A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 303, 18 September 1936, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

■■". l 4—.- , Norwegian Life ' '/ f' -’V- ■ . Mr, B. Lynneberg, of Ngaio, speaking of the disaster at . Lake Loen, said that every piece of arable land in Norway was precious and was occupied by the Norwegian people. Norway is a country of smallholders dr peasant proprietors, and the proportion of proprietors to tenants is steadfly increasing. Agriculture is the occupation of about 40 per cent, of the population. Wheat is grown in the south, barley, rye and oats , farther north, but the corn supply has to be largely imported. The rearing bl cattle, sheep, and horses is the staple occupation. The. pastures are excellent. Only a small proportion of the total surface Is suitable for cultivation, and to each farm in the valley is generally attached an area of mountain pasture. Often these pastures are at a considerable distance from the farm. In winter the cattle are'housed and fed in the farm, but every, spring sees a migration en masse to the mountain pastures. The herds are driven up the' steep mountain paths' to tjje higher valleys by the girls and young women of the farms who remain with them all through the summer, living in one-roomed wooden huts, known as saeters. It is a strenuous life, for therte is much milking, and cheese and buttefmaking to be done. The men come up at intervals, from the farms wifi horses to carry away the produce. * Small Powers’ Navies. A meeting has taken place in Lofl don between naval representatives di the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Nprway, and Sweden, when the applicability of the London Navdl Treaty of 1936 to the last-mentioned four countries was considered. Tfie Danish navy consists of four coastal defence ironclads, two small cruisers. 20 torpedo boats (built and eight submarines (built and Finland’s navy consists of two coast® defence battleships and four submarines. The Norwegian navy consists four ironclads, 17 torpedo boats, three destroyers, nine submarines, and sew eral minelayers. The Swedish navy consists of 72 fighting vessels over IQO tons (360 guns), 12 being ironclads, arid 17 submarines. Lord Border. ’• Lord Horder, who has criticised dictatorships, was created Baron Horder in 1933.' He was Physician in Ordinary to the present King, then Prince of Wales, from 1923. He is senior physician at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He was born In 1871, received his' early education' and later attended ttie University of London. Besides acting as physician to the Prince of Wales, Lord Horder, acted as physician to Mr. Ramsay Mae:' Donald during the latter’s term as Prime Minister of England. He was also a meinber of the executive, and chairman of the advisory scientific committee, of the British Empire Cancer Campaign, and a past-president of the National . Birth Control Association. During .the war he was a captain attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps. He has made numerous contri; buttons to medical literature. ... ■ : ... £ Bishop Barnes.

The RL Rev. Ernest:William Barnes, who supports the admission of women to the ministry, has been Bishop of Birmingham since 1924. Born in 1874, he had a distinguished mathematical career at Cambridge University, being bracketed Second Wrangler in 189 Q. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1902 and from 1918 to 1924'“ was Canon of Westminster. He was made a bishop on the recommendation of Mr;' Ramsay MacDonald, then Prime Minister. His reaffirmation of the Darwinian evolutionary belief, and his pro-. hibition in his diocese of the illegal * practice of Reservation of the Sacrament (a practice tacitly admitting the doctrine of transubstantiation) have brought him Into'conflict with AngloiCatholics. On October 16, 1927, when ' I he was about to preach in St Paul’® Cathedral, London, a clergyman present called for his ex-communication.-Fagging. It is stated that the fags at Eton Col- • lege this term will include Viscount Lascelles. Fagging is an old-established system at English public schools under which the older boys are empowered by the school authorities to exact certain duties from the younger boys. The system, somewhat elaborately organised, varies at different'schools. All boys are’ liable to fagging until they reach a certain form. As a rule the sixth form alone is entitled to fags, but some schools extend the privilege to the fifth and also to the school cricket and football teams. The term “fag” is thought to be a contraction of the word “factotum,” from the Latin facere totum, to do everythifig required Cocktail. Blindfolded judges at an Empire cocktail competition awarded the first prize to a London bartender’s “Perfect Lady.” The origin of the word “cocktail” as a name for a -particular drink is unknown. An article in the “New York World” in 1891 took the view that it is from an Aztec word, and that “the liquor was discovered by a Toltee noble, who sent it by the hand of his daughter Xochitl” to to the King, who promptly named it “zoctl,” whence “cocktail.” Washington-Irving says that the Dutch-Americans were the inventors of the drink. Yet a third account® says that it was a drink enjoyed at Cock-fighting mains. Governor of Gibraltar The Governor of- Gibraltar has advised refugees from disturbances'which occurred last Sunday to return to their undamaged homes in La Linea. La Linea is a Spanish town close to Gibraltar. The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is General Sir C. H. Harington. In the administration of Gibraltar he is assisted by an executive council composed of four official and three unofficial 'members. The power of legislation is vested in him. Gibraltar is 1209 miles from England, and the time taken by steamers to cover the distance is three and a half days. Gibraltar is a very popular tourist centre for those wishing to tour Southern Spain and Morocco. It is also extensively used as a port of eall and coaling station by shipping, the tonnage entering and clearing the port averaging about 14,000,000 annually, nearly half of it British.