Notes on the News John Bunyan

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 24 November 1938, Page 13

Notes on the News John Bunyan

j What is believed to l>e Joliu Bun’l .van's will has been found by a Xot--1 j tingliam schoolboy. 1 | John Banyan, the greatest of all j masters of allegory, was born in 1028 | in the village of ElsUsav, close to Bed* , j fonl. Like his father, he was a tinker ij by trade. He entered the military i forces when 10. probably In the Par* i liumentury army, and his religious autobiography, “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners” (1000), tells of his struggles with his conscience. He married very young, and* his worst vices appear to have been a habit of swearing, a taste for aledrinking, and for the popular pastime of bell-ringing, and for playing hockcfv or tip-cat. He joined the Baptist society in 1G53, aud was imprisoned for over 12 years in Bedford jail for his religious activities. He supported himself there by making lagged laces, lie earned the respect of his associates in the jail by his deep sincerity. He was greatly buoyed up bv being allowed the socl- | etv of his blind daughter of whom he ! was passionately fond. It was during his imprisonment that he wrote the “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Later he wrote the “Holy War.” After his release from prison, and when persecution was relaxed. Bunyon was a frequent preacher both in Bedford and Loudon, becoming ail influential leader of the Baptist sect. He i died in London in ICBS from a chill caught as the result of making a journey through drenching summer showers to reconcile a father and n son who had quarrelled. Bimyan was essentially mild and affectionate, aud was animated by a truly evangelical love to all men. The Dominions Anti War Mr. Neville Chamberlain lias said that none of the Dominions or colonies has given a written or implied pledge or guarantee to come to Britain’s as- ! sistaiice iu the event of Britain being attacked. j “In the summer of 1922,” says J. A. J Spender in his “Great Britain,” ‘‘the British Government received a sharp reminder that the consent of the Dominions could not be taken for granted to any policy on which they had not been consulted. Issuing an appeal for help from the Dominions in the old confident way at the moment of the Ghanak crisis. Lloyd George was blind : ly informed by Canada and South Africa that they had ik intention of being drawn into /mother war. From this time onward the principle that no Dominion could bo committed to any policy called imperial without the consent of its Parliament, was tacitly accept ed by the British Governments. . . “The Locarno Treaties of 3920 were subject to the condition that none of the Dominions should be hound by tlieiiß When the Treaty of Lausanne was concluded with the Turks in 3923, Canada made her acceptance condi- i tionnl on the right of licr Parliament to decide of its own volition what obligations it should incur. ...” ! Dealing with the resolutions of Im- j perial Conferences leading up to the 1 Stathte of Westminster, Spender says: “Under the Statute of Westminster the British Commonwealth is a longue of Nations without sanctions, it is inherent in its Constitution that no member of it shall coerce any other. ... “The partners argued among themselves whether they could remain neutral in a war waged by Great Britain and yet remain in the partnership, but it was the unanimous opinion of foreign Governments that the British Empire could not. have it both ways. It I was cither a unity or it was not. In I

the former case iis members could nor I have iln* privilege of membership in i times of peace and rlto luxury of de- J flaring themselves neutral when the j unity was at war. . . . Moreover, invalu- | j able as their support had been in great i J emergencies, the defence of the Domin- ; j ions and their security in peace rested i ■ almost entirely on the British ! ! Fleet. . . .” British Guiana The Governor, Sir Wilfred Jackson. . i lias announced that he will make a i ! statement in the Legislature offering tu I settle refugees in British Guiana. i The country known since 3831 as : British Guiana, which consists of Demerarra,. Essequibo and Bcrbice. had 1 been several times in the temporary ! possession of Great Britain before ic j was finally ceded by Holland in 3811.' The old Dutch settlements therein comprised had made little progress until the middle of the eighteenth century, j when Demerara and Essequibo werj thrown open to all nations. Many j persons then wont from the British i West. Indies, and especially from Bar- ; badoes, and established plantation* of • sugar-cane, coffee, and cotton on the | rich coast lands and the banks of the j rivers. ; Bounded by Venezuela, Brazil, j Dutch Guiana, and the Atlantic Ocean. British Guiana is nearly 90.000 square j miles in area. Inland for a distance | of from 30 to 40 miles the country con- | sis if* of rich alluvial flats and * mud . banks deposited by l lie numerous rivers. Tins coastal strip is the only part under cultivation, and virtually the only part inhabited. The laud 1 hereafter rises into hills and moun- ! tains. Trade is almost entirely confined to Great Britain, Canada, and the United J States. The products are sugar, rice, coconuts, coffee, cacao, rubber, maize. ■ wheat, vanilla and limes. The population exceeds 300,000. Sir George Schuster Sir George Schuster, who has „<in the by-election for Walsall, standing as a Liberal National, has had a remarkable career, and is one of the most ; distinguished men in England today. Born in 1881, son of a noted King’s ! ; Counsel, he was educated at Charter- j house and New College, Oxford. In i 1905 he became a barrister-at-law. lie I is a partner in the firm of Schuster, Son and Company, and is a director I of numerous companies. lie made an unsuccessful attempt to 1 (Miter Parliament ns a Liberal in 3915, i and served through the Groat War I from 3914 to 1918. He saw service in Russia in 3919 with the Murmansk ! force, and was mentioned in dispatches I four times and decorated with the i Military Cross. In 1020 lie travelled in Central j Europe to report on the economic situ- j nilon for the Anglo-Danubian Asso- ■' elation. Limited, and in*392l was chief assistant to the organizer of international credits under the League of Nations llis export economic and financial knowledge has also been used in At rimn matters. For a time ho was economic and financial advisor to the Colonial Office.