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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [310r] (635/687)
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.
r^v
If
P lfi ;rr, m}7 °P 11110n ’ wit1 - 1 the unavoidable exception of the military realms
in “ 3 p 0Ve bTl S vV he lar . ge t r ns ’ the a ^ m inistration^as carided^ori
m basiali and Baghdad A dayets is that to which the people both urbcn
greatlyTeduled —pt that the ele.neS d 'ionAptiou Is
17. ihe branches of the administration in which we are necessarily most
dm h m ^ T “ are - « ^eat measureTed
the Citil hShtSSiSi m ^ C ° nSiderati0nS aa<1 are
lo. As regards the former, Mr. Bonham Carter, the Judicial Officer who
was lately appomted from Egypt, has only been with me a short the bd is
prShfrdS the Saddl6 ;. -f have ^bmitted to 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.
a’copy d
j oj osais foi a temporary judicial system tor the Baghdad Vilayet formulated
\L V/! COnS 1 ult ;' ltlo y , with >»8- .It. .seems to me just what is leZired
s lean while such local law and justice as has been essential has been
at ministered by my district Political Officers with simple civil and criminal
powers granted them by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief on my
recommendation. As a matter of fact, outside the large towns we have been
htm troubled with civil and commercial suits, incapable of adjustment by
compromise through the good offices of the local Political Officer.
19. As regards the Civil Medical branch. We are almost’ready for the
sepai at ion of the Civil Medical work from that of the Army Medical, and just
■ leiore 1 left I raised the question with the Director of Medical Services as to
whether the time had not now come for creating a Civil Medical Department
with a separate personnel, though still , to be under his general, supervision,
t is under lively consideration. A similar separation has recently been
effected m the Department of Civil Posts, but in these matters we-are so
dependent on the military organisation that we have to defer to their views to
a great extent as to when developments are feasible.
20 The extent and the period fur which British and Indian Troops will be
required after the War is a difficult question for me to answer without
discussion with the military authorities, and depends so much on the position
m 'vhich we are left at the end of the war. In peace times the Turks
employee., about 20,000 regulars of all arms, and 3,000 gendarmerie for the
maintenance of security and order in the Baghdad and Basrah Vilayets. I
should say that, for a peace establishment for internal security only, we should
require for some time after the war to keep a division in Mesopotamia with
one British regiment to a Brigade as at present constituted, and about the
same number of gendarmerie, exclusive of 1,000 civil police for the towns.
In the course of time we should hope to replace the Indian troops by Arabs,*
organised on the lines of the Egyptian Army, but it must necessarily take
some years. I am not of the opinion that any Indian police will be required,
except small leavens to begin with to form a nucleus for the training of the
indigenous pioduct. 1 hope that m this held we shall he able to give employ
ment to the Arab ex-officer of the Turkish Army, otherwise this class will be a
difficult and malcontent element to deal with.
21. The directions in which we can most usefully direct our energies with
a view to popularising our Administration are Irrigation, Education, and Civil
Medical. . In all these departments we are alive to the importance of speedy
progress and are doing our utmost compatible with existing conditions and
with the material at our disposal.
22. The elements that we most need to encourage are : Firstly, the Jewish
community in Baghdad. In this connection I recommend that Dr. Weizman
be induced, if possible, to pay a visit or send a reliable representative to
Baghdad to influence the Jewish community in favour of the British connection.
Secondly, the Arab notables and nobility among the townspeople of Baghdad
and Basrah. They are a somewhat impecunious and backward element, but
one which it is very necessary to encourage and take into our counsels as far
as possible. Thirdly, the wealthy landlord element, both Arab and Jew, and
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' [310r] (635/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328444.0x000060> [accessed 13 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