"Mosul was never captured by Great Britain, though they claim the right of conquest. Their troops were a long way from Mosul when ours were demobilised at the end of the war. They 'captured' it by 'violating the terms of the Armistice'; as they did at Constantinople, and as the French did in Cilicia.
"The population of Mosul is Kurd and Turkish, with only a small Arab minority. It must, therefore, belong to Turkey on all the principles by which the Powers have determined the frontiers of Europe. This was recognised, indeed, in the Sykes-Picot agreement, which admitted that Mosul is not a part of Mesopotamia.
"It was finally handed to England by the French Foreign Office; but M. Clemenceau afterwards apologised that he had not previously 'known of the oil there.' The Kurds of Mosul have nothing in common with the Arabs; and naturally want to be united with their 'brothers' in Anatolia. Why are we the only nation to whom the principle of racial frontiers has been denied? By what kind of justice does an Arab minority, probably smaller than one quarter of the population, give England the right to annex Mosul!
"To insist upon our accepting 'foreign judges,' is an humiliating insult to our Government that is altogether incompatible with National Sovereignty. Such interference, and such an affront to the authority of the State would be no less injurious to the interests of foreigners in Turkey than to our own. It could not fail to provoke continual clashing of interests, confusion, and friction between Turkish and foreign administration of law, that would be fatal to commercial security for all alike. Here again the Powers are still 'building on sand.'
"As to finance, it is a serious difficulty for us; but no question of mere money will ever separate us from England.
"I firmly believe that, when once the Powers can get rid of their old prejudices, the traditional friendship will revive. England and Turkey, surely, need
