Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎53r] (105/290)

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Finance.
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2. In view of the military necessities to recommend to the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs that sanction be
granted for the construction of a light railway to Mosul,
subject to the approval of the Treasury being obtained
to the expenditure
3. Colonel Wilson said he asked, from the point of view of Civil
Administration in Mesopotamia, that the Government of India should
cease to be responsible for the financial control of expenditure.
The responsibility should, in his opinion, be transferred to the India
Office, and accounts should be rendered to the Treasury from
Mesopotamia as from the 1st April in the form laid down by the
Treasury.
Mr. Waterfield asked if it would be equally convenient to
Colonel Wilson if the Department responsible at this end were the
War Office.
Colonel Wilson said he considered it would be disadvantageous
to have the War Office in charge. For more than ten years the India
Office had dealt with this region ; they were thoroughly conversant
with the whole details of Mesopotamian personnel, and they had
acted as the London office for Mesopotamia throughout the war.
Besides, if he had to put matters up to the War Office they would
have to go through the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, and
would probably give him more responsibility than he would care
to incur. The system by which the General Officer Commanding-
in-Chief was responsible to the War Office, and the Civil Com
missioner was responsible to 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. had proved reasonably
efficient throughout the war, and there seemed no reason for
altering it.
Mr. Waterfield said that the reason for his suggestion to place
the War Office in charge was that, as they were to be financially
responsible, they ought to have control.
General Radcliffe said that he was not in a position to state the
views of the War Office on this point, but, personally, he was of
opinion that they would agree with Colonel W ilson’s view.
Colonel Wilson said that 20 per cent, of the personnel of the
Civil Administration were Indian civil servants, or belonged to Indian
Departments ; 30 to 40 per cent, were officers of the Indian Army
or Indian Army Reserve, mostly recruited in Mesopotamia, the
remainder were officers in the British service. The Government of
India claimed that they were entitled to the return of all the civil
officers they required, and they had asked for about eight out of
every ten lent. He had already sent back one in ten, and promised
to send back about one in ten after leave, and he was prepared to
allow a number more to go back in August. He had every sympathy
with the desire of the Government of ludia in this matter, but if he
were to comply at once it would have the worst effect on the
administration.
Sir T. Holderness asked to what authority Colonel Wilson
applied for sanction for his projects.
Colonel Wilson said he was not authorised to spend over
60,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. on a single project without the previous sanction of
the Government of India, except in cases of urgency. In such cases
he submitted a requisition for a covering sanction afterwards. He
asked for no greater powers than he already possessed.