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Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [247v] (494/544)
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.
16
SIR CHARLES MARLING : I would reduce the Cossack division to say seven
or ei^ht hundred men as a bodyguard to the Shah, and make them as attractive as
possible.
LORD CURZON : Who is to do it ?
SIR CHARLES MARLING : We should have to do it. If we got some sort of
reasonable financial control, Persia could pay her way in two years.
LORD CURZON : If Persia is to be left to stew in her own juice, would
you still want financial control, or would you clear out absolutely in every respect and
leave the country to go to the dogs? That is a tremendous responsibility for any man
to take.
SIR CHARLES MARLING : The thing is just to drag along. I should let the
Persians have the very small amount of subsidy they are getting now. It is not nearly
enough to keep them on their feet.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : What do we give them ?
MR. OLIPHANT : 120,0001 a month.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: What is the good of clearing out and letting the
country go to ruin ?
LORD CURZON : And then paying them while they are going to ruin.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : It is a million and a half or two millions a year. In
addition to that we pay the Rifles, the Cossacks ?
SIR CHARLES MARLING : Yes.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: What does that come to? I should like to know
what Persia costs us quite apart from what they get out of it.
SIR CHARLES MARLING: It costs us a million or more a year. The South
Persia Rifles cost a million and a quarter.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: I mean all in—military, civilian, and everything.
It costs us five or ten millions a year, I suppose.
GENERAL MACDONOGH: I understood Sir Charles Marling to say just now
that his policy was to leave things to drift. Is not that the reason why we have not done
any good in Persia—because we have let things drift ? The policy which has been put
forward by the War Office here is, first of all, to get rid of Russian control of the Persian
Cossacks, and secondly, to get the control of the Persian Cossacks, or the force you put
in place of them, in British hands. There was opposition to that at one time, and then
we suggested putting it in the hands of the Americans, or somebody of that sort; but
that did not meet with any favour. Certainly the policy put forward by the War
Office was to get the control of Persia generally, and really get something for our
money. We have not had control of Persia. We have put all the Persians against
us. We did not want to ride roughshod over the Persians in anyway. The War
Office suggested a great many times that we should hand over the Persia Rifles, and
that w T e might even get rid of the Indian troops at Shiraz, and that we should start
forming the national Persian army which we understood the Persians were so keen
about. That is a definite policy—that we should take control in Persia both financially
and otherwise.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : What will it cost ?
GENERAL MACDONOGH : I do not think that it would cost very much more
than what we are spending at present.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : It would not cost any less ?
GENERAL MACDONOGH: No. M'e do not know now why we are spending
money.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : I agree with you. It is neither, fish, flesh, fowl, nor
good red herring. You may either go away and let the Persians have a try at
governing themselves or you may take them over. I do not think, personally, that
there is any alternative that is reasonable. I confess that I am a little inclined to
think that we ought to go away; but I am not sure.
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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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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