§ VISCOUNT CECIL OF CHELWOODasked His Majesty's Government whether they are aware that it has been stated that Africans from British territory are being extensively used by the Italian Government in prosecuting their warlike operations against the natives of Ethiopia; whether they have made any inquiries; and whether they can give the House any information on the subject?
THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (THE MARQUESS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA)His Majesty's Government are aware that it has been stated that Africans from British territory are being extensively used by the Italian Government in their military operations in Ethiopia, and inquiries had already been made on this subject before the noble Viscount's question was put on the Order Paper.
There is no evidence to support the allegation that natives of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan have been recruited by the Italian authorities for their military forces in East Africa. Since 1935, however, there has been a certain drift towards Italian East Africa of Sudanese 520WA labour attracted by the apparently high wages offered. Consequently steps were taken in December of that year to control this drift of labour by making it an offence for any person to recruit labour in the Sudan for service outside that territory except under a permit from the Civil Secretary of the Government. I am informed that no such permits have recently been issued. In spite of these regulations there has been a certain casual drift of labour from the Sudan to Italian East Africa which cannot be controlled owing to the great length of the frontier, but this drift is diminishing. Presumably the reason for this diminution is that the Sudanese labourers who have returned from Italian East Africa have complained of the conditions of work and were disappointed to find that the currency in which they were paid was of less value outside Italian territory than they had been led to believe.
As regards Kenya, there is no evidence that natives from that Dependency have been recruited either for the Italian military forces or for labour in East Africa. Any such recruiting could not have taken place without the knowledge of the authorities in Kenya.
The position in British Somaliland is complicated by the fact that large numbers of the inhabitants spend a part of the year on their grazing grounds across the frontier and at one time an appreciable number of British-protected Somalis were being recruited for service with the Italian Colonial forces. This recruitment however took place outside British territory and the enlistments were entirely voluntary. Nevertheless, representations were made to the Italian Government, and in April last renewed instructions were issued by that Government to ensure that the authorities in Italian East Africa should take every care to ascertain that Somalis whom they were recruiting were not natives of the British Protectorate. At the end of last month some 300 British-protected Somalis who had been recruited for the Italian forces were released when it was discovered that they belonged to British Somaliland, and it would appear that the Italian authorities are making every possible effort to ascertain the nationality of the recruits who offer themselves for service in their forces and then to reject those who are British-protected persons.