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File 21/1911 Pt 1 'Aden Protectorate:- Italian & French recruitment of Arabs.' [‎143r] (79/270)

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The record is made up of 1 item. It was created in 22 Mar 1905-13 Feb 1917. 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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CONFIDENTIAL. (For Office use only.)
Memorandum on Foreigners in India. ’
1. General. —With the outbreak of the war the question of the treatment
of foreigners in India has acquired prominence. Their position is not in all
respects comparable with that of foreigners—or, as they are called in British
legislation, “aliens,”—in the United Kingdom, particularly if regard be had
to the comparatively small European population in India. But it may be
useful, first, to refer briefly to the powers exercised in the United Kingdom
with regard to aliens.
2. Legislation in the United Kingdom. —In this country a special Act was
passed on the outbreak of war—the Aliens Restriction Act, 1914 (4 & 5
Geo. V., Ch. 12). It gave power to impose restrictions on aliens by
Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. , and under it a series of such Orders were passed
which 'were finally combined in the
7 i 78 - 87 Ij0nd0 " CTazette ’” No - 28im ' PP- Aliens Restriction (Consolidation)
Order, 1914, dated 9th September 1914.
It may be remarked that in this Order (Article 31) the expression “ alien
friend ” is defined as “an alien whose Sovereign or State is at peace with
His Majesty,” and the expression “alien enemy” as “an alien whose
Sovereign or State is at war with His Majesty.” One provision which
indirectly concerns 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. is that in Article 10 :—“ An alien enemy
“ shall not .... embark in the United Kingdom at an approved
“ port, unless provided with a permit issued by a Secretary of State.” .
3. The Foreigners Act, 1864.—The Act of the Indian Legislature which
has until recently regulated in the main the position of foreigners in India is
the Foreigners Act, 1864 (Act No. 3 of 1864). It defines “ foreigner ” as
“ a person not being either a natural-born subject of His Majesty ....
“ or a Native of British India,” and its preamble runs as follows : —
“ Whereas it is expedient to make provision to enable the Government to
“ prevent the sub jects of Foreign States from residing or sojourning in British
“ India, or from passing through or travelling therein, without the consent
“ of the Government, it is enacted as follows . . . .” It may be
convenient to give a brief account of its chief provisions.
4. Its provisions — Sections 1-4.-—Section 2 places on any person as to
whom a question shall arise the onus of proving that he is not a foreigner.
Section 3 empowers Government to order any foreigner to remove
himself from British India, and its wording may be quoted in full :—
“ The Governor-General of India in Council may by writing order any
foreigner to remove himself from British India or to remove himself
therefrom by a particular route to be specified in the order ; and any
Local Government may by writing make the like order with reference
to any foreigner within the jurisdiction of such Government.”
Section 4 provides for the apprehension and detention of any foreigner
refusing, after order, to remove himself from India or returning without a
license from the Government of India or the Local Government.
Until the present war the first four sections of the Act were alone
operative. The remaining sections could, under Section 5, be brought into
force by notitication in the Gazette of India, and on the 8th August last
such a notification was in fact issued (Appendix I). A brief account of these
sections therefore follows.
5. Its remaining provisions — Sections 5-25.—Sections 6 and 7 require
every foreigner to report in writing his arrival in India with particulars as

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The papers concern the recruitment by the governments of Italy and France of natives of the British protectorate of Aden for military and colonial policing purposes.

The main correspondents are the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden; the Viceroy of India; and senior officials of the Foreign Office, 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 Government of India.

The papers cover: the recruitment by Italy of Arabs (referred to as 'Ascaris') for service as soldiers in Italian Somaliland (also referred to as the Benadir Coast), a proposal to which the British authorities had no objection, March 1905 - April 1908 (folios 210-238); the British decision to refuse permission for further recruitment by the Italians, because a state of war existed between Italy and Turkey and the recruitment was an infringement of British neutrality under the terms of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870, September-October 1911 (folios 188-208); the reasons for the detention by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden of ammunition stores destined for the Governor of Benadir, November 1911 (folios 174-187); opposition from the Government of India to further recruitment by the Italians in the Aden Protectorate for service in the military or police in their African colonies, because of the effect on the Aden labour market, 1914 (folios 147-168); a French request to recruit substitutes for Arab labourers (' coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. ') in Madagascar, December 1914 (folios 135-142); permission granted to the Italians to recruit 500 Arabs from the Hadramaut [Hadramawt], January - June 1915 (folios 111-134); and the granting of permission to the French to recruit colonial troops in Aden, 1917 (folios 105-110).

The papers include one letter in French from the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

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English and French in Latin script
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File 21/1911 Pt 1 'Aden Protectorate:- Italian & French recruitment of Arabs.' [‎143r] (79/270), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/190/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035497809.0x00005b> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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