§ 25. Mr. RAPERasked the Prime Minister which department and/or departments of the Government are responsible for the British administration in Mesopotamia; and if His Majesty's Government have yet decided when they propose to fulfil their pledge of granting self-government to the Arabs in Mesopotamia?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThe administration of Mesopotamia is conducted by the High Commissioner, acting, for the present, under the instructions of the Secretary of State for India. As regards the second part of the question, as my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal informed the House on the 19th October, the new High Commissioner (Sir Percy Cox) only arrived in Mesopotamia on the 4th October. It appears necessary to await his recommendations before making a statement as to the next step to be taken to give effect to the fixed policy of His Majesty's Government of setting up an Arab State in Mesopotamia.
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREIs the arrangement whereby High Commissioners in Mesopotamia are responsible to the Secretary of State for India and to the Government of India to be permanent?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI hope not.
§ 26. Mr. RAPERasked what is the full scope of the powers and instructions given to Sir Percy Cox; if any preliminary Report has yet been received from him; and, if not, whether, in view of the unsatisfactory state of affairs in Mesopotamia, he will cable Sir Percy Cox to at once submit a preliminary Report?
§ The PRIME MINISTERSir Percy Cox was not furnished with precise instructions, but he was given a wide discretion 1317 to frame proposals for giving effect as soon as possible to the policy of His Majesty's Government of setting up an Arab State in Mesopotamia. With regard to the second and third parts of the question, I have nothing to add to the answer given on the 19th October in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Whitechapel.
§ 31. Mr. ORMSBY-GOREasked the Prime Minister whether Sir Percy Cox, as High Commissioner for Mesopotamia, is under the direction and control of the War Office, the India Office, or the Foreign Office; whether the Middle Eastern Committee of the Cabinet still exists, and, if so, who composes it, and is it responsible for decisions of policy and issuing directions to the High Commissioners of Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, and Aden; whether it is proposed to create a Middle Eastern Department, either under the Colonial Office or India Office, or under a separate Minister; whether all British officials appointed to mandatory areas in the Middle East will in future be appointed by and receive their instructions from the Colonial Office, the India Office, or the Foreign Office; and to whom will the High Commissioners report?
§ The PRIME MINISTERSir Percy Cox, as High Commissioner for Mesopotamia, remains for the present under the direction and control of the Secretary of State for India, who, in all matters of importance, acts in close consultation with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. A Committee composed of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for India, and attended by representatives of the Admiralty, War Office, India Office, Foreign Office, and, when necessary, the Treasury, meets from time to time to secure co-ordination between the various Departments, and to give advice to His Majesty's Government on Middle Eastern affairs. The creation of a Middle Eastern Department is under the consideration of His Majesty's Government, but no decision has yet been reached.