‘Report for the Army Council on Mesopotamia. By Sir John P Hewett, GCSI, KBE’ [‎22v] (49/119)

24
letter dated the 20£A October, 1918, from Civil Commissioner to D.Q.M.G., and memorandum from Civil
Commissioner, dated the 9th December, 1918. Appendix XX.] He has also determined in future to collect
Government revenue in cash, except in special cases. This change has been accepted by the military
authorities. A very large area has been sown in exceptionally favourable conditions. There is every
prospect that a record crop will be reaped and, with the safeguard afforded by the canals which have
been constructed and repaired, there should be no difficulty now and in future in providing all the
supplies that will be required by the army, after fully meeting the needs of the civil population.
Distribution between civil and military funds of expenditure on schemes outside the Agricultural
Development Scheme.
47. The question of the allocation of expenditure between military and civil funds on objects,
other than the schemes for development of agriculture and irrigation, charged against army funds in
Mesopotamia, but which have both a military and a civil value, is in an unsatisfactory position. On the
one hand, the orders in the Foreign and Political Department [Foreign and Political Letter No.
24:79/Estt. /B., dated the ?>9th October, 1916] require the Civil Commissioner to obtain the sanction of the
Government of India before any charge incurred from Army Funds can be debited to the civil revenues
of Mesopotamia, and seem to imply that each case will be dealt with on its own merits. On the other,
the principles adopted by the Government of India, in determining the incidence of expenditure which
may benefit both the military operations in Mesopotamia and the occupied territory, are thus expressed
in Mr. (now Sir Godfrey) Fell’s demi-official letter of the 6th March, 1918, 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. . [No. 437
C.W.C. (Camp) dated the 9th March, 1918 (No. 10 in printed papers).]
(1) “If the immediate necessity for the measure on which the expenditure is incurred arises primarily
from military considerations we have held that the expenditure should in its entirety be
charged in the accounts of the military force, though the measure may also benefit the local
administration either immediately or ultimately.
(2) “ If, on the other hand, the immediate necessity for the measure arises primarily from con
siderations connected with the administration of the occupied territory, we have held that
the expenditure should in its entirety be charged to the revenues of the occupied territory,
even though it may help materially the milita/ry operations, directly or indirectly.”
Sir Godfrey Fell contends in this letter that these principles are set out in paragraphs 5 to 8 of the
Government of India’s despatch No. 129, dated the 26th May, 1916 [in printed papers], subject to amend
ments suggested in their despatch No. 290, dated the 25th November, 1916, and that they were approved
in a telegram from the Secretary of State for India, dated the 12th February, 1917. All these papers
appear to be printed in File 12 of Vol. Ill of 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. prints issued in May, 1917, but the only one
which we have seen is the despatch of the 26th May, 1916. It seems quite impossible to deduce from
paragraphs 5 to 8 of that despatch the principles for the determination of the incidence of expenditure
likely to be beneficial to both military and civil interests, which are quoted above from Sir Godfrey
Fell’s letter. It is Stated in that letter that, in accordance with these principles, all charges of political
officers employed in Mesopotamia are debited to the revenues of the occupied territory, and it is sug
gested that it is possible to argue that a material portion of the expenditure of the political officers in
Mesopotamia, particularly the secret service expenditure, is helping the military. This suggestion
seems rather to cut at the root of the principles on which expenditure is said to be distributed, since,
although the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief is the ultimate seat of authority, the Civil Commis
sioner and his political staff are, so far as I am able to judge, occupied in essentially similar duties to those
which have from time to time fallen to civil officers employed in frontier districts in India as, for instance,
the civil officers in the districts of Upper Burma after its annexation. In such cases charges on account
of civil officers would not be debited to military funds. It is true that, to quote Sir Godfrey Fell’s words,
“ it makes no difference to Indian revenues whether the expenditure is charged to civil or military funds,”
but the fact that the funds employed are Imperial, does not seem to furnish any valid ground why the
War Office should bear the cost of railway construction, port works, river conservancy, road or embankment
construction or any other works in so far as they will benefit the civil population of the occupied territory.
48. In November, 1917, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief brought to the notice of the War
'Office [Telegram No. A. 3434 of the \4th November, 1917] that three cases had occurred in which he had
agreed, in consultation with the Civil Commissioner, that a portion of the charges should be borne by the
revenues of the occupied territory. These works were the Sakhlawiyah Canal Headworks, the improve
ment of communications Baghdad West, and certain construction works at Nasiriyah. The division of
the charges suggested was :—
To be debited to
Civil.
To be debited to
Military.
Total.
Rs. £
Rs.
£
Rs.
£
(1) Sakhlawiyah Canal
1,00,000 (6,667)
50,000
(3,333)
1,50,000
(10,000)
(2) Baghdad West
43,000 (2,867)
21,500
(1,433)
64,500
(4,300)
(3) Nasiriyah works
72,206 (4,814)
2,16,618
(14,441)
2,88,824
(19,255)
Total
2,15,206 (14,348)
2,88,118
(19,207)
5,03,324
(33,555)