Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎67v] (134/290)

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Clause 5.
Clause 6 .
The Chairman agreed that the wording was open to miscon
struction, and
The Conference decided that the Foreign Office should make
a suggestion to Sir Percy Cox on this point.
The Chairman remarked that the sting of this particular
clause lay in its tail, and suggested that the 1 reasury objections
to the agreement were probably based on the proposal that the
British Government should advance funds pending the completion
of negotiations for the loan.
Mr. Montagu said he supposed that the advances referred to
would be charged to the loan.
Replying to a question by the Chairman, he suggested that
delay in the completion of negotiations would be caused by the
necessity of making enquiries as to the resources at disposal, dates
of payment, the form of loan, &c.
The Chairman alluded to the second paragraph of Treasury
letter of the 21st April, and asked what prospects there were of
private loans being forthcoming.
Mr. Oliyhant said that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company had
offered a loan of £2,000,000 to the Persian Government for railway
construction, but that private loans might be made on conditions
which His Majesty’s Government would have some hesitation in
agreeing to.
Mr. Waley asked, with reference to Clause 2, whether it was
proposed that these advances should only cover the pay of the
expert advisers, or whether it was intended that they should
include payments necessitated by contracts entered into on their
advice. He pointed out that it was desirable that if such advances
were made, they should be made on understandings which would
not encourage the Persian Government to delay completion of the'
negotiations.
The Chairman pointed out that the advances were only
intended for a strictly limited purpose, viz., the provision of
personnel and equipment for initiating reforms.
Mr. Montagu suggested the insertion of the words “on
account of it ” after the word “advances.”
The Conference decided that the Foreign Office should
incorporate this suggestion in their proposed telegram
to Sir Percy Cox.
5. The Conference concurred.
6. Mr. Oliyhant, replying to a question by the Chairman, said
that a list of the existing treaties was available in the Foreign
Office, the most important of which was the Treaty of Turkman-
chai of 1828, on which all the others were based.
The Chairman said we must be careful to avoid doing any
thing which would strengthen the Persian case for appearance at
the Peace Conference. This question would come up later with
regard to the points in the Draft Subsidiary Agreement.