Coll 25/23 'Orders in Council: Ethiopia: Repeal of the Ethiopian Order in Council, 1934; Surrender of British Consular Jurisdiction' [13r] (25/552)
The record is made up of 1 file (374 folios). It was created in 28 Dec 1936-21 Mar 1945. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
JONFIDENTIAL.
[ J 865/66/1 ]
Enclosure.
cc ■
Cs)
MEMORANDUM.
I K NT
871
Poi.icy for Ethiopia.
S12
THE fundamental of His Majesty’s Government’s policy for Ethiopia is that it shall be
re-established as speedily as possible as a native State under its own ruler, involving His
Majesty’s Government in a minimum of political responsibility and be as light a burden as
possible on the British exchequer.
During the war at least and in order to secure certain minimum military safeguards financial
aid is to be given to the Emperor. This in turn will provide a means of keeping some hold on him
whilst enabling him to set up and control his own administration with the help of a body of
suitable British advisers.
Our plan for future action must be regulated by our requirements, which can be conveniently
divided into two parts: ( 1 ) transitory (duration of the war), and ( 2 ) long-term.
f
I.— Transitoi'y.
1. Control and organisation of sufficient armed forces for the Emperor to enable him to
assert his authority for the good government of the country according to Ethiopian standards.
This will he accomplished by a Military Mission and a British Commissioner of Police.
[Article IT of Agreement and Article 2 of Convention.]
2. Control and use of the railway until all Italians and our own troops have been evacuated.
This is to be obtained by the continuance of the British military administration of it. [Article 9
of Convention.]
8 . Use of ihe main communications. [Article 9 of Convention.]
4. Control and use of the high power wireless station at Addis Ababa. [Article 9 (e) of
Convention.] *
5. Assurance that the Emperor will not fail in his declarations to work hand in hand with
His Majesty’s Government. The sanction of the purse should ensure this, for the Emperor
cannot run his government without financial aid and he knows that the first victim of a serious
revolt would be himself.
6 . In order that any pressure His Majesty’s Government may wish to bring to bear in
respect of our wartime needs shall not be offset by obdurate subordinate officials, it is desirable
that His Majesty’s Minister shall at all times have direct access to the Emperor without the
— — ^ vxauiv vaa jccaijciaj W V t_>l.
furnish the requisite shipping (they have agreed to do this), there should he no insuperable
difficulty. This is desirable on political grounds. But it may be necessary to allow some
discrimination in the case of technicians of the fitter and machinist grades, where they are doing
work in connexion with our w r ar effort.
II— Tjong-term.
I. The long-term interests of His Majesty’s Government in Ethiopia were exhaustively-
examined and fully set out in the report of the Interdepartmental Committee (Maffey Committee")
on British interests in Ethiopia of June 1935 [J 2381/17/1]. Thev were and, in'essence, still
are : —
(i) an independent Ethiopia, on Imperial Defence grounds;
(ii) control of the water issuing from Lake Tsana by a barrage under the direction of the
Sudan Government:
11632a
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, drafts, minute papers, and memoranda concerning the repeal of the Ethiopia Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. , 1934. The decision to surrender extra-territorial jurisdiction is discussed following the Italian occupation of Abyssinia. Inter-departmental discussion of the decision and of the text of a provisional agreement with the Italian Government as a form of replacement constitutes the bulk of the file. These exchanges are between officials at the Foreign Office, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , Dominions Office, Home Office, and the Government of India, External Affairs Department. Further correspondence is from the British Legation in Addis Ababa, British Embassy in Rome, and officials from the Governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, Italy, and Ethiopia.
Included in the file are documents used for reference purposes, including:
- A copy of 'Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Ethiopia and France', 1908 (folios 372-375)
- Copy of 'Treaty Series No. 31 (1938) - I - Agreement between The United Kingdom and Italy consisting of a Protocol with Annexes and Exchanges of Notes; II - Bon Voisinage An agreement or treaty based on principles of 'good neighbourliness', often signed between countries which share borders. Agreement and Exchanges of Notes between The United Kingdom, Egypt and Italy' (folios 120-139).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (374 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 375; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 25/23 'Orders in Council: Ethiopia: Repeal of the Ethiopian Order in Council, 1934; Surrender of British Consular Jurisdiction' [13r] (25/552), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3328, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100055799526.0x00001c> [accessed 28 March 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3328
- Title
- Coll 25/23 'Orders in Council: Ethiopia: Repeal of the Ethiopian Order in Council, 1934; Surrender of British Consular Jurisdiction'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:3v, 7r:42v, 44r:149v, 155r:205v, 207r:207v, 209r:209v, 211r:211v, 213r:213v, 215r:229v, 330r:371v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence