File 18/1919 Pt 2 ‘Persia: Expenditure payments for maintenance of Cossack Division’ [‎212r] (55/70)

[This Document Is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government, an*l should
be returned to the Foreign Office if hot requTr&tl for official use.]
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PaiTICAL
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Telegram to Mr.Norman* (Teheran),
Foreign Office, November 19th* 1920, 6.0 6 p.m,
No. 560*
V ery Urg ent,
parliamentary position and more particularly
financial considerations render it necessary for us to
scrutinise very carefully expenditure now being in
curred or likely to be incurred on military forces in
Persia, I allude particularly to South Persia
Hifles and Cossack Division, British expenditure
on former, which is in any case inordinately heavy
and is on higher scale per man than even Cossack
Division under Russian Officers, has been continued
during the past year, not from any desire on our part,
but from failure of Persian Government to submit Agree
ment tc Medjlis and thereby to bring into being the
Persian National Army of which the South Persia Rifles
were to be one of the principal units. Financial
sanction has been given for maintenance of this force
until end of this- calendar year, when cost will fall
upon Persian Government, unless Agreement has teen
accepted in interval, in which case master will have to
te discussed between the two Governments. In any
case both the strength of the force and the outlay
upon it seem quite disproportionately high, and,
whoever
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