A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 172, 17 April 1937, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

British Somaliland Thousands of Abyssinian refugees are reported to be crossing the frontier inn, British Somaliland, so named from the Somali tribes, who are the chief inhabitants. The British Somaliland protectorate, which extends along the Gulf of Aden for about 400 miles and stretches inland for a distance varying from SO lo 220 miles, lias an area of 08,000 square miles and a population of 345,000. The protectorate is bounded west by French Somaliland, south-west by Abyssinian territory and south-east and east by Italian Somaliland.

Gums ami resins are collected for export, fibre is obtained from the aloe plant, ostriches tire reared for their feathers, and millet is cultivated, but the chief weath of the people consists in their live stock. A large number of .sheep and goats and small numbers of cattle are exported, and on occasions thousands of camels, as was done during the World War for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The most valuable export is that of skins, the Somali goat and sheepskins being of very high quality. They go chiefly to the United States.

The imports are mainly sheeting and longcloth, dates, rice and sugar. Formerly American sheeting had practically a monopoly, but in recent years it has had to meet Japanese competition. The mineral resources of the country are undeveloped. It is known to contain oilfields and coal and mica in the coastal region. Both executive and legislative power is in the hands of the Governor. District commissioners supervise local affairs. Berbera, chief town and port of British Somaliland, is at the head of a deep inlet, the only completely sheltered haven on the south side of the Gulf of Aden. Ocean-going steamers find ample accommodation. The town is built in two divisions —the native town to the east and the new town laid out by the Egyptians to the west. The permanent population is under 10,000, but from October to April the population rises to 30,000 or more by the arrival of caravans from Ogaden and Dolbahanta. The traders bring with them tents on tlie backs of camels and these are pitched near tlie native town. Direct trade is almost entirely with Aden; its annual value is about 1500,000. Locarno Pact.

Great Britain’s attitude to the Locarno Pact was defined by the foreign Secretary in a statement in the House of Commons in reply to an inquiry by a member as to whether Britain was still bound by the Locarno Treaty in view of Germany’s denunciation and Belgium’s approaching release from its obligations. The Locarno Paet is a series of diplomatic instruments for peace and arbitration drawn up at Locarno in 1925, whereby Germany, Belgium, Prance, Great Britain and Italy mutually guaranteed the peace in Western Europe, and Germany undertook to arbitrate about disputes with France, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The ceremony which took place at Locarno was the initialling of the instruments by tlie delegates on October 16, 1925. The treaties were signed in the Foreign Office, London, on December 1,1925. That achievement made an impression on popular opinion in all the countries concerned because it marked a break from the war atmosphere, and the chief countries concerned in the World War committed themselves to a pacifist policy as between themselves for the future. In the year following the signing of the treaties the two main practical consequences that logically were to be expected were the evacuation of the occupied Rhinelands and Germany’s entry into the League of Nations. Both those contingencies were connoted by the restoration of ' equal status between Germany and her enemies. Cult of Buddhism. Alter making an obeisance to the image of Buddha in a Rangoou pagoda, a Burmese monk ignited his paraflindrenched clothing and was burned to death. Buddhism is the religion of the followers of Gautama Buddha, which formerly covered a large area in India, and is still widely spread in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, C.anibodia, China, and Japan. It rose in the sixth century. 8.C.. as an offshoot of the prevailing Hindu religion of North India, in what is uow approximately Bihar, west of Bengal. The followers of Buddha have a vast literature in tlie ancient Pali language which records Buddha’s discourses and conversations with his disciples. In recent times archaeologists have dug up in India and deciphered many memorials of his life, one of them being a casket which contained a bone of Buddha. His religion appeals to the Oriental mind with its teaching that existence is in itself evil, and that the soul lives over and over again on earth—first in one person and then in another, at times even as an animal, insect, or plant — rising higher in the scale after each good life ami sinking lower with each evil one. For this reason Buddhists never kill animals or take life of any sort. They reverence all in Nature. India is no longer the chief numerical centre of Buddhism, but pilgrims come as in aueient times from all parts of the Orient to visit the places sacred to Buddha. The religion, as practised to-day. lias in many cases become degraded and idolatrous. Ils purest, and most important home is in Ceylon. Altogether there are over 100,000,000 Buddhists iu the world, chiefly iu China, so that this belief still ranks as one of the great historic religions of mankind. Balearic Islands. Secret documents are supposed to have been discovered revealing Italy's designs on the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands are a group of four large and 11 small islands in the Mediterranean, situated off the east coast of Spain, of which they form a province and a military district. They have an area of 1935 square miles, and a population of about 350,000 people. Apart from Majorca, the largest, Minorca, Iviza. Formentera, and Cabrera, the rest are rocky islets. The climate is fine, hut variable, tlie soil is moderately fertile, and minerals abound. The inhabitants are Spanish, with a mixture of Moorish blood. In ancient times they had a reputation as slingers in the armies of Carthage and Rome They are a hard-working, manufacturing ]K?ople, and their standard of education is fairly high. Communication with Spain is frequent and regular, especially with Barcelona and Valencia. Tlie chief products are cereals, wine, oil, ami fruit, and these, witli marble, limestone, ami salt, are exported. Typical manufactures are silver, filigree work, ami majolica ware. The capital and chief port is Palma; Port Mahon, in Minorca, with an excellent fort Hied harbour, comes next. There is a natural harbour on Iviza Port Mahon was captured by the English In 1708, and Minorca was a British possession until 1756. and again from 1763 to 1782, M&g -tail* jeded to Spsto to IS-08,