Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎136v] (272/290)

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an Arab rather than a British majority; but was the machinery so ar
advanced that an individual could be selected and given a poitfolio .
With regard to the President of the Council of State, it was not
the possibility that this individual might eventually be accepted n
general acclaim as the suitable ruler of the country, which caused
doubts in his mind. It was exactly the opposite. If he did not
turn out well, was there not a fear that after two years as practically
ruler of the country it would be exceedingly difficult to get rid
of him ?
What was required was the best machinery for devising the
Organic Law, and he was not sure that this had been arrived at.
Mr. Montagu suggested that Mr. Garbett should be asked about
the possibility of entrusting portfolios to Arab Ministers. 1 he
proposed constitution would, in his opinion, provide the machinery
required for working out the Organic Law. He would entrust the
Council of State, advised by the Civil Commissioner, with the
drafting of the Organic Law, which could then be submitted to the
Legislative Assembly for approval or amendment. As to the difficulty
concerning the Arab President of the Council of State, it must be
remembered that he would be one of the men responsible for the
drafting of the Organic Law. Two years was not a very long time,
and even two years would not be necessary to define the position of
the Arab President. The first thing to be decided by the Organic
Law would be whether there was or was not to be an Amir of
Mesopotamia. He imagined that if there were to be no Amir, the
alternative would probably be an Arab President of Mesopotamia,
whose anpointment would be for a term of years. this post could
most suitably be filled in the first place by the Arab President of’ the
Council, who would be partly responsible for creating it.
The Chairman remarked that Mr. Montagu appeared to be
proceeding on an entirely new hypothesis. The Council of State
would be composed of five Arab members, including the President,
and only two British. It was now suggested that this body should
draw up the Organic Law, but in Article 1 of the draft mandate it
was proposed that the mandatory should draw up this Law, not a
mixed Cabinet Council in which the British were in a small minority.
He could even conceive the five natives outvoting the British on
every point, and then getting the Legislative Assembly to concur in
their conclusions. What he wanted was to set up machinery to
advise the mandatory in the drafting of the Organic Law. The
responsibility must remain with the mandatory.
Mr. Montagu thought that the danger of the Arabs overruling
the British was met by 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. letter of the 20th May.
The President, acting with the advice of the Civil Commissioner,
should have the power to veto decisions of the Council and Ministers,
while the Civil Commissioner would have the power to insist upon
the acceptance of advice to the extent necessary to secure the fulfil
ment of the mandate.
Article 1 of the draft mandate, as it stood, provided that the
Organic Law should be framed by the mandatory in consultation
with the native authorities, i.e., the Council of State, and should
take account of the rights, interests and wishes of the populations,
i.e., the Legislative Assembly.
TJte Chairman said that Mr. Montagu was going much further
than the draft mandate when he suggested that the native authorities
should themselves draft the Organic Law. He did not, however
wish to press his objections too hard, as he was not an Abbe Sieyes
and had no alternative constitution in his pocket. He asked Mr
Garbett how matters stood as regards the appointment of Arabs as
Ministers of Departments.
Mr. Garbett said that the Baghdad telegrams had not specified
the Departments of State ; but assuming them to be Finance, Public