ABYSSINIA CRISIS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 8, 9 July 1935, Page 9

ABYSSINIA CRISIS

OBLIGATIONS TO LEAGUE

QUESTION OF EFFICACY

DIFFICULT TO STATE

(Brllish Official Wireless.) (Received July 9, 11.30 a.m.)

RUGBY, July 8.

In the House of Commons today, the Foreign Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare, was questioned regarding stipulations made by the British Government in 1923 as a condition precedent to the withdrawal of opposition to the French proposal, supported by Italy, for the admission of Abyssinia to membership of the League of Nations. ; Sir Samuel Hoare replied that the special condition upon which the United Kingdom, in common with other members of the League, agreed id 1923 to the admission of Abyssinia was that that country should sign a declaration undertaking 1. To endeavour to secure complete suppression of slavery and of the slave trade. 2. To abide by the rules which other countries-with territories in Africa had already agreed to follow regarding the import of arms and munitions, 3. To provide the Council with information when so requested and to take, into consideration any recommendations which the Council might make about Abyssinia's obligations. It would be difficult, he added, on the information available, to express an opinion concerning the efficacy of the' measures taken by the Ethiopian Government in regard to slavery. These measures had recently been reviewed by the League's Committees of Experts on Slavery. THE CORRIDOR PROPOSAL. Further information . was given at question "time to numbers of members who have been disturbed by the suggestion of a transfer of a corridor along the frontier of British Somaliland which was contained in the conditional proposal recently made to Italy by the British Government i m the hope of facilitating a settlement of tjie ItaloAbyssinian dispute. Sir Samuel Hoare stated that any definite proposal which his Majesty's Government might' have made to cede to Abyssinia the port of Zeila and a corridor of British Somaliland would have been accompanied by safeguards designed to protect the interests of the inhabitants of the territories concerned. In particular, the Ethiopian Government would have been requested to give a guarantee that such territory as might be ceded would hot be utilised in any way for slave traffic. Moreover, the necessary steps would have been taken to ensure that grazing and watering rights already possessed by tribes under British protect tion would have been unaffected. CONSULTATION WITH TRIBES. The Secretary for the Colonies, Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, said that the inhabitants of British ' Somaliland were British-protected persons. Had circumstances arisen which required further consideration to the suggestion tentatively made by Mr. Eden, a consultation would have taken place with the tribes affected. ,with a view to the transference to Ethiopia of necessary rights in the area concerned, which contained thirty permanent wells and the port of Zeila. .