The Position in Abyssinia News from Italian sources in Abyssinia
is scarce and rigidly controlled. As might be expected it is in complete contradiction to the stories which from time to time emanate from Gore, which is the main centre of Abyssinian resistance. Thus Ras Imeru, a gentle little man whom few people in peace time would have credited with being Abyssinia's most determined die-hard, is alternately rumoured to have an army of 60,000 men ready to take the offensive when the rains stop, and to be devoid of all offensive intention or appreciable armed force. The most illuminating figures are those of the Italian soldiers missing during July. Their number is only 45, but that they should be totally unaccounted for implies a very unsettled and incoherent state of affairs and is more significant than the number of the 470 wounded who recently passed through Port Said. It seems beyond doubt that the Italians are having an extremely difficult and uncomfortable time, and that it is only the Emperor's fatal offensive and subsequent collapse which has saved them from very serious embarrassment. Four rainy months without access to the railway and with sanctions in full vigour would have left them in 'a very different position from that which they enjoy today. As it is, much as one admires the tenacity of the Ethiopians, one can only contemplate with horror the prospect of the renewal of " frightfulness " with which Marshal Graziani recently threatened alt those who still withhold submission, for the Marshal's Libyan reputation makes it improbable that his performance will fall short of his promise.
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