'Seistan' [‎364v] (730/782)

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contrary accelerate her advance refa°d wHh^carcely inferior
wav of Baghdad. This la an issue whicl ^ do not feel calletl U P°" to
repugnance; hut the problem is on ^ wou j ( l require to he examined
discuss upon the present occasion, ai 1 Anglo-Russian agreement pre-
on independent grounds. Nor again wo U ^ from eI)deav0Urinff ,o acquire
elude France, or Germany, «r any otliei which Russia would ear
in Southern Persia or m the Gulftlmpos.Uo^ ^ combined action between
hypothesi have debarred herself. ^ liere ? inseparable from the solution
them for that object. These however atures insepa We cl)aractpl ,
which we are discussing, a ” d /^tTt 0 rwe?e removed from the scene. We
if the influence of the principal cm p , European nation in the
should strongly deprecate the poldi al r ^hy of^any ^1'^ 8ituatioll) while
neighbourhood of the Persian > as in the case of Russia, constitute
fraught with constant annoyance might not, as in the
a positive menace to the ctlv COI1 templated by Sir M.
61. There remains the fmther clan^ , ► ^ K uss i a , that
Durand in discussing the question of a poss d tand i n g.°Sufficient grounds
She would not abide by the tel " e Tound in the history of Russian
for this induction may unquestionably be touna m • iation
advance in Central Asia during the past halt agreement, in the
of the inclinations and ^ ^nUnft e drawing up of a
light, where possible, of P ast . P ' , ’j t p^it of by either agent, whether
fresh bargain which is not likely to he “St' " iation of the value of
it be regarded as involvmg a ^om °r “ “ tua { duration> or
the new contract. Moreover such contracts, « n °P { been sho wn in
even if ^^of"Snse val«T in the 4ite P that ihey afford from the
S of an Otherwise ceaseless rivalry, and in the opportunity presented for a
neaceful consolidation of existing interests.
P 62 We have now placed before Your Lordship the pros ami corn, as they
b T-n in our pves of the alternative policies in Persia. W hile
present themselves t • t ’ o{ succesS; W e are ourselves of opinion that
the experiment of an i nderstanding with Russia as to future spheres of interest
n that coimt^ is worthy of being made, in the interests both of Persia itself,
more of harmony between the two great Powers, upon whose relations
the peace of Asia may be said to depend. Should Her Majesty’s Government
decide upon makinglnv overtures to the Russian Government m the direction
indicated! and should they either he rejected, or result in ^t
he nossible to adopt the alternative recommended by Sir M. Dm and. In ted,
if the terms of a reasonable arrangement are proffered by one party, and are
refused by the other, the natural corollary would appear to be that the originator
of the proposal should reserve to himself the right to protect by whatever
means may be at his disposal the interests which he has endeavoured to conserve
by friendly co-operation; and should meet what would m such a case be
conscious aggression on the one side by retaliation on the other.
63. In any case, however, though still more in the case of a failure to
arrive at an understanding with Russia, we conceive that it is incumbent upon
Her Maiesty’s Government and upon the Government of Infba to come to an
early decision upon the subsidiary question, raised by Sir M. Durand, namely,
as to the steps that require forthwith to be taken in order to safeguard British
and Indian interests in the so-called British sphere in Persia from the competi
tion with which we have shown them to lie threatened.
64. Sir M. Durand, in his despatch, has made a calculation of the sums
annually expended by Her Majesty’s Government and the Government of
India respectively upon the British establishments at present maintained in
Persia. He arrives at a grand total of £38,470 per annum distributed in the
following proportions: Her Majesty’s Government,* £14,376; Government of
India, £24,094. Inasmuch as these figures are not, in all respects, correct,
and as they omit several items of charge for which Indian revenues are respon
sible, we have made an independent computation, which is here presented, for
purposes of comparison in tabular form. In a further column we present the
charges also borne by the Government of India and Her Majesty’s Government
* That is £12,876 + £1,500 on account of travelling allowances.