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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [21r] (50/687)
The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1918-2 Nov 1919. It was written in English, French and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
vf /
prejudices^The° present°aeitat S ^ em ’ and sti11 Wronger vested
mitting native a/enev t„ g ,v “ I/- 51 ?;,Crates the difficulty of ad-
bureaucracy. A second instance mev^e*^? 16 ■ eXtent t mt ° an esta blished
smallest dependencies Cvnrus i * t • en in one of our more recent and
on Cyprus writes C , a P‘ am 4 0 ^ “ his recently published work
tbe island are given to Englishmen"^ the T ?, 11 Po^ts in
voice in the Government of tt~ d HectStitef
Council may come to the Canital a JVT i ? 0± tlle legislative
resolutions but the whole machinery of Government 1 is sStTsh 1 ? ^ PaS&
and shows no signs at present of ever being anything else ’’ ° ^ C ° re
which makes Replacement of Britis^Offi^f If’ P® is a *P eoia > ™ a son
the antagonism "of Mo~eVal P'ffifdt oPt* tdG™r\V d eI l
i^TheTiXr'eLcutivelstdvLable nd All^thit t I 0dUCt f i ° 11 tl f m ° re Indians
cerned to slow is the ehraoTdllar^diffifulty “‘i/Z sLvT
bureaucracy of introducing a native element into ih a Britlsh
are it l belrustefP'tLlfutiPPr 6 * here ^ “ * he 00Untr y wW
I fear there are not many. But I cannot believe that there are not as
many Arabs m Mesopotamia, who are fit for executive office as there were
Egyptians who were fit for such office in Egypt in 1883. The imnression T
the beTof^he^ Arab of Mes ° pota . mia > though two generations behind
the best of the Egyptians m education, is superior to him in character and
bl ^ think P r °b a ble that during the war we have not
been able to make use of the_ best material. Many have been fighting
against us. Others have been interned as prisoners. Others have not been
willing to accept service under us.
It has to be remembered that under the Turks, while the Turks reserved
the most important positions for Turks such as the posts of Waifi and
Mutesarnf the posts of Kaimakam and lower posts were I believe mainly
filled by Arabs. Unfortunately the Turkish traditions of administration
were so corrupt, that few who have held posts under them are suitable to be
again entrusted with power. But if the Turks could use the Arabs in these
positions, it ought not he_ impossible for us to do the same. And there can
be no doubt that the feeling against us will be bitter if under our rule the
Arab has not as great an opportunity in the Government service as formerly
under the Turks. 17
(6) It is clearly not advisable, nor do I think possible, to follow the
Egyptian model and to have .an exclusively Arab executive staff. But if we
are to avoid a course which will take us definitely away from the goal for
which we profess to set out, it is essential that even at the start we should
make the fullest use of Arab staff, and what is hardly less important gave
them a standing in the administration. I have been so little outside
Baghdad and have mixed so little with Arabs other than those connected
with the Courts that I hesitate to put forward definite proposals as to how
this can be effected. But I sugg’est the following as deserving' consideration :
That some Arabs should be at an early date appointed A.P.O.’s with an
official status, the same as that of British A.P.O.’s and a pay comparable to
that paid to A.P.O.’s and that a considerable class of D.A.P.O.’s should be
formed.
(T) As regrds the central administration, the positions which can be
reserved for Arabs, must depend much on the form of Government which is
to be set up.
A Cabinet of Native Ministers such as exists in Egypt, who in all essen
tials have to act under British direction has advantages. It keeps the form
of Government largely Arab, it maintains the social and political status of
the Arab, and it provides a legislative machinery, which should at least
delay the premature introduction of representative institutions in advance
of the need of the country.
I should welcome the appointment of an Arab Assisant Judicial
Secretary, or even an Arab Minister of Justice with myself as adviser, pro
vided he was carefully chosen and it was clearly laid down from the outset,
that he must comply with the decisions of the British Government or resign.
Even if a general Ministry of Arab Ministers is not formed, I believe
it will be advisable to place the Waqf Department under an Arab Minister
with a British Adviser.
February 5th, 1919, Baghdad.
E.B.C.
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of, and situation in, Mesopotamia [Iraq] following the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, more commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, between the French and British governments, and the Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918. The volume also concerns the subject of self-determination in Persia [Iran].
The papers notably cover:
- Discussion of advance interpretations of the 1916 Agreement
- The Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918, which publicised their intentions and policy in the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Iraq
- Presentation of the 1918 Declaration to the President of the United States of America by the French Ambassador to the US, Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand
- Disagreement between the British and French visions of the future administration of Mesopotamia
- The situation in southern Kurdistan
- The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
- Apprehensions of the Baghdad Jewish community about the tenor of the Anglo-French Declaration, including a petition to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, requesting to be made subjects of the British Crown
- Reaction to the Declaration from the across the Arab world
- Disagreement among the British over the form that Britain’s control in Mesopotamia should take
- The views of the principal sheikhs [shaikhs] of Mesopotamia on the 1918 Agreement
- Discussion among British officials of the benefits of control over Mesopotamia and the view of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson, on the situation in Mesopotamia
- Discussion of the potential candidates for the head of the new state of Iraq
- Reports on consultations with political and religious leaders and inhabitants from across Iraq on the future Government of Iraq
- The views of Sir Percy Cox and Arnold Wilson on the situation in Mesopotamia
- The question of the future political status of Mesopotamia, including the views of British officers serving in Syria and the Hejaz
- Discussion of the question of Iraqi self-determination.
Notable documents in this volume include:
- Text by Sir Percy Cox regarding ‘The Future of Mesopotamia’ (ff 308-310 and ff 270-272)
- Extracts from The Times , 26 November 1819, including a series of articles under the title ‘The Arab Campaign’ (ff 230-232)
- The statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)
- A memorandum by Major W H Young regarding the future of Mesopotamia (ff 99-112)
- Copies of ‘Self-determination in Iraq’ in Arabic (ff 75-97) and English (ff 57-73).
The principal correspondents are: 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. , Political Department; the Governor-General of India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Military Governor and Political Officer, Baghdad; Government of India, Military Department, the French Ambassador to the United States; and the British Embassy, Paris.
The volume includes a divider, which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (326 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 4722 (Mesopotamia) consists of ten volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/755-764. The volumes are divided into twelve parts, with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 comprising one volume each. Part 10 is missing. Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’, was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 334; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Multiple intermittent additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are also present. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains two anomalies: f 181a and f 181b.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [21r] (50/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328444.0x000015> [accessed 22 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/755
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:127v, 128ar, 128r:175v, 176ar, 176r:181v, 181ar:181av, 181cr, 181br:181bv, 182r:182v, 186r:229v, 232v:325v, 327r:334v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence