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Printed copies of letters from Sir Henry Willock to successive British Foreign Secretaries discussing the situation in Persia. [7r] (13/14)
The record is made up of 1 file (7 folios). It was created in 01 Dec 1838-04 Sep 1841. It was written in English. 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.
( 13 )
embarrassment, by striking at the root of the evil, in disconnecting ourselves from the affairs
of Afghanistan.
Our Establishments in all branches have necessarily of late been much encreased. The
Surgical and Ecclesiastical departments have been strengthened; the Marine has been much
enlarged, and in the most expensive branch of that armament in steam vessels; we have
encreased the numerical strength of the Officers of our Artillery; and our Native Army has
received additions, and still is not efficient to the extent designed, from so many of its
European Officers being employed on civil duties.
I know no points on which any great diminution of expenditure may be looked for,
except in the evacuation of the Island of Karrack, which is a necessary consequence of a
renewal of friendly relations with the Court of Persia; and I cannot pass by tins subject
without remarking how much our credit has sudered by taking possession of it, and ho\\ great
the sacrifice of life and treasure has been in retaining it.
There is one other place, obtained by united fraud and violence, I make use of these
strong expressions advisedly, which it would be extremely desirable to givo up, I allude
to Aden. This port in the Red Sea is garrisoned by a battalion of European Infantry, by a
battalion of Native Infantry, a proportion of Artillery, who are always kept on the alert
by the interminable restlessness of the Arabs to recover their country from the hands of
foreigners; and the Garrison are provisioned and supplied with fruit and vegetables, and
the cattle with provender from Bombay. This place is only useful as a coal depot, and the
Arab Governor was ready to permit of our making use of his Port for that purpose, which
arrangement may still be resorted to with honor and credit. The correspondence regard-
inf* the capture of this place was published by parliament. The subject attracted the
attention of Lord Lyndhurst, who, at the close of a session, asked Lord Melbourne for the
treaty by which it was ceded to us. The Noble Lord replied, that there could be no
objection to laying the treaty before the House, and the matter was not again mooted.
The real fact is, that no treaty was ever contracted. This place is at present maintained
at an expence not far short of £100,000 per annum, under the stigma of violated
rights, calling on us the imprecations of the united population of Arabia, whereas it may be
used as a coal depot under the sanction of the Arab Government at a very small cost.
There are two protests on record at the
Board of Control
Formally known as the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India, it was established by an Act of Parliament in 1784 to supervise the activities of the East India Company.
by Members of the Court of
East India Directors against the violent usurpation of Aden;—one is a most able and dispas
sionate examination of the case, by that great sage on questions of Oriental policy, that highly
respected gentleman lately deceased, Mr. Ldmonstone ; the other is by myself, a plain exposi
tion of facts, which has not however the merit of being unimpassioned because I felt strongly
indignant at the injury inflicted on British honour, but I will venture to say that it does not
contain a single circumstance in any way exaggerated, nor a single strained conclusion : I
may also state that my report was first drawn up, and was not perused by Mr. Edmonstone
until he had formed his own conclusions; for he determined to examine the case without being
influenced by my opinions.
I have entered on practicable points of diminished expenditure, in order to shew their
insufficiency in releasing us from financial embarrassment which unquestionably arises from
our trans-Indus operations. That sudden retreat from Afghanistan is impracticable I am free
to admit; but if it is acknowledged that the welfare of the British Empire in India demands
the restriction of our boundary to the East of the Indus, an J if this principle is recognized
and laid down for the direction of future proceedings, I confidently believe that we may
gradually work our way back without compromising national dignity, and to the eventual
restoration of our former prosperity. ti^xtdv wtt t
a HENR\ WILLOCK.
[ *** This Memorandum was sent to Lord Aberdeen nearly four months before the
general outbreak in Afghanistan. ]
About this item
- Content
The printed copies of the letters have been brought together as a booklet giving Sir Henry Willock's thoughts on the situation in Persia from December 1838 to September 1841. Sir Henry Willock had spent 23 years in Persia, 11 of which had been spent superintending British relations with the Court of Persia. The letters that comprise the booklet are as follows:
- Letter to The Right Honorable The Lord Viscount Palmerston, 01 December 1838, outlining the background politics in Persia and in particular with regards to the Kings Of Persias ambitions over the last 30 years to conquer Herat, the view the British Government had taken to such attempts and amibitions in the past and the views of the Sovereign who had mostly recently attempted to annex it. The letter goes on to discuss the line of policy which should now be applied to Persia, particularly in light of the British Government's occupation of the island of Karrack, and Sir Henry Willock's belief that the British now needed to regain the confidence of Persia and should unconditionally retreat from the island. The letter also discusses Russia current aims and intentions with regards to Afghanistan, its own empire, trade with India and the need for the British to check its progress. There is also speculation by Sir Henry as to the British Government's intentions of removing Dost Mohammad Khan from power owing to his decision to ally with the Persians in order to remove a rival from power; thoughts on the difficulties of marching Indian troops through Afghanistan and his opinions on the Shah's rival Runjeet Singh and his conclusions that the safest move for Great Britain is to adhere to its alliance with Persia.
- Memorandum to The Right Honourable Viscount Palmerston, Secretary of State, 4 Feburary 1839 offering his opinions on the effects that the British Mission leaving the Court of Persia would have. The memorandum focuses on the disadvantages of this action including leaving Persia open to occupation by Russia; enabling the Shah to occupy Herat; damaging commercial relations between the two countries; the likelihood of Persia discovering Britain does not have the means to cause injury and cautioning that invasion of Persia would be impractical owing to the difficulty in traversing the passes into the country.
- Memorandum to The Right Honourable The Earl of Aberdeen, Secretary of State, 04 September 1841 regarding his recommendations from 1838 to Viscount Palmerston of maintaining the Persian alliance and abandoning the subjection of Aghanistan and his letter of 1839 following the withdrawal of the British Mission from the Court of Persia and other private remarks since which he has made to the Right Honorable Henry Ellis. The memorandum outlines Willock's opposition to the opinions of Lord Auckland and the intention to place Shah Shuja on the throne at Cabul; his dislike of the news that a secret committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. had taken this decision without consulting the East India Company Board of Directors and his belief that the British's best approach in Persia is to avoid collision and to avoid recommendations eminating from the Court of St. Petersburgh. Willock goes on to consider the benefits of a neutral Afghanistan permitted to remain independent which he views as having been the best solution that the British Government threw out; comparing the British position in Afghanistan to the French position in Algeria; considering the potential threats to Punjab of viewing Herat as an enemy; the risk of war with Russia; the need to ensure secession is not regarded as an evil of great magnitude; financial difficulties in India; the cost of war in Afghanistan and the need to retreat from the island of Karrack if friendly relations with Persia are to be restored. Towards the end of the memorandum Willock diverges from Persia to discuss the port of Aden which he believes is only useful as a coal depot and that it should be given up as a way of saving money.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (7 folios)
- Arrangement
The copies of letters have been printed in the booklet in date order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The file has been foliated in the front top right hand corner of each folio with a pencil number enclosed with a circle.
The file also contains original pagination 2-13 which starts on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of the first folio and concludes on the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the final folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Printed copies of letters from Sir Henry Willock to successive British Foreign Secretaries discussing the situation in Persia. [7r] (13/14), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/18, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023190383.0x00000e> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/18
- Title
- Printed copies of letters from Sir Henry Willock to successive British Foreign Secretaries discussing the situation in Persia.
- Pages
- 1r:7v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence