'MEMORANDUM RESPECTING THE NAVIGATION OF THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES.' [‎95r] (190/284)

37
1881.
Mr. Goschen,
January 12,1881.
, ^TE. 1 his statement'as to Mr. Plowden'g
"views must be read in the light of his subse
quent memorandum dated|March 28, 1881.]
To Mr. St, John,
No. 4,
Commercial,
January 17.
Euphrates and
Tigris Steam
Navigation
Company,
February 22.
To Mr. Goschen,
No. 15,
Commercial,
February 22.
Mr. Goschen,
No. 12,
Commercial,
February 25.
Mr. Goschen,
No. 13,
Commercial,
March 7.
Sir E. Jlertslet,
Memorandum,
March 27.
Consul-General
Plowden, No. 2,
Commercial,
March 28.
(Confidential
4438).
1881. —Mr. Goschen. stated be had discussed
Messrs, Lynch's claim in regard to the towing
of barges with Mr. Plowden (consul-general
at Bagdad), bat that tbey bad not mucb con
fidence that it could be sustained as a right,
and Mr. St. John was instructed to forward a
copy of Assim's note to Mr. Plowden at Bagdad
and tell him to discuss it with the company's
agent in order to examine whether usage or
any other ground would enable further argu
ments to be brought forward with the Porte
On the 22nd February of this year the
company wrote to say that the local authorities
had again prohibited the employment of these
barges, adding that, as " the general right to
employ such craft on the river had, they believed,
been recognised by Her Majesty's Government,"
they again appealed to Lord Granville to en
deavour to obtain, without delay, the final
withdrawal of all restrictions. Upon which
Mr. Goschen was instructed to do what he could
in the matter, u as the stoppage of the barges
was Opposed to the welfare of the country and
the interests of the Porte," and the company
were so informed.
Mr. Goschen reported that Mr. St. John had
explained to Assim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. the views of Her
Majesty's Government that " until better pro
spects of a harvest appeared to warrant the
suppression of the means of transporting grain
to the famine-stricken districts, where so much
relief was afforded last year, it seemed the height
of imprudence to enforce the prohibition"; and
that Assim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. had promised to lay the matter
before the Prime Minister. Mr. Goschen also
asked whether Her Majesty's Government had
recognised the right of the company to employ
barges on the River Euphrates, and suggested
that, if not, the company should be so informed.
A memorandum on the subject was written by
Sir E. Hertslet (Confidential 4439), in which
he stated that the only right which the
company could have to navigate the ivlesopo-
tamian rivers was derived from the firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). of
1834 and the vizierial letters of 1846 and 1861.
Mr. Plowden reviewed the correspondence in
the archives, and came to the following conclu
sions : —
" 1. The British Government have under the
firmans of 1834 and 1841, which have been
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