'Mesopotamia and Middle East: Question of Future Control' [‎108r] (2/6)

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Ciliated by the Secret,^ nf f#r India
SECRET.
wiilsa^r 4 , tetr" 's-w»».p„„ w , ilb lh ,
the suggestions which I placed" before the War C^l'mef l as developments of
subsequent memoranda. The area with which we have - H 1917 and in
the responsibilities ! had in contemplation years Ho and 1 , arger than
bring up to date suggestions that I made then" TWi,., had to modify
in forwarding for consideration such a document and in rl ll0 7. ever "nusual
ference to another Department of administrative work it the trans -
Office, I may be allowed to express mv •irlrrn'mf,* e ^herto discharged by mv
done in Mesopotamia, and my appreciation of WOrk which has beek
add ihft 0 ^ neVV r . esponsibilities ''J tbe officials in mv DepartmenT 6 T^ e n Ci f 1
add lhat 1 recognise, even more fnllv than in 1917 "tlm ?! - I would also
Government by Lord Cnrzon's presidencv of the Fastern 'VT re? t f ered '? tlle
successors. Any proposals that 1 have made in Lnff • .oinmittee and its
that think ought Jo govern the dbtrZtt. of f met 'on y
Departments, tor transference of work from the Foreign ( Z! f bet " eeu government
are to me the more acceptable because if thp i * i t ? a new Department,
Standing Cabinet Committee is accepted T nrd P ie ,^ lllcl1 1 have suggested for a
available in discussing theproblersofan ^ wil1 stiI1 ^
and of which he has a^qute^Icrkumldge ^ ^ haS deVOted S0 tnuch
2nd June 1920.
Mesopotamia and Middle East: Question of future Control.
(Memorandum by Secretary of State for India.)
13 V ^he war has brought us into special relationship with various areas in the
Middle Kast formerly included in the Ottoman Empire. The character of this'
iflatjonslnp \aiies in tlie diflerent areas. It is closest in Mesopotamia and Palestine
for which we have accepted a " mandate" ; less close in the Arabian peninsula
(excluding the Hejaz;, where we merely enjoy a •' predominant influence " • loosest of
all in the Hejaz, which has been recognised as an " independent " State. But all these
varieties have one feature in common: they all differ from anything that existed
before the war. Even in the mandated territories, our position falls far short of
sovereignty or even suzerainty, and our duties will, it is hoped, be transitorv and
diminishing. It does not amount to a " protectorate " as hitherto understood.' On
the other hand, it differs entirely—even in the " independent Hejaz—fiom the
ordinary diplomatic connection between nations of equal status. The novelty of
this relationship is the measure of the need for some new controlling, agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at head
quarters. 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. and the Colonial Office are accustomed to administer and
to 41 protect " ; diplomacy inter pares is the business of the Foreign Office. No Depart
ment of His Majesty's Government has hitherto conducted (at any rate on any
considerable scale) the delicate relations which circumstances have now imposed
upon us.
2. It has always appeared 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. that the proper solution of the
difficulty lies in the creation of a new Department (the " Middle East Office " might
be a suitable designation) to control our relations with all the areas in the Middle
East with which w T e have now been brought into direct contact. These would
comprise Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the whole Arabian peninsula (including the
Gulf littoral, Oman, the Aden Hinterland and the Hejaz). Palestine, Syria (in so far as
concerns British interests in that area), Armenia and Kurdistan. Egypt and the
Sudan would naturally pass under the control of the same Department. Probably
also Persia, with whom the agreement of 1919 has brought us into a new relationship
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