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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎88r] (184/799)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (391 folios). It was created in 1908-1910. 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. .

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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic ^Majesty's Government ]
<) t
BAGDAD RAILWAY.
A / , y \
[March 5.]
SECRET.
xA APR isio -
VA ' aN/
XM/
Section 1.
[7681]
No. l

Sir H. Llewellyn Smith to Sir G. Hardmge.—(Received March 5.)
Dear Hardmge, ^ ^ Board of Trade, March 4, 1910.
l^LiiiAbJii excuse my delay in replying to your letter, but I have only just
had an opportunity of discussing Sir Edward Grey’s memorandum about Bagdad with
Mr. Buxton.
I now enclose a copy of my minute to which you refer. Mr. Churchill was in
agreement with it, and Mr. Buxton authorises me to say that, so far as he is able to
judge from the cursory examination which is all that he has been able to give to the
question, he concurs in the views expressed.
Yours very truly,
H. LLEWELLYN SMITH.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Minute by Sir H. Llewellyn Smith on Bagdad Railway Negotiations.
The President,
IF the present negotiations are fruitless, we may, of course, have to cast about for
an alternative solution, and I admit that the situation is very difficult and complicated,
but, unless there are some considerations which have not been fully revealed to us at
the Board of Trade, I see no sufficient ground at present for any substantial modification
of the position which we have taken up, as set out in our recent letter to the Foreign
Office.
Shortly stated, our position is this : We assume as an axiom (which we have no
means of criticising) that, for reasons of high policy, means have to be found to
prevent the Germans from completing their railway to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . As they
are under contract to build such a railway, there are only two courses possible :—
1. To thwart them by making it impossible for the Turks to supply the necessary
funds, or by obtaining a rival concession which will make the German line
unprofitable ; or
2. To come to terms (a) with the Germans to obtain from them their concession so
far as concerns the southern section of the railway, and (b) with the Turks to modify the
terms of the concession in any way that appears desirable.
We have no means of judging how far course (l) is permanently possible, but I
should doubt if it can be ultimately successful, and it seems likeiy that German
influence will at least be strong enough, playing on Turkish susceptibilities, to make it
impossible for us to obtain a new concession for a rival line. If this be so (and on this
point our knowledge of the situation is necessarily very imperfect) we can only proceed
on the lines of (2).
(2.) It is, I think, necessary to keep perfectly distinct in our minds the transaction
with the Germans and the transaction with the Turks, although there might be
considerable advantage if it were possible to conduct the double negotiation
simultaneously;—
(a.) The Germans can, of course, only put us in possession of what they have
to sell, viz., a concession based upon kilometric guarantees. All we can arrange with
them is—
1. The terms as to payment or share of control on which they will part with the
concession for the southern section ; and
2. An undertaking not to oppose any agreement between us and the Turks to vary
the conditions of the concession so transferred.
It is obviously useless for us to raise with the Germans the question of kilometric
guarantees. On the other hand, it ought, I think, to be clear that, by stipulating with
[2684 e—1]

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1903-1907.

The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for the international negotiations over the development of a railway to Baghdad in particular.

Further discussion surrounds the motivations and strategies of British competitors in the area; included in the volume are four maps.

The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Lord Lansdowne, Sir Edward Grey), His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas O'Connor), the Under Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir Thomas Henry Sanderson), and for India (Earl Percy, Sir Arthur Godley), the Viceroy of India (Lord Curzon of Keddleston), the Secretary to the Political and Secret Department of the 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. (Sir Richmond Richie) and the London Manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia (George Newell).

Extent and format
1 volume (391 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 2764 (Bagdad Railway) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/56-60. The volumes are divided into five parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 392; 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 329-358; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover.

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English in Latin script
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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎88r] (184/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492731.0x0000b9> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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