NOTE TO LEAGUE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22427, 25 May 1936, Page 11

NOTE TO LEAGUE

CHAEGE EEPEATED

BRITISH EXPLANATION STATEMENTS DISPROVED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright British Wireless RUGBY, May 22 The League of Nations to-day published the Italian Note concerning the alleged use of dum-dum bullets by Abyssinian troops. Messages from Geneva state that the Note and its accompanying illustrations refer to the British manufacture of some of the illegal ammunition which came into possession of Italian troops. The full contents of the Note have not reached London, but in view of the categorical statement made to the League by the British Government on February 4 and repeated several times in the House of Commons, as well as of the description given by the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Eden, in his statement in the House of Commons of the resort to the fabrication of evidence to support the allegations, the charges should not have been renewed.

As to sporting ammunition of British manufacture in Abyssinia, the position was very fully explained in the earlier part of Mr. Eden's last statement in the House. He reminded the House that in Abyssinia cartridges of all kinds had long been used by the inhabitants as currency and that big game was hunted there and in adjacent territories. He emphasised that neither British industry nor the British Government was responsible for these facts. The relevant considerations were:— Firstly, that strict control was exercised by the British Government over all exports of arms and ammunition which required an export licence for every consignment, and, secondly, no such licence had been or would have been granted in respect to ammunition which was to be exported to a foreign Government and which fell within the prohibitions of the Hague Convention. Mr. Eden recalled • how, in his communication to the League in respect to the former Italian allegations, the British Government was able to show conclusively that British-made cartridges illustrated in the Italian evidence had been manufactured in some cases more than 20 years ago. According to the Italian Note Marshal Badoglio reported the capture cf 2000 dum-dum bullets at Lake Ashangi subsequent to the pursuit of the Abyssinians, most of the bullets bearing the marks of British manufacture. The' British firm concerned states that such marks were discontinued in 1913. CAREER OF LAWRENCE UNKNOWN IN AUSTRALIA PECULIARITIES OF CASE LONDON. May 22 Neither the Victorian Agency-General nor Commonwealth officials have any record of the career of the Italian agent responsible for the dum-dum bullets scandal, who, it is now stated, is an Australian named Lawrence. Their aid was not" sought in the inquiry which led up to Mr. Eden's exposure in the House of Commons. It is understood that Lawrence, as a British subject, could not be deported from England, but the results of inquiries made by the War Office and the Home Office indicate that the last of the case has not been heard yet. One peculiarity of the case is that, in spite of the fact that the activities of Lawrence were so well known in British and foreign diplomacy, he was able to "get away" with the "dum-dum trick." Lawrence offered his services impartially to Russian diplomats who knew him at the time of the Zinovieff letter in 1924, when he was distrusted as an agent-provocateur. COURAGEOUS PRELATE CONCESSION BY ITALY ALLOWED TO REMAIN ROME, May 22 Signor Suvich, Signor Mussolini's international spokesman, has informed the French Government that the Rt. Rev. A. Jarosseau, Vicar Apostolic, who courageously remained at the altar of his church during the bombardment of Harrar and subsequently refused to comply with Marshal Graziani's deportation order, even at the point of the bayonet, will be permitted to remain in Harrar. Dr. Jarosseau is a French citizen.