"مذكرات الحرب. مقر قيادة الجيش، الهند. [...] قوة المشاة الهندية «د». المجلد ٥٢. الجزء II. (من ١٦ إلى ٣٠ نوفمبر ١٩١٨.)" [و‎‎٦‎٥] (٥٥٨/١٣٨)

APPENDIX 386.
DIARY No. 93367.
Telegram R., No. 9916, dated 16th November 1918.
(Despatcbed ; received 12-00 noon, 18th November 1918.)
From—hh.* Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and OUg. Civil Commissioner in
Mesopotamia, Baghdad,
To—The Secretary of State for India.
(Repeated Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department
Delhi.)
Your telegram of November 14th (Diary No. 93053). Apart from gene
ral question of political status of Mesopotamia in regard to which I am tele
graphing separately, following special points require consideration :—
1. Ottoman 'Public —Maintenance of separate administration for
service of this debt would he intolerable. We must, however, presumably be
prepared to accept responsibility for paying such sums as were realised before
war from territories we occupied, but should not be called to allocate parti
cular revenues for this purpose and should retain right to redeem at our dis
cretion that part of debt secured on Iraq revenues.
2. Tobacco Regie. —Revenues from tobacco are pledged to Public Debt
Administration which arranges for recovery of these revenues. This recovery
was made by means of a (firman) given to Regie, a company mainly in hands
of Germans and Austrians. Regie paid Public Debt nearly £1,000,000 yearly
for collection of revenues from tobacco throughout Turkish Empire and* made
large profits. I submit that we should resist any attempt to re-establish it on
a iy territories we occupy. This is necessary corollary to acceptance of preced
ing paragiaphs.
3. Baghdad Railway. —Should be regarded not as a private company, but
as a Turkish State Railway, and as such all its assets in Mesopotamia should
be credited to the Iraq State, pending transfer to an Allied Railway Company
to be formed hereafter if desired.
4. Delivery of the Archives. —Turkish Government to deliver over to Iraq
Administration archives, documents and registers relating to civil, military
and judicial administration of the ceded territories.
5. Idarah Nahrieh. —Steamers on Tigris owned by this Company and
s nee captured, and all its assets in Mesopotamia to be regarded as Turkish
State property and as such transferred to Iraq.
156 C. G. S.
6. Pensioners. —Iraq State to undertake financial responsibility for pay
ment of pensions at pre-war scale to officials of late Turkish Government
whose bond fide domicile is in Iraq. Liability to be restricted to such part
thereof as was earned by service in Iraq. It would be preferable not to men
tion this, but it may be raised by other side.
7. Privileges of foreigners under capitulations. —If a British Protectorate
is established in Iraq capitulation should cease to have effect.
8. Tureo-Persian Prontier. —Boundary as laid down by Frontier Com
mission in 1914 from Eao to Ararat to be ratified and declared to be binding
on limitrophe powers. The portion of frontier near Kotur to be as recom
mended by Russian and British Commissioners.
9. Concessions. —All concessions, actual or prospective, granted by Turkish
Government in or for Iraq State to be null and void, e.g.., for oil, electric
tramway, etc., subject to a concomitant undertaking on our behalf to consider
p. ints referred with a view to grant of compensation at our sole discretion
Tobacco Regie would be included under this head as also would any special
privileges enjoyed by Imperial Ottoman Rank and Lynch.
10. Sovereignty. —Turkish Government, when abandoning temporal
sovereignty over Iraq, to give up at the same time all claim to spiritual
sovereignty, e.g., in regard to pre-war funds of Sheikh-ul-Islam.
11. Amnesty. —No inhabitant of ceded territory shall be prosecuted or
persecuted on account of bis political or military acts previous to or during
wm\ This undertaking to be reciprocal and to be accompanied by provision
that British military authorities may reserve the right not to give effect to
them in particular cases at its discretion pending the creation of Iraq State
which shall be empowered to deal with matter at discretion subject to such
exceptions as protecting British authority may make as temporary or even
permanent measure, in respect of particular persons wdiose return to Iraq
would in its opinion constitute menace to law and order in Iraq.
12. Choice of nationality. —Turkish subjects natives of Iraq actually
domiciled there who shall preserve their nationality shall up to January 1st,
1920, on tfieir making previous declaration to that effect, be allowed to change
their domicile to Turkey and remain there. Bailing a similar declaration
natives of Iraq actually domiciled in Turkey after January 1st, 1920, shall
forfeit claim to treatment as subjects of Iraq State.
13. Religion. —The different religious communities in ceded territories shall
cease to be under the religious authority of religious dignitaries in Turkish
territory. This is a corollary of paragraph 10 supra and applies to Jews Id