'Minutes memos despatches etc' [‎66v] (132/156)

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attitude seemed to be questionable, and I was somewhat surprised at its being advocated
by the Persian Minister.
The third point of our conversation related to the enquiry which I had recently
made of the Persian Government whether and in what form they proposed to submit
the Anglo-Persian Agreement to the Mejilis before we communicated its text to the
League of Nations. I had always taken the view that the Agreement would be
accepted without demur and indeed very likely without discussion by the Council of
the League if they were informed that it had already been approved by the Persian
Parliament. But that if it had not been so communicated, a somewhat inconvenient
position might arise if the Council of the League requested that it should.
Ihe Minister replied to me by a series of arguments of a somewhat obscure and, as
it appeared to me, in places, casuistical character, which required a greater knowledge
than I possessed of the Persian Constitution to enable me to understand. He appeared
at one moment to suggest that it was not necessary to refer the agreement for
confirmation to the Persian Parliament at all because it had already been signed and
was in operation. At another moment he mdicated the main objection to such a
reference to be that the Persian Parliament would be in a position to take it clause by
clause and line by line, to put inconvenient questions, to move disagreeable amendments,
and in fact to imperil the existence of the Agreement.
Accordingly he asked my opinion as to the suggestion that when the Mejilis
assembled the Persian Government should invite a general discussion upon Foreign
Affairs which would doubtless cover the Agreement, and take a vote of confidence In
the Government at the close, which might be held to involve an approval of the
Agreement. Those parts of the Agreement which related to financial, administrative
and fiscal matters, by all of which Persia was obviously the gainer, could then be
submitted separately and would undoubtedly meet with general approval because no
one wished to turn them down.
I said that it was not for me to give an opinion upon the manner in which the
Persian Government should meet their Parliamentary or Constitutional difficulties.
They must act as they thought fit and must assume the entire responsibility. -For my
part I only wanted to be put in a position where I could say to the League of Nations,
not merely that the Agreement had been concluded between our two Governments, but
that it had the approval of the representative Assemblies of both nations. It was for
the Persian Government to decide in what way this end could best be secured.
I am, &c.
CUBZON OF KEDLESTON.