Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎91r] (181/290)

. [This Docmnent is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
Printed for the Foreign Office. November 1919.
SECRET.
[I.D.C.E., 30th Minutes.]
FOREIGN OFFICE.
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CONFERENCE ON MIDDLE EASTERN
AFFAIRS.
Minutes of Conference held at the Foreign Office on Monday, November 10, 1019,
at 6 p.m.
Present:
The Right Hon. the Earl Curzon of Kedleston, K.G., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
(in the Chair).
The Right Hon. E. S. Montagu, M.P., Lieutenant-Colonel W.H.Gribbon,C.M.G.,
Secretary of State for India, India War Oflice.
0ffice - T ^ _ Mr. Armitage-Smith, Treasury.
Sir Arthur Hirtzel, K.C.B., India Otnce.
Mr. C. C. Garbett, 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. . | Mr. G. J. K.dston, C.B., Foreign Office.
Major H. W. Young, D.S.O. (Secretary).
Administration of
Mesopotamia.
THE Conference had before them : (1) Note by Sir Arthur
Hirtzel on the Future Constitution of Mesopotamia, No. B ■335 of
the 3rd November, 1919 (I.D.C.E.-3469); (2) Note by Political
Department, 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. , on the Present p
Mesopotamia, No. B336 of the 28th October, 1919 (I.D.C.E.-3430),
,31 Note on the Organisation of Civil Administration of Mesopotamia
of the 1st September, 1919 (1.0.0.^3429); (4) relegram from
Political, Baghdad, No. 2929 of the 29th October, 1919 (I.D.C.E.
-3440).
The. Chairman said that the Conference had met to see if they
could advance in any way the troublesome question, which was
assuming growing dimensions and gravity, of the degree to which
the British administration in Mesopotamia had been developing in
a wrong direction, and what steps were practicable to correct it.
Evidence had accumulated recently that our administration in
Mesopotamia was unpopular with a number ol the elements whom
we most wished to conciliate, and this unpopularity was likely to
lead to future trouble. The position appeared to be that there was
now in existence in Mesopotamia a highly organised military
administration in which a very large number of British officials
were employed, and which did not at present give to the local
population the opportunity for sharing in their own government
which they had the right to expect from the Anglo-French
Declaration of November 1918.
He did not suggest that this administration had done badly—it
had undoubtedly done well—but it was inordinately expensive, and
he would be glad to see it come to an end as soon as possible.
The Acting Civil Commissioner had come to England, last
spring, and had brought forward a scheme for the institution of
B
[1512]