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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [205r] (415/540)
The record is made up of 1 volume (268 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1911-26 Dec 1912. It was written in English, French and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
As regards the proposed railway from Baghdad down the Tigris, I am still at a
loss to discover what objects this railway is to serve, unless it be purely strategical
objects in relation to the British position on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. It is surely obvious
that all the military requirements of Turkey in policing the Arab tribes between
Baghdad and Basrah and in those regions would be met by steamier transport.
The fact that I am engaged in promoting a railway up the valley of the Karun
goes to show, I hope, that the opinion I have formed of a railway between Basrah
and Baghdad is not influenced by private considerations. Eiver transport can look
after itself alongside of a railway. But if our Government is to be asked to support
a railway it ought surely to be made clear that there will be some commercial gain.
If the railway is to be built as the result of a further 3 per cent, increase of the cus
toms duties, the result, so far as Manchester goods are concerned, will be that they
will have to submit to an additional tax of 60s. a-ton in order to have the luxury
of an alternative route up to Baghdad. Under these circumstances, it would surely
be better to go slow as regards this railway and to await the developments of irri
gation. Any other course would result in the squandering of vast sums of money
raised at the expense of the Turkish tax-payer without conferring any benefits upon
British trade—rather the contrary.
Yours sincerely,
H. F. B. LYNCH.
(Copy sent informally to the Army Department for transmission to the Divi
sion of the Chief of the Staff.)
(Received on 22nd July 1912, with Political Secretary's letter No. 27, dated the 5th
July 1912.)
F oreign O ffice,
June 24th, 1912.
S ir,
Y ith reference to Your Excellency's despatch No. 487 of the 8th instant, I
should be glad if you could procure for me an exact trace of the sections of the
Baghdad Railway in question ; and, in the event of Your Excellency proving suc
cessful, I will cause the V/ar Office to be approached with a view to the alignment
being reproduced on existing maps.
I am, with great truth and respect,
S ir,
Your Excellency's most obedient, humble Servant,
E. GREY.
ilis Excellency
The Right Honourable
Sir G. Lowther,
G.C.M.G.
[Knight] Grand Cross of [the Order of] St Michael and St George (accolade).
, C.B.,
etc., etc., etc.
(
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About this item
- Content
The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memorandums pertaining to Anglo-Turkish negotiations brought on by the Baghdad Railway and particularly the extension to Basra. Correspondents include: Percy Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Bushire, William Shakespear, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Admiral Edmond Slade, the Board of Trade, the Government of India, the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , and several private companies, including Trans-Atlantic Trust Company, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Imperial Ottoman Bank, and Imperial Persian Bank.
The form of the negotiations was a series of memorandums containing proposals and counter-proposals. The issues and subjects discussed are:
- ownership and control of the line;
- custom duty increases in the region;
- navigation of the Shatt al-Arab, including the establishment of a commission to oversee this;
- transport of railway materials by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
- delimitation of the Turkish-Persian border;
- status and territorial limit of Kuwait;
- other Gulf matters, including the statuses of Bahrain and Qatar, the suppression of arms traffic, piracy, and slavery, and the protection of pearl fisheries.
Folios 261-262 are a map showing the proposed territorial limits of Kuwait.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (268 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning (ff. 3-4) is a subject index, in no particular order but grouped under several broad headings. The numbers refer to folio numbers from the secondary, earlier sequence.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers positioned in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . There are two earlier foliation systems running through parts of the volume. The first uses uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and the top-left corner of verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. pages. This foliation system numbers pages if they have content on them, which is the case for all rectos and some versos. This foliation system appears intermittently through most of the volume. The other foliation system uses circled blue pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and appears from folios 5 to 42. Numerous printed materials contained in the volume have their own internal pagination systems. The following foliation irregularities occur: 1a, 34a, 51B, 219B, 250B.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [205r] (415/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/611, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023826002.0x000010> [accessed 22 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/611
- Title
- 'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations'
- Pages
- 135r:135v, 204v:205r
- Author
- Lynch, Henry Finnis Blosse
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.