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'Navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates by British Merchant-Vessels' [‎109v] (7/14)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (5 folios). It was created in 5 May 1881. It was written in English and French. 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. .

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•7/™ Annlnis aui ont Vautorisation de
remphcer U ' Comet,' un des deux bateaux sous pamllon Ang ■ q
naviguer sur le ditfleuve." ViPthpr Aali Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. quoted correctly the Enghs erno-
I have no means of knowing whether Aah m c ^ paragraphs of his
randum, bat it will be obv^ns from ' e ^^ ^r misr epresent the true posit.on
despatch, that the words which I have itahcizeo 0
of affairs. Aali Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. 's note proceeds,, t isation accord^ £l cet effet comporte^
" Vons savez, M. le Charge <1 ;He .'' , ;nrnnv ' n i ents locanx seraient signals dans s!^
outre la reserve stip.ulee pour le cas on » . des bateaux a vapeur destines acette
mise a exe'cution, la condition expresse <iue le no anjourd'hui de remplacer un
navigation sera definitivement fixe ^ deux Co ~ J de Bagdad a reou Vordre
des deux bateaux qui font deja le service, ^ condition que celui qn'il est destine
de ne pas s'opposer a 1'arrivee du nouveaa ba eau ^condiU^^q ^e^e l ucun bateau 4
a remplacer quitte immediatement le fleuvc 'f nui sont au torise's ne puissent stationner
vapcur sous pavilion stranger en dehors des deux qui sont "
ou circuler dans les eaux du susdit euve. ry ^ recites as applicable to merchant-
Your Excellency will perceive that A f./f ^ichrelates solely to the
steamers on the Tigris conditions con aine " . of the British Government,
navigation of the Euphrates by two steamers i ] P nointed out that the " Dijleh,"
17. Colonel Kemball, in commentmg upcnf ^ f Com pany,
which had been constructed for the Euphrates and and ^ o™ Stea o di t h . boat
could not have been intended to replace the " Comet, which was an armed a 1
belonging to the British Government. . «Pnmpf• , ' temDorarily for the
Permission was accordingly obtained to retain the Come temporaruy o
protection of the working parties ^ m c o^
feci established thatTwas L anned vessel belonging to the British Government and not
not arfed nnon at the time, but it has since been renewed. t
18. In 1874 Lynch and Co. applied on behalf of the Euphrates and ligns ^ cam
Navigation Company to replace the "City of London/' which would be turned into a
store-ship, by a new steamer. Immediately advantage was taken of this request to revive
the old theorv that the British Government and the above-mentioned Company were
identical, that only two steamers carrying the British flag were allowed on the Tigris, and
that owing to the presence at one time of the "Comet, the City of London, t e
" Dijleh," and a small steam-launch, the authorized number had been exceeded, and that,
consequently, compliance with the Company s application was out of the question.
Colonel Herbert, to whom this note from the Porte was referred for verification,
explained once more the real position of the <( Comet," and disposed of various other
mis-statements which the note contained.t
These explanations were accepted, and the status of the " Comet was once again
clearly defined in Sir Henry Elliot's despatch dated the 29th May, and in Safvet Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. 's
note dated the 31st March, 1875. But the old mistake was repeated, that the Euphrates
and Tigris Steam Navigation Company ran their steamers on the Tigris under a special
Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). & granted to Messrs. Lynch and Co., which limited,, the number of vessels to two
steamers.
19. The propositions which I venture to think are established by the correspondence
dealt with in the preceding paragraphs are:—
* (1.) That the British Government has, under the Firmans of 1834 and 1841, which
have been confirmed by the Vizirial letters of January 1861 and July 1862, the right,
subject to certain specified conditions, to navigate the River Euphrates with two steamers
" for the purpose of trade."
(2.) That under the arrangements of 1846, also confirmed in the Vizirial letters of
1861 and 1862, British merchants are at liberty to navigate the Tigris and the Euphrates
under the British flag and without any restriction as to the number or description of the
vessels employed, subject only to the payment of the stipulated dues.
(5.) That the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company, represented bv
Lynch and Co., have no Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). granting them an exclusive privilege to navigate the
Tigris with two, and only two, steamers. Their rights really depend on the arrangement
of 1846, and, so far, are neither greater nor less than those which may be claimed by any
British merchant.
20. I now come to the correspondence of 1880, which has led to the revival of the
* See from Ambassador, March 12, 1874. t Ambassador, January 8, 1874.

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Content

This file contains a selection of correspondence related to the right of British Merchant-Vessels to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This correspondence is primarily between British officials but also includes copies of letters between Ottoman officials including one letter in French (ff 110r-111).

Extent and format
1 volume (5 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 107, and terminates at f 112, as it is part of a larger physical volume, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 5-128; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'Navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates by British Merchant-Vessels' [‎109v] (7/14), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B78, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023627062.0x000009> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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