Papers written by Curzon on the Near and Middle East [‎11v] (22/348)

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the full and immediate realization of the programme laid down in the 1916 Agree
ment, even were the full and textual validity of that document assumed; and it ins
Majesty’s Government have so far relaxed the application ot this principle as to
allow, by the modus vivendi of the 30th September, 1918, their french Allies to
anticipate some of the privileges accruing to them under the Agreement before they
could legitimately be claimed, this concession must be held to have been due solely
to the desire of His Majesty’s Government to show their willingness to meet French
wishes in a friendly spirit and not to any obligation imposed by the terms of the
Agreement itself. The Commanders-in-chief of the Armies of Occupation, there-
lore, retain sole responsibility for the maintenance of law T and order in the areas of
their military commands, and His Majesty’s Government can admit no derogation
from the rights of supreme authority which this responsibility implies.
From the above it will be seen that His Majesty’s Government are of opinion
that, whatever the intrinsic value of the Agreement may be, its application cannot
be claimed so long as a state of w r ar exists, and that the only powers which the French
can claim to exercise by right in the occupied territories are those conceded to them
by the modus vivendi of the 30th September, 1918.
The second point of difference between the two Governments relates to the
validity of the Agreement itself, and this, in the light of the considerations set forth
above, must be judged, not only by the fact that any effective operation which might
eventually be given to it at the contemplated termination of the state ot war has
already been largely modified by the Anglo-French Declaration of the 18th
November, 1918, but" also by the fact that all arrangements and agreements made
between the Allied Governments as a basis of the war settlement must necessarily
come within the purview of the Peace Conference and be ratified, modified or
rescinded by that body. Indeed that process has already been commenced in Paris,
and may be expected before long to reach a final stage.
It is to a genuine misunderstanding on these fundamental questions ratheT*
than to any desire to create or to magnify points of local difference that I am
inclined to attribute the unfortunate incidents and disagreements that have arisen,
culminating as they have done in the series of grave personal charges which the
French Government have thought fit to bring against British officers and even
against the Generals in command of the British armies in the field. Upon this
point I must speak wdth frankness.
Far from thwarting legitimate French aspirations, General Allenby has, to
the knowledge of His Majesty’s Government urged the French Representative for
many months past to give to him more efficient co-operation, and with this end in
view to secure the appointment of French officers of standing with ripe administra
tive experience to aid him in his difficult task. So far all his efforts in this direction
have been in vain. He has seen with the greatest solicitude the danger of serious
trouble with the Arabs which the failure to supply sufficient or efficient adminis
trative French personnel has frequently caused, and in every case he has done his
best to help and advise. The late Sir Mark Sykes was sent to Syria on a special
niission by His Majesty’s Government, with the sole object of endeavouring to
compose differences between the Arabs and the French Administrators. General
Allenby has already been informed in general terms of the charges brought in
M. Pichon’s note and has repudiated them indignantly both in his own name and in
that of the officers under his command. This repudiation he will no doubt be in
a position, if required, to confirm and substantiate in the course of his impending
visit to Paris. To His Majesty's Government indeed the charge of undermining the
popularity of the French 'in Syria is peculiarly galling and unjustified, since all
the information in their possession tends to show that both General Allenby and
his officers have throughout exerted themselves to combat the anti-French feeling
which, in spite of the existence of many devoted and energetic French adherents,
undoubtedly exists in that country, and which (as it would be easily within my
power, were I so disposed, to prove), the action of French officers and officials
has not invariably tended to allay.
The French Government in their note have also complained that the censorship
is exercised to the detriment of their cause in Syria. To this accusation His Majesty's
Government take particular exception, since" they have been scrupulously careful
throughout to suppress with rigor the many attempts which have been made to
ventilate in the press manifestations of anti-French feeling. So loyally indeed
has this policy been followed that it has roused grave popular discontent on many
occasions, and has caused serious embarrassment to the local authorities. Similar
difficulties have arisen in regard to the control of the Syrian press in Egypt.