The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1868-06-17
FOREIGN ITEMS.

The Vaudois.-At reception given by the
Duke of Sutherland in England, April 20, to
consider the subject of the missions of the
Waldensian Church, the Rev. DR.. Guthrie
made some interesting statements concerning
the present condition of the Vaudois. The
preachers have to encounter the fierce opposi-
ton of the priests, but the civil power affords
them protection, The Vaudois however, are
about twenty two thousand in number, and
are very poor, their ministers being content
with fifty pounds year; and they cannot pros
ecute the work on which they have entered
without foreign support.
Irish Presbyterians-At a meeting In the
Presbyterian church at Ballygowan, to consid-
er Lord Duferin's promise to compensate the
churches on his estates for the loss of the re-
giltna dORum, Mr.. Wood, clergyman, said
that the loss would be severely felt. But, he
added, the Presbyterian Church in Ulster did
not depend upon the friendship of the House
of Commons The strong would assist the
weak, - so that from no position in the field
would the old flag, with its ardeRS sed UirenS,
be taken down.
The widow of the Marquis De Boisy, better
known as Countess Guicciol is about to pub
lish her memoirs, which will contain great
many curious details respecting Lord Byron.
DR.. Robert Payne Smith, Professor of Divinity
at Oxford, is the hampton Lecturer this year
Berlin correspondent of the London Times
says that the emigration from Germany will
| be unprecedented this year. Hitherto the
Southern Germans, Of poorer class of men,
were those who crossed the Atlantic, but now
the people of the North are on the move, car
rying with them greater amount of property
to begin their New World life with. The cor
respondent thinks quarter of million of
Germans viii pass TO the United States this
year.
Scientific Expeditions.-It is said that scien-
ti6c expeditions will sail this summer from
Prussia, England and France to the North
Pole. The theory now accepted among the
learned is that the cooling OF the incandescent
mass, which constitutes this globe, began at
the two poles and advanced thence to the
Equator. 1t would follow, if this theory be
true, that life first manifested itself at the
Poles and there are to be found the most an
cient veStiges of the first fora and fauna, and
even of the human race. The ambition to be
the first to find these traces Of the former world
is what stimulates these rival expeditions.
A Letter-writcr in Abyssinia says the climate
on the table land, seven thousand feet above
the level of the sea, is lone Of the most de-
hghtful in the world. AT night the thermom-
eter goes down 10 % or 20 Fahrenheit; in the
day it is l2O in the sun, difference of go de-
grees. A fuetuation so remarkable might
be supposed to be unpleasant; but the writer
says it is greatly modified by the fact that
there is always fresh breeze in the daytime,
which temperS the heat, while at night there
is always a dead calm, so that the cold is little
felt.
The Jerusalem Almanac for 1868 says that
the population of the city amounts to $4,000;
of whom 5000 are Jews, 5000 MOhammedans,
and 4 900 Christians The Mohammedans
have eleven mosques. The Mukamen, or prin-
cipal Court of Justice, is composed of four
Turks, one Latin Christian, one Greek Chris
tian, aud one Jew. the kadi and mutt being
members &c Ob5cio. The LatinS have four con-
vents for men and four for women; the Greeks
eleven for men and four for women. There
are about three hundred children in the differ
ent Protestant schools
The Palestine Explorations.-We are sorry to
hear from Jerusalem that the new Pasha has
interfered with the important work of excava-
tion conducted by the Exploration Committee.
We cannot pretend to be surprised at this In
terruption, though we sincerely trust it will be
only for brief space. If a party of Turkish
foundations of Westminster Abbey, We fancy
they would lay themselves open to many OBJ
iections, The Haram, around which we are
digging and searching, 10 hohammedan holy
place, second only 10 the inclosure of Mecca in
Sanctity. 1t is also a fortress, and military
men are proverbially jealous about foreign en-
crOachments on their works Of defense
AtheR6um.
The Ant-State Church Struggle in England
On the morning of the 18th Of May, Dis
senters' breakfast" was held in Edinburgh,
at which addresses were delivered by ministers
and elders of the United Presbyterian and
Free Churches. The chairman, in the course
of his opening speech, remarked that previous
to the disruption in the Church of Scotland,
the contributions of the Established Church
amounted certainly to less then go, 900 year;
but since the disruption, the united contribu-
tons of the Free Church for missionary and
religious purposes had amounted to upward of
600, 900 year All the speakers gave a cor
dial support to Mr.. Gladstone's bill