'Mesopotamia' [‎21r] (41/152)

Mesopotamia]
-NAVIGATION
31
monopoly of a new Ottoman Company, with a British
chairman recommended by the British Government. 1
An Anglo-Turkish Convention was also signed at
London on July 29, 1913, for the establishment of a
Commission to improve the conditions of navigation on
the Shatt el-Arab. This river maxks the boundary
between Turkey and Persia, the whole waterway being
de jure within Turkish limits; the Sheikh oi
Muhammera has always exercised a de facto jurisdic
tion on its waters; and by the Treaty of Erzerum in
1847 Persian ships were guaranteed freedom of navi
gation. The approaches and upper reaches of the
river have been charted and periodically surveyed by
British agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , which has also been responsible for the
maintenance of buoys to mark tiie channel across the
bar. In 1912, 90 per cent, of the ocean-going vessels
were British; Germany was represented by 12 steam
ships, Russia by 5, and France by 1. The proposed
Commission was to consist of two members, one oi
whom should be British; the engineer-in-chief and the
inspector of the river were also to be of British nation
ality. The Shatt el-Arab was to remain open to the
vessels of all nations on terms of equality; no dues were
to be levied for navigation, but only in payment of
services rendered. The terms of the Convention met
with no opposition on the part of the interested
Powers, whose acouiescence was obtained.
{h) Railway Communication. —At the time of
Colonel Chesney's expedition to Mesopotamia the ques
tion'of railway communication between the Mediter
ranean and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. was much discussed in
England. The Euphrates Valley Railwav Company
was formed in 1856, and obtained in the following year
general concession for the construction of a railway
between Suedia (Alexandretta) and Basra. Without
a guarantee, however, which neither the Imperial nor
the Indian Government felt justified in giving, British
canitalists hesitated to support the enterprise, and no
further steps were taken; though the acquisition o1
1 For detflils nf this agrefttnent-, see below, p. 100.