"ملف VII\١. الاتصال التلغرافي بالكويت." [ظ‎‎٢‎٦‎٠] (٥٧٤/٥٥٠)

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We must now turn to the agreements which have been made with Persia
under which the Department has erected and worked its telegraph lines in that
land. The first convention was made in 1863, and by it the idea of the British
erecting and working a line in Persia was entirely set aside. On the other hand
Persia undertook, on our providing the material at Persia’s expense, to make
and work a line for herself from Khanikin to Bushire and to allow us, at a tariff
to be fixed aftenvards, to transmit our Indian messages by its means. The
only intervention on our part provided for by the convention was the presence
of one English officer for a limited period in Persia to advise as to the best
method of construction. Unpromising as such a convention was, it was
decided to take action on it in the hope that something more practical might
be evolved. Major Murdoch Smith of the Royal Engineers, with a staff of three
officers and twelve non-commissioned officers of the same corps and six
civilians, was sent out to construct the line. Their arrival in the country was not
unnaturally viewed with the very strongest suspicion, and the whole country
from the Shall downwards regarded them as most unwelcome guests. It would
be an endless undertaking to attempt to describe the difficulties by which their
task was surrounded. Success often seemed well-nigh hopeless, but, thanks to
the tact and the zealous and loyal efforts of the widely-scattered staff, suspicion
gradually gave way to trust and enmity to friendship. The position, which
was a very unsatisfactory one, was much improved by a convention made in
1865, under which a second wire was to be erected, the materials being provided
as before at the cost of Persia, but now the erection was to be in charge of a
British engineer and staff paid for from British funds. It was also stipulated
that a British staff should be engaged to organise the working of the line and
to give instructions to the Persians in telegraphy. At the end of five years this
British staff was to be withdrawn and the line handed over to Persia. The
second wire was to be used solely for international messages sent in European
language. It was under this convention that the Department was working
the Bushire -1 eheran line when the Indo route was opened in 1870, but the single
international wire which it contemplated was soon found to be inadequate to
cope with the traffic and a further convention was entered into in 1872 for the
erection of another wire. This latter convention was to remain in force up to
1895, but it has been from time to time extended, and, as now agreed, it will
remain in force up to 1st January, 1945- Under it the line from Teheran to
Bushire which was erected partly at the cost of Persia who paid for the material
and partly at the cost of India who paid the salaries of the British establishment
and other expenses, was to be maintained wholly at the charge of British or
rather Indian revenues. One wire is given over entirely to Persia for working
local traffic, that is, messages originating in one station in Persia and terminating
.at another, the two remaining wires being worked by the Department for inter
national traffic. A certain amount of local traffic is also carried on these two
international wires, but the revenue derived from it is handed over to Persia.
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