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Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [255v] (510/544)
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.
MB,. BALFOUR: The Chatalja line.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : That kind of thing.
LORD CURZON ; To whom would you give Adrianople ?
MR. BALFOUR: Bulgaria.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : You might give it to Bulgaria. I quite agree that it is
most desirable that we should, if possible, fall in with the views of the Greeks, the
Serbians, and the Roumanians, if they have agreed on some settlement, unless it is
grossly unfair to Bulgaria. I do not think that Bulgaria has the slightest claim on
us from any point of view. If that is possible I should be rather inclined to see
that done.
May 1 say just one word about the Admiralty point about the Americans? Of
course, the Americans would only go there as the mandatory of the League of Nations,
or whatever you like to call the European authority. I do not myself see on what
ground they should wish to have a fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean ; but I think that
we have to make up our minds definitely what attitude we are going to take up with
regard to the Americans. If we are going to regard any increase in American power as
a danger to this country, then I confess i do not see any hope whatever of arriving at a
durable settlement under the Treaty of Peace. I think that we must take up the
position that, admitting that nothing is certain in the future, the chance of our having
to fight the Americans is so remote that it may be neglected, and that we must consider
that a growth of American power is not a threat to us at all, but on the contrary is
rather a bulwark to our safety than a threat to our safety. Therefore I am not in the
least afraid personally of any increase of American power if it were to take place. I
personally think it extremely unlikely that the Americans would ever consent to keep
any very large naval force in the Eastern Mediterranean because they were the
mandatories o? the Powers for a little tiny district including Constantinople. As to the
Mahominedans I do not feel in an immense difficulty, because the authorities
are so conflicting. I do not pretend to have an opinion myself. I observe that Sir A.
Hirtzel does not appear quite to see eye to eye with Sir Hamilton Grant, nor does
Lord Curzon see eye to eye with Mr. Montagu. Therefore 1 think that 1 may say that
on the whole I do not think that I should regard that as a danger which I must
• consider.
MR. MONTAGU: Your solution remains to leave the Turks there unless the
Americans will take it ?
LORD ROBERT CECIL : Yes. I think that the danger of attempting to carry out
the international government even of a comparatively small district there would be
greater on the whole than leaving the Turk there.
ADMIRAL HOPE : 1 think that the view the Admiralty take is this—that the
size of the Navy determines the policy of the country very largely, and the more
commitments America gets outside the United States, or you may say outside the
continent of America, the more-inducement to her to increi.se her fleet. Up to a
certain limit it is all right ; but if she goes beyond that limit it will force us to increase
the size of our fleet. So it is desirable from our point of view not to encourage the
Americans to undertake commitments outside their own continent. There is no doubt
that if the Americans go to Palestine and Turkey, they will maintain a big squadron in
the Mediterranean, and that will be a considerable embarrassment to us in the future.
LORD CURZON : If they went to Constantinople in the kind of capacity that
has been suggested, namely, in order to exercise police powers, why should they require
to strengthen their navy ?
ADMIRAL HOPE : There is no particular reason why they should, but, knowing
the Americans, I think that they would.
LORD CURZON : What would they have to do with their navy ?
ADMIRAL HOPE : They would be possibly in Caucasia as well.
LORD CURZON : We are dealing for the moment with the question of
Constantinople, just as we dealt the other day in the Cabinet with the question of
Palestine. I could not see then why, if they were placed in charge of Jerusalem, they
must have a fleet in the Mediterranean to enable them to do so.
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.
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- 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