PROSPECTS IN ETHIOPIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 22, 27 January 1936, Page 6

PROSPECTS IN ETHIOPIA.

The "peace plan" sponsored by a British Foreign Secretary and a French Premier (both now out of office) having been summarily rejected, Mussolini has now obviously abandoned hope of securing a large part of Ethiopia by negotiation, and has resumed his efforts to secure it by force. He and his" armies are fighting against time, for in Europe the League Powers must soon reach a decision concerning the application of the oil sanction, while in East Africa the rainy season is approaching, bringing with it new problems for the Italian generals. News reports from both sides in Ethiopia are subject to a rigid censorship, and it is impossible safely to draw conclusions from the information available, but it appears that the defenders, although suffering reverses and considerable losses, are pursuing the guerilla tactics which it was anticipated would prove so formidable. Certainly there has been no hint, ever since the beginning of hostilities, of a disposition on the part of the Emperor to yield a part of his territory in order to save the rest, and it seems extremely improbable that the Italians will be able to force a decision by means of a series of overwhelming military victories before the rains immobilise their armies.