Skip to item: of 6
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'Mesopotamia. Present Political Situation' [‎87r] (2/6)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 file (2 folios). It was created in 28 Oct 1919. 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.

Apply page layout

B. 336.
MESOPOTAMIA
Present Political Situation
1. In Foreign Office letter No. 142857 dated lOtli September Lc .IHRHHH
the attention of the Secretary of State for India to a complaint by Izzet Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of
This c
ai'ters.
Mesopotamia
'2. Subject to nhimate jnilitary control the existing administrative organisation of
Mesopotamia is as follows - --There is a Civil Commissioner with a Secretariat com
prising a Financial, a Revenue and a .judicial Secretary. There are certai'"
departments, such as Education and Irrigation, whirh are under Directors reporting
immediately to the Civil Commissioner himself. There are 10 divisions, no 'one
larger than an average Indian district, the officers in charge of which correspond
directly with the Civil Commissioner. Work which in an Imiian province (snch as
the Punjab) is distributed between the Lieutenant-liovernor, the Financial Commis
sioners, Divisional Commissioners, and to some extent the Accountant-General, is
concentrated in Mesopotamia in the office of the Civil Commissioner.
On 14th Febrnary 1919, Colonel Wilson was invited to submit proposals for the
future administration of Iraq. His scheme {vide 1.0. Print B. 317) was despatched
on 6th April. It contemplates the continnance of the existing system, subject to the
grouping of the divisions into five small provinces; each to be under a Commissioner,
and the creation ot Councils of selected Arabs in each division and each province.
Colonel Wilson states his ])olicy very definitely as follows :—" I am ol opinion
u that the legitimate demand for active participation in actual (loveniment and
administration can best be met not by creating central legislative or dehberafive
" Councils but by giving carefully selected Arabs of good birth and edneation
feloaging to' Iraq by birth from the very outset positions of executive and
" administrative responsibility." ' t> • • i . ,1
It is to be noted that this constitution establishes a British Government ami
offers scope to Arab officials only in posts of .limited responsibility. It is m no sense
an Arab Government; and does not even contemplate the establishment ot clepait-
inents There are no posts to which an aspirant to a portfolio conhl look. Urdeis
were passed on these proposals in Secretary of State s telegram No. 1. -404.
dated 9th May, as follows: Yoor letter, of the 6th Apnl. Mesopotamjan
" constitution You are authorised to proceed with creation of five provmceb foi
- Iraq proper in
: fSffi mm Mi W* 'WW
" Si " Soml taMto "1 r-Ma CWc.l. ...I ."1
Sence! and another five were to be constituted by the end of the year.
L/t A-LVyvy j " _ -i
I 3. Since May the situation has undergone considerable changes : and external as
well as internal influences ha\e been ^ " or ,,, j [ a( i a disturbing effect on
, h e Pi^me Mini'stei' forwarded to Lord Milner
s 54 40 10/19

About this item

Content

This is printed memorandum is a report by Colin Campbell Garbett (initialled C C G), dated 28 October 1919, concerning an appreciation of the present situation in Mesopotamia [Iraq] following complaints by Izzet Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of Damscus and others about British administration there. The report provides a general overview of British administration in Mesopotamia, relations with King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Feisal [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī], and current events and notable Iraqis, for example, Naji Beg Suwaidi [Nājī Beg Suwaydī], the Alusi [al-Alūsī] family, Shaikh Hasan and Ezra Daniel.

Extent and format
1 file (2 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this report commences at folio 87, and terminates at folio 88, 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'Mesopotamia. Present Political Situation' [‎87r] (2/6), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B336, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023576679.0x000004> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023576679.0x000004">'Mesopotamia. Present Political Situation' [&lrm;87r] (2/6)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023576679.0x000004">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x00032a/IOR_L_PS_18_B336_0003.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x00032a/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image