The Struggle For Peace

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MR. DALTON : " Why was this left oral, and not included
in the document ? What was the reason ? "
THE PRIME MINISTER : "I have some difficulty in saying
what the reason was, but, at any rate, the matter was not con-
sidered to be quite of the same order as the other matters which
are made the subject of written exchanges, but we ourselves
are perfectly satisfied with the oral declarations which we have
received1 and, on the other hand, I think I can say that the
Italian Government are perfectly satisfied with the oral
declarations we have given in return.
" Now I come to the second section of the Agreement,
which consists of three exchanges of Notes. It begins on page
26 of the White Paper. The first one deals with Libya, and
in a letter, Count Ciano informs our Ambassador that the
Italian Government have given orders for a diminution of
the forces in Libya, that withdrawals have already begun at the
rate of 1000 a week, that they will continue at not less than
this rate until the Italian Libyan effectives reach peace strength,
and we are informed that that will constitute an ultimate
diminution of these effectives by not less than half the numbers
which were in Libya when conversations began. The third
Note deals with the accession of the Italian Government to the
Naval Treaty, the Treaty of London, and it informs us that the
Italian Government have decided upon that accession, and
that it will take place as soon as the instruments annexed to
the Protocol come into force; but, in the meantime, the
Italian Government undertake to act in conformity with the
provisions of the Treaty. That, although, so to speak, a side-
line, is also a matter on which I think we may all congratulate
ourselves.
" In the second Note, on page 28 of the White Paper, three
important assurances are given to us in respect of Spain by the
Italian Government, and I will say something more about
them when I come to explain how and when this Agreement
will come into force; but it will be observed that in taking
note of these assurances, the British Ambassador stated in
his letter :
* that His Majesty's Government regard a settlement of the
1 These promises have been duly honoured.