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Spanish question as a pre-requisite of the entry into force of
the Agreement between our two Governments/
He further stated :
e That His Majesty's Government, being desirous that such
obstacles as may at present be held to impede the freedom of
member States as regards recognition of Italian sovereignty
over Ethiopia should be removed, intend to take steps at the
forthcoming meeting of the Council of the League of Nations
for the purpose of clarifying the situation of member States
in this regard/
On page 32 we get to the third section of the Agreement,
namely, that part which deals with Bon Voisinage between
the Government of the United Kingdom, the Egyptian
Government, and the Italian Government. The Egyptian
Government is associated with this Agreement in respect of
the Sudan, and the Agreement is to cover the period between
the date of signature of the main Agreement and the com-
pletion of the negotiations dealing with the specific East
African matters which are referred to in the Protocol. This
Agreement will provide, therefore, for co-operation between
the two countries in preventing the evasion of anti-slavery
laws. I am sorry the right hon. Gentleman opposite should
treat a matter so important to this country and the peace
of the world with flippancy. I hope that when he comes to
speak he will take it in a rather more serious spirit. This
Agreement provides also for co-operation in preventing the
enrolment of nationals of one party in native military forma-
tions of the other."
MR. WEDGWOOD BENN : " Do the words * Italian East
Africa * mean the existing East Africa, Eritrea and Somaliland,
or what the Italians call the Empire, including Abyssinia ? "
THE PRIME MINISTER : " The whole of the Italian posses-
sions in East Africa."
MR. BENN: " In Abyssinia ?"
^THE PRIME MINISTER : " Yes. The right hon. Gentleman
said that I denied that there was frontier rectification. I never
denied any such thing, and I challenge him to find any place
where I did. There is nothing sinister about it. A consider-"