A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 21, 20 October 1937, Page 9

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Rheims Cathedral After 23 years, the Rheims cathedral, which was extensively damaged during the Great War, has again been opened to the publie. Rheinis, on Ihe right bank of the Vesle, is a town of France, 100 miles by railway east of Paris. It is an iniportant railway centre and is linked by canal with the Aisne and the Marne. The main activities of the district are the champagne industry, of which it is the centre, ariQ the manufacture of woollens, cashmeres, merinos, and flannels. . , , . Rheims cathedral was founded tn 1211, but stands on the site of earlier churches, the last destroyed by fire in 1210. It is still one of the nobles.. Gothic buildings of France. The choir was completed in 1241, and the west facade, with its three portals with over 500 statues, also in the thirteenth century. The whole was completed in 1428, but the spires were destroyed by fire in 1481. The rose window over the west Petals, the beautifully carved north portal, and the twin west towers, each 26 ( feet high, are among famous features of the exterior. The bombardments of 1914-18 severely damaged the cathedral. Although the main body of the building stoodirreparable damage was done to the carvings, stained glass, and vaulting. The tapestries, paintings, plate and other valuables were placed in safetyMuch glass was removed, and many carvings were built over for protection. The Germans in their advance into France entered Rheims on September 4, 1914, and sacked it a few days later. The French re-entered it on September 13. From September 14, 1914, to October, 1918. the Germans bombarded the city continuously from the hills to the north and east Most of the inhabitants left but about 17,000 remained, using the enormous wine cellars as shelter. Article VII

New Zealand has accepted an invitation to attend the Nine-Power Conference to be held in Brussels in connection with the trouble between Japan and China. The conference is called under Article VII of the Nine-Power Treaty between Japan, the United States, Great Britain, Italy, France Hollamt Belgium, Portugal, and China. Article VII reads: ‘‘The contracting Powers agree that; whenever a situation arises which in the opinion of a.ny one of them involves the application of the stipulations of the present treaty and renders desirable discussion of such application, there shall be full and frank communication between the contracting Powers concerned.” Wrangel Island

The Academy of Science in Moscow is equipping an expedition to bring to Moscow the frozen carcase of a mammoth found on Wrangel Island. Wrangel Island is in the Arctic Ocean, off the north-east coast of Siberia. Situated in latitude 71 degrees north and longitude 179 degrees west, it is separated from the Siberian coast by Bong Sound. It was discovered by an Englishman named Kellett in 1849, and named after a Russian explorer named Wrangel. The British flag was raised on the island in September 1921, and in 1922 it was announced that Canada would take over the island. The island consists mainly of bare rocks which rise to a height of 2000 feet. Grantham

Grantham, near where is Harla stem Hall, which Mrs. Van Der Elst, the campaigner against capital punishment, has bought as a place of shelter against aerial raids, is on the west bank of the river Witham, 25 miles south-west of Lincoln and 105* miles north-west of London., It is an important junction on the Great Northern Railway, while a canal, 30 miles long, connects it with the Trent near Nottingham. Its church, St Wolfan’s, has a beautiful grey spire 278 feet high. Historically, Grantham has memories of Richard 111, King John, Oliver Cromwell, Edward VI and Sir Isaac Newton. The main industries are the manufacture of agricultural implements, malting and brickmaking. Grantham existed in the time of the Normans and is mentioned in Domesday. Herring Fishing

More than 1000 representatives of the herring fishing industry, including fishermen, Scots fishergirls, and fishing port members of Parliament, at a mass meeting held at Great Yarmouth, appealed for Government funds to save the industry. The herring is the most remarkable and the most valuable fish. In normal times the weight of herrings landed in Great Britain is approximately equal to the weight of all other kinds of seafish put together. The fact that the herring is a fish which is caught in great abundance near the British coasts, within a day’s journey for the most part, and is easily cured and capable of being preserved in good condition fo r lengthy periods, has made it an important article of diet since medieval times. Early maritime trade in Northern Europe depended largely on a successful herring fishcry. The great value of herring fisheries to the British nation was clearly recognised by successive British Governments until quite recently. The first of the monarchs to recognise it was Charles I. The British Parliament in 1750 established a bounty system which lasted, with modifications, until 1830. By this means British fishing industry was paramount until 1929, when Norway stepped into first place. Of the pre-war cure of herrings 8* per cent, were exported. When the war broke out export trade in cured herrings was stopped suddenly. The neutral countries, particularly Holtarm and Norway, reaped a golden hardest. After the war the conditions in the fish trade were difficult owing to the disturbed conditions and poverty in Germany and Russia. Conditions among the herring fishers and those connected with the industry have been bad now for some years. A Herring Board was set up to place the industry on a more organised basis, but the Government financial support has been regarded as altogether inadequate.