BORDER DISCORD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22241, 16 October 1935, Page 13

BORDER DISCORD

ABYSSINIAN POLITICS ADVENTURES OF YASU EMPEROR'S DISCIPLINE MEMORIES THAT RANKLE ■ There are two main geasbns why some of the border chiefs Jbf Abyssinia are susceptible to Italian&influence and it would bo remarkable if some desertions did not take place. In the first place there are the old rivalries among the ruling houses and to add to the number of discontented local chiefs there are the recent efforts of the Emperor to discipline them with a view to stopping raiding into adjoining territories and carrying out the reforms to which he pledged himself. The story of the adventures of Li] Yasu, the deposed Emperor, supplies the key to some of the internal dissension which may account for the desertion of Gugsa at Adowa. Activities of Ex-Emperors On the death of Menelik,' Lij Yasu, his grandson, then only 16 years of age, was acknowledged Emperor. His reign was disturbed and during the Great War he fell under the influence of Germany and Turkey. In April, 1916, he professed Islam* -and • in September of that year was deposed on the ground of apostacy. Captured in 1917 he escaped and remained at large, probably living in. state in one of the provinces. In 1921 he, was again taken and kept prisoner not from the capital. Disguised as a woman he again got away in June, 1932, and found a refuge in the province of Gojjam, west of the Blue Nile. His custodian Ras Kassa was put under arrest as also was Ras Hailu, King of Gojjam," who, it appeared, had attempted to furnish arms for Lij Yasu's followers. Yasu was soon again secured and since then has been held as a state prisoner in the Emperor's own province. At the time a statement, originating in Rome, ascribed these events to the centralising policy of the Emperor who had been showing a growing tendency to gather into his own hands all the powers which hitherto had been exercised by chieftains in the various regions and to subject the country to his own direct government.

There certainly is some truth in this because the Emperor urged on by League influence was endeavouring to initiate reforms and setting about the abolition of the 6lave system. Local Chiefs Aggrieved The statement proceeds: "To this end he has for more than two yeaj's been keeping in Addis Ababa the great R asses of the north into whose districts he has on every possible occasion sent his own emissaries and administrators. Such a policy in a country where there are marked differences between the various provinces could hardly fail to stir up distrust and discontent. "Chieftains are discontented because they are afraid of losing their old. hereditary position, while the people are discontented on being deprived of their legitimate chiefs who were able to maintain order, and they have found themselves increasingly exposed to brigandage and raids which the new officials have been powerless to repress." The veiled hostility to the Emperor oi: this Italian statement has now been shown to be more ominous than then appeared. Perhaps there was fault to find with the Emperor's methods, but the statement is convincing proof that the discontents were largely due to the resistance of the chiefs to the reform measures, the failure of which is now made the justification for Italy's present invasion. V " Shockingly Radical" . In an editorial dealing with the capture of Lij Yasu, the Times significantly remarked that it had relieved the anxieties of the Legations in Addis Ababa. " The Emperor," proceeded the article, "is a cautious champion of political and social reforms in his loosely-knit dominions. Their) progress has seemed disappointingly slow to many European observers, but to the enemies of the ' King of Kinjgs of Ethiopia' his policy of mitigating domestic slavery, of encouraging European learning, and of restricting thf» powers of the local hereditary chieftains, is shockingly radical. For somo time past there have been signs of a growing hostility to his policy. " A successful revolution would inevitably throw the country back into the confusion that followed the death of the great Menelik;it would probably lead to a serious anti-foreign agitation, and it certainly would be followed by a dangerous increase of frontier incidents. In spite of the Emperor's attempts to discipline his border chiefs, they have raided into Kenya and Sudan in recent years. Leader of Reaction " An anti-foreign reactionary movement would have found a leader or at least a figurehead in Lij Yasu, whoso record is one of turbulent depravity.'' The Times added that not only did Lij Yasu embrace Islam, but had actually allied himself with the Mad Mullah and announced his intention of attacking the Entente Powers. The civil and religious war that followed cost CO,OOO lives before he was crushed. No doubt there are scores of minor leaders of the outer tribes who were in the field with the deposed Emperor, and who are ready to intrigue with the invaders just as some of the Italian Somalis have succumbed to the influence of Abyssinia. It would be unwise to imagine that through political disintegration the strength of Abyssinia will collapse. The fighting history of its dominant people should discourage any Italian hopes for a " political " victory.

AMERICAN MINISTER RETURN FROM PARIS PASSAGE BY FRENCH LINER PARIS, Oct. U In deference to President Roosevelt's ■warning that Americans will travel in belligerent ships at their own risk, Mr. Henry Morgenthau, Secretary bf the United States Treasury, has cancelled his passage to New York in the Eex, Italy's giant liner, and- will sail by the Norniandie lifter calling on the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of France. h YARN FROM MILK ITALIAN CLAIM RIDICULED LONDON, Oct. 14 Bradford ridicules the Italian claim of making wool from by-products of milk. The Yorkshire Post says it assumes its proper perspective when it is revealed that Italy is making efforts to buy substantial quantities of wool and semi-manufactures' from Britain, offering Yorkshire firms prompt payment. The wool trade has long ceased to.be alarmed at foreign claims of synthetic fibres ensuring independence of world wool supplies.