Coll 6/15 'Syria: Administration. Question of offer of throne to King Feisal of Iraq.' [‎187r] (373/497)

6. Up to this point the only members of the Hashimite family who were
mentioned as candidates for the throne of Syria had been King Faisal’s brothers,
namely, the Emirs Abdullah and Zeid and ex-King Ali; but the King himself has
now appeared as a candidate.
In September of this year King Faisal had another interview with
Berthelot in Paris, wdiich he described orally to the High Commissioner for
Iraq, Sir Francis Humphrys. According to this account, M. Berthelot is reported
to have said that, while they wished to leave the choice of a ruler to the Syrian
people, the French would welcome Faisal's return. King Faisal asked Sir
Francis Humphrys to report this conversation in London, and to advise him as
to his proper course of action.
Although it seems probable from informal conversations which have since
taken place between Sir Francis Humphrys and M. Ponsot, the French High
Commissioner for Syria, &c., that the French attitude in this matter has been
gravely misrepresented by King Faisal, the fact remains that since his return to
Baghdad the King has shown that he regards it as settled that he is to be King of
Syria as well as of Iraq, and that he is satisfied in his own mind both that the
French Government have seriously made the proposal and that His Majesty’s
Government would raise no objection. Active propaganda in support of his
candidature is being carried out in Syria and considerable interest in the matter
is being evinced by the Moslem population of Syria.
7. These events and the inevitable rumours which have accompanied them
have given rise to anxiety on the part of the Acting High Commissioner for Iraq,
who has asked urgently for advice as to what attitude he should adopt. No
definite reply has yet been returned to this enquiry, but it is desired to furnish
Sir Francis Humphrys with an expression of the considered views of His
Majesty’s Government on his arrival in Baghdad on return from leave in the
middle of this month.
8. It is first necessary to define the term “ Syria ” as used in the present
connection. In a private conversation with Sir Francis Humphrys, M. Ponsot
has made it quite clear that for the present purposes the term ‘ ‘ Syria ’ ’ might be
taken as meaning the State of Syria only, excluding the States of the Alawites
(Latakia) and the Jebel Druze, which would remain, at any rate at first, under
French military government, and so far as concerns the Jebel Druze, it is believed
that the French intend to retain control so long as His Majesty’s Government I
retain control of Trans-Jordan. As to the Lebanon, which includes the important
towns of Tripoli and Beirut, this is a Christian enclave, inhabited by a mixture
of races where French influence has been predominant since 1860, and it is thought
probable that the French intend to hold the Lebanon as long as His Majesty’s I
Government remain in Palestine; there would, therefore, appear to be little >
prospect of the Lebanon being included in a Syrian Kingdom
9. There seems to be no doubt that so far as the interests of His Majesty's
Government are concerned, it would be preferable that Syria should be a republic
with a Syrian as President. In that case, the Syrians could develop their country
in their own way, possibly on similar lines to Iraq, and would be free from the
inevitable intrigues which would result from a connection with the Hashimite
family, or, for that matter, with the Royal Families of Hedjaz-Nejd or Egypt.
10. If the Crown of Syria is offered to Faisal, he will almost certainly wish
to accept it, as he cannot be expected to resist the opportunity of returning to
Damascus as king. At present, there is little or nothing to show whether in this
event he would attempt to unite the thrones of Iraq and Syria, or would transfer
his Crown from Iraq to Syria; but both events are undesirable.
11. Any attempt to unite the Crowns of Iraq and Syria would appear to be
open to grave objection. Faisal would probably reside in Syria, as that country
has the better climate, and would leave a Regent in Baghdad. His position in
Baghdad is already weak, and as the extent of Iraqi independence increased and
British influence and support decreased, his position would almost certainly grow
weaker and more difficult to maintain. The ultimate result might well be the
subjection of Iraq to Syrian, and thus to French, influence and control.
12. There would also be grave objection to any suggestion that King Faisal
should transfer his Crown from Iraq to Syria. If such a transfer were to take