The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1935. MANDATE DIFFICULTIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 213, 9 September 1935, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1935. MANDATE DIFFICULTIES.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that veeds resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

It is encouraging that the correspondents at Geneva of two leading English newspapers should imply that it is possible to satisfy Mussolini within the boundaries of peace, but it must be borne in mind first that this is not official, and "then that Abyssinia has to be satisfied as well. There is fresh talk of a League mandate over Abyssinia, a solution that has become more and more attractive during the past few -weeks. It is agreed that the Government of Abyssinia is in need of reform. It is in many respects medieval, and the persistence of slavery is a blot. In this smaller modern world of ours the internal condition of one country is a matter of more serious concern to its neighbours than it was in former times, so that the nations, and especially those bordering on Abyssinia, have a real practical interest in her government. It is contended that foreign experts in financial and other branches of administration could, if backed by the Emperor, improve the machinery of government as' it was improved in Egypt fifty years ago. If the League took over the task it could select the panel of experts from all nations, there would be a fair field, and responsibility would lie in Geneva, It is, however, a long step to a League mandate over Abyssinia, for the simple reason that Abyssinia'is a sovereign State. The mandate system was designed for territories below this class—in' the words of the Covenant "those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the Sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves." Abyssinia may be very backward when measured by Western standards, but it is a Sovereign State, whose people recall with pride centuries of independence. Moreover, Abyssinia is a member of the League, and as such is placed on an equality with Italy, and is entitled to sit in judgment on the holders of mandates. The Emperor's categorical refusal to accept this solution may not be his final word, any more than some of Mussolini's appeals to the arbitrament of war, but that the League will have to move very cautiously along this path is obvious. It is not the Emperor alone who has to be satisfied; there is Abyssinian opinion to be considered. Unfortunately Adowa has left permanent reactions in Abyssinia as well as in Italy. The Italians seek to wipe away a stain; the Abyssinians have been led'by the memories of that victory, gained over a rash general in conditions very different from those that would obtain in Abyssinia to-day, to feel convinced that they are more than a match for any invader, and especially Italians. They can have very little conception of the power of modern weapons. Such are some of the difficulties that stand in- the way of a settlement by mandate, and in addition there is the Italian thirst for territory which Leaguecontrol of Abyssinia could not satisfy. However, while there are ideas like this in being there is hope.