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'League of Nations, Conference for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War, Geneva, 17th June 1925' [‎60r] (126/138)

The record is made up of 1 volume (65 folios). It was created in 1925. It was written in English and French. 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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31
replying to the I ersian contentions with arguments that were now familiar
to all. ihe discussion was resumed in the afternoon session, Sir P. Cox
intimating that to accept the Persian proposal would be tantamount to
relaxing instead of tightening the control already established over illicit
traffic in the waters in question. The Persian delegate then essayed a new
venture, propounding to the Committee the question 44 Has this Conference
the right, by a vote oi this Conference, to take steps which interfere with
the rights of a country which is a sovereign State and a Member of the
League of Nations, in spite of the protests of that country ? " Sir P. Cox
pointed out that the question involved a petitio pvinQipn. Other delegates
disputed the competence of the Conference to deal with the question, and
eventually the previous question was put.
I? 7 * ^ ypt 0 ky roll was tlien taken on the proposal to exclude the Persian Decision that the
(jruli and ( jtu I i of Oman from the maritime zone; the proposal was lost by Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and
.9 votes to 3, China and Turkey alone supporting Persia; Egypt, France, Oman
Italy, Portugal, and Greece voting with Great Britain, India, Canada, and ? ha " be inc }^ d
the Irish Free State. Twenty-one delegates abstained from voting, the zone 6 maritime
American on principle, the Spanish and Japanese because they had been
chairman and rapporteur respectively of the Geographical Committee.
98. The question still remained for discussion in the General Committee Question of the
-whether Persian vessels should be exempted from subjection to the maritime application of
zone regime. In the previous discussions the initiative had always rested the maritime
with the Persian delegate, the task of the Indian delegate being to zone regime to
endeavour to interpret and dispose of each absurd argument as it was Persian vessels,
•advanced. When consideration of the report of the Geographical Sir P. Cox's
Committee was resumed on 15th J une for adoption by the General statement of the
Committee, Sir P. Cox, by arrangement with the Secretary-General of the I ^ dian P oint of
"Conference, got his word in first. He recited the various claims put
forward by the Persian delegates in regard to the maritime zone -first, the
exclusion of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Gulf of Oman, and secondly, exemption
of vessels flying the Persian flag from visit for verification—and" exposed the
fatal effect that the admission of these claims would have upon the efficacy
of the maritime zone regime. He explained the reasons for which the
Government of India attached importance to close control of the operations
of illicit traders in the area in question, adducing figures to show the
.alarming volume to which the illicit trade attained when not closely and
effectively controlled, and tracing the intimate connection between the illicit
trade in arms and piracy on the pearl banks and slave traffic from Persian
Mekran to the Oman coast. Finally, he declared that India could not be
expected to adhere to a Convention that established a less effective control
in this danger area than agreements already existing. Lord Onslow
followed with a speech in which he gave effective support to the Indian
delegate. General Habibullah Khan then rose, but was tactless enough to
launch an attack on the Geographical Committee and its conduct of the
task assigned to it, alleging that decisions had been taken, not on the merits,
but out of regard to political considerations. (By adopting this Jine he
succeeded in estranging the Chinese delegate, one of his two most constant
supporters.) He expressed regret that his earnest endeavours to reach a Withdrawal of
compromise with other Powers interested in the maritime zone had been the Persian dele-
met w T it,h an adamantine refusal, and announced the withdrawal of the f, ates from the
Persian delegation from the Conference. Conference.
99. Attempts were, of course, made to induce the Persian delegate to A suggestion by
reconsider this decision; and the British delegation, in an endeavour to British dele-
comply with the President's anxious endeavour to obliterate the breach in for ineet-
the solidarity of the Conference, did produce a device—we can give it no I !. er ^ a,n ,, e
more distinguished description—for soothing the amour propre of the 0 View *
Persian delegate. The Indian delegation has been represented by some as
having " driven the Persian delegate from the Conference " ; and we think it
right, therefore, to state the nature of this device and the reasons why the
Indian delegation refused to adopt it. The device was to exclude " Persian
vessels J ' specifically from the category of "native vessel," and to establish a
new category of " local vessels," to which the regime applicable to " native

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Content

The volume contains the following two documents: League of Nations, Conference for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War: Convention, Declaration regarding the Territory of Ifni, Protocol on Chemical and Bacteriological Warfare, Protocol of Signature, Final Act (CCIA 91 (2)) and International Arms Traffic Conference, Geneva, May-June 1925, Report by the Delegates for India .

The delegates for India named in the second of these documents are Major-General Sir Percy Zachariah Cox and Colonel W E Wilson-Johnston.

The first of these documents is in both French and English.

Extent and format
1 volume (65 folios)
Arrangement

There are tables of contents towards the front of the first document, on folio 5v; and towards the front of the second, on folio 45v.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 66 on the back cover. These numbers are written in pencil, are enclosed in a circle, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff. 13, 13A.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'League of Nations, Conference for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War, Geneva, 17th June 1925' [‎60r] (126/138), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/748, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024090486.0x00007f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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