Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎268v] (536/544)

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British Troops in
South Persia.
Cossack Brigade.
from Colonel Gough, giving in detail the expenditure and commit
ments in South Persia. He drew attention to a paragraph saying
that Colonel Gough considered it necessary to provide for an
expenditure of 1,000 tomnns a day, and also to pay arrears of about
40,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. already due in proinhes given to tribesmen. He
suggested that a reply should he sent that the Treasury would pay
whatever our Consul at Shiraz had committed us to, but that sanction
could not be given to a payment of l,00o tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. a day.
• The Committee decided—
(a.) To instruct the War Office to find out exactly ichat is the
military situation in South Persia, and to submit to the
Committee an appreciation showing (a) where exactly our
troops are, (b) what they are doing, and (c) what return
we are getting from their employment.
(b.) To instruct the Foreign Office to reply to Sir P. Cox that
an adequate solution of the problem of our expenditure
is compromised by the various and increasing financial
commitments of the character described therein, that he
must clearly understand that while His Majesty's Goveim-
ment will, of course, redeem any promises actually made,
any future expenditure must be regarded as strictly
provisional, pending the settlement of the ichole financial
question.
In the course of the brief discussion which followed, Mr. Keynes
stated that the cost of the Cossack Brigade was originally charged
to Russia’s account, but since Russia had gone out of the war it was
debited to the War Office. The cost of the division, and that of the
South Persia Rifles, was not in the nature of loans to Persia.
Sir Hamilton Grant, in reply to a question, said that any exclusive
military expenditure was borne by His Majesty’s Government alone,
other expenditure being shared between that Government and the
Government of India. India’s present share was about 10 per cent.
Sir A. Hirtzel informed the Committee that the Secretary of
State for India was finding it increasingly difficult to persuade his
Council to continue to agree in India’s paying half, and that after
the war a revision of this system was almost inevitable^
The Chairman said he understood that the money we were
spending now was not really a loan to Persia, but was in the nature
of subventions without security.
The Committee decided—
To instruct Mr. Keynes to draw up, as, soon as he was in
possession of the requisite information, a compi'ehensive
statement showing our commitments in Persia, Arabia, and
elsewhere.
(Initialled) C. of K.
2, Whitehall Gardens,
December 30, 1918.