"الإجراءات الإيطالية على الساحل الأفريقي المُطل على البحر الأحمر" [ظ‎‎٣‎٠] (٣٢/١٢)

12
“ are those of Turkey and Egypt, with whom it
" should rest to controvert in detail the arguments
“ by which Italian aggression oil territory claimed
“ as Egyptian is attempted to he justified.
“ Under existing cii*cumstances, however, Lord
“ Hartington sees no objection to an intimation
« being conveyed to the Italian Government, should
« Lord Granville deem this step necessary, to the
“ effect that, whilst Her Majesty’s Government
“ adhere to the opinion above referred to and
“ already communicated to the Ministers of the
“ King, they are content to waive further dis-
“ cussion of the question, as being now of little
“ practical importance, in view of the categorical
" and peremptory declaration of Signor Cairoli, in
“ his Note to Sir A. Paget of the 19th April last,
“ that no Italian Government establishment of a
“ military character will ever he formed at Assab,
“and that at no time will either troops or fortifi-
“ cations be maintained, either on the mainland or
“ on the islands in the Bay.”
A reply to General Menabrea, in the sense of
Lord Hartington’s views, was drafted in the Foreign
Office, and sent here for concurrence on the 14th
January 1881.* Attention was, at the same time,
drawn to the report of a project for the formation of
an Italian maritime and commercial port at Assab,
details of which appeared in an Italian newspaper
(“ L’Economiste ”), published apparently in Egypt,
and also to a telegram from Her Majesty’s Agent
and Consul General in that country, stating that he
had been informed confidentially that the Italian
Government had made a treaty with the Chief of
the district in the neighbourhood of Assab, placing
his territory under the suzerainty of Italy, and
containing an article for the suppression of the
slave trade. Lord Hartington’s opinion was asked
whether any notice should be taken of this matter.
In reply, it was recommended from this Oflicef
that the note to General Menabrea, the tenour of
which was in the sense of Lord Salisbury’s De
spatch to Sir A. Paget of the 7th February 1880,
should simply record the adherence of Her Majesty’s
Government to the conclusions expressed in that
Despatch, without repeating the arguments by
which they were supported; that reference to the
question of the Somali Coast outside the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandeb should be avoided; and that no
notice should be taken of the report received from
Mr. Malet, hut that the initiative in connection
therewith should be left to the Egyptian Govern
ment, or that of the Sultan.
Lord Granville concurred in this view, and the
reply to General Menabrea, which was addressed
to M. de Bessmann, the Italian Charge d’Affaires,
under date the 26th January 1881, was in the fol
lowing terms :— X
“ I have given my most attentive consideration,
“ in communication with Her Majesty’s Secretary
“ of State for India, to the memorandum which
“ His Excellency General Menabrea did me the
* Home ; No. 29.
t To Foreign Office, 20th January 1881
No. 29.
J From Foreign Office, 29th January 1881
No. 67.