NOT ALL ENDORSED

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 141, 11 December 1935, Page 11

NOT ALL ENDORSED

POINTS IN CABINET

"CONCEDING TOO MUCH"

REPORTS OF CESSION OF

TERRITORY

(Received December 11, 11.15 a.m.)

LONDON, December 10.

It is expected that Cabinet will be summoned at noon to continue the discussion of the peace proposals.

It is authoritatively stated that Cabinet has not endorsed every aspect of the Hoare-Laval plan, points in which arc meeting with considerable opposition on the ground of conceding Italy too much in view of her aggression. It is reported that certain detailed amendments are being- drafted and communicated to Paris. It is emphasised that there is no change in the British attitude that a settlement must be really acceptable to the League, Italy, and Abyssinia. Moreover, there is no intention of applying pressure to the Abyssinians, who claim that the Italian successes are negligible, and that it is therefore unreasonable to expect a cession of territory.

SCEPTICISM ABOUT RUMOURS.

It is now confidently thought that the British-French formulas are very different from what so far have been rumoured.

The diplomatic correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" understands that the terms.embody a limited ratification of the Italo-Abyssinian frontier, including only the part of Tigrc where the Italians obtained a footing, which the Abyssinians have no means of shaking. Britain and France also proposed the formation of an Italian chartered company to develop the fertile tracts on the Kenya border near Lake Rudolph.

"VAST TRACTS?"

The political correspondent of the "News-Chronicle" says there is alarm at reports that the proposals of Sir Samuel Hoare and M. Laval involve the handing over of vast tracts of Abyssinian territory to Italy. The opposition parties intend to demand an explanation from the Government.

Reports from Paris assert that the total area of Abyssinia which is being offered to Mussolini is 150,000 square miles, or nearly half the country.

Sir Archibald Sinclair, on behalf of the Liberals, and Dr. Hugh Dalton, for the Labour Party, will press the Government not to consent to territorial and economic concessions which will be unacceptable to Abyssinia.

Dr. Dalton, interviewed, said: "If the reported terms are correct, they are monstrous. It would be disastrous if we were to condone a felony and worse than a felony—namely, wholesale murder and treaty-breaking."

ABYSSINIAN ATTITUDE.

A statement from the Abyssinian Legation said: "We are virtually being asked to give up our country to an unlawful invader. We will never do that."

According to the "News-Chronicle," strong criticism of the proposals was voiced by Cabinet yesterday. The plan was eventually endorsed, but it was stated that the Ministers were not unanimous.

The "News-Chronicle's" Rome correspondent says that the latest information indicates that Signor Mussolini may accept the proposals "as a basis of discussion." The Pope is strongly urging him to reply favourably.

According to the Addis Ababa correspondent of "The Times," officials express the opinion that it is extremelyimprobable that the Emperor, Haile Selassie, after his previous statements, will cede an inch of Tigre, but concessions in Ogaden are possible.