File 488/1920 Pt 1 ‘Arabia:- General question of subsidies to Arab Rulers.’ [‎25v] (47/163)

the past of the financial problems aris
intX out of British commitments in these
regions; and will help to place in a
truer peospective the various heads of
expenditure chargeable to British revenues#
In the circumstances, Mr.
Churchill would strongly deprecate any
final decision on the question of
subsi dies at the present juncture.
He is convinced that expenditure so
incurred may prove to be the truest econ
the long run. The subsidy paid to Bin
oray
Baud for example,, even if it were
raised to the figure recommended by
SirP. Cox (£100,000 per annum), is a
negligible quantity as compared with the
vastexpense of maintaining regular troop
i
in Mesopotamia and elsewhere. If by
subsidising local chieftains - even on
a generous scale - conditions can be pro
duced in which appreciably fewer troops
will be needed, the balance of
f in an ci al a dv an tage to His Maj e s ty f s
Exchequer will be overwhelming.
The whole question will have to
be carefully examined by the Secretary
of State for the Colonies when framing
his Budget proposals for 1921-22. In
the meantime Mr. Churchill cannot agree
to any hnmediate reduction of toe suosidy
present paid to Bin Saul; and he
reserves, for further consi deration,
the question of its increase to the
amount proposed by Sir Percy Cox.
He considers that the question of
reviving the subsidy to King Hussain
should be taken up at an early date.