'Settlement of Turkey and Arabian Peninsula. Note by India Office on Foreign Office memorandum'. [2v] (4/4)
The record is made up of 2 folios. It was created in 30 Nov 1918. It was written in English. 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.
4
The question of the meaning of the term "foreign Power" was soon raised.
For in September 191G, Bin Sand having expressed mistrust of the Shereef's
intentions, Sir P. Cox proposed to reply that " no present or future understandings
" between us and the Shereef would prejudice our adherence to the terms of Articles
" 1 and 2 of our Treaty with him of 20th December 1915 " (telegram of 8th September
1916), and 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.
(with Foreign Office concurrence, W. 183725/16)
instructed Sir P. Cox on 19th September that "reference to treaty should be confined
" to Article 1, as we could not admit that Article 2 is binding ou us as against other
" Arabs." (P. 3827/16.) Accordingly Sir P. Cox wrote to Bin Saud on 18th
October:—" As for ourselves vis-a-vis yourself and the Shereef, have we not our
" treaty with you, in Article 1 of which we have recognised you as independent ruler
" of your territories of Nejd ? Of course the Shereef must naturally recognise this
" treaty also, and His Majesty's Government would by no means support him in any
" other attitude towards you." (P. 4918/16.)
The question came up again in August last, when Captain Wilson, in his
telegram No. 6491 of'the 8th August, recommended that Bin Saud should "be
informed in writing that Article 2 of Treaty of 26th December 1915 [i.e., the Article
guaranteeing him against aggression by ' any foreign Power'] applies equally to
aggression by King Husain." The point was considered by the Eastern Committee
on the 15th August, and on the same day the Secretary of State telegraphed to India
and Baghdad that the proposal was "open to objection that it places a doubtful
interpretation on Article 2 of Treaty with Bin Saud." It does not appear that the
Eastern Committee was aware of the earlier and more categorical decision to the
same effect.
Captain Wilson reverted to the point in his telegram No. 8789, of 16th October
1918, in which he again invited His Majesty's Government " to consider possibility of
making a declaration on the lines of paragraph 1 " of his telegram No. 6491 quoted
above. The Secretary of State replied to Captain Wilson, with Lord Curzon's
concurrence (28th October):—" We do not think it advisable to make declaration in
terms of Baghdad telegram No. 6491." The utmost length to which His Majesty's
Government appear to have gone in their commitments to Bin Saud is to "recognise
our obligations to use every influence in our power to prevent encroachments upon
Bin Sand's territories" (telegram of 15th August 1918, communicated to him
27th August, see Baghdad telegrams 7548 and 7550 of 10th September 1918).
It may be added that Bin Saud himself does not seem ever to have appealed to
Article 2 of the Treaty. His complaint has been that he was being attacked not by a
foreign Power, but by fin ally of Great Britain, who was using British gold to fight
against him instead of against the Turk. But after the war the flow of British gold
to potential aggressors will presumably cease, or be reduced to an insignificant stream ;
and our most effective means of securing that such order as is necessary for our purpose
is maintained will probably be the grant of small subsidies to those who are charged
with the duty of keeping the routes open, and their prompt withdrawal from those who
offend.
About this item
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The note was written by Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel for 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. , 30 Nov 1918, and consists of remarks on three points drawn out from the Foreign Office memorandum:
- The Trucial System - disputing the assumptions made in the original memo that Great Britain effectively kept the peace over a large part of the Arabian Peninsula; and that no treaties had been made with Chief's of inland tribes, that all had been coastal tribes. Stating that the object of the treaties was maritime peace; that His Majesty's Government had always been firmly against interference in the interior of Arabia; the terms of the existing treaty with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, Ibn Saud]; and 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. 's opinion that there would be no benefit to extending the trucial system to the interior of Arabia.
- The Hejaz - detailing 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. 's thoughts on what a treaty with the King of Hejaz should consist of and how diplomatic relations should be handled.
- Syria - regarding what the alternative approach to Syria should be if the French refuse to give it up, and citing the opinions of Captain Wilson and Gertrude Bell that the French should be persuaded to give up some areas of Syria within their control for Armenia.
Mention is also given to the Baghdad Railway and the importance of ensuring that it is British controlled.
The appendix to the note contains further details on the British Government's agreement with Bin Saud, setting out the full history of events leading up to the signing of the agreement; later modifications to it; and the definition of the term 'foreign power' within the treaty.
- Extent and format
- 2 folios
- Arrangement
The file contains four copies of the note.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence commences at the first folio and concludes on the last folio. It consists of pencil numbers, enclosed in a circle, located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio.
Pagination: The booklet also has an original typed pagination sequence, with numbers printed at the centre of the top of each page, excepting page 1.
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B298
- Title
- 'Settlement of Turkey and Arabian Peninsula. Note by India Office on Foreign Office memorandum'.
- Pages
- 1r:2v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence