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File 897/1912 Pt 3 ‘Persian Gulf:- British post offices’ [31r] (66/684)
The record is made up of 1 volume (336 folios). It was created in 1920-1922. 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. .
Transcription
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Dated Bushire, the 25th September 1921.
ip rom _The Joint General Manager, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Limited, Strick
Scott and Company, Limited, Managing Agents,
To The
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, Bushire.
In reply to your telegram* No. 1563 (confirmation copy attached) I have the
*Not received. honour to offer the following observations :—
f-
1. As regards Maidan-i-Naftan. Under no circumstances could the Anglo-
Persian Oil Company agree to the transfer to the Persian Post Office of the present
Indian Post Office. The Company have, as explained in previous years, the strong
est objection on political and general grounds to the existence on the Maidan-i-
Naftan Oil Field, their private property, of subordinate Persian officials, and there
is every reason to believe that their objections would be shared to the full by the
Bakhtiari Khans.
2. As regards Ahwaz, there can scarcely be any question of handing over the
existing Indian Post Office to the Persian Post Office. The building is rented
temporarily ; the staff would not remain, and the Persian Government’s Post
Office could not, in the absence of an agreement with the Indian Post Office, take
over the most important part of the work from the point of view of this Company,
viz., V.-P. P., S. B., and M. 0. work.
3. The question at issue therefore appears to be whether or not the Indian
Post Offices at Maidan-i-Naftan and Ahwaz can be closed without grave detriment
to the interests of this Company.
4. On this subject I beg to submit the following remarks
(a) The staff of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Maidan-i-Naftan consists
of about 200 British and 3,000 British Indian subjects and this number
is constantly increasing. I believe that this is a larger number than
is served by any two Indian Post Offices in the Gulf.
(b) The number of Anglo-Persian Oil Company employees at Ahwaz is about
100 and some 500 British Indian subjects. To this must be added
the British and British Indian community not members of the staff of
this Company : this again is a considerably greater number than is
served by any Gulf Office except Mohammerah and Bushire.
(c) For six years at Ahwaz and for four years at the Fields these communi
ties have enjoyed the advantages of immunity from delayed letters and
thefts and of a definite Postal address : of a regular Mail service,
both parcel and letter, V.-P. P., S. B., and M. O. facilities. In this
connection it will be remembered that the Persian Post Office have
no facilities for handling parcels above Mohammerah and no Parcel
post agreement with foreign Ports, nor any 4 M. 0., S. B., or \. P. P.
service.
(d) The figures of M. 0. business through these two Post Offices are not
available at the moment but I understand that they jointly amount to
something like Rs. 30,000 a month— sometimes much more. These
Post Offices would therefore presumably be a source of profit to the
Government of India if taken over.
ie) I understand that the Government of India had actuall} agreed to start
a Post Office at Ahwaz before the War and only technical difficulties
prevented its establishment in 1913 or 1914.
(f) The Persian Post Office used to send their Mails by runner to Ahwaz, and
still do so : the Indian Post Office Mails could not be carried thus,
but it is not likely that for a long time to come the Persian Post
Office could be induced to initiate proper arrangements.
(q) The main reason, apart from the inefficiency of the Central Government,
why the Persian Post Offices in the Gulf have always been bad is
that it has been impossible to induce educated and competent
Persians from Central Persia to make their homes in the Gulf. This
difficulty is as great now as ever.
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises copies of correspondence, telegrams, handwritten notes and other papers. They relate to negotiations between the British Government, the Government of India, and the Persian Government, over the status of British Indian post offices in south Persia, which took place before, during, and after the Congress of the Universal Postal Union, held in Madrid in November 1920. The volume’s principal correspondents include: the British Ambassador to Madrid (Sir Esme Howard); the Persian Minister to Madrid (Hussein Khan Alai); 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. staff (David Taylor Monteath; Leonard Day Wakely; John Evelyn Shuckburgh); Foreign Office officials (including Lancelot Oliphant); the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs in India (Geoffrey R Clarke); and the British Minister at Tehran (Herman Cameron Norman; Sir Percy Lyham Loraine).
The correspondence centres on a threat by Persian Government officials to raise an official objection against the continued presence in Persia of British Indian post offices at the Madrid Congress. British Government officials were anxious to avoid such a move, fully appreciating the ‘anomalous’ position of their Persian post offices under the regulations of the Universal Postal Union. The correspondence indicates the Government of India’s amenability to handing over certain postal operations to the Persian authorities (folio 251), and the concerns held by many in the British Government over such a prospect (ff 288-289), not least their doubts over whether the Persian authorities could run an efficient postal service themselves.
The volume includes:
- a commentary of proceedings at the Madrid Congress, including copies of the speeches given by Persian ministers (ff 247-249), description of their reception (f 251), and a printed copy of the Madrid Convention (ff 143-158);
- correspondence relating to the impact of changes in Anglo-Persian relations (after the 1921 coup d’état in Persia) on Persian demands for the abolition of British Indian post offices in Persia (ff 217-218);
- throughout 1921, continued demands from the Persian Government for the transfer of British Indian post offices to Persian control, and in particular those now under (post-war) Mesopotamian administration (Abadan and Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]) and the post office at Ahwaz [Ahvāz];
- from January 1922, debate amongst British officials (Government of India, the Minister in Tehran, Foreign Office, 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. ) and negotiations between British and Persian Government officials over arrangements for the transfer of British Indian postal services in Persia to Persian administration, with a view to the transfer taking place on 1 January 1922. Included is a copy in French of the agreement between British and Persian officials for the proposed transfer, dated 5 January 1922 (ff 54-57), discussion relating to the importance of sustaining a postal service for areas serving the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) oil fields, and reports of the dismissal of the Director of the Persian postal service (Camille Molitor) in March 1922, causing consternation amongst British officials (ff 47-49, ff 84-91);
- British officials’ examination of events at the Washington Conference (1921/1922), which provided an analogous diplomatic situation to their own (negotiations for the withdrawal of United States post offices from China) (ff 81-83);
- the British Government’s assent, in April/May 1922, to the abolition or transfer to the Persian authorities of its post offices in Persia and Arabistan (ff 20-22, ff 66-70).
Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (336 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 897 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. : British Post Offices) consists of 4 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/242-245. The volumes are divided into 4 parts with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 42-62 and ff 217-321; these numbers are written in blue crayon.
Pagination: a original printed pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 143-158.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 897/1912 Pt 3 ‘Persian Gulf:- British post offices’ [31r] (66/684), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/244, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026096501.0x000043> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/244
- Title
- File 897/1912 Pt 3 ‘Persian Gulf:- British post offices’
- Pages
- 31r:31v
- Author
- Anglo-Persian Oil Company
- Copyright
- ©BP is believed to be the rightsholder
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence