A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 265, 5 August 1937, Page 9

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dr. Chaim Weizmann

Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland and president of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, publicly appealed to the Zurich Zionist Congress, attended by 450 delegates from 50 countries, not entirely to reject the British plan for settlement of Palestine’s troubles. Dr. Weizmann, more thau any other man, is responsible for the steps that have been taken to make Palestine n Jewish national home. Britain’s support of this was said to be his one reward for the invaluable assistance he gave the Allies on the chemical side of the Great War. He was then at the Manchester University. His worth being recognised, he was made Director of Admiraltv Laboratories, a post be held from 1916 to 1919. He was born in the province of Grodno, Russia, in 1874. , , , He earned the esteem of the late Lord Balfour, and in the book on the life of that statesman is an account of their first meeting. In 1902 the Zionist Jews had refused the offer of land in British East Africa. In 1905, at a political meeting in his constituency, his chairman was a Jew, and to him Mr. Balfour said he wanted to fathom the reasons for that refusal. The chairman referred him to “one of the youngest leaders of the Zionist movement, a Russian Jew, Chaim Weizmann, who had recently settled in England and held a post as lecturer in organic chemistry at the Victoria University.” A meeting was arranged. Out of that meeting grew what, in 1917, was to be the famous Balfour Declaration in the terms of which thousands of Jews have returned to their ancient country. Said Dr. Weizmann of that talk: “I said, ‘Mr. Balfour, if you were offered Paris instead of London, would you take it? Would you take Paris instead of Loudon?’ He looked surprised. ,He replied, ‘But London is our own 1 I said, ‘Jerusalem was our own when London was marsh.’ He said, ‘Thats true.’” , . Balfour said later: “It was during that talk with Weizmann that I saw that the Jewish form of patriotism was unique.” Arnheim Land

An aboriginal outlaw, “Smiler,” the Lone Wolf of Arnheim Land, has been killed by members of his own tribe. Arnheim Land is a district in the Northern Territory, Australia. It lies between the Gulf of Carpentaria and Anson Bay, and is the extreme northern portion of the territory. It was named after the ship of the Dutch navigator who discovered it in 1618.

The Reformation The Rev. A. Jardine, states that the Archbishop of Canterbury is doing more to destroy the work of the Reformation than anyone else in the Church of England. The Reformation was the great religious revival of the sixteenth century which led to the establishment of the Protestant Churches. It assumed different aspects, and resulted in alterations of discipline o r doctrine more or less fundamental in different countries and in different stages of its progress. Various reformers of great influence, as Wycliffi and Huss, had appeared before the sixteenth century, but the Reformation proper began nearly simultaneously in Germany under the lead of Martin Luther, and in Switzerland under Zwingli. The chief points urged by the Reformers were the need of justification by faith; the use and authority of the Scriptures, and the right of private judgment in their interpretation; and the abandonment of,the doctrine of transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin Mary and saints, the supremacy of the Pope, and various other doctrines and rites regarded as unscriptUln England the Reformation led. in the reign of Henry VIII, to the abolition of the papal supremacy and the liberation from papal control of the Church of England, which, after a short Roman Catholic reaction under Mary, was firmly, established under In some countries, the Reformation occasioned an increased strength and zeal in the Roman Catholic Church, sometimes called the Counter-Reforma-tion. Salvador

Salvador has decided to resign from the League of Nations. This step is attributed to Italian and German influence . ’ , The Republic of Salvador extends along the Pacific coast of Central America for 170 miles, with a general breadth of 43 miles, and contains an estimated area of 13,176 square miles, and a population of about 1,600,000. The independence of the State dates from 1840. The Government is based on a written constitution. The President is elected for four years by direct vote. There is a single chamber National Assembly of 42 members, elected annually, and a Council of Ministers appointed by and responsible to the President. ~ The surface of the country is very mountainous, many of- the peaks being volcanoes. Earthquakes have been very frequent, great damage being done to the capital, San Salvador, and other towns, in 1919. . The chief industry is the cultivation of coffee, which is grown principally on the slopes of the volcanoes. Cane sugar is also produced.

United States in China United States of America's interest in China is made up of about £40,000,000 of capital invested; an annual trade of some £27,000,000; 500 firms in China, and a large shipping trade. Up to the termiuatiou of the AngloJapanese alliance in 1921 United States policy was based on the assumptiou that Britain would tolerate, if not support, Japanese attacks ou American interests. The tremendous growth of the United States navy is considered to be due mainly to American fear of Japan. Naval opinion in America had long been convinced that the defence of the Philippines exposed the United States to impossible risks. With the granting of independence to the Philippines in 1935, the intention of America is to withdraw the United States fleet from the Far Eastern waters and to leave the Western Pacific to the naval control of Japan. Jamboree

The fifth world jamboree of the Boy Scout movement is being held in Holland.

Jamboree is an American Indian word for a merry meeting, carousal, or joyful gathering of the tribes. Like many other Indian words and institutions, it. has been adopted by the Boy Scouts. The first world jamboree of Boy Scouts was held at. Olympia, London, in 1920, Scouts drawn from about 30 foreign countries attending.