File 3372/1916 Pt 2 'Arabia: French and Italian policy' [‎97v] (203/498)

H M' ’
i- f \ 1 >r< 3 Hinia beinff wliat it’ is, tlio arms,
the provisions of this Article. Hut the towcnmcn f . practice bee „ obtainable by all
,1 ‘ innllv imported for (ioverument use. 1
thou"b nominally importod
comei-s. * ,• V office to be attached to the Belgian foreign
Article 82 of the General Act s f .Vf^^^Lluons, Ac., in application of the clauses of
Office at Brussels, for the record of a!! la^s, it ^ slave Trade, the arms traffic, and the
the Act, and of statistical information 5lt Brussels*’ referred to in Articles
trade in spirituous liquors Tins is the evtx.il
Hand Hof the draft Additional Act of IdON
1Q0ft -The prohibited area as defined in Article l, f
(2! The draft Additional Act, lyw. (<(mtin l (iut exclus i ve of (H the territories ot the
inclmles. broadly speaking, the Avhole At | t East Africa and about half of
South African Union, the southern extrcimt} ot . oir B . 1 .
. | jic circuinsi.ui^ ^ " - — f 1908 tin
Karlv in the proceedings of the Brussels (indudiug such neAV regulations as might
proposal to extend the provisions of Session) so as to include the ivhole of
L Introduced as a result of the Conference then ^ entire con tinent of Africa,
Arabia and the opposite coast of the 1 e> s ’ inade a cmin ter-proposal to restrict the
within the zone of prohibit ion. ie , oas ts and to exclude the whole of the Gulf littoral,
zone in Arabia to the Hadramaut and Bed Sea in defending the British proposals,
both on the Persian and Arabian ‘ M^vould be futile unless it embraced Alaskat,
pointed out that any extensioxi o ie ‘ • i coll ditions prevailing in the latter State
and that the peculiar political ^ tide it “efsier to deal witl, the
rendered the application of the ^ measures” He therefore urged that, as regards
evil there by circuitous than *7 rr t Powers 1 whose consent was necessary, should
Alaskat, it would be wiser that the the Sultan to ‘‘take such measures a*
1 Viz —Great Britain, France, tl.e United he deemed possible on his own initiative. Hie
States ami Holland. Italian Government, thereupon withdrew its
.v 1 ,, o 1'nlf were concerned, subject to the acceptance'
pro])osal. in so far as Oman and t ie » i< , ■ M-^kat The British proposal was
W the Conference of tlie h-itish p^l^sp^g ^ Contend ofi the 27th
embodied m a draft Aiticle, w iw 1 ’ . • Powers as had commercial treaties with Oman
May 1908, providing that such of the a.gna o roams as ba.t^or ^
should ou <l>» be disposed to take, with a view to controlling the
traffie 01 ^!!!,.^!)!!^!! aiid ^^^^^^^^y^^^o^^provided^thartb^other^Treaty ^Powers
merits, to grant *!« ^J' 1 J" 1 (b . c bn e d to discuss the Maskat question in Conference, but
IQ 8 i,e<.- tiatious were opened at Paris. They proved ineffectual, and were suspended on
thl k l April 1909. Pending a settlement of the Maskat question the Hrench delegates at
Brussels umler orders from their Government, refused to proceed with the consideration of the
draft Additional Act, which had been placed before the Conference by the Italian delegate, as
re present in <>■ tl.e amended proposals of his Government; and the Conference, uhich uas
adjourned on the 20th Julv 1908 and did not reassemble until the Hth December 1909, was
linallv dissolved on the 31st December 1909, without reaching any agreement. I he Additional
\ c t though nullified by French opposition, was accepted m principle by the dclegateh of all
tlie other Powers reprasented at the Conference, viz.Great Britain Germany, Belgium
Spain, the Congo, the United States, Italy, Holland Persia, Portugal Bussia, Sweden and
Turkey, subject to certain reservations in the case of Germany, Holland, Spam and I mkey .
With regard to the question of the transit of arms, &c., through the territory ot a 1 ower
in occupation of the coast into that of an inland State, Article 4 ot the Additional Act
reproduces the terms of Article 10 of the General Act (see Note (1) above), but substitutes
t he “ Head of the State ” (Chef tie Vfitat) for the “ Government of the Power (Courernement
,/e la Puissance) as the authority in the inland State whose certificate is required be lore the
arms are allowed to pass. The object of this change, which was aimed specially at Abyssinia,
was to fix personal responsibility for the import of all arms upon the then ruler of that
country (Emperor Alenelek), to the exclusion of the numerous officials. Ac., who might be held
(and were held by the French) to answer the description of “the Government. ll was
hoped to impose a further check upon the traffic in Abyssinia by means of a separate agree
ment to lie concluded between the Emperor Alenelek, Great Britain, France and Italy on the
lines of the so-called " Colli scheme," particulars of which are given in Note (3).
(3) <4 The Colli Scheme,” —The main feature of this scheme, which was drawn up in
1907 by Count Colli, Italian Charge d’Affaires at Adis Ababa, was the absolute prohibition
of the import into Abyssinia of all arms and ammunition other than those consigned to the
Emperor Menelek himself, and covered by a personal certificate from him. To give effect to
this arrangement, the Emperor was to issue an Edict prohibiting the traffic forthwith, and to
take various steps to enforce the prohibition, to deal with arms already in the country, and
so forth. The scheme was never brought into operation.
J. E. S.
27th January 1917.