Vol 193: 1854/55 Persia; General [66v] (138/162)
The record is made up of 1 volume (79 folios). It was created in 20 Jan 1854-20 Feb 1855. 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
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[ 642 j
were unsuitable to the rooms of this country. I may also adduce the numerous imitations of
Indian fabrics in the fashions of the day, and what is still more to the purpose, that from the
&reat admnatiou elicited for Indian manufactures, Messrs. Kisdell aud Ashcombe were induced
to order a quantity of goods of different kinds from India, for sale iu this country, and have
established a depot for the sale of such goods. With regard to the great admiration excited
bv the Indian carpets at the Lixhihition, I may mention that having' lately visited a gentle
man, who has just built-a new house, and had it furnished by Webb, of Bond Street, I saw
ludirin caipet^, apparently of Mirzapore nianufacture, in the dravvinrr rn mrm ; while,Mr.
Williams, the Superintendent of the Sehool HTrlhe Reform of Thugs at Jubbulpore, informs
me that Jlessrs. Watson and Bell, of Bond Street, have agreed to take as many carpets of
Indian patterns as lie can make. This is important, as India does not afford a sufficient
domand for the suppoit of the School as far as the*carpet-makers are concerned.
It is from a consideration of these facts that I entertain no doubt of the advantage to
the Natives of India of their displaying the results of their taste and skill in a fresh field,
especially as it is one where their excellences will be so readily appreciated, and one with
which there are already considerable commercial relations, susceptible of still greater exten
sion, and where also it will be gratifying to the Exhibitors to know that their merits, as he
pi onuses, will be watched over by the Baron Dupin himself, and recognised in a more
liberal spirit than in the Exhibition of 1851.
Assuming it as desirable that India should contribute to the Paris Exhibition, the next
point to consider is, how this can best be effected. The Society of Arts having attempted
to induce Native manufacturers and European merchants in India to contribute on their
own account to the Indian Exhibition which they propose to have held in London during
the past season, it would be useless to rely on a similar plan, as few sent contributions from
India. Hence it would appear incumbent on the Government of India to adopt measures
similar to those jo^successtul Oil the hisr nee.ision. and-wkw4> sppm t.n ho
to the present state of India and its inhabitants.
In adopting such a course it is necessary to consider the expense which must necessarily
be incurred, but this I believe need be much less than would appear credible. From the
experience which I had at the last Exhibition, as well as at the Indian Sale, I am of opinion
that such an Exhibition may be made, nearly, to pay its own expenses. This I say after
having compared the prices at which the several articles were brought and sold, arid the
sum total which was realized after the separation from the collection of the whole of the raw
products, tools, models, and the articles for the Museum, as well as the presents for Her
Majesty. It would be unnecessary to have a fresh collection of raw products, of tools, of
models of shipping, &c., many of which were bulky, aud cost much in freight. A much
smaller space would probably be allotted to India, a less numerous staff would therefore be
sufficient, and the Police or Soldiers would probably be supplied by the French Government,
while the double payment for the Custom House inspection could easily be avoided. Fur-
ther, by confining the selection to such articles as were most admired, and do most credit to
Indian taste and i?kill, as well as by multiplying the smaller articles for which good prices
were realized, and which by their greater number would produce as good an effect as fewer
of the laige and least saleable products, I am of opinion that a sufficient sum could be
realized by a judrcsmi3 sale tu jm y « gitui ji.-uot~Uie vdi«i^^T^lTT(r&rpcnses of strch an
Exhibition. It is not probably necessary to enter into the details of the arrangement, but if
required, I could.prepare such instructions as would bring together a collection such as
would be creditable both to the Government and people of India. It might also be as effective
and moit instinctive, even if moie compact, from our increased experience and greater time
for preparation, and at the same time more directly beneficial to the Native Artists and
Merchants. For in the first place it would be essential for each article sent to be accurately
labelled in India, not only with the name of the article, but also with that of the manufac
turer or merchant from whom it was purchased. This, I believe, would have the
advantage, if at the same time the prices of the goods were made known, that many orders
would be scut diiect to India, and thus be directly beneficial to the producers. I believe.
About this item
- Content
This file consists of letters sent from and to the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire. The two officials corresponding on behalf of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. are Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Herbert Frederick Disbrowe, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , who is stated as being in charge of local duties at Bushire.
The file is divided into two sections: '1854/55: Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , Persia' (folios 1A-50), and '1854/55 Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , General' (folios 51-77). A large proportion of the first section of the file consists of letters written from the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. to William Taylour Thomson, Her Britannic Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at the Court of Persia, Tehran. This section also contains one letter addressed by William Taylour Thomson to the Resident.
Other figures engaged in correspondence with the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. include: Meerza [Mirza] Reza, Persian Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Mirza Hassan Ally Khan (also spelled Meerza Hussein Ali Khan), Governor of Bushire (also referred to as the Durya Begee). Most of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. 's correspondence with the Governor of Bushire is enclosed within the letters addressed to William Taylour Thomson. These letters, and their enclosures, primarily concern two subjects: the Governor of Bushire's proposal to erect a bastion in front of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. (deemed unnecessary by the Resident); the reported oppression and molestation, by some of the Governor of Bushire's sirbaz [foot soldiers], of British dependents connected with the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. (particular attention is given to an incident in which a sirbaz allegedly mistreated a waterman employed by the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. ).
Other subjects covered in the first section include the liberation of slaves imported from Africa into various ports in the Gulf, and relations between the British and the Persians.
The second (and smaller) section of the file contains the Resident's correspondence with the following British officials: Edward Eden Elliot, Accountant General at the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. ; John George Taylor, Her Majesty's Consul and Honourable Company Agent, Bussorah [Basra]; Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 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. in Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. and Her Majesty's Consul General, Baghdad; Lieutenant Edward Francis Tierney Fergusson, Indian Naval Draughtsman. Kemball's correspondence with Rawlinson, which makes up the bulk of this section, discusses aspects of the Crimean War, including the Russian army's operations in Armenia and the state of the Turkish [Ottoman] army.
Also included in this section are the following items of printed material: papers issued by the Foreign Office entitled 'Part IV, Eastern Papers: Instructions of the British and French Governments for the Joint Protection of British and French Subjects and Commerce'; a notification from the Bombay Government concerning the appointment of a central committee to arrange the collection and eventual transmission to England of selected specimens of the raw produce and manufactures of India (included in this document is a list of articles deemed desirable for the Paris Exhibition of 1855).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (79 folios)
- Arrangement
The letters in the first section of the file (folios 1A-51) generally proceed in chronological order from 29 March 1854 to 16 November 1854. However, the various enclosures within letters naturally pre-date the letters to which they are attached. Aside from these exceptions, there is one stand-alone letter, dated 20 February 1855, which is out of sequence with the rest of the file.
The second section of the file (folios 51-77) generally proceeds from early to late 1854; however, it is not in strict chronological order: many of the items are followed by those of an earlier date.
- Physical characteristics
Pagination: There is an original pagination sequence, which is written in ink, in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos.
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. This sequence begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 78. The following anomalies are present in the sequence: f 1 is followed by f 1A and f 1B; f 36 is followed by f 36A. The foliation sequence is the sequence which is used by this catalogue to reference items within in the file.
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/142
- Title
- Vol 193: 1854/55 Persia; General
- Pages
- 61r:68v
- Author
- Bombay Government Gazette
- Usage terms
- Public Domain