ITALIAN CABINET

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22332, 1 February 1936, Page 13

ITALIAN CABINET

CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGN IMPORTANT NEW DECISIONS ROME, January SO In the course of a lengthy meeting of the Italian Cabinet, Signor Mussolini explained the international situation, referring to the French crisis and British naval concentration in the Mediterranean, II Duce emphasised the importance of recent victories on the Somali and ,Entrean fronts in East Africa, and stated that he had despatched 50,000 workmen to Abyssinia to ensure the functioning of the Italian lines of communication during the rainy season. The Cabinet adopted regulations for the purchase and distribution of wool, and authorised the military to requisition all synthetic wool. After the meeting decrees were issued authorising an expenditure of £8,677,000 1 on new naval construction, and forcing citizens between the ages of "11 and 32 to carry cards defining their physical condition for military training. One decree creates the sth Alpine Division and another increases cash prizes for large families. Bachelors are to be more heavily taxed to provide the money for these prizes.