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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎19v] (38/290)

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The record is made up of 1 file (145 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1919-7 Dec 1920. 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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6
Mr. Montagu suggested that, in order to solve all these problems
connected with the financing of the areas occupied by us in the
Middle East, it would be advisable for the War Office to ask for a
vote for the “ Eastern Army of Occupation.'’ Sucli a vote would coyer
the present difficulty of distinguishing between civil and military
expenditure, and would enable us to bridge the period between the
1st April and the end of July, when the Peace Conference would
have finally decided the responsibility for the various areas.
('olonel Gribbon >said that, with regard to the new area in the
north, so long as it was defined in detail there was no objection to
its being financed by the French. At present expenditure in that
area was in abeyance.
The Conference decided —
1. That, subject to General Allenby’s approval of the selection
made, a civilian should be appointed as Financial Adviser
at headquarters to General Allenby.
2. That, in order to cover all necessary expenditure in the
countries concerned and to bridge the period between the
1st April and the date when the Peace Conference should
decide the responsibility for the areas at present occupied
by our military forces in the Middle East, the War Office
should ask for an “ Eastern Army of Occupation” Vote.
Caucasus.
4. Mr. Montagu said that, with reference to paragraph 2 of the
Treasury 1- Minute on the financial situation in the Caucasus
(Appendix II), it appeared from the last meeting of the Conference
that it was not only the Bolsheviks who were en
rouble notes.
The Chairman said that point had been clearly brought out by
a caustic paragraph in the same Minute (paragraph 4), which said
“the solution adopted by the military authorities, as the Treasury
now learn for the first time, is the manufacture of rouble notes. It
is not quite clear whether these are forged promises to pay by 7 a non
existent Russian Government, or worthless (because unauthorised)
promises to pay by His Majesty’s Government.”
The information had been obtained at the last meeting from the
military authorities, and was contained in paragraph 3 of the Note
by the General Staff on the situation in Trans-Caucasia, dated the
12th February, 1919.
Mr. Montagu said the Treasury recommended two things:
(1) that the manufacture of these notes should be stopped at once;
and. (2) that in future all interference with local currency arrange
ments should be avoided, and the relative value of sterling, rouble
notes, and local currencies should be allowed to establish itself by
the natural law of supply and demand.
The Chairman said that he thought more than these two points
was necessary. A financial adviser seemed to be needed on the spot.
Mr. Waley said that the existing difficulties would be insoluble
without heavy financial assistance from home. He did not think
that a financial adviser would be of much use.
The Chairman said that we had been gradually driven by the
force of circumstances into our present position. We originally
went to the Caucasus in order to expel the enemy and hold the line
to the Caspian. Operations were gradually extended, and it now
appeared that we were running, or attempting to run, everything.
The men on the spot had found it necessary to go much further than
our policy had ever intended that they should, and, in consequence
gaged in forging

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Content

This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.

Those attending include senior representatives of the Foreign Office, 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. (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.

The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).

Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].

Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.

Extent and format
1 file (145 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145, 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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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎19v] (38/290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/275, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070539234.0x000027> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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