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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
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Printed for the War Cabinet.
December 1917.
SECRET.
120
WAR.
CABINET,
296.
Minutes of a Meeting of the War Cabinet, held at 10, Downing Street,
on Wednesday, December 12, 1917, at 11.30 A.M.
S.W.,
Present:
T H E P R I M E MINISTER (in the Chair).
The Right Hon. the E A R L C U R Z O N OF j T h e R i g h t Hon. G. N. B A R N E S , M . P .
KEDLESTON, K G . , G . C . 8 . I . , G . C . I . E . -
Lieutenant - General
T h e Right Hon. the VISCOUNT MTLNER,
G.C.B.. G.C.M.G.
the
Right
Hon.
J . C . SMUTS, I C C .
The following were also present :
The
Right Hon. A. J . BALFOUR.. O.M.,
M.P., Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs (for Minutes 1 to 14).
The R i g h t Hon. R. E. PROTHERO, M.V.O.,
M.P., President, Board of Agriculture
(for Minutes 15 and 16).
T h e Right Hon. the E A R L OF D E R B Y ,
K G , G.C.V.O., C.B., Secretary of State
for War (for Minutes 1 to 14).
The
Major-General
The R i g h t Hon. R. MUNRO, K.C., M.P.,
F.
B.
Director of Military
Minutes 1 to 14).
MAURICE,
Operations
C.B.,
(for '
T h e Right Hon. SIR- E R I C GKDDES, G.B.E.,
K.C.B., M.P., First Lord of the Admiralty (for Minutes 10 to 1.4).
Admiral S I R J . R. JELLICOE, G.C.B.,
O.M., G.C.V.O., F i r s t Sea Lord and
Chief of the Naval Staff for Minutes
1 to 14).
T h e Bight Hon. W. LONG, M.P., Secretary
of State for the Colonies (for Minutes 15
to 17).
T h e Right Hon. LORD RHONDDA, Food
Controller (for Minutes 15 and Hi). Mr. Li. F . WiNTOUR, C.B., C.M.G., Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Food (for
Minutes 15 a n d 16).
Professor W. G . ADAMS.(for Minutes 15 to
17).
Right
Hon.
H.
E.
DUKE,
K.C.,
M . P . , Chief Secretary for Ireland (for
Minutes 15 and 16).
Secretary- for Scotland (for Minutes 15
and 16).
S I R A. L E E , K.C.B., M.P., Director-General,
Food
Production
Department
(for
Minutes 15 and 1(5 iS I R A . C. GEDDES, K.C.B., M.P., Minister
of National Service (for Minutes 15 to
17).
T h e R i g h t Hon. the V I S C O U N T GOSCHEN,.
Food
Procluctiou
Department
(for
Minutes 15 and lii).
Major the Hon. W A L D O R F ASTOR, M.P."
(for Minutes 15 and 16).
T h e R i g h t Hon. S I R R. C H A L M E R S , G . C . B . ,
Treasury (for Minute 15). ­
Mr. .1. F. B E A L E , Secretary, W h e a t Cornmission (for Minutes 15 a n d 16).
Mr. R.
B.
G R E I G , Commissioner of
Scottish Board of
Minutes 15 and 16).
Agriculture
Lieutenant-Colonel W . D A L L Y JONES, O.M.G., Acting
Secretary.
Fleet Paymaster P. H. R o w , R.N., Assistant
Secretary.
Mr. T H O M A S JONES, Assistant
Secretary.
Captain CLEMENT JONES, Assistant
Secretary.
the
(for
1. T H E W a r Cabinet had before them a report by the Chief of
t h e Imperial General Staff in regard to t h e situation in Macedonia
(Paper G . T . - 2 6 1 . 5 ) , dated the 1 4 t h November, 1 9 1 7 .
The Director of Military Operations said t h a t since t h e date o f
t h e report by t h e Chief of the Imperial General Staff t h e only material
changes which h a d taken place had already been reported to t h e
W a r Cabinet.
One additional German division had appeared
on the Salonica front, where, since t h e 1 4 t h November, there
had arrived altogether nine German battalions and thirteen Bul­
garian battalions. W i t h regard to the strength of t h e Allied
forces, t h e report showed t h a t on t h e 1 4 t h November t h e strength
of t h e British was down by 7 , 0 0 0 men. Since then we h a d sent
drafts, and t h e position now was that, while we were 3 , 0 0 0
down as regards infantry, we were 3 , 0 0 0 up in other arms. For a l l
practical purposes it m i g h t be said t h a t the British force was up
to strength. General Milne's force was being strengthened by the
sending of a few more heavy guns from E g y p t , and some aeroplanes
of t h e best type. So far- as t h e French force was concerned, t h e
greatest change had been ' t h e change in command.
General
Guillaumat, who was described as a plain, blunt soldier, had com­
manded-at Verdun after General Niveile had become Commander-inChief, and was regarded by M. Clemenceau as a first-class man, had
been appointed t o succeed General Sarrail. The s t r e n g t h of the
French force had n o t improved, whereas t h e English divisions, with
an establishment of 1 ^ , 0 0 0 rifles, to-day mustered 1 0 , 5 0 0 rifles. The
French, on the other hand, with an establishment of 9 , 0 0 0 rifles, only
mustered 5 , 0 0 0 . There was no sign of improvement, and General
Sarrail had lately said he would have t o send home o n leave 4 , 0 0 0
men, for no better reason than t h a t they had been out there for
eighteen months. W i t h regard to t h e Greeks and Serbians, their
strength h a d been increased, t h e latter b y about 4 , 0 0 0 — s o m e from
Eussia and some from Bizerta. Altogether it appeared t h a t there were
1 6 0 , 0 0 0 rifles on t h e Allies' side, as compared with 2 0 3 , 0 0 0 rifles on
t h e enemy's.
General Maurice said t h a t , in his opinion, this
superiority of a b o u t 4 0 , 0 0 0 rifles would not be sufficient to make
an enemy a t t a c k on a large scale dangerous, provided t h a t t h e Allies
were well dug-in a n d w ell commanded.
The questions were asked—
r
(a.) Supposing t h a t t h e enemy did attack, w h a t notice we should
be likely to receive ?
(b.) W h a t steps we should t a k e \
To these t h e Director of Military Operations replied, with
regard to the first question, t h a t it was impossible to g u a r a n t e e a n y
notice. The n a t u r e of t h e country behind the enemy's front made it
difficult to obtain early information, and t h e only indication of a
probable atta,ck t h a t we could get would be the failure t o trace
enemy divisions on other points. H e added t h a t t h e present season
, was n o t favourable for operations on a large scale, and t h a t t h e most
favourable time of the year would be from March onwards. As
regards the second question, t h e only action t h a t we could t a k e
might possibly be to send heavy artillery from E g y p t ; this w^as t h e
only reserve available. There WHS no army of manoeuvre t h a t could
be used.
The n e x t question p u t to General Maurice was, I n - t h e event
of a sudden attack by t h e enemy, w h a t arrangements had been made
t o fall back ? General Maurice replied t h a t our own line of r e t r e a t
had been carefully prepared, but i n this as in other m a t t e r s it had
been impossible t o find out from General Sarrail what preparations
had been made for the Allied forces as a whole. H e understood
t h a t t h e question, had been referred to the Supreme W a r Council a t
Versailles.
The W a r Cabinet requested—
The Director of Military Operations t o telegraph t o General
Wilson to ask what progress he had made in ascertaining
the facts of t h e Salonica situation, as the Cabinet considered
the matter pressing.
The Western
Front.
2 . The Director of Military Operations was asked whether he
t h o u g h t t h e Germans, in advertising a forthcoming a t t a c k on the
W e s t e r n front, were really planning operations elsewhere. General
Maurice said that, in his opinion, based on present information, the
enemy really did mean to attack on the W e s t e r n front.
Another
enemy division had arrived in Alsace from Russia, and two more
were on the way. During the last two months fifteen divisions, on
balance, had been transferred from the Eastern to the W e s t e r n front
(including Italy), and these had not been replaced. I n addition,
1 0 0 , 0 0 0 men had been combed out of' t h e E a s t e r n front and sent to
the W e s t . The Director of Milicary Operations did not t h i n k t h a t
the enemy would press their attack in Italy, seeing t h a t they had
already had opportunities of doing so, but had not availed themselves
of them, and the season for operations, in t h e mountains was g e t t i n g
late. The balance of evidence appeared to be in favour of the
enemy attacking in France and Flanders r a t h e r t h a n in Italy, where
there m a y be a very heavy fall of s n o w ' a t any time. I t m u s t be
remembered, however, t h a t the Italian a r m y might give up their
ground.
Cambrai.
3 . The Director of Military Operations submitted the following
s t a t e m e n t in regard t o guns taken and lost b y t h e British at
Cambrai between the 2 0 t h November and t h e 1 0 t h December,
1917
: ­
-—
Guns lost
Guns taken
Heavy.
Field.
18-pr.
08
4'5-in. how.
15
113
98
60-pr.
1
6 - i n . ho-sv.
30
31
40
Totai.
144
138
Daily Messenger
and Telephone to
Versailles.
4. After some discussion as to improving t h e means of com­
munication between Versailles and London, t h e W a r Cabinet decided
that—
(a.) The Secretary should make t h e necessary preparations for
sending a messenger daily to Versailles, in order t h a t the
Supreme W a r Council should be supplied with the latest
information at t h e earliest possible moment.
(b.) The Secretary should ascertain from the PostmasterGeneral w h e t h e r it would be possible to have a private
British telephone service established between London
and Versailles.
Palestine.
5. The W a r Cabinet discussed t h e question whether General
Allenby should remain where he now is, or exploit t h e defeat which
he h a s inflicted on the Turks.
I t was pointed out that our Intelligence Service with regard to
T u r k e y was very defective and compared unfavourably with our
Intelligence arrangements on the W e s t e r n front.
For instance, when
General Allenby had been asked how many men would be required, in
his opinion, to capture Jerusalem and hold it he had replied t h a t the
T u r k s could bring against h i m . 1 8 divisions in addition to 2 German
divisions t h a t were available. General Allenby had estimated t h a t
2 0 British divisions ( 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 men) would be required to t a k e
Jerusalem.
W h a t had finally happened was t h a t only 2 0 , 0 0 0
Turkish rifles had opposed our 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 rifles. I n addition, t h e
Turkish t r a n s p o r t had completely broken d o w n ; there was no coal
for t h e railways, and there were no horses and no mules to enable
t h e Turks to g e t their guns away. If, therefore, it were t r u e t h a t
t h e Turks were in no position to fight, it would be criminal on our
p a r t not to take full a d v a n t a g e of t h e conditions existing in t h e
Turkish forces.
The Director of Military Operations reported t h a t the division
which was being moved from Mesopotamia to E g y p t m i g h t be ready
within six weeks or two months. H e said t h a t information now
being received from prisoners was to the effect t h a t the establishment
of the Turkish divisions was much lower t h a n we originally t h o u g h t .
I n Syria there was no system of Secret Service possible, comparable
with t h a t on the W e s t e r n front, because, owing to the n a t u r e of
t h e country, we could not get information before it was too stale to
be of use.
The W a r Cabinet were strongly of opinion t h a t it would be well
to get General Allenbys views as to the question of exploiting his
recent victory.
After some discussion t h e W a r Cabinet requested—
The. Secretary of S t a t e for W a r t o telegraph to General Allenby
in t h e following sense :—
" I n view of t h e change in position created by
your recent victory over Turks, and
by revised
information as to enemy s t r e n g t h and breakdown in his
transport, W a r Cabinet would like to have your opinion
by telegram as soon as possible as to manner in which,
and extent to which, it is possible to exploit your success
in Palestine with forces now under your command, plus
the division under orders for Mesopotamia."
M e s s a g e of
C o n g r a t u l a t i o n to
General Allenby.
6. The W a r Cabinet a s k e d —
The Secretary of S t a t e for W a r t o send a message of congratula­
tion to General Allenby on his fine achievement in capturing
Jerusalem.
Proclamation,
7. W i t h reference to W a r Cabinet 277, Minute 6, the W a r
Cabinet had before t h e m t h e t e x t of the proclamation prepared by
Lord Curzon, in conjunction with Sir Mark Sykes (Appendix)—
The Prime Minister undertook t o go to the House of Commons
t h a t afternoon, a n d t o read t h e proclamation there.
The W e s t e r n
Front:
8. W h h reference to W a r Cabinet 2 8 5 , Minute 4 , t h e Director
of Military Operations said t h a t he had investigated the report
about our guns being out-ranged by t h e Germans a t Passehendaele,
and had found t h a t there was no t r u t h in t h e report.
Passehendaele.
T h e I n v a s i o n of
Italy.
9. The Director of Military Operations said t h a t General P l u m e r
reported increased artillery activity opposite our lines. Two a t t e m p t s
had been made to cross the Piave, b u t these had failed.
Slight
progress had been made by the enemy on t h e Asiago Plateau.
The W a r Cabinet requested—
The Secretary of S t a t e for W a r to ask General Plumer to send
an appreciation of t h e Italian position.
Attack on Austrian
Battleships.
10. The F i r s t Sea Lord reported t h a t t w o old A u s t r i a n
battleships had been attacked by motor-boats in Trieste Harbour.
One had been sunk, and t h e other damaged.
Archangel,
11. W i t h reference t o W a r Cabinet 2 9 3 , M i n u t e 9, the F i r s t
Sea Lord asked for instructions in regard t o withdrawing H . M . S .
" I p h i g e n i a " from Archangel. H a v i n g regard t o t h e fact t h a t it
was impossible t o reinforce t h e " Iphigenia " t h e Admiralty w e r e
anxious t o withdraw t h e vessel, and also t h e Staff, as soon as possible
from Archangel t o Murmansk.
The W a r Cabinet decided t h a t —
H . M . S . " I p h i g e n i a " should be withdrawn.
Naval Allied
Council.
1 2 . The F i r s t Lord raised the question of issuing to the press
an abridged communication in regard to t h e N a v a l Allied Council.
All the Governments of t h e Allies had accepted t h e statement which
it was proposed t o publish simultaneously on t h e 13th December.
The W a r ( abinet decided t h a t —
This question should be raised again on t h e following day.
Explosion a t
Halifax, K S .
13. W i t h reference to W a r Cabinet 2 9 5 , Minute 1 0 , t h e W a r
Cabinet decided t h a t —
The Chancellor of t h e Exchequer should be asked to m a k e a
s t a t e m e n t in t h e House t h a t afternoon, saying t h a t a
telegram of s y m p a t h y was being sent to Ottawa, and
s t a t i n g the a m o u n t of the contribution which this c o u n t r y
was proposing to give.
Greece: Supplies
for.
14. W i t h reference to W a r Cabinet 295, Minute 7, Lord Milner
asked w h a t progress h a d been made in r e g a r d to the shipment of
supplies to the Greeks.
Lord Derby undertook to keep Lord Milner informed
despatch.
The F o o d
Situation.
as to
15. W i t h reference to W a r Cabinet 266, Minute 1, a n d W a r
Cabinet 285, Minute 15, t h e W a r Cabinet reviewed the present a n d
prospective food situation in the light of t h e following documents :—
T h e Food Situation. Memorandum bv Lord R h o n d d a (Paper G . ­
180).
Shortage of Pn-eadstuffs.
Memorandum b y Lord R h o n d d a
(Paper G.T.-2744).
Minimum Requirements of Finance for Imported Foodstuffs i n
1918. Memorandum by Lord Rhondda (Paper G . T . - 2 7 7 8 ) .
Minute by Mr. Austen Chamberlain (Paper G.T.-2876).
i
Lord Rhondda.summarised the most i m p o r t a n t features of t h e
situation set forth in the above memorauda. A few months ago it
was hoped to have in t h i s country on the 31st December a six
months' reserve of wheat. T h a t reserve h a d now been reduced to
one of about twenty weeks, owing to t h e diversion of cargo to
F r a n c e and Italy. The supplies arriving from abroad at p r e s e n t
were only about one-half Of what were b e i n g received d u r i n g t h e same
period last year. The consumption of home-grown meat, on t h e other
hand, was from 15 to 20 per cent, higher t h a n last year. T h e cereal
p r o g r a m m e was threatened with disaster in two vital points :—
[1365-296]
(a.) It assumed an exportable surplus from North America of
7,000,000 tons, which Mr. Hoover now p u t at 3,600,000
tons ;
(6.) There was grave dauger that t h e Argentine surplus of
wheat and maize m i g h t b e diverted elsewhere owing to
lack of money to make the necessary purchases.
C
T h e r e had been instances, as in the case of bacon and lard,
when supplies were available in the States, but owing to want of
money t h e y were diverted from t h i s country. A joint organisation
had been set up in t h e U n i t e d States, with Mr. Hoover as chairman,
for the consideration of the demands of t h e Allies a n d t b e claims of
the U n i t e d States. Every claim for t h e following month's supply
h a d to be p u t forward by the 15th of each month, with an assurance
t h a t both dollars and tonnage would b e forthcoming. If these claims
were not ready and properly supported by the ] 5 t h , the supplies for
the. following month would he lost. W e required credits a t t h e rate
of 5 7 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 dollars a. month, a p a r t from 8 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 dollars required
for Army supplies. The Treasury bad granted only 2 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
dollars f T December, and held out prospects of not more t h a n from
5 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 to 1 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 dollars for January. I t was essential t h a t
we should be enabled to make purchases before t h e l o t h of this
month. That d a y was t h e 1 2 t h , and the matter was t h u s one of
extreme urgency. The long queues outside t h e distributing shops,
to which Mr. Austen Chamberlain bad drawn attention, were due t o
t h e shortage of supplies, and were directly accountable for not a little
of the industrial discontent which prevailed.
Sir Robert Chalmers said t h a t the position was one in which the
sympathies of t h e Treasury w e r e entirely with the Food Controller,
b u t all the dollars available were already pooled a n d were being
distributed by t h e American Hoard.
Mr. A u s t e n Chamberlain
presided over t h e American Board in this country which determined
t h e allocation to the Ministry of F o o d , the Ministry of Munitions,
and to other claimants. They could not add t o t h e dollars in t h e
pool, and, indeed, the Americans were anxious to reduce r a t h e r t h a n
increase our allowance. Lord Reading had done his utmost in the
U n i t e d States a n d in Canada to obtain every dollar possible for this
country.
Mr. W i n t o u r said t h a t he understood t h a t the food credits had
been arranged by Lord Reading, b u t when t h e Ministry of Food put
forward their claims they found the credits already assigned to
forward purchases for the Ministry of Munitions and to the
maintenance of t h e exchange for other articles. I n other words,
priority over food h a d been given roc only to munitions and other
Government purchases, but to unessential imports.
Sir Robert Chalmers said the whole m a t t e r was one of high and
grave policy, on which he t h o u g h t the Cabinet would wish to have
the views of the Chancellor of t h e Exchequer. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer w as at t h a t moment engaged upon t h e consideration
of t h e problem with representatives of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s and Lord
Reading.
The W a r Cabinet decided t h a t —
T
The Prime Minister and Lord Rhondda should a t once see
t h e Chancellor of t h e E xchequer and t h e Amer ican
representatives.
At a later stage t h e Prime Minister and Lord Rhondda returned
to t h e W a r Cabinet a n d announced t h a t a satisfactory arrangement
had been made.
K^ffSd
1
Food Production.
J
,
d e a l i n
Cabinet had before t h e m t h e following documents
S
*
Production : Memorandum by Lord Milner (Paper G.T.-2352).
Memorandum by Mr. Long (Paper G.T.-2374).
Memorandum by Mr. Munro (Paper G . T . - 2 4 3 0 ) .
Memorandum by Mr. Prothero (Paper G . T . - 2 7 6 7 ) .
Memorandum by Professor Leonard Hill (Paper G.T.-2827)
Memorandum by Lord Derby ( P a p e r G . T . - 2 8 5 4 ) .
1 6
-
T
^
W l t h
e
o o d
Mr. P r o t h e r o said t h a t t h e original programme, which contem­
plated t h e ploughing up of 3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 acres of grass land, h a d b e e n
revised in the light of experience. The a i m now was to increase t h e
a r e a under the plough, a s compared with t h e 191(5 area, b y ( a ) t h e
breaking u p of 2 , 0 5 0 , 0 0 0 acres of permanent pasture, and (b) t h e
ploughing of 6 4 5 , 0 0 0 acres of temporary grass, in addition to t h e
area of temporary grass which would have been ploughed in t h e
normal way, making a total of 2 , 6 9 5 , 0 0 0 acres to b e a d d e d to t h e
area already under crops in 1 9 1 6 . This figure was for E n g l a n d a n d
Wales. There was still a chance of realising this programme,
particularly if t h e labour asked for were forthcoming. In his
memorandum (Paper G . T . - 2 7 6 7 ) h e h a d asked for a total of 4 8 , 5 0 0
labourers, of whom a proportion might be women. The most
important element in t h e labour supply was skilled ploughmen. I t
was no use having an increase of unskilled labour w i t h o u t a d u e
proportion of skilled. Recently nearly a thousand skilled ploughmen
had been supplied b y the W a r Office on a two months' agricultural
furlough f r o m France. About 5 0 0 German prisoners had also
recently been assigned for use on t h e land, b u t although t h e con­
ditions laid clown by t h e W a r Office for the use of these prisoners
h a d been in some degree relaxed, t h e y were still too stringent to
allow of t h e farmers making t h e fullest use of t h e prisoners. Of t h e
8 , 5 0 0 skilled plorighmen required. 4 , 5 0 0 were needed at once, and t h e
remaining 4 , 0 0 0 by t h e end of February. The ploughing season for
this winter was nearly over.
I n this connection attention was drawn to the memorandum by
t h e Secretaxw of S t a t e for W a r (Paper G . T . - 2 8 5 4 ) , dated t h e
4 t h December, in which it was stated t h a t 2 , 0 0 0 expert ploughmen
from France were t h e n being distributed, and t h a t a trade-card index
for the forces a t home was being compiled, with t h e help of which it
might be possible to discover a further source of supply.
Sir Auckland Geddes said t h a t his Department was on the look­
out in various directions for skilled ploughmen. Some might be
found in t h e home army, and a few working on munitions and on
aerodomes ; b u t he was certain t h a t the only large pool of British
skilled agricultural labour left was t h e a r m y overseas. Negotiations
were proceeding with a view to importing u p to 2 0 , 0 0 0 Danes. Most
of these would be drawn from the towns and the distributing trades,
b u t some of t h e m might prove to be from the land ; also he t h o u g h t
t h e better use of prisoners of war should be immediately considered.
Mr. Prothero said t h a t wdierever experiments had been tried
with t h e Danes t h e y had been found to be good workers. A scheme
h a d been put forward with a view to bringing over farmers from
Scbleswio-Holstein, but it had fallen through, partly because of
shipping difficulties and partly because there were objections on
account of espionage. As to the suggestion t h a t Irishmen might b e
brought across, i t was found t h a t our labourers a t home objected to
them. The only other source was to appeal to Sir Douglas Haig for
more'' German prisoners from behind t h e lines. I t was found t h a t
prisoners had not shown any desire to escape from this country,
particularly those who were Poles and Saxons.
Mr. Munro said that the situation in Scotland was very much
the same as in England and Wales. There was a serious shortage
in the supply of soldier labour, and when obtained it was often
found to be of poor quality. Unless more and better soldier labour
was forthcoming the programme for 1 9 1 8 would be jeopardised.
The W ar Cabinet decided —
(a.) To resume t h e discussion on the following morning, when
representatives of the W a r Office and of t h e Prisoners
of W a r Committee could be present.
(6.) T h a t S i r Auckland Geddes should expedite t h e arrange­
m e u t s for importing Danes, and should examine t h e
question of bringing over farmers from SchleswigHolstein.
r
T
Wages of Piece­
workers and
Aircraft
Woodworkers.
17. Mr. Barnes and Sir Auckland Geddes were empowered by
fche W a r Cabinet to make t h e best terms possible in dealing with the
application to piece-workers of the 12^ per cent, increase under t h e
order issued by t h e Ministry of Munitions.
They were further empowered t o make the best terms possible
in respect of the award of Sir William Robinson regarding payment
of wages and conditions of labour g r a n t e d t o men employed on t h e
production of aircraft woodwork.
2, Whitehall Gardens,
S.W.,
December 12, 1917.
APPENDIX.
GENERAL S I R E . H . H . ALLENBY, K . C . B . , r e p o r t s : —
Jerusalem, 2 P.M., December 1 1 , 1917.
I E N T E R E D this city officially a t noon to-day with a few of my staff, t h e
commanders of t h e French and Italian detachments, t h e heads of t h e Picot Mission, a n d
t h e Military Attaches of France, Italy, a n d t h e U n i t e d States of America. T h e
procession was all on foot. A t t h e Jaffa g a t e I was received by guards representing
England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, N e w Zealand, India, France, and Italy.
The population received me well.
Guards have been placed over t h e Holy Places.
My Military Governor is in touch with t h e acting Custos of t h e Latins, a n d t h e
Greek representative has been detailed to supervise Christian Holy Places.
The Mosque of Omar and t h e area round it has been placed under Moslem control,
a n d a military cordon composed of Indian Mahommedan officers and soldiers h a s been
established round t h e mosque. Orders have been issued t h a t no non-Moslem is t o pass
t h i s cordon without permission of t h e Military Governor a n d t h e Moslem in charge of
t h e mosque.
The following proclamation was read in my presence to t h e population in Arabic,
Hebrew, English, Erench, Italian, Greek, and Russian from t h e steps of t h e Citadel, and
h a s been posted on t h e walls :—
" Proclamation of Martial L a w in Jerusalem.
" To t h e inhabitants of Jerusalem t h e Blessed a n d t h e people dwelling in its
vicinity.
" The defeat inflicted upon t h e Turks by t h e troops under m y command has
resulted in t h e occupation of your city b y m y forces. I therefore here a n d now
proclaim it to be under martial law, under which form of administration it will
remain so long as military considerations m a k e it necessary.
" However, lest any of you should be alarmed by reason of your experience a t
t h e hands of t h e enemy who has retired, I hereby inform you t h a t it is m y desire
t h a t every person should pursue his lawful business without fear of interruption.
Furthermore, since your city is regarded with affection by t h e adherents of three
of t h e great religions of mankind, a n d its soil has been consecrated by t h e prayers
a n d pilgrimages of multitudes of devout people of these three religions for many
centuries, therefore do I make known t o you that every sacred building, monument,
holy spot, shrine, traditional site, endowment, pious bequest, or customary place of
prayer, of whatsoever form of t h e three religions, will be maintained a n d protected
according to t h e existing customs a n d beliefs of those to whose faiths t h e y are
sacred.
" Guardians have been established a t Bethlehem a n d on Rachel's tomb. The
tomb a t Hebron has been placed under exclusive Moslem control.
" The hereditary custodians of t h e W a k f a t t h e gates of t h e H o l y Sepulchre
have been requested to t a k e u p their accustomed duties in remembrance of t h e
magnanimous a c t of t h e Caliph Omar, who protected t h a t church."