IOR/L/PS/10/868

This volume contains correspondence, resolutions, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding different aspects of the administration in Mesopotamia.

The papers notably cover:

• The incidence of cost of the temporary administration of Basra [also written in the correspondence as Basrah Wilayat, or Vilayet], following the British military occupation
• Discussion regarding the disposal of the surplus revenues of the British-occupied territory in Mesopotamia, including a suggestion that they should be handed over to the British Government
• Definitions of the financial powers of the Civil Officer in Mesopotamia and the difference of opinion between the Government of India and the authorities in Mesopotamia as to the allocation of military and civil funds
• Control and audit of expenditure in the British administration of Mesopotamia.

The volume also covers details such as the following:

• The Indo-European Telegraph Department, the development of new telegraph lines, and rates between Basra and London and Basra and India
• Contributions from Government of India revenues towards the cost of the various Indian Expeditionary Forces
• The liability for the Ottoman Empire’s public debt, following annexations of its territory.

The principal correspondents include: John Bradbury, Treasury Chambers; Austen Chamberlain, Secretary of State for India; Percy Zachariah Cox, Chief Political Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force D; Viceroy of India, Finance Department; War Office; Assistant Secretary to the Government of India; Under-Secretary to the Government of India; Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.