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'Mesopotamia and Middle East: Question of Future Control' [‎109r] (4/6)

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The record is made up of 1 file (2 folios). It was created in Jun 1920. 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. .

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3
.i»"M,«- "• b ».(r ArsawjiE
^here remains the Colonial t •
' Seat'ot b'a^teillS 686 " 4 ^ qtliS ^-1. « "s
would undoubtedlv f lma giiiation he described as <{ On]. • ^ Wltli areas
— • fcSp.S'Tu -i- 1 -'
merely annexation in disotlise If u ., ei ; c, ? ura ge the belief that a'
KSZi ' TSrr V* "r <wS<«&"srsSf S"," ""I? "»•
Colonial Office would presumably 6 fal^fa^short'of^t am0l,nt 0f ^'^^left 'to Ihe
the vacuum might be filled with Ae Middle It i 8 S ugg es Ld that
fuurtion of'; r CUP f ng ^ Preseilt Coloilial Office buildinT 111611 r d reoT ^ed
lunction of administering the Crown Colonies with tW p g ' • UIght combine the
his mrt t 8 meraoraadllm - T he Secretary of State for IndT 6 ""' t!,e areas dealt
bis pan to accept transfer of Ceylon which 1« W W0 d be Prepared on
connected, racially and economically, with fie Indkn T ? C ! ay more close ly
sideration is the difficulty that nuw arise if the ForeLn fm 3 ' A . point lor con-
PuMan allairs while the reconstituted Colonial Office ,1^1 continue to control
difficulty might be met to some extent by the maintenanri " - Are sopotamia. This
of the present mter-departrnental Connnittee 0^^"^'fff SOme 'f nnanent f o™.
I ersia with which the Colonial Office would not uerW? k 8; ^ the oase of
deal, affords an additional argument in favour of n 6 Ver - V we " qualified to
need hardly be said that the Colonial Office would 'mr. epartment - In any case it
•ho.. speoial {fflKS SSf
, , '"it whether the work is entrusted to a new Deoartmpnt ,■ ♦
Colonial Office the need for consultation with othe ?DeZ?ments of /; eco " stlt,lte 1 d
Government will remain. 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. ami F, Jl,s Majesty's
themselves entirely, by a stroke of the ' "^.9 ce eannG t disinterest
Questions will constantly arise upon which one or'the'oth r""" 8 l" 1 1 ^ Ea8t
consulted. Nor can the War Office nr tZ I'tZ u 0r b P th ' wjll . b ave to he
would seem desirable, in order to ensure co-ordination and tl manuLfnce of efi^t' ^
Cabinet control, to retain a standing inter-departmental Committoo r' effective
something like the lines of the existing body! ^3ut it should h-> il ^f®?" 3 . 10 ,' 1 0n
that the function of the Committee is to direct nolU ^ do . Wn
administration Finally, it seems essential that, concurrently with The 'creltul of
iu^thTuidX^ 111 ! 114 'Th UeW admlmstratlve Service should be organised for employment
m the Middle Last. he present arrangement, by which the local administrations have
to ''opend on officers borrowed temporarily from any available quarter, is obviously a
makeshift which cannot be continued indefinitely.
l u 8 ' Ji 0 SU ' ( , | 1 • up ' the Indi , a 01ii( ;® recommends (I) that all the Middle Eastern areas
dealt with m this memorandum should be placed under a single controlling agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
, ; and ! that , . tll . at agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. should preferably be a special Middle East
Oince, cieated aa /wc, and,failing that, the Colonial Office renamed and reoro-anised on
^ indicated in para. G. It is considered that the Foreign Office should be
^definitely ruled out. Whatever Department may be selected, the retention of an
mter-departmental Committee of supervision, with functions limited to the direction
of policy, is considered desirable. The creation of an administrative Service for the
Middle East is also recommended.
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. ,
1st June 1020.

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Content

This is a secret printed memorandum, dated 1 June 1920, with an introductory note, dated 2 June 1920, by the Edwin Samuel Montagu (initialled E S M), Secretary of State for India. It concerns the question of future British control in Mesopotamia [Iraq] and Middle East. The memorandum discusses the current administrative arrangements in the region following the First World War, the idea of establishing a 'Middle East Office', and considers which department of state ( 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. , Foreign Office or Colonial Office) is best qualified to undertake the task of administering Britain's Middle Eastern affairs.

Extent and format
1 file (2 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this sequence commences at folio 108, and terminates at folio 109, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 7-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Mesopotamia and Middle East: Question of Future Control' [‎109r] (4/6), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B341, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023559966.0x000006> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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