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'File 1/50 Office Routine' [30v] (60/206)
The record is made up of 1 file (103 folios). It was created in 31 Jan 1945-27 Nov 1950. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
1 ' (ii) IMMEDIATE. To be used only in cases of great urgency
when immediate action by a responsible officer is necessary.
(iii) PRIORITY. To be used for any other telegrams which
require urgent treatment. This prefix is sufficient to secure
priority in handling over all other classes of telegrams
except " safety of life " telegrams and categories (i) and (ii)
above.
• (iv) ROUTINE, i .e., ordinary telegrams which are transmitted
in turn with ordinary private telegrams, unless they are
specially marked in the appropriate panel on the draft (see
paragraph 10).
(v) DEFERRED telegrams are those for which a period of up
to 48 hours may be allowed in transmission (including
encyphering and decyphering). See also paragraph 8.
' 3. The main purpose of the division into five categories is to
ensure proper treatment by—
{a) communications, sections and registries;
{b) the British public and the Services telegraph systems; and
(c) authorities to whom telegrams are addressed.
The first three categories are also taken into account by Cable and
Wireless, Limited, and may later be recognised by some foreign
systems.
4. Originators drafting or authorising telegrams should not
ask for any category of priority unless it is essential. In ordinary
circumstances, the great majority of Government telegrams should
be sent in the ROUTINE or DEFERRED categories, which rank
for transmission with private full rate telegrams over the public
telegraph system.
5. In particular, it is imperative that the utmost discretion
should be used before authorising the use of " EMERGENCY."
In the past the precedences " MOST IMMEDIATE" and
" IMMEDIATE " have been very largely abused. It is intended
that the new categories " EMERGENCY " and " IMMEDIATE "
should be regarded as definitely higher than the old, and that they
should be much less freely used.
6. If some degree of precedence is essential, the marking
" PRIORITY " should in the great majority of cases be sufficient.
The tendency of originators of telegrams to over-estimate the
urgency of their messages must be resisted, as must any attempt
to relate urgency to the importance of a subject and the level at
which it is being considered. The abuse of priority markings
defeats its own object by producing congestion and false rush
periods which impose unnecessary pressure at each point on the
line of communication. A factor which originators often overlook
is the time differences between the various parts of the world and
the necessity for taking them into consideration must therefore be
emphasised.
About this item
- Content
The file relates to office procedure, and changes to office procedure following transfer of supervisory responsibility to the Foreign Office.
The papers include a set of notes entitled 'Office Routine', compiled by the officiating Head Clerk of the British 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. , Bushire, which give guidance on the treatment of all forms of correspondence, registration, filing, referencing, the administrative structure of the Bushire office, mails and telegrams, records, noting and drafting, typing section, forms of letters and memoranda, duties of the Telegram Clerk, and duties of the Despatch clerk, with covering letter suggesting that the notes should be circulated among staff at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Bahrain, January 1945.
The file also contains papers relating to specimen forms and letters, April 1948; papers concerning the replacement by the Foreign Office of certain obsolete types of correspondence, September 1948; papers concerning terms to be used in establishing telegraphic priorities, May to June 1949; letter to the Foreign Office concerning the administrative workload of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 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. , Bahrain, August 1949; papers concerning Foreign Office instructions on the use of abbreviations in official documents, including telegrams, August 1949; correspondence from the British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Sharjah on how to address certain Foreign Office departments, and the reorganisation of the Sharjah Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. 's filing system, October and November 1949; papers concerning regulations for the sending of telegrams, December 1949 to April 1950; correspondence from Cable and Wireless Limited, giving regulations and rates for telegrams, June to December 1950; correspondence concerning Foreign Office instructions laying down official spellings for Kuwait and Bahrain, and the use by the British 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. , Bahrain of the Hunterian system for the transliteration of Arabic words and names, with the exception of Muscat and Oman, June to August 1950; and correspondence concerning the telegraphic address of the British Agent, Gwadur [Gwadar], November 1950.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (103 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers (red for received correspondence; blue/black for issued correspondence) refer to entries in the notes at the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 1 on the front cover, and continues through to 103 on the back cover. The sequence is written in pencil, enclosed in a circle, and appears in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'File 1/50 Office Routine' [30v] (60/206), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1046, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026334948.0x00003d> [accessed 18 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/1046
- Title
- 'File 1/50 Office Routine'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:58v, 61r:68v, 72r:75v, 78v:102v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence