Papers written by Curzon on the Near and Middle East [‎79v] (158/348)

to support the enemy in abrogating the main provisions of that treaty was to me
quite inexplicable. Nor could I, 1 said, accept the defence of the Ambassa or,
which was somewhat diffidently oftcred, that there had been no concealment abou
the sympathies of the Italian Government throughout, since they had never been in
favour of those parts of the treaty to which I had referred. This contention enablec
me to ask at once why, then, had they signed the treaty as it stood; why had they
not taken the opportunity, repeatedly presented to them, oi eliecting amendments,
why, above all, had they attempted to compass their ends in this clandestine and
tortuous way ? _ . ^
T went on to give another illustration, if the reports that I had received were
correct, of a similar attitude on the part of the Italian Foreign Minister. he
British Government/who had for eighty years had close relations with the State or
Afghanistan, contiguous as it was to the frontiers of India, and who had throughout
the°greater part of that time subsidised and exercised complete control over the
foreign policy of the Afghan rulers, had for some time been engaged in negotiating
a new arrangement with the Afghan Government, which was on the verge or
conclusion. Any day the British Government might hear that it was signed.
Under it, the Ameer would once more receive a large subsidy from the British
Government, and would thereby admit the superior and predominant political
influence of Great Britain in his country. It was true that he was at the same time
being assailed in Kabul by political missions and requests lor treaties of <illiume
with the Soviet Government and with Turkey. Moreover, he had sent an Afghan
mission of a somewhat suspicious character to Europe, and this mission was now
travelling about from place to place. Great was my surprise when I heard that this
mission had been in Rome, and that, without a word of reference to us, it had
concluded, or was alleged to have concluded, an agreement with the Italian
Government, who were forthwith to despatch a representative and mission to Kabul.
Whatever might be said for or against the policy of such an agreement, that
the Italian Government should have concluded it, if they had, without any reference
to us, was a proceeding against which I felt that I had the right to utter a vehement
protest. What would the Italian Government have thought if, in some region
contiguous to their possessions in Africa or elsewhere, the British Government
had, behind their backs and without any attempt to consult them or keep them
informed, concluded a secret agreement with the powerful ruler of such a region ?
If this report was true—and, in view of what had been done with Angora, it seemed
to me not incredible—I desired seriously to ask the Ambassador in what direction
his Government intended to go? Did they hold themselves at liberty, while
professing a warm and close alliance with ourselves, to conclude behind our backs
these secret agreements, which might very well be in direct conflict with our
interests ^
If that was the view of Italian policy, it seemed to me that Count Sforza was
moving deliberately in the direction of a rupture of that concord upon which the
peace of the world depended, and that I was justified in asking for some clear
intimation from him as to what was his intention.
Signor de Martino declared that it was new to him that any such agreement had
been concluded; but he remembered having either seen or heard in Rome of a
delegation of Afghans, whom I think he said he had seen in picturesque costume on
some official occasion. He was under the impression that your Excellency was aware
both of their presence and of their object. He even believed that you must be
acquainted with the agreement, if it had been concluded; and he was surprised that
no communication on the subject had been received from you by the Foreign Office.
He would at once enquire of his Government, as I undertook to do from your
Excellency, what had happened in the matter.
His Excellency, who seemed to be very ill-acquainted with the history and
position of Afghanistan, then went on to cross-examine me closely upon the degree
of political independence enjoyed by that country.
I gave him a history of our relations with successive Afghan Ameers, and
acknowledged that we no longer claimed to exercise that complete control over the
foreign relations of Afghanistan which we had been in a position to do before the
war. Had we still been in that position, an Afghan mission would not be wandering
about Europe at the present time. But this fact did not alter the broad fact that
Afghanistan, bv virtue of its position and history, lav within the sphere of British,
political influence, and that, whether foreign Powers were or were not at liberty
to conclude separate agreements with its Government, it was almost inconceivable