The Maffey Report

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21714, 22 February 1936, Page 14

The Maffey Report

The publication of the so-called "Maffey "report" by an Italian newspaper has caused more of a stir than is justified either by its nature or by its contents. The report is not a statement of policy; nor did any member of the present British Government have a hand in its preparation. It is a summary of the information which was available eight months ago about the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia and its bearing on British interests in Northern Africa. It was prepared by a committee of experts from several departments for use by the Foreign Office and any opinions it.voices are the opinions of those experts and carry no Government endorsement. In any case, it is not easy to understand why the Italian press should be so anxious to represent the report as a statement of policy, since the views it expresses would, if it were a statement of policy, constitute a vindication of the. British Government's good faith in supporting the League of Nations in its handling of the Abyssinian crisis. Though there are passages which are somewhat cynically realistic, the report is in the main an assertion that an Italian conquest of Abyssinia would not seriously endanger Great Britain's position in adjacent territories. There is nothing to lend colour to the frequent contention of the Italian press that Great Britain is using the League to defend her own special interests. The worst aspect of the affair is the light it throws upon the atmosphere and methods of international politics. The document can only have been obtained by bribery or theft; and, since the Italian press is under a rigid censorship, it must have been published with the knowledge and consent of the Italian Government.