A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 227, 22 June 1936, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Herr Hitler and Peace

Air. Anthony Eden, speaking in the House of Commons during the sanctions debate, regretted that the German Government had felt itself unable to make any spontaneous contribution toward restoration, of confidence in Europe. Addressing 100,000 workers in Berlin, gathered from all parts o£ Germany, on Alay 1 last, Herr Hitler said: “We require external as well as internal peace for the fulfilment of our ideal. We can hope for nothing from a Europe exposed to mad outbursts of hatred. We wish, therefore, because we have great plans and have set ourselves a mighty task, to preserve peace. We wish to say to other nations, ‘Do not cross our path. Leave us alone. We have overcome our internal problems without involving tiny other people in our difficulties. Please be good enough to do the same and do not try to draw others into your quarrels.’, It is not necessary for me to gain the esteem and respect: of my people by any deed of glory which would leave millions dead in its train. I have their respect without that. ... In these [last three] years the German people has (been strengthened internally, but it has not used its strength to threaten anyone else. On the contrary, we have tried to incorporate our stability into the life of Europe as a factor making for equilibrium. As soon as we declared our readiness to offer the hand of friendship to all peoples without reference to the past or the present, and to conclude treaties with them, we saw a new campaign against us break out. ... I know that the responsibility does not lie with the masses in every land who would have to fight if these agitators succeeded. No, it is a small international clique that only lives to arouse hatred among the peoples. . .

Mr. Baldwin and Security. During the sanctions debate in the House of Commons, Mr. Stanley Baldwin said he had taken great pains to stress the tentative nature of sanctions and collective security. The words uttered by Mr. Baldwin that are usually called against him by critics occurred in a speech, which he made at Glasgow in November, 1954; “It is curious,” he said, “that there is growing among the Labour Party support for what is called a collective peace system. Well, now, a collective peace system in my view is perfectly impracticable in view of the fact that the United States is not yet, to our unbounded regret, a member of the League of Nations, and that in the last two or three years two great Powers, Germany and Japan, have both retired from it. It is hardly worth considering when those be the facts.” To “Throw Up the Sponge.” League circles in Geneva are said to be ainazed that Britain should “throw up the sponge” by its decision to lift sanctions against Italy. “To throw up the sponge” means to give up; to confess onself beaten. The term is from the practice in boxing matches of a second tossing a sponge into the air as a sign that his man was beaten. To-day, in a boxing match, when a principal is unable to continue, the second throws, or tosses, in a towel. Georgetown. Georgetown, where the trawler Girl Pat was captured and the crew arrested, is a seaport, and the capital of British Guiana, South America.’ Its former name was Stabroek. It stands near the mouth of the River Demerara, with a fortified harbour and lighthouse. The city, sometimes called Demerara, lies below the level of highwater, which is kept out by a sea-wall called the Ring. The houses are mostly of wood, the streets are broad and shaded by palm trees, and there are several canals. The climate is humid and hot, and owing to the swampy surroundings, is unhealthy. The exports include coffee, sugar, cocoa, rum, gold. The lack of good drinking water has been overcome by boring artesian wells and the provision of storage tanks. The population is about 60,000. The Belgian “Black Country.” A determined but futile effort has been made to induce the transport workers in the Belgian “Black Country” to join the strike. Belgium has great natural resources. In mineral wealth it is one of the richest countries of the Continent of Europe. It has an abundance of iron ore and zine. Its vast coalfields follow in an almost uninterrupted line the valleys of the Sambre and the Meuse from the French to the Dutch frontier. ■ Additional coal deposits were found a few years ago in the province of Lilnburg. The Belgian “Black Country” is probably the densest industrial area in the world. It is more densely populated than China.. Its 8,250,000 people are spread over a small area of 11,752 square miles—more than 700 *to the square mile. Britain in the Mediterranean. Mr. Anthony Eden has said that the British fleet in the Mediterranean Sea must remain stronger than it was before the Italo-Abyssinian dispute. Practically midway between Sicily and Libya is an island in the Mediterranean called Pantelleria, which belongs to Italy. Naval strategists regard this region as the strongest Italian position in the Mediterranean and the most difficult for the British fleet to pass in the event of a war with - Italy. In fact, they say, it could not be passed except at great risk by armoured ships, and it would be absolutely denied to merchant ships. Not since 1912 has Britain dominated the Mediterranean. In that year she turned over the Mediterranean to the French navy in order to concentrate her forces in the North Sea. Since the World War she has increased her navy in the Mediterranean. One of the reasons why Great Britain attaches such great importance to the Mediterranean is that it. is the shortest route to and from India. In the event, however, of a war in the Mediterranean, in which Britain was involved, the merchant ships would be sent round the Cape of Good Hope.

The Fourth Party. The reference, “fourth party,” Is to a partv formed in the House of Commons in 1880. After the great Liberal victory at the polls in that year, it was felt that a more forward and active policy was necessary on the part of the Opposition. Four members combined for this purpose—Lord Randolph Churchill,' Sir John Gorst, Sir Henry Wolfe and Mr. Balfour. As a distinctive force they were known as the Fourth Party, and they did, in fact, exercise a great influence in the House of Commons and in the country. After the split-up of the parties caused by the introduction of Home Rule in 1886 the Fourth Party disappeared as a / separate entity. The. three other parties were the Liberals, Conservatives °»d Irish,