File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎271r] (552/799)

From— Lieuten/vnt-Colonel J. Ramsay, C.I.E., 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 Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
and His Britannic Majesty’s Consul-General, Baghdad,
To—S. H. Butler, Esq., C.S.I., C.I.E., Secretary to the Government of India in
the Foreign Department, Calcutta.
I have the honour to submit, for the information of the Government of India,
a copy of my despatch No. 251—25, dated 10th March 1909, which I have
addressed to His Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador at Constantinople.
I have the honour to lay before Your Excellency my opinion of the need
Baghdad and the Mediterranean Sea.
2. If the new Government of Turkey wishes really to improve the admin
istration of the country, it is essential that the finances should be placed in a
more satisfactory condition and the engagement of Sir Will am Willcocks, with
a considerable staff of Engineers, appears to show that the authorities at
Constantinople are alive to the fact that the remedy for the impoverished state
of the Treasury is to be found in the irrigation of the fertile plains of Mesopotamia.
Already the lack of means of communication acts as a serious deterrent to the
development of the country, for when the condition of t\e market is such that
the cultivating classes might fairly hope to make a handsome profit, they find
either that they cannot get their produce out of the country, or that the steamer
Companies take the lion’s share of the profit. In 1908 there were large stocks
of grain in the country, prices were high in London, and there was a famine in
India. At the same time the tribes on the Lower Tigris were disturbed and the
river was not safe for sailing craft, consequently the steamer freights rose
until the Turkish steamers were getting 40 shillings a ton for carrying
wheat from Baghdad to Basrah, while at the same time Lynch’s
steamers were charging 33-4 a ton. Even at these prices the steamer offices
were besieged by people for space in the steamers. The result was that the
entire advantage of the state of the market was taken by the Steamer Companies.
As long as this state of things is possible, it is not likely that cultivation for ex
port will largely increase. I find from page 233 of Mr. Lloyds’ report that the
average value of the trade of Baghdad with Europe and America for the years
1902 to 1906 was as quoted below
Imports .. •• •• •• •• £1,404,794
Exports .. • • • • • • • • .. £602,495
and I find from Consular Trade Reports that the average rate of freight during
the same period between the United Kingdom and Baghdad was—
It is questionable whether these rates are ever likely to be reduced by any
material amount. The British River Steamer Company, I am informed, only
declares a dividend of 12% (I must confess that I find this difficult to understand),
and a shrewd man of business, who has been many years in Baghdad, tells me that
he doubts if the present rates can be profitably reduced, bee., use when harvests
are bad, or when all export of grain is prohibited, the steamers practically get
no cargo on the downward journey. As regards Sea Steamer Companies, all
authorities seem to agree that the Hamburg-American Line has been losing money
on its Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. service, and the British Steamer Companies have been urging
(Copy.)
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. and Consulate General,
Baghdad, \(Uh March 1909.
Sir,
for early consideration of the question of railway communication between
For Imports.
For Exports.
River freight
Sea freight
£. s. d.
2 5 0
1 12 9
£. s. d.
1 1 10 £
1 4 8
Total
3 17 9
2 6 41
Insurance, W.P.A. .. 1 to 1^%
abo ut 1
13 F.D.