Draft letter from the Department of External Affairs to
Romano Lodi Fé¹ (Dublin)
(Copy)

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of the note of the 11th November by which you were good enough to inform me of the views of the Royal Italian Government with regard to the procedure followed at Geneva in connection with the dispute between Italy and Ethiopia, and, at the same time, to enquire what action the Government of the Irish Free State intends to take in execution of the restrictive measures against Italy proposed by the Co-ordination Committee.

In reply to your enquiry, I am directed by the Minister for External Affairs to inform you that, by an Order dated the 18th November made in virtue of the provisions of the League of Nations (Obligations of Membership) Act, 1935, the Government of the Irish Free State have taken the necessary steps to give effect, so far as the Irish Free State is concerned, to the proposals of the Co-ordination Committee which were assented to by the delegate of the Irish Free State on the Committee.

The Minister desires me to avail of this opportunity to impress upon you that, in taking this action, the Government of the Irish Free State are actuated solely by their sense of the obligations binding this country as a Member of the League of Nations.

As regards the considerations advanced in your Note concerning the procedure adopted at Geneva in connection with the Italy-Abyssinian dispute, I am to say that, while taking due note of the views of the Royal Italian Government, the Government of the Irish Free State do not feel at liberty to enter on their own account into a discussion of decisions arrived at jointly by Members of the League of Nations.

In conclusion, the Minister desires me to express to you the earnest desire of the Government of the Irish Free State that a settlement of this unhappy dispute, giving due satisfaction to the just claims of Italy, may soon be reached within the framework of the Covenant of the League of Nations.