COMMONWEALTH LOAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 182, 6 August 1935, Page 7

COMMONWEALTH LOAN

FAVOURABLE COMMENTS DEALINGS AT A PREMIUM 1 British Official Wireless. j RUGBY, Aug. 3. The financial newspapers comment favouarbly on the success of the latest Commonwealth of Australia loan. Scrip was dealt with yesterday at • 1 7-8 premium over the issue price of 100. the Arnhara tribe, numbering 2,500,000 people in its ranks. It is provoking war by issuing propaganda amongst the dozen other tribes in the country. There were many level-headed men in Abyssinia who knew that it would be impossible to win any war against Italy, but they were powerless to alter the view of the masses. If Emperor Selassie were to accept the conditions suggested by Italy there would be a revolution. Educated opinion, however, was that if Abyssinia was to conic under the protection of any European country, such as Italy, it would be better off. Europeans in Abyssinia were subjected to annoyance by the military party and he quoted the instance of an American who ran into a native with a motor-car, being taken from the <ar and severely beaten, even although the native was not ’ ' ”ed. It is estimated that at the present time there are well over 1,000,000 slaves in Abyssinia, chiefly taken from the frontier of Soudan. One way to obtain slaves was for the chieftain or a province, accompanied by armed soldiers, to surround a village, slaughter the old men and old women and capture the young men, girls, and children. These were taken ten or fifteen days’ march away for sale. Many died on the march from ill-treatment and want of food. Slaves were sold secretly in Addis Ababa. The majority of the slaves were branded with a hot iron on the forehead, shoulder, and other parts of the body, and if they escaped the were returned to their masters. A great number of slaves were still taken to Arabia by devious routes.