A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 221, 15 June 1936, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Cape Town Harbour The Acting-Minister of Defence in South Africa says the Government does not intend to allow Cape Town to oe used as a British naval base. Cai>e Town, the oldest town in South Africa, was founded by colonists of the Dutch East India Company, who had long realised that the Cape of Good Hope would make an ideal port of call at which their ships on the way to and from the East. Indies could take in water and provisions. In order to make the port safe to ships, the construction of a breakwater was begun in 1860. To-day ib is nearly 5000 feet long. The harbour consists of three basins: the Victoria Basin, the Alfred Basin, and the New Basin, of 67, 83 and 106 acres respectively. The quays and jetties of the basins are provided with all modern equipment for handling cargo. The port was administeied by its own Harbour Board until 1910. when the Union of South Africa was formed. It was then placed under the administration of a body known as Die South African Railways and Harbour:; Department, which is under the control of the Minister of Railways and Harbours. It is possible to accommodate alongside the quays 25,000-ton liners. There is also under construction a new dock which will have a water area .f 196 acres. The docks equipment of the port includes a total length of 2 A miles quayage, and transit sheds and warehouses with a total floor space of 738,814 square feet. Trains run from alongside the liners to Johannesburg. 956 miles away, and to Durban 1253 miles away. The “Artful Dodger.”

Mr. W. Gallacher, speaking in the House of Commons, referred to Mr. J. H. Thomas as the “Artful Dodger" in the Labour movement, and to Mr. Ramsay MacDonald as the “Fagin.” The characters are to be found in Charles Dickens’s “Oliver Twist.” John Dawkins, called the "Artful Dodger.” was a young pickpocket in the services of Fagin, the Jew. When Oliver Twisti runs away from his master and sets out for Loudon, ho meets the Artful Dodger on the road, who gives him something to eat, and afterward takes him to Fagin’s den. Although the Dodger is au adept in thieving and knavery, be is detected ah last in attempting to pick a gentleman’s pocket, and is sentenced to transportation for life. Fagin, a crafty old Jew, is a receiver of stolen goods, with a number of confederates of both sexes. He also employs several 'boys (styled “apprent>ices”) to carry on a systematic trade of pilfering. After a long career of villainy he is sentenced to death for complicity in a murder. Bangkok.

Bangkok, where important Japanese interests are bidding for control of the Bangkok Dock Company, is the capital and chief seaport of Siam. lilies on both banks of the Menam River, about 20 miles from its mouth. Until 1770 it was little more than a village; it is now a fine and important city with electric lighting and tramways, several terminal railway stations and a number of navigable canals. On July 1, 1918, a rartway to Penang was opened which shortened t he journey to Europe by three days. Over .10 square miles iu extent, Bangkok consists of a series of towns, the city proper being enclosed by a wall. Outside is the commercial portion, with docks, wharves and warehouses, the Siamese quarters and the Chinese town. The king’s palace, surrounded by high walls, the palaces of the princes and numerous Buddhist temples, give Bangkok a typically Oriental appearance. Bangkok is an important trading centre for the teak, rice and ivory obtained in the neighbourhood. Most of the heavy labour in Bangkok is done by Chinese. The population is about 460,000. Perak.

Japanese are stated to have an option over a property iu Perak containing, it is estimated, 7,000,000 tons of iron ore. Perak is the most northerly of the Federated Malay States, British Malava. It has a long eoast on the Strait of Malacca. Tin is mined at Taipang and Ipoh. Rubber is cultivated, especially at Matang. The main west trunk road and railway of Malaya cross the State through Taipang, Kualakangsar and Ipoh. Rice is grown in the State for export. Perak has been under British protection since 1574. Its area is 7800 square miles and its population about 600,000 Syndicalism.

Two Syndicalists were shot dead at Malaga, Spain, in the course of Syndicalist and Communist rioting. Syndicalism is a development of trade unionism. The Syndicalist is not content, like the earlier trade unionist, to strive for better conditions of labour, higher wages and shorter hours. He believes in the complete removal of the capitalist class and the substitution of the trade union as the owner and director of every industry. Hence he is also in opposition to the Socialist, who believes in the collective ownership of the sources of industry and of the means of distribution' and exchange. The Syndicalist, who would supersede the State no less than the individual capitalist by trade union management of affairs, regards Socialism as out of date and undesirable. He is averse to Parliamentary action and seeks to establish the social revolution by securing the control of industry. Syndicalism had its origin in France, where the General Confederation of Trade Unions is frankly hostile to all parliamentary government and all capitalists. Burma. Burma, which is being detached from India under the provisions of the Government of India Act. and for which a special secretaryship is to be provided in the House of Commons, is twice as large as New Zealand, and has a population of about 13,000,000. The capital is Rangoon, which has a population exceeding 400,000. Burma is bounded by China, Siam, Tibet, the Bay of Bengal and the Provinces of Bengal and Assam of British India. Since the first Burma war in 1826. Burma has been taken over portion by portion by the British, and, though geographically and racially a separate entity, has been administered as part of British India. Under the Government of India Act, Burma is made a Crown colony, and given a Constitution of her own. Under the new law there is to be a Senate of 36 members and a House of Representatives of 132 members. Of the people of Burma, 7’2 per cent, depend on agriculture, 10 per cent, on trade, and seven per cent, on industry. Rice forms about 74 per cent, of the agricultural crop, that being the staple food of the people,