorial to the senators of every town in Germany, Luther said: “We cannot deny that although the Gospel came, and comes daily, by the Holy Ghost, yet it comes by means of languages, has been advanced by them, and must be sustained by them; even as when God willed to send the Gospel by the Apostles into every part of the world. He gave the gift of tongues for that purpose. No one knew wherefore God permitted languages to be brought forward till they first saw that it was for the sake of the Gospel, which He chose to publish by them, and by that means, discover and destroy the kingdom of Anti-Christ. Therefore, let us open our eyes, thank God for the precious jewel, and hold it fast, that it may not be again snatched from us.”
The Nation’s Drink Bill.—
The Nation’s Drink Bill for 1909 is presented by Mr. George B. Wilson, the Secretary of the United Kingdom Alliance, in the Times:—”I estimate,” says Mr. Wilson, “the total expenditure of the United Kingdom on alcoholic liquors during 1909 at £155,162,485, as compared with £161,060,482 in 1908. There has therefore been a decrease in expenditure of £5,897,997. On spirits the decrease was £4,800,000, with a decrease in consumption of 7,022,775 gallons. On beer the decrease was £1,186,000, with a decrease in consumption of 645,396 barrels. On wines, on the other hand, there has been an increase of £93,000, with an increase in consumption of 103,744 gallons. If there had been no increase in prices, the reduction on the total expenditure would have been £11,147,997. “These figures are very remarkable and very significant,” says the Times. “They are all the more significant because a decline in the consumption of alcoholic liquors has been a marked feature of the statistics for several years past. Some considerable portion of the greatly increased decline, especially in the consumption of spirits in 1909, is unquestionably due to the increased price of spirits brought about by the increased taxation imposed by the Budget of last year. But this, though a vera causa, cannot be regarded as an exclusive cause.”