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Coll 15/3(1) 'Egypt. Abolition of Capitulations in Montreux Conference and Convention 1937' [‎295v] (595/1220)

The record is made up of 1 volume (606 folios). It was created in 31 Dec 1936-18 Apr 1939. It was written in English. 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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2
j iri 55 vp had to choose between acquiescing in a unilateral
down, and would ba “ ^ losi all t h e goodwill acquired bv
termination of the CapmilatioM^ unilateral act j
the Treaty of Mmnc by as t | e Anglo-Egyptian reaty was signed, the
5. ( - 0 “ 5 ,ec l u ®“ u /; i Maiesty’s Embassy in Cairo set to work clearing the
Foreign Office an d H a]e gub - ect and having acquired a good idea of 0
ground. Having ex P ^ ould be fair to all parties, the next move was for His
the sort of solution w b problem confidentially with the Egyptian
Majesty's Government to dmcuss^t ^P^ ]egal advi t0 the Foreign"0^,
Government. Mi- : • j anuary to assist the Embassy in this task, and
therefore went out to ■ bargaining Document A was produced, setting
as a result of Governments, the Powers concerned (both
f E 0 gvpt W and the capitulatory Powers) would be reasonably entitled to press for at
the forthcoming confeience. 0 ther capitulatory Powers as clear an
6 . The next move was to jhe° Egyptian Government would make at
idea as possible of the that they might prepare themselves as fully as
the conference, in the hopes tnatuie,^ J d The Egyptian Government,
possible to discuss e ^' i: scus l s ions with His Majesty’s Government, therefore
as a further result of d u circu i ar note to the Powers stating what, in
issued, on the ^bmar^ia^a Ca pit u lations should be abolished.
This Tote’sT orth ^ de P siderata of the Egyptian Government which were
This note set loiui b mavine out the corresponding guarantees for
f^km^ nterestsThich the Egyptian Government had agreed were reasonable.
The obiect of th ib omission was to leave the Egyptian delegation a margin for
bargaining at f conl.r.^ in orie, b."i*.
*SKr,.iss; wr^Toiss
any particular point, they should concede at least as much as was co
Document A. Beckett went ove r to Paris to discuss the whole question
informally with the Quai d’Orsay. Unfortunately the French disregarded^his
hints as to the line that they should take and, as will be seen be 0 > * , e at
by their obstinacy. Preparatory discussions on similar ^^f^oftheBelgian
the Foreign Office in March between Mr. Beckett and Aj i p i po . n tj on which
delegation, and Dr. Bencher Andreae, head of the Netherlands d g K i nR dom
enabled these delegations to collaborate usefully with f ]- CU ssion on
delegation at the conference. There was also some preparatory discussion^
particular points with the Greek Minister in London, and through
Government were fully informed of His Majesty s Government ,1 e lves
their Legation in Cairo. Other capitulatory Governments did not ^
of His Majesty’s Government’s offers of discussions before the c g 0 f
8 . The thoroughness of this preparatory work, and, m tac , 0 f
the conference, both from the point of view of the United ^ in S nn mts in
Egvpt, her ally, may be measured by the fact that almost all P . ^
Document A have been embodied, in their entirety, in the mstiu
at Montreux; only a few additional points were raised during tne c
negotiations, and most of these had to be abandoned. , geeI1
9. Document A may, therefore, be called, without exaggeration, ^ ^
hand (unseen because its existence was unknown to the other delega 1 ’ ^
the exception of the United States delegation, who never rev
knowledge) which guided the whole of the negotiations. powers, and
10. It became clear, early in the conference, that the other j^em;
particularly the French, had only made a superficial examination ot P ^g
they had concentrated on the principal points which interested ^ ^ 0 ffc en
neglect of the remainder, and even on these principal points they da > ^
as not, decided their desiderata without any regard to what jh e ne ^_f oU ii(l
delegation could reasonably be expected to accept in view of Egypt s as
sovereignty; on the remaining questions they had to make up thei
they went along. , p t ^ a t the
11. It proved, therefore, to have been of capital ^P ortaI 1 ^ n j n( }s.
Egyptian and United Kingdom delegations at least knew their own

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, letters, correspondence, memoranda, notes and Parliamentary questions relating to the 1937 Montreux Conference on the abolition of capitulations in Egypt. These capitulations had created extra-territorial jurisdiction for many foreign powers in Egypt, including Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. This negotiation of the revision of the capitulations was one of the provisions of the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty.

The correspondence in the volume relates mainly to British interests and negotiating issues as well as the difference between British subjects, British protected persons and citizens; errors in some of the drafting and how these mistakes should be rectified, and the process of ratification of the convention by all parties concerned including the Egyptian Government and the governments of the Dominions.

Included in the volume are the following documents:

  • a printed copy of the 'Statutory Rules and Orders, 1937 No. 936 FOREIGN JURISDICTION The Egypt Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. , 1937' (ff 116-139)
  • a printed report (ff 295-312) to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Antony Eden, on the proceedings of the Montreux Conference for the abolition of Capitulations in Egypt
  • 'Egypt No. 1 (1936) Treaty of Alliance between His Majesty, in respect of the United Kingdom and his Majesty the King of Egypt ... Convention concerning the Immunities and Privleges to be enjoyed by the British Forces in Egypt, London, August 26, 1936' (Cmd. 5270) (ff 574-589)
  • 'Instruments signed at Montreux on May 8th, 1937' and 'Report on the Convention regarding the abolition of capitulations ...' (in French and English) (ff 363-435)
  • a printed memorandum 'Procedure for Giving Effect to Capitulations: Provisions of Anglo-Egyptian Treaty' (ff 590-601)

The volume features the following principal correspondents: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); HM High Commissioner to Egypt and Sudan (Sir Miles Wedderburn Lampson); the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, Dominions Office; Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, Dominions Office; President of the Council of Ministers, Cairo (Mustapha El-Nahas).

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (606 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 608; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 15/3(1) 'Egypt. Abolition of Capitulations in Montreux Conference and Convention 1937' [‎295v] (595/1220), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2764, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100062749761.0x0000c4> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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