The Abyssinian Affair There was never a shadow of excuse
for any resort to formal hostilities between Italy and Abyssinia, and there is less excuse now than ever. That being so, it is regrettable that Italy should have paraded her expedi- tionary force and its warlike preparations with such flamboyancy. But that, after all, is in the Italian manner, and exaggerated importance should not be attached to it. There have been direct negotiations between the two countries, and so far as can be seen the difficulties that stood in the way of an understanding have been removed. Italy has agreed to the passage through the proposed neutral zone of certain nomad tribes, and her stipulation that the Abyssinian detachment charged with the business of joint demarcation should not be accompanied by Swedish or Belgian military advisers has been met. A semi-official statement made to the Daily Telegraph's correspondent at Rome, on Tuesday, suggested that in the Italian view there were three distinct stages, direct negotiations, conciliation and arbitration, and that only the first stage had yet been reached. It is, of course, to be hoped that the direct negotiations themselves may be successful, and the unobtrusive collaboration of British and French representatives at Rome and Addis Ababa should promote that result.
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