881.00/12–2347
The Consul at Rabat (Pasquet) to the Secretary of State
No. 200
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my Top Secret despatch No. 192 of December 9, 1947 entitled “Request of His Majesty the Sultan and Continued Tension with Resident General” in transmitting at this time a copy of the official translation in French1 of the original text in Arabic of a communication addressed by the Sultan of Morocco to the President of the French Republic, Mr. Vincent Auriol. The translation in French was reportedly sent along with the original in Arabic so that there would be no possibility of misunderstanding. The document being transmitted was handed to me by an important member of the Executive Committee of the Istiqlal Party, who informed me that His Majesty had planned to send it to me for information through Mr. Abdelatif Sbihi but that through some delay in the Palace Secretariat [Page 736] it was not available before Mr. Sbihi’s return to Tangier. Mr. Sbihi made no mention to me of this latter point.
I have added to the enclosed document at the appropriate places references to my despatches covering the points discussed therein. There is one point which I have not yet reported upon and that is the appointment of Khalifas (assistants to Pachas and Caids) referred to in paragraphs twelve and following of the document because there is as yet no text of reform of the municipalities. I have asked the Secretary of the Interior (Colonel LeComte) about these, and he stated that there would be no text for at least six months because the Protectorate Government wanted to set the change in motion, and after some months of experience it would then be possible to draft a text based on actual experience. This is a logical explanation on the face of it, but it does not explain how the French acquired authority to appoint Khalifas who are always appointed by Viziriel decree, while Pachas and Caids are appointed by Dahirs. The truth in the matter is that the French Regional and Control Authorities designated Khalif as of their choice, because it is known that a goodly number of these were objectionable to the Sultan, while some of those whom he would have appointed were objectionable to the French. The idea behind this proposed reform is to divide the principal cities of Morocco into boroughs (four for Rabat, five for Casablanca, etc.), thus bringing the administration closer to the administered. It must be said also that a better control could be effected by the Regional Authorities over the people than is possible at present, particularly owing to the constantly increasing population of cities. Opposite each Khalifa there was appointed a borough civil controller (controleur civil d’Parrondissement), and to supervise these officials there was appointed a Delegate of Urban Affairs for each city, the Delegate in turn being responsible to the Chief of Region. Most of the Khalifas and their French counterparts were installed on November 1, 1947. While the Sultan objects to the whole reform being initiated without a law to sanction it, his principal concern is the appointment of Khalifas directly by the French.
It is hoped that upon receipt of this despatch, a reply to the request contained on page four of my despatch No. 192 might be forthcoming, unless it is already in the mails.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩