HC Deb 06 July 1936 vol 314 cc835-6
9. Lieut. - Commander FLETCHER

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will give an assurance that His Majesty's Government will not acquiesce in the government by Italy of Ethiopia under the mandates system while, at the same time, the King of Italy lays claim to the title of Emperor of Ethiopia?

Mr. EDEN

The hon. and gallant Member is, I think, under some misapprehension. His Majesty's Government have not acquiesced in the government of Ethiopia by Italy, nor have the Italian Government made any suggestion for the government of that country under a mandate from the League of Nations. The question, therefore, does not arise.

13. Mr. LESLIE

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that a number of former European residents in Ethiopia are stranded without resources in Khartum and elsewhere in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan; and can he give particulars as to their numbers and nationality and the steps that are being taken by His Majesty's Government and the Sudan Government to assist these people?

Mr. EDEN

I am informed by the Governor-General of the Sudan that no Europeans from Ethiopia are stranded in the Sudan. The second and third parts of the question do not therefore arise.

25. Mr. JOHNSTON

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can state with any precision the area of territory in Ethiopia at present occupied by the invader?

Mr. EDEN

There is very little I can add to the information which I gave in reply to the hon. Member for East Wolverhampton (Mr. Mander) on 22nd June. There has been some advance by the Italians along the Kenya frontier, and they are reported to have occupied Mega. But I cannot say how far the hinterland to the north has been occupied at the same time. The occupation along the frontier of British Somaliland appears to be complete.