ITALY AND THE LEAGUE
[To the Editor of Tim SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—While •thanking you for including my letter h the columns of your periodical, I should like to point' out that, according to your footnote annexed, there would 'appear to be sonic confusion between the various Treaties of 1889; 1900, &c., and the Italian Memorandum of September 4th:'- .
If, prior to the events of October 3rd, Geneva. had agreed to make a fair peace by taking account of these -aforesaid Treaties, Italy on October 3rd would not have been forced to break the Covenant—if, indeed, she did break it ; for there is such a thing as unendurable provocation leading to justifiable reaction.
On the other hand, the Italian Memorandum, presented on September 4th, was never exaMined.• The Conithittee of Five took as the basis of its work a phrase incidentally included in a speech of the Abyssinian Delegate. Only on October 7th the Committee of Six alluded indirectly to the Italian MemO miium, and then only in view of the .Abyssinian Delegate's request for an inquiry into the Memorandum, after which the Committee hastily came to the conclusion that the events of October 3rd made any examination impossible.
In the very similar case of the Chinese-Japanese dispute; the procedure relative to Article 15 lasted seventeen ∎ months and led to ;lathing. Well may Italy ask : " Wherefore two weights and measures ? " One must remember, however, that Great Britain has very considerable monied interests•in Japan, which is not the case as regards Italy.YOurs truly, C. M. CRESSWELL. Via Clitunno, 38, Roam, (17).
[The Italian Memorandum of September 4th was not ignored by the Committee of Five; whose main duty, however,
was to frame a plan of conciliation, not to pronounce on complaints: The Memorandum was considered more ex- haustively by the Committee of Thirteen, whose report was the basis of the Council's conclusion that Italy had resorted to war in disregard of its obligations under Art, XII of the Covenant. The contention that the Italian case was never ritudied will not hold water. It was fully examined, but Italy refused the plan of settlement put forward by the Committee of Five and resorted to .arms,—En. The Spectator.]
Previous page
