§ 36. Lord H. CAVENDISH-BENTINCKasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to the effect that British subjects in Abyssinia are, by reason of the widespread nature of slave-owning and slave-trading in that country, compelled to obtain slaves for the discharge of their commercial obligations and needs; whether the Foreign Office has considered the serious contingencies which might arise for these British subjects in view of the peculiar relation in law of slavery in foreign territories; and, if so, whether the British Minister at Addis Ababa will will consider the advisability of issuing a warning to British subjects that anyone engaged in acts of slave traffic is liable to the same grave penalties under British law as if the offence were committed in this country?
§ Mr. McNEILLI have no information of the nature indicated in the first part of the question. In September, 1922, the British and French representatives at Addis Ababa issued a notice to their respective nationals in Abyssinia to the effect that the possession of slaves is a punishable offence under British and French law.