Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎144v] (292/380)

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Great Power, with all the resources of a Great Power at its back ; and it is submitted
that the above considerations show that no other Power has any claim, moia 01
material, to undertake the task comparable with that of the British hinpire.
13. As regards the outward form of the new Mesopotamian State, it is not
proposed to discuss here the various suggestions that have been made. 1 roin the
Indian point of view, the form matters'little provided the reality ol British supei vision
and control is secured, and provided the administrative system is such as to commciK
itself to the local population, and to afford them full scope for self-development on
national lines. A word may be said about the geographical limits of the new btate
That it must include the old Turkish vilayets of Basra and Baghdad goes without
saving; but there are solid grounds for including the vilayet of Mosul as well.
The Civil Commissioner has recently pressed this point strongly. 1 he Mosul vilayet,
lie tells us, is the hinterland of Iraq ; the connection between Baghdad and Mosul is
as close as that between Basra and Baghdad. This was fully recognised In the
Turks whose first step, when they turned tlieir attention in Pd 10 to the icorgam-
sationof the Baghdad vilayet, was to place both Mosul and Basra under the supreme
authority of the Baghdad administration. It may be laid down on geneial lines,
says Colonel Wilson, “ that it is vital to the welfare of the Iraq province that the
“ province of Mosul should be under an administration ^ not only friendly
“ to, but in active co-operation with that of Iraq.” The whole of Meso
potamia falls within the area in respect of which Sir Henry McMahon
pledged us, vis-a-vis the Sherif (King of the He.jaz), in October 1915
to recognise the “ independence of the Arab countries ” ; but this pledge was qualified
by the proviso that our “established position and interests” in the occupied districts
of Iraq necessitated “ special measures of administrative control to secure these
“ territories from foreign aggression, to promote the welfare of the local populations,
“ and to safeguard our mutual economic interests.” In the recent Anglo-French
“ Declaration,” published on the 5th November, we declared it to be our policy to
encourage and assist the establishment “ de gouvernements et ^’administrations
indigenes" in the liberated territories; we disclaimed any wish to impose “ telles ou
telles institutions ” on the local populations, and avowed our sole object to be to
assure by our support and effective assistance “le fonctionnement normal des
“ oouvernements et administrations qu’elles se seront librement donnes.” These
pledges, though they preclude annexation and perhaps even the establishment of a
formal British “ protectorate,” are not inconsistent with effective British control,
exercised through an indigenous administration. In regard to Mosul, a special
difficulty arises, because the town and part of the vilayet lie within the sphere of
influence assigned to France by the Agreement of May 1916. It is very much to be
hoped that some means may be found of inducing the French Government to forgo
their claims.
2. German East Africa.
/
11. India is interested in German East Africa (1) because, in the hands of
a Power hostile, or potentially hostile, to Great Britain, it might afford a base
for enemy naval activity in the Indian Ocean; and (2) because of the advantages
offered by the Colony for Indian immigration. It may be remarked in connection
with point (2) that Indian traders were established in this region long before the
German occupation. The claims of India to colonisation rights in the conquered
territory are very strong :—
(a) There is not in India the possibility of suitably rewarding with land a
fraction of the million of Indian soldiers who have served the Empire in
the war, and it is land above all things that they want.
(h) The Indian immigrant of this type—the Jat and Punjabi Mussulman, for
example—has the qualities which make a good colonist. He is, moreover,
a small holder, cultivating his land in his.own way with his own labour
and that of his. family. He would thus not compete with the European
settler, who is a larger farmer and planter.
(c) The question has an important political aspect. It cannot be denied that the
position of Indians who wish to settle in our Diminions is very
unsatisfactory. It is true that by agreements as to reciprocity and by