TOPICS OF THE TIMES.

Southland Times, Issue 19345, 10 September 1924, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE TIMES.

“The Regent of the Empire of Ethiopia, whom we welcome to a little island which has been often conquered, may boast that his country has not endured the control of foreigners since Greek kings ruled in Egypt,” said the London Daily Telegraph on the occasion of his visit to London. For sixteen hundred years Abyssinia has been the home of a Christian Church which has never been under the sway of infidel or pagan. No other part of Christendom has that unsullied fame. That it should have been achieved by a community in the Dark Continent is in the nature of a miracle. Abyssinia became Christian in the fourth century. In the seventh Islam conquered Egypt, whence its Christianity had come, and the Abyssinians were cut off from the rest of Christendom, a territory surrounded by Mahommedanism and heathendom. When the great age of exploration began, Portuguese travellers discovered Ethiopia, and its Emperor sent an embassy to the King of Portugal to ask help against Islam, and with Portuguese musketeers delivered his country from the armies of the Crescent. The Christianity of Ethiopia was again in touch with Christendom, and for 150 years received priests from Rome. But from the middle of the seventeenth century the Abyssinians were again isolated, till the opening of the gates of Africa in the last century. In the division of the continent among the European Powers Abyssinia successfully maintained her independence, and now, enrolled in the League of Nations, the Abyssinians are undertaking the development of their own country. It is still in the middle ages of civilisation. The coming of the Regent to Britain significantly marks the end of the long centuries of splendid isolation.

When our troops return from their long service with the British Army on the Rhine they will come home with a great sense of relief, says the Natal and Military Record. The six historic years have on the whole been an agreeable time. Cologne was for some time regarded as the best foreign station of the British Army. It lay in the heart of romantic and picturesque Rhineland, among a people who, on the whole, were friendly and hospitable, and the operations of the exchange made living so cheap that the life of the British soldier was a carnival. The Ruhr occupation wrought a disagreeable change, but Rhineland occupation was still a pleasant experience. The break-up of German finance completely destroyed its satisfactions. We hear frequently in these days that the troops are longing wistfully for their recall from a station which has become prohibitively expensive, and from which all attractions have been shorn. There is a general opinion that the evacuation will be ordered within a comparatively short time, and perhaps this year. The army will have a great homecoming, for it is generally recognised that by its moderation, skilfulness and tact, it has made the greatest contribution of any force, political or military, to the cause of European peace.