Coll 29/2(4A) 'Budget estimates, Persian Gulf 1948-1949' [‎15v] (31/161)

for trial and error, uur guess is that this item (a) #
expenditure, might oe done on as little as £500 for the
whole Gulf, but it might be wiser to allow initially for a
little more, say £ 750 , on the understanding that the money
would only be spent if the Political .Resident was satisfied
that the expenditure was really necessary.
There would remain the question of the form in which we
should cover this expenditure when our system comes into force.
We think that it should be a special fund allocated to the
Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , who would at the beginning of each year
allocate it between the Political Agencies; these could then
draw up to the stipulated amount, reporting to the Resident
quarterly the sums spent. The Resident should have authority
to switch allocations between the various Agencies within the
total allotted to him. For the moment this might be called
the Mission Fund and it could be explained that whereas in
other areas it is the custom to give or return hospitality
to the local dignitaries whom one meets, in the Arab world
some of the dignitaries are not entertainable and expect by
custom to be given small presents in money and in goods.
So much for the future after our system has come into force
The immediate problem is however how to cover this expenditure
now when our system is not in force and wnen the scales of pay
and allowances fixed for the Resident and the Agents do not
include any element to take account of this expenditure. At
the same time we must bear in mind that if politically we wish
to maintain our position without diminution in the Guif these
items must be covered. On this we should of course realise that
our position differs in the Gulf from that at any Diplomatic
post, for here we are involved in Administration. What is more
entertainment must cover the foreign as well as the local
community and a great number of the local community cannot
be entertained in the normal way to meals and they can only be
u entertained ,, by the customary method of giving presents. Our
recommendation therefore is that for an experimental year we
should obtain Treasury approval for something to the order of
£1,000 as included in the Resident’s budget for 8.S. Fund; we
should call it by some more anodyne title, e.g., Mission Fund;
and we should lay down that the moneys spent should be
accounted unaer the separate items set out above. So far as
item (a) goes we should ask the Resident to allocate an
amount to himself for tours and to each of his Agencies in the
way described. If (b) can be charged as travelling expenses
from now on that would solve that item. If not these expenses
must for the time being be charged against the Fund as must
(c). The Resident should be asked to impress on his officers
that the expenditure should be kept as low as possible and
should be told, if this is agreed, that the object is ,f care and
maintenance”.
Before the end of the year and in the light of experience
gained we should ask for a report to enable us to judge better
how to handle this special Gulf problem in the future.
I am giving a copy of this letter to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
Yours ever, .
(Signed) Harold caccia