'Memorandum respecting the Claim of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam-ship Company to use Barges on those Rivers as a matter of "right"' [‎103r] (14/18)

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•Euphrates and .Tigris Company
June 12, 1880.
Mr. Goschen, June 17, 1880.
To Mr. Goschen, June 19, 1880.
Mr. Goschen, No. 6 ;j
June 10, 1880.
Euphrates and Tigris Company,
June 26, 1880.
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method of towmg the barges was adopted in place
of the primitive custom of tracking hitherto in
vogue,
Mr. Goschen was thereupon instructed to ask for
an explanation from the Porte with respect to the
alleged temporary nature of the permission for
navigation thus granted, and to use his best endea
vours to prevent its withdrawal, if such a step were
contemplated, pending the discussion on the subject
between the two Governments.
It may here be mentioned that the result of the
barges resuming w r ork was that the price of wheat
in Bagdad fell 25 per cent.
On the 17th June Mr. Goschen sent the following
telegram to Lord Granville :—
" Please ask Company in London whether per
mission to use barges is claimed as a right or asked
for as a favourto which the following reply was
returned:—
tc Her Majesty's Government regard permission
to use barges as a right; but if you are in doubt as
to facts of the case, consult Consul-General at
Bagdad."
The instructions given by the Porte to the Vali
were to withdraw the prohibition on barges being
towed during the continuance of the famine j but
the Euphrates and Tigris Company stated in a
subsequent letter that u they had, on very good
authority, the confirmation of their right to employ
iron and steel barges, and to have them towed by
steamers on the Tigris and Euphrates," but they
did not state what that authority was.
On the 16th December, however, Assim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
sent a note to Mr. St. John, in answer to
Mr. Goschen's inquiries respecting Messrs. Lynch's
position on the Mesopotamian rivers, in which he
said :—
" La navigation de TEuphrate n'est point ouverte
aux pavilions etrangers, et que c'est en vertu d'un
Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). special qu'il a ete concede a MM. Lynch
de faire naviguer deux bateaux a vapeur sur ce
fleuve.
" Aux termes de ce Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). MM. Lynch ne
peuvent pas augmenter leur materiel flottant; c'est
en raison des circonstances extraordinaires et de la
crise que traversaient les contrees environnantes
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