Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎122v] (244/544)

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Sir P. Cox as to the result of his endeavours to reach a satis
factory An East India Company trading post. solution of the questions involved by the arrest of
Obeidullah, and the subsequent action taken by Marling.
The Committee agreed—
7 hat no further action on their fart was required for the
f resent.
Situation in North- 6. The Committee took note of the following papers:—
■West JPorsift
(a.) A note by the Secretary of State for India, dated the
25th September, placing on record occurrences in
North-West Persia, on the shores of the Caspian, in
regard to the responsibility of control of operations
By the authorities concerned, both at home and in
Mesopotamia, and reviewing the share taken therein
by General Dunsterville and his Mission (E.C.-1675)
(Appendix IV).
(b.) A paper by the General Staff on the situation in the
Caucasus and North-West Persia since the fall of
Baku in relation to Bicharakof’s request for financial
assistance (E.C.-1676) (Appendix V).
The Committee had also before them various telegrams from
the G.O.C.-in-C., Mesopotamia (E.C.-1598) (E.C.-1618)
(E.C.-1624) (E.C.-1631) (E.C-1632) (E.C.-1643), and also
C.-in-C., India’s telegram No. 76129 of the 22nd instant
(EC.-1642).
The Committee agreed—
1'hai no action on their fart was required at fresent.
Syrian Situation. 7. 1 he Chairman said that General Allenby s recent successes
in Palestine must nave brought his advanced troops close to, if not
already beyond, the boundaries of Syria. It therefore seemed
opportune for the Committee again to consider the desirability of
arriving at a proper understanding with the French Government
about the Arabian situation in general. The question had been
discussed at their 21st and 23rd Meetings, dated the 18th July
and the ^8th August respectively. At the 21st Meeting (Minute
3), the Committee decided that the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs should be asked to sound M. Cambon tentatively on the
subject of Syria, on receipt of General Allenby’s reply. In Minute
1 of the later meeting, it was recorded that the Chairman thought
that the proposed agreements required revision; it was obvious
that very great care must be exercised in the final drafting of the
pronouncements, and he suggested that the Foreign Office should
redraft the annexures to Sir Mark Sykes’s Memorandum, and that
the matter should be brought up again at a future meeting. At
the same meeting (Minute 2) the Committee had agreed that it
was desirable to arrive at a definite amicable understanding with
the French about Arabian questions generally, and that the dis
cussion should be resumed when members were in possession of
the Foreign Office revised draft declaration.
The Chairman invited the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs to state what action had been taken by his Department m
the meantime, and what further steps it was*desirable to take in
the present circumstances.
Mr. Balfour said that on the 23rd instant M. Cambon had
called upon him and spoken to him about the situation which
seemed likely to be created in the immediate future by General
Allenby’s successes in Palestine. He and M. Cambon liad had a
conversation of considerable length, in which Sir Mark Sykes, the