ETHIOPIA'S FALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 7

ETHIOPIA'S FALL.

COUNTRY ALMOST EXHAUSTED

LONDON, April 19.

The burst of splendour with, which Abyssinia celebrated the coronation of Ras Taffari as Emperor has receded into* the past, and now it has the air of a country exhausted by the unprecedented effort. Beggars banished so that they would not offend the sight of the august visitors are returning in greater numbers than ever, according to "The Times" correspondent at Addis Ababa. Screens hiding squalid buildings have fallen down. A few new houses, some new roads, and a statue of Menelik remain; so do heaps of stone dumped on the roadside in order to give the impression of pending repairs. Gardens are now wastes. Ugly corrugated iron still conceak picturesque thatch houses beside the main roads. _ Exports are diminishing and imports have come to a standstill. Many stocks are unsold, and the Governments p an= to purchase the Abyssinian Ban" i order to found a State Ban*, are 111 operative, owing to lack ot moner. Exorbitant demands for mimn mu - . _ - n7lTl l(id with widespread concessions, coupiea *"<•;. bribery, and absence of mimiig law are creatine chaos. The only gleam 01 hope is the "prospect of employment acwmDanyinz the proposed construction of the Blue Nile dam by American engmeers.