Papers written by Curzon on the Near and Middle East [‎77r] (153/348)

CIRCULATED TO THE CABINET.
[This Document is uie Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
EASTERN (Turkey).
[May 9.]
CONFIDENTIAL
Section 1.
[E 5491/132/44] No. 1.
Earl Curzon to Sir H. Rumbold (Constantinople).
(No. 436.)
Sir, Foreign Office. May 9, 1921.
RESHID PASHA An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ,‘representing the Constantinople Government in London, asked
to see me this afternoon.
I had no idea what he wanted, hut welcomed the opportunity of saying something
to him about the bad faith of the Angora Turks in respect of our British prisoners.
However, he opened at once on the question of the ad valorem basis of the customs
duties at Constantinople.
When he began by referring to the Grand Vizier’s conversation with me on the.
subject during the recent conference in London, and the sympathy which I was alleged
to have then professed for the Turkish views as regards a specific tariff, I had to tell
Reshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. quite plainly that the Grand Vizier had not only grossly exaggerated,
but had entirely misrepresented what I had said on the subject; that he had reported
both in Paris and at Constantinople that I had used language which 1 had never
employed ; and that there was not the least ground for saying that I expressed any
sympathy at all with the Turkish proposals. What had happened was this :—
The Grand Vizier had expatiated upon the miserable position of the Turkish
Government in relation to its officials, upon the impossibility of paying their salaries,
and upon the destitute condition of those unfortunate persons. He had laid great
stress accordingly upon the desirability of a revision of the tariffs, to which I had
replied that I understood the matter to have been under examination at Constantinople,
where 1 believe proposals had been made—I was alluding to the ad valorem duties—
which would to some extent place the Turkish Government in possession of funds. I
had never expressed any sympathy with the Turkish proposals, which, indeed, I had
never examined. I was not prepared to express any sympathy now.
My recollection was that the three High Commissioners at Constantinople fvere
acting in close co-operation, and 1 was not willing to go behind their backs. Had I
known that Reshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. was going to reopen the matter I would have refreshed my
recollection. As it was, I could promise no more than to send for the papers and
examine the latest aspect of the case.
1 then said to Reshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. that I had a much more serious question to raise, and
that was the apparent bad faith of the Angora Government with regard to the exchange
of prisoners of war. The agreement had been concluded, not with the Grand Vizier or
himself, but with Bekir Sami Bey, for the reason that the whole of the British prisoners
were in Asia Minor in the hands of the Angora Government. It was an agreement by
which the Turks were to be largely the gainers, because, in return for tw r enty-nine
British prisoners knowui to be in Turkish hands, we had been willing to surrender over
forty Turks, who were interned at Malta. Further, when Bekir Sami Bey, on his return
to the East, had arrived in Rome, he had complained bitterly that we were not executing
the terms of the agreement, because the Malta prisoners had not actually been delivered.
In our anxiety to show our good faith, we had since landed them all in Italy and lost
control over their movements. Nevertheless, although Bekir Sami Bey had been back
at Angora for the best part of a fortnight, we had heard nothing about the release of
the British prisoners. Not a single one of them had been produced, and news had
reached us that Colonel Rawlinson, who had got as far as Trebizond on what Avas
believed to be his return journey, had actually been sent back to Erzeroum. The whole
case appeared to be one of a gross breach of faith on the Turkish side, and, although 1
w r as ignorant of the degree to which the Constantinople Government held themselves
responsible for the actions of their brethren at Angora, I could not fail to utter an
indignant remonstrance.
Reshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. admitted that his relations with the Angora Turks were slight and
his influence over them small. Indeed, he kneAv nothing about the matter, and seemed