A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 143, 14 March 1938, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Earl Of Athlone A photograph in “The Dominion' showed the Earl of Athlone while mi a visit to Ibn Saud. The Earl of Athlone, who is about 63 years old, is a brother of Queen Mary his parents being the late Duke :md Duchess of Teck. As Prince Alexander of Teck he married Princess Ali<-e of Albany, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. He relinquished his primely title when the Earldom of Athlone 'vn< conferred on him in June. 1917 Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, lie served with distinction in the M:it--bi-l--Campaign, the South African War. ami the Great War. He was Gove-ior-General of South Africa from 19’?3 to 1931. In 192 S lie was made a Ki-ight of tlie Garter, and in 19R1 a '-ivy Councillor. He has been Uoiish'b'-- of Windsor Castle since 1931. and Chancellor of the University of l.umbm since 1932. The title of Earl of Athlone was borne from 1(192 to 1544 by Hie fa mil'' of Van Roeile. and revived by the I’-vsii Family. I Godard van Reede. a Dutch g(""-r:il in the service of William I'l. distinguished himself at rhe siege of Athlone. Ireland, in 1(191 au<l was created Earl of Athlone in 1992 The title was held by Van Beede's descendants, who lived mainly in Holland, I'li’il ninth earl died in 1544. Ff- i>i ’s'vt to 1892, Albert Victor, the ehie-a •<>'( of King Edward VII. who was r'n-n Prince of Wales, was Earl of Atlumie An Ultimatum Dr. Kurt von Schusehnigg. Aust tian Chancellor, said that Germany had is sued qji ultimatum that if he di>l not resign German troops would cross ticfrontier. The word ultimatum is from rhe Latin word "Ultinms.” meaniin: last. It means the final terms or conditions presented after inconclusive negotiations by one State to another, nsnall.v with a time limit for acceptance or i-c jeetion. An ultimatum may bp elven in order to put an end to delaying rmtics on the part of an opponent, or m.-n offer terms impossible of acceptance and so lead to war. This was the »nwi tion concerning Austria's ultimatum to Serbia in 1914. which led to the Gp-at War Bavaria German troops, intended for operations, in Austria, are massing in Bavaria. Bavaria Is surrounded by a great range of mountains on three sides, ithe west side being bounded by Wurttemberg, Baden and Hesse. The country consists mainly of an exten • sive plateau, which lias an average height of nearly 2500 feet. It belongs principally to tjic basins of the Danube and the Main. The Danube follows a winding course of about 200 miles long throughout Bavaria, and is navigable. The area of the country is under 30,000 square miles and the population about 7,000.000. Almost three-fourths of the population are Roman Catholics. The main agricultural products are rye, oats, wheat, barley, miilet, hemp, flax, fruit, and the vine.' Tobacco is also produced, and sugarbeet. Almost one-third of the whole area of Bavaria is given up to fore-t lands. The land is held principally by peasant proprietors, the average bidding consisting of about 150 acres. Tlie chief minerals of Bavaria are coal, iron-ore, ’ graphite, and salt. There are also quarries of marble and good building stone. The porcelain clay found in Bavaria is among the finest in Europe. The chief industry is brewing. There are more than 5000 breweries with an output of more than 100,000,000 gallons a year, the greater part being consumed within the country itself. Roughly one-sixth of Germany’s cotton industry is centred in Bavaria. Nurnberg is the centre of the hop trade, and Augsburg, of the cotton trade.' Lakhimpur Lakhimpur, where many people havebeen killed and injured ami teaesta(<-< razed by .a cyclone, is a distric' <if India, north-east of Assam. It lie* between Tibet and Burma, and 1drained by the Brahmaputra River (which there enters India) an,! ils tributaries, of which the chief is the Lohit. Although four-fifths of the area is cultivable, only an eighth is tilled, chiefly for rice and tea. There are also coal mines. The average rainfal is 220 inches annually. Sadiya an I Dlbrugarh (the chief town), uetc i where the cyclone has raged, are centres of river traffic. The labourers on the tea plantations are mainly immigrants from Chota Nagpur, from around the Ganges. The area is 452!) square miles and the population about 500,000. Galilee British troops caused heavy casualties among armed bands of Arabs at Galilee, but a stray shot Isilled a private of the Manchester Regiment. Galilee is a province of North Palestine; Little is recorded of it in the Old Testament days, but after the Captivity it was ceded by the Assyrians to the Israelites and soon became virtually a separate nation, the inhabitants being chiefly Arabs, Syrians, and Greeks They were despised by the Jews of the south, and the fact that Christ’s home was in that country was made a reproach to Him. Tiberias was its chief city, and it was a fertile and populous district, but is now little bet ter than a wilderness in many parts In the area is also the Sen of Galilee, sometimes called the Lake of Tiberias, or the Lake of .Genuesareth. about 13 miles long nad eight miles wide. It is formed by an expansion of the River Jordan, jjnd is subject to sudden and violent storms. Manchester Regiment As now organised, the •Mam-hes’cr Regiment was only formed in ISSI. be ing made up from the 63rd and 96th regiments and two battalions of the 6th Royal Lancashire Militia. The 63rd was organised in 175 S from the second battalion of Hie Bth (Wolfe’s) Foot, which was raised in 1655. and served under William 111 in Ireland and Flanders. The. 96th was raised in 1824. and was a continuatioiof an earlier 96th. disbanded in ISIS The Manchester Regiment, nssirfted from 1758. saw service in the West In dies. Holland. Egypt, the PeninsulaWar, and in the New Zealand Maor’ Wars; also the Crimean. Afghan, and Egyptian wars. It fought in the Font! African War. notably through the siesof Ladysmith. It g.-’m-d ,i’stin<- ion* too. in tfie Great War. fi--hting i.iFrance. Egypt. Gallipoli. Peiesth- - winning 147 decorations for gallantr.' The depot is at Ashton-iinder-Lyne.