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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [44r] (87/290)
The record is made up of 1 file (145 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1919-7 Dec 1920. 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.
5
o
The Chairman pointed out that General Clayton’s policy of
doing nothing was only his second string, to be adopted if Wilson s
suggestion was not acceptable.
Wilson’s policy, he thought, was too abrupt, and might, as the
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.
suggested, lead to the immediate outbreak of hostilities.
He proposed, instead of a total stoppage of the subsidy, to reduce it
by half. The reduction could be made, as Wilson suggested, on
formal grounds. At the same time Ibn Saud could be informed
that we thought it had been a mistake for him to have come forward
and pressed his claim in the matter of Khurma, that we sympathised
with King Hussein in his refusal to tolerate the spectacle of a
militant and aggressive Wahabism so near the Hejaz, and that we
had decided to place no obstacle in the way of Hussein asserting his
authority there, should he choose to do so. Further, our attitude
towards Saud, and the possible stoppage of his entire subsidy, would
depend upon his conduct in this matter.
Mr. Kideton said that Wilson’s proposal to withdraw the whole
subsidy at once, as a preliminary to future bargaining, seemed
nearer the Oriental point of view than the Chairman’s suggestion.
Mr. Philby said he still thought the best way to contain the
Wahabi movement was to fix the boundaries by means of a Com
mission. In answer to a question by the Chairman he said he
preferred the tempered policy of a reduced subsidy to the total
stoppage proposed by Wilson.
The Conference decided —
1 . That the
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.
, in consultation with the Foreign Office,
should prepare a telegram for Baghdad in the sense
indicated by the Chairman.
2. That the telegram be repeated by the Foreign Office to
Cairo.
(Initialled) C. of K.
Foreign Office,
March 10, 1919.
About this item
- Content
This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.
Those attending include senior representatives of the Foreign Office, the 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. (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.
The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).
Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].
Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (145 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 145, 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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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [44r] (87/290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/275, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070539234.0x000058> [accessed 12 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/275
- Title
- Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:144v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence