'Papers relating to transfer of Middle Eastern Affairs to the Colonial Office and creation of a new Department there, 1920-1921, with Cabinet notes of Milner, Montague, Churchill, self, and others' [‎58r] (115/136)

7
This question requires further explanation both on its financial side and in its
military aspect.
I
24. Financial relations. —In its financial aspect, the War Office and Air Ministry
would be responsible for including in their estimates of the cost of the Army and Royal
Air Force, as a whole, the expenditure to be incurred in Mesopotamia, and would show
a recovery of that sum to be made as an Appropriation in Aid to Army and Air
Estimates. The Colonial Office would at a later stage present to Parliament estimates
which would include an amount to be repaid to the War Office and Air Ministry in
respect of tins expenditure, and would charge their accounts with the amounts certified
by the War Office and Air Ministry to have been expended. As far as finance is con
cerned, the Colonial Office would have to repay to the War Office and Air Ministry
within the financial year, bur if accounts were not immediately available, we should
recommend the payment of advances within the year up to amounts estimated by the
War Office and Air Ministry to be required : certificates of actual expenditure would be
required from the War Office and Air Ministry, but the total which they were able
to certify before tue accounts for a given year closer), to have been expended up to the
31st March preceding, would be finally charged in Colonial Office accounts for that
year.
Similar arrangements should be made in regard to the military and air expenditure
of the War Office and Air Ministry, respectively, in Palestine.
25. For the purposes of securing adequate control, 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. military expenditure
in respect of Indian Army troops serving in Mesopotamia should be charged in the
first instance to the War Office. The latter would, therefore, include in their original
estimates of cost to be incurred, and also as part of the recovery from Colonial
Office, such Indian Army expenditure.
26. We consider that the Chief Financial Advisers to the High Commissioners in
Mesopotamia and Palestine should be responsible for advising their respective High
Commissioners in regard to expenditure generally.
27. We recommend that the financial arrangements outlined in the
preceding paragraphs should take effect as from the 1st April, 192 L.
28. Relations between Civil and Military Authorities.— We recommend
that the High Commissioner in Mesopotamia should, as is customary elsewhere,
have the titular rank of Commander-in-Chief, it being understood that the possession
of this title will not confer on him any right to give executive commands to the
troops. We recommend that the General Officer Commanding in Mesopotamia should
be appointed by the War Office and Colonial Office in conjunction.
> 29. On matters of principle or policy in their military aspects, the General Officer
Commanding in Mesopotamia should only communicate with the War Office through the
Hmh Commissioner, but he should have tue right to communicate direct with the War
Office on questions of intelligence, training and preparation for war, as well as on
matters affecting the routine administration of the Army.
We understand that this is the arrangement suggested to regulate the relations of
the Commander-in-Chief in India with the authorities at home.
It would also be well to ensure that the High Commissioner and the General
Officer Commanding in Mesopotamia on the one hand and the Colonial Office and the
War Office on the other should exchange regularly telegrams of mutual interest.
We think that these arrangements, which give effect to the principle of the
ultimate responsibility of the military to the civil authority, will regulate satisfactorily
the relations of the departments concerned, and that they should be adopted from the
date on which the Colonial Office takes over the control of Mesopotamia.
30. There is however, one respect in which we would delay the application of this
arrangement. We do not think it right that the C olonial Office should be called upon
to assume any responsibility in regard to the . military operations connected with the
withdrawal of the British forces in North-West Persia.
31. We therefore recommend that the financial and military responsibility for
the withdrawal of British Forces from North-West Persia should remain with the
War Office until this Force has been withdrawn within the boundaries oj
Mesopotamia, and become subject to the ultimate control of the High Com
missioner.