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Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [230v] (460/544)
The record is made up of 1 file (272 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1918-7 Jan 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
8
case of Egypt to absolute control; it comes in the case of the native States of India to
something which I will not call absolute control, but which is in the last resort
something very difficult to distinguish from absolute control. Therefore my imaginary
critic will say, “We understand this British procedure; they call it a facade, but the
substance is absolute British ownership for every known purpose of governm nt: that
is annexation ; in loud and unmistakable terms they repudiate annexation; they
proclaim their intimate and whole-hearted adhesion to self-determination, and all the
rest of it, but when you come to see what they do, what they do is to establish a
control which is benevolent, which is useful, which certainly has produced the most
excellent results, but which is absolute control; that is not self-determination.” I
think we must make up our own minds how we should answer that kind of question.
I could develop it, but I do not want to take up time.
LORD CURZON : That was not the case postulated by Mr. Montagu. He is
looking at a position not in which we evade any declaration we have made, but in
which the natives, exercising the power of self-determination which we concede,
determine in favour of a Protectorate. They come to us and say, “ We do not want
the King of the Hejaz, we do not even want an Arab Amir ; we do not want sep irate
Arab States run by Arabs or by Arab Councils; what we want, at any rate for the
time being, is the security resulting from a British Protectorate, because you are the
only people to give it to us.”
MR. BALFOUR: An undisguised British Raj. That is not the problem which is
going to trouble you, but the one I put will.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : I do not think there is very much difficulty about it.
I could answer it. Quite frankly I should say, “ Well, as far as we are com-erned, we
would be glad to see these countries with a very large measure of independence; we
would like to see them all have as much independence as I bn Saud has goc—practically
everything, except that he must not admit a foreign country.
MR. BALFOUR : Something similar to Afghanistan.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : That is impracticable. We have done our best to find
out how much independence they are ready for, and we have instructed our officers to
find out how much independence they will accept. This is as far as they will go, and
it amounts to this, that for the time being we shall have to control the administration.
We sh;dl encourage native officials as in Egypt ; we shall have, if we can, a native
ruler, a native titular ruler, as we have in Egypt, and possibly, us time goes on, we may
get native Ministers, as we have in Egypt. If they get as far as Egypt it would be
entirely a delusion to say that we control all branches of the administration, for it is
not tr ue. A very large amount of the actual administration is done by native officials
with native ideas—and very badly done, too.
MR. BALFOUR: Ultimate control.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: No doubt, but it would not be true to say it is part of
the British Empire in the sense that Singapore is.
MR. BALFOUR: Singapore is a town.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: No, it is a district.
MR. MONTAGU: The state of affairs you have described as to what may
happm is analogous to the state of affairs in Egypt at the moment, and that is a
Protectorate.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: I am sorry, but I cannot deal with two sets of
questions at once. I was answering Mr. Balfour for the moment. It is quite simple.
When we sav we will not have a Protectorate, we mean exactly what we say, and that
is a perfectly well defined expression in diplomatic language. It means that we will
not declare a Protectorate over these districts, and it does not mean anything else.
MR. BALFOUR : “ We will have a Protectorate, but will not declare it.”
LORD ROBERT CECIL : It is because you use “ Protectorate ” in two senses.
MR. BALFOUR : I am afraid the Chairman thinks this is an otiose discussion.
LORD CURZON: No, I do not, but I was going to provide a way out of it.
What Mr. Montagu is doubtful about is the use of the words “ British Protectorate.^
About this item
- Content
This file is composed of papers produced by the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee, which was chaired by George Curzon for most of its existence. The file contains a complete set of printed minutes, beginning with the committee's first meeting on 28 March 1918, and concluding with its final meeting on 7 January 1919 (ff 6-214 and ff 227-272).
The file begins with two copies of a memorandum by Curzon, dated 13 March 1918, proposing the formation of the Eastern Committee. This is followed by a memorandum by Arthur James Balfour, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, approving Curzon's proposal, and a copy of a procedure for the newly created committee, outlining arrangements for committee meetings and the dissemination of information to committee members.
Also included is a set of resolutions, passed by the committee in December 1918, in order to guide British representatives at the Paris Peace conference (ff 216-225). The resolutions cover the following: the Caucasus and Armenia; Syria; Palestine; Hejaz and Arabia; Mesopotamia, Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. They are preceded by a handwritten note written by Curzon 'some years later', which remarks on how they are a 'rather remarkable forecast of the bulk of the results since obtained.'
- Extent and format
- 1 file (272 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 272; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/274
- Title
- Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee
- Pages
- 1r:214v, 216r:272v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence