* * * * Dum-Dum Bullets Mr. Eden's statement on
Monday eolopletel■,• exploded the Italian allegations that British firms had supplied the Abyssinian Government with " duo-dum " bullets. The Foreign Secretary showed that the Italian Embassy in London had been in contact with an agent calling himself Colonel Pedro Lopez, Major Gustav Mezier and other names alien or Anglo-Saxon ; that he, using forged credentials, had obtained samples of sporting soft-nosed bullets from a British firm and a bogus order from the Abyssinian Minister. From this evidence the Italian Government concocted its charges ; they have now been officially withdrawn but still appear in the Italian Press. The Italian Press is completely under Government control, and is, no doubt, a convenient vehicle for the dissemination of charges which the Govern- ment knows it cannot justify. The continued connexion of Colonel Lopez with officials of the Italian Embassy, after it had been warned of the man's true character by .the Foreign Office, is in itself enough to arouse suspicion • and resentment. But Mr. Eden wisely refrained from recriminations and was content with exposing so com- pletely the mingled malice and dishonesty of the Italian . Government.
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