Coll 1/2 'Administrative policy: arrangements for achievement of Imperial purposes at Aden; transfer of administration to Government of India (from Government of Bombay)' [‎386r] (776/876)

1 Aug. 1931] Questions and Answers 575
ol the Hinterland or Protectorate, as it now began to be called, was demarcated It
was agreed on the one side that the Aden authorities should have no dealings with anv
indigenous ruler under Turkish suzerainty beyond the boundary then fixed '"and on the
other, that the Turks should not concern themselves with affairs inside that boundary
Matters continued thus until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, when the Turks
invaded the Protectorate and endeavoured to blockade the Settlement. For strategic
reasons the direction of operations against this menace was transferred from Armv Head
quarters in India to the London War Office in 1917 and control of political relations with
the Aden tribes and rulers necessarily accompanied this strategic transfer. The civil
administration of the Settlement as part of the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. was in no way affected
by this change. After the war it was suggested that this too might be transferred, but the
Indian Government objected and the project was dropped. Matters remained there
\ntil 1927, when after much correspondence about the incidence of Aden expenditure’,
the arrangements of 1917, originally adopted as a war measure, were confirmed, and’
administrative as well as strategic control of the units composing the Aden garrison was
also vested in His Majesty’s Government. The present position, therefore, is :
(1) the Aden Settlement to which Indian interests are confined, remains part of
British India, included in the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. ,
(2) the affairs of the Protectorate, in which India is not concerned, are dealt with
by the Resident, who is also chief executive officer of the Settlement and
Commander-in-Chief of the forces, under orders from the Colonial Office in
London,
(3) administrative and strategic control of the military and air forces in Aden is
under the War Office in London.
j tie Go®
The Resident is consequently under three authorities, namely :—
(1) the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. ,
(2) the Government of India, and
(3) His Majesty’s Government in London,
an arrangement which makes smooth and efficient working very difficult.
3. The area of the Settlement of Aden is 75 square miles, the population in 1921 was
about 53,000. The racial composition of the population is as under:—
Arabs
Indians
ion it mis s
ied to tie h
jnsfortlefe
r the eitieti
with e(jiin ;
enditurefe
ncial Eertts
t the fol fe
Jews
Somalis
Miscellaneous
J
Total
31,612
5,594
4,408
6,551
4,867
53,032
The Island of Perim has an area of about 45 square miles and a population of 2,075.
The Aden Protectorate comprises an area of about 9,000 square miles and has an
estimated population of 656,400.
4. Administration .—The chief executive officer (i.e. the Resident and Commander-in-
Chief) has under him three Assistant Residents, the first and the third being officers of the
Indian Political Department, and the second, an officer appointed by the Colonial Office
in London, who is also the Protectorate Secretary. Judicial work is performed by a
Judicial Assistant who is 4 member of the Indian Civil Service and is an Additional
Sessions Judge. The Police are under the control of an officer of the Indian Police
Service. The Island of Perim is also under the administration of the Resident. The cn il
administration generally follows the lines in force in India.
5. Finances .—Until 1900 the entire civil and military expenditure in connection with
Aden was borne by India, although as early as 1886, the Government of India urged the
propriety of the expense of Aden being divided between Great Britain and India. n
1895 the Welby Commission was appointed to examine the question. They recommended
that the equity of the case would perhaps be met if the United Kingdom w ere o conui-
bute one-half of the military charges. As a result of these recommendations is r a l e& > ®
Government made with effect from the 1st April 1901 a net annual contribution °i * 'A6UU
to Indian revenues towards the military charges of Aden, which continuec up o . - 1 .
With effect from 1st April 1927, His Majesty’s Government have become responsible lor
the whole of the political and military expenditure of Aden, subject to an annua con
tion of £250,000 from the Government of India for the first three years, o e xe
thereafter to £150,000 or a third of the total cost whichever may be less.