Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎137r] (273/544)

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The Committee decided :—
(1.) That the subsidy to General Bicharakoff should be sus
pended.
(2.) That Sir Percy Cox and General Marshall should be
informed that Sir Percy Cox’s financial requirements
should continue to have priority over all other demands
upon the Imperial Bank of Persia;
(3.) That after Sir Percy Cox’s demands had been satisfied,
the necessary moneys should be provided for the effective
maintenance of our naval forces in the Caspian ;
(4.) That the Admiralty should send a telegram to the Senior
Naval Officer in the Caspian, reiterating our former
policy regarding the desirability of obtaining possession
• of as many ships as possible, asking for details with
regard to the present naval position in the Caspian, and
enquiring what expenditure would be entailed in order
to get control of more ships, including the armed ships of
the Caspian fleet.
Transcaspia :
(a.) Financing of
Transcaspian
» | Government.
2 The Committee had before them the following papers:
E.C.-1653, 1790, 1791, 1814, 1869, 1896, 1907, 1908, and 1912,
on the question of financing the Transcaspian Government at
s k. & fo & (i.
Mr. * Montagu said that in the Viceroy’s telegram of the 2nd
October (E.C.-1791), various suggestions had been made in regard
to the nossible financial assistance to the Transcaspian Government:
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(a.) Buying up rouble notes in Persia.
(b.) Local issue of new type of notes by Askabad Government,
based on a credit of 1,000,000Z. in London.
(c.) Exchange of money at present hoarded in Turkestan for bank
drafts on London.
(d.) The hypothecation of Central Asian railways, concessions
in undeveloped oilfields, advances against cotton, &c.
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The Indian Government recommended the adoption of methods
(b) and (c) of the above. Mr. Montagu said that his Department
had prepared a Note on the subject (E.C.-1907) which pointed out
that General Malleson was proceeding about the 15th October to
Askabad, and expected that the Government there would raise
financial questions with him, and he wished to be in a position to
discuss them. The Note suggested that Malleson might be authorised
to discuss with the Government the difficulties of obtaining the form of
currency which would help them ; to say that the roubles which
could be supplied were very limited, and to enquire whether krans
would serve ; to explain the difficulty of obtaining them ; to mention
that local coin will be obtained by the sale of drafts on London, if
this should prove to be practicable ; and to offer to supply notes
onooebaKlp in London if the Transcaspian Government thought that
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encasnauie in ajouliuh h r . . i • j
they could be put into circulation ; he might further be authorised
to discuss the comparative prospects of acceptability in Transcaspia
r • i +r,r- wrmld tiikp loncror to manufacture and issue.
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of special notes, wnicn wouiu taive iungci ^ . , ’
and of British Treasury notes; and, lastly, he might be warned of
the importance of reserving all questions as to the time and amount
of assistance to be given, and confining the discussion as closely as
possible to the practicability of overcoming the currency difficulty
wliich threatened to stand in the way of any assistance at all Ihese
suggestions, Mr. Montagu thought, did not commit His Majesty s
Government to much. It appeared, however, that Malleson had led
the Askabad Government to believe that we might be prepared to
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render them some nnanciai asMstauuc.
Lord Robert Cecil said that any promise made by Malleson
must of course, be kept. It was, moreover, desirable to secure the
assistance of that Government in preventing potential enemies from
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