25 JULY 1931, Page 3

Abyssinia We make our bow of welcome to the last

born demo- cracy, and most heartily wish it well. The Emperor of Ethiopia, King of Kings, Descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, successor of Prester John, has most liberally turned his back on the great past of a line of autocrats. As Athene sprang fully grown from the head of Zeus, so Abyssinia's Constitution has sprung from the head of Haile Selassie, that was crowned in such a brilliant scene at Addis Ababa not long ago. His dusky subjects are presented with two chambers of a legislative body and with responsible ministers. He will doubtless see to it that neither ministers nor people abuse their liberties or responsi- bilities. We trust that he will impress upon them the duty of neighbourly behaviour to our East African possessions where herds of cattle offer a sore temptation. He has duly notified the Secretary-General of the League of Nations that this State-member has received a con- stitution at his hands, but he has not informed him that the domestic slavery, mild as it is, which prevails in his country is not slavery in the eyes of the League, nor that his more spirited subjects will be restrained from slave-raiding across the frontiers.