THE MIDDLE EAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 118, 21 May 1931, Page 7

THE MIDDLE EAST.

QUESTION OF CONTROL

Three Governments from Aden To Persian Gulf. DISCUSSION BY LORDS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 12 noon.) RUGBY, May 20. Lord Trenchard, in tbe House of Lords, raised the question of the unification of control and policy in the Middle East. He referred to the area situated between Aden and the Persian Gulf, which was being dealt with by three Governments, those of India, Bombay, and Great Britain. With the development of aerial and other transport this desert area was going to be progressively opened up, and in the interests of efficiency and economy it should, lie thought, be unified under one department in one place. Viscount Plumer, Lord Lloyd, Lord Lamington and Lord Stonehaven supported his remarks. Lord Passfield, replying for the Government, said this subject was etill engaging the attention of the Government. There was a great deal to be said for avoiding multiplicity of control, but it was not possible in the present circumstances for one Government Department to deal with the different countries in the area. The difficulties arose mainly from the nature of the problems and not from the multiplicity of authorities.

He suggested that there could be nothing better than the present coordination of the three fighting Services in a committee of three Chiefs of Staff, all under the Committee of Imperial Defence.

All questions of policy in the Middle East were dealt with, not by this or that Government Department, but by His Majesty's Government as a whole.

After Lord Trenchard had welcomed the statement that the Government did not intend to part with the control of these territories, the debate came to a conclusion.