Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎235v] (470/544)

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LORD ROBERT CECIL : Yes.
LORD CURZON : I hen it is not necessary to refer to it here.?
LORD ROBERT CECIL: The only phrase I Hid not like was this: “The
question of his suzerainty should be left to him to settle with the other Arab chiefs,”
but I do not mind that very much.
LORD CL RZON : “ The question of his suzerainty should not be touched by us ”—
you might put in something like that.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: Yes.
LORD CURZON : “ And the question of his suzerainty should not be settled by
us ; is that right ? J
LORD ROBERT CECIL : Yes.
LORD CURZON : No. 7 touches the question of subsidy which 1 raised at the
last meeting : “ It is not desirable that the King of the Hejaz should continue after the
vvnr to he subsidised either by Great Britain or any Christian nation. The subvention
formerly paid to him by the Turks should be replaced by annual subventions from the
Arab State of Syria, and possibly from the Arab States of Mesopotamia. These sub
ventions might be paid to him as Keeper of the Holy Places. There would, however,
be no objection to the payment of a small joint subsidy by Great Britain, France, and
Italy for the sole purpose of keeping free the caravan routes.”
MR BALFOUR: It would be a serious thing if he lost money by the change of
status. It would be regrettable.
LORD CURZON : I he subvention we are giving him now is greater than
anything he had from the Turks.
MR. BALFOUR : That is true. I do not think he ought to get less under the
new arrangement than under the Turks,
LORD CURZON : Certainly not.
MR. BALFOUR: Is there any security that he will not? I should think he
would get less under this arrangement.
CURZON : 1 do not know how much the Damascus State, which has
hardly begun to exist yet, will be able to pay.
MR. BALFOUR: You are throwing upon Damascus and Mesopotamia a charo-e
formerly borne by the whole Turkish Empire.
LORD CURZON: Does anybody know what was the subvention to Hussein
before the war ? " i
SIR LOUIS MALLET : I am afraid I do not.
COLONEL GRIBBON : I know there was a sum of about T.£ 1,000,000 budgeted
for the Hejaz Railway, and that is all I remember.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : We could easily find that out.
LORD CURZON : We should pay the subvention formerly paid by the Turks,
which should be replaced as far as possible by annual subventions from the Arab
State of Syria, and leave the remainder open. As regards Mesopotamia, we talk
here about possible subventions from the Arab States of Mesopotamia. I imagine
if the British remain, as they probably will, in substantial control of the administration,
that really would be a subsidy paid by us to him in the form of a subvention from
Mesopotamia, and that in that case we should be at liberty to determine the amount,
and take very good care that it was not less than he received from the Turk.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : We shall have to assure him that he will not
suffer.
MR. BALFOUR : Yes. I do not know whether it would be regarded as a fair
charge upon, let us say, the Indian Moslems that they should pay "to keep up the
Holy Places. I do not know enough about the Moslem practice. They travel by sea,
I suppose, do they not ?
SIR HAMILTON GRANT : Yes.