Italian Colonies
The reports now being made by the investigating commission set up by the Council of Foreign Ministers to consider the future of the former Italian colonies in Africa may or may not provide the material for a sound and unbiased judgement on this difficult matter. Since the Council was itself divided on this matter, and since this division is, at least in part, reflected among the members of the com- mission, the chance that an agreed solution will be found on all points is small. And even if it were large, it would still be next to impossible to find an arrangement acceptable both to the Italians and to a majority of the inhabitants of their former colonies, since the Italians want the colonies back and a majority of the inhabitants want nothing of the sort. So there is a double chance of deadlock. But in the meantime the issues are being kept very much alive by a correspondence in The Times in which the arguments on both sides have been put with force. The principal arguments of those who wish to keep the Italians out are, first that their colonial record has been, on balance, bad, even in pre-Fascist days, and second that to restore their power in any part of their former colonies would lead to a disastrous revulsion of feeling among all African peoples. Those who wish to let the Italians in argue that their record is, on balance, good, and that if their colonies are not restored there will be a disastrous set-back to the hopes of the Western Powers that Italian sympathies will remain with them. There is, -of course, some truth in all these arguments, but there can be no question of putting Italy in charge of any of the former colonies except as trustee for the United Nations. And in the case of some the experiment of direct administration of the United Nations should be tried. The British, American and Russian members of the commission found that Somaliland wanted four-Power trusteeship ; but this is not neces- sarily the only form. In any case, the war-time pledge that the Senussi should not again come under Italian rule must be honoured.
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