A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 90, 10 January 1935, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Passchendaele Sir Alexander Godley characterises Mr. Lloyd George’s criticism of Earl Haig in connection with the Passcheudaele attack as "scurrilous and wholly unwarranted.” The feeling toward Earl Haig at the time of his great campaign in Flanders in 1917, of which Passchendaele was the culmination, is best seen from the following telegrams to him. On October 5, 1917, the King telegraphed: “The continued success of my gallant troops in Flanders gives me the highest satisfaction, and reflects great credit both upon your leadership and efficiency, courage and endurance of all ranks engaged.” On October 16, Mr. Lloyd George telegraphed: “The War Cabinet desire to congratulate you and the troops under your command upon the achievements of the British armies in Flanders in the great battle which has been raging since July 31. Starting from positions in which every advantage rested with the enemy, and hampered and delayed from time to time by most unfavourable weather, you and your men have nevertheless continuously driven the enemy back with such skill, courage, and pertinacity as have commanded the grateful admiration of the peoples of the British Empire, and filled the enemy with alarm. I am personally glad to be the means of transmitting this message to you and to your gallant troops, and desire to take this opportunity of renewing my assurance of confidence in your leadership, and in the devotion of those whom you command.” And yet Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson, who, with Lord French, was called in to advise the War Council on the Passchendaele affair, wrote in his diary on September 5, 1917: “I believe that Lloyd George, know tha£ Haig will not do any good, has allowed him to keep all his guns, etc., so that he can, later on, say, ‘Well, I gave you everything. I even allowed you to spoil the Italian offensive. And now, owing to gross miscalculation and incapacity you have entirely failed to do anything serious except lose a lot of good men.’ And in the indictment he will include Robertson and then get rid of both of them.” The Japanese Diet. The Governor of the Japanese mandated islands has arrived in Japan to attend the Diet. The Japanese Diet, or Parliament, is composed of two Houses, the House of Peers and the House of Representatives. In practice, the Diet controls the whole course of legislation. The Emperor convokes, opens and prorogues the Diet, and he has power to dissolve it He may also summon extraordinary sessions. The Diet meets every year and each session lasts three months. Discussion is in public, but the Government may ask a secret sitting of the Houses, and the Houses themselves may decide to have secret sittings. Bills may be initiated by each of the Houses or by the Government, and all measures must go through both Houses, and be signed by the Emperor. The Budget must be initiated in the House of Representatives, but the House of Peers may reinsert items which have been rejected by the lower house. The House of Peers numbers 401 members:. 16 Princes of the Blood, 15 Princes, 30 Marquises, 18 Counts, 64 Viscounts, 66 Barons, 125 Imperial nominees, 4 Imperial Academy members and 66 representatives of the largest taxpayers. The House of Representatives has 466 members elected for four years by males over 25 years old. Japan and Fishing. Mr. Hayashi, Governor of the Japanese mandated islands, has stated that, the rumours that Japan is establishing an air-line to the islands, refers simply to a scheme for locating schools of fish from the air and for securing information for the fishing fleet. Because of the impossibility of producing in Japan all the rice needed to feed the population while existing dietary habits continue, many observers have’advocated a widening of the diet eaten in the typical Japanese household, especially by the substitution of fish, which is abundant in the waters around Japan. Fish is, as a matter of fact, the only form of animal food which is consumed in large quantities, and the industry employs more than 1,300,000 people. The value of the catches has been constant for some years at about £8,000,000. In Hekkaido, Japan possesses some of the most important fishery grounds in the world for herring, cod, sardines and flat-fish. Spring Tides. Exceptionally high spring tides have caused flooding, with considerable damage, in and around Invercargill. At a time of “spring” tides (Saxon: sprungen, “to bulge”) the low-water mark is lowest and the higth-water mark highest, that is, the range between the tidemarks is greatest; during a time of neap tides the reverse is the case, the tide coming in and going out only a short distance. Besides the attraction of the moon there is also a smaller attraction exerted by the sun on the water of the sea. It is because of the sun’s attraction that spring, and neap tides are caused. When the sun and moon are both exerting their pulls in the same direction the force is at its greatest and the big tides, or springs, occur. This happens shortly after both new and full moon. But the range of the tides is greatest at new moon, because then the sun and moon are both on the same side of the earth; and. the spring tides are less at full moon, the sun and moon being then opposite one another. When the forces of the sun and moon are at right angles to one another, that is at the periods of half moon, the range of the tides is least, and neap tides result. M.P. and Resignation.

The Rutherglen Unionist Association has unanimously decided to ask Captain Moss, its member, to resign from Parliament, as the outcome of his being fined for contravening the Lotteries Act. Apart from certain disqualifications under the Corrupt Practices Act, a member once elected to Parliament can only cease to represent his constituency by reason of his death, or the dissolution of Parliament. If, therefore, Captain Moss chooses not to resign, his constituency cannot compel him to do so. A seat cannot be resigned, nor can a man who has taken his seat for one constituency throw it up and contest another. Either a disqualification must l>e incurred, or the House itself must declare the seat vacant. Certain old offices of hominal value in the gift of the Treasury are now granted, as of course, to members who wish to resign their seats in order to retire from Parliament or to contest another constituency. Those offices which survive are the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead.