File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎272r] (554/799)

-Germans have preferential rights; (c) the area which Sir William Willcocks thinks
most likely to be irrigated; (d) the line which I suggest as a basis of discussion.
It will be necessary to discuss various parts of the railway lines separately, but
* P er haps^ be convenient if I first notice the earlier correspondence regard'
mg he Euphrates Valley Railway, which i» available for reference at Baghdad.
a lorS 1 ? rec ord of the proceedings of the Select Committee which sat in 1871
and 18/2 to report on the proposed Euphrates Valley Railway is a voluminous
document, largely made up of matter which is of no present interest. From
the evidence taken I have extracted such information as is likely to be of present
use and attached it to this report as Appendix No. 1.
At that time Turkey was very anxious to have a railway from Alexandretta
to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and was willing to give England guarantees, if England
would herself guarantee the necessary loan. The conclusions at which
the Committee arrived were that a_ line of broad gauge railway could be built
from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for about ten millions, that in pro
cess of time there would be sufficient traffic to support it, that the political and
commercial advantages of establishing a second route (to India) would at anv
time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be exceedinslv
great, and that it would be worth the while of the English Government to
secure them, considering the moderate pecuniary risk that they would incur.
I understand from a pamphlet published by Captain Felix Jones that these
recommendations were not acted upon because the condition of the money market
was not favourable, and also because French influence became very powerful in
Turkey. J
6 - It is not my province to discuss the political advantages of having a
second route to India; they are certainly not less apparent than they were in
1872, provided the second route is in British hands.
7. In a country where no statistics are published it is impossible to make an
estimate of traffic, and to show the system on which the estimate is based. It
is, however, easy to show that the productiveness of the country has largely in
creased since 1872. The Trade Report for the year 1888-89 shows that the total
tonnage of steamers entering the port of Basrah in 1888 was 104 346 tone;
The tonnage in 1906 was 229,127 tons..
In 1903 Lynch had two steamers and the Turks had four small steamers
running between Baghdad and Basrah : now Lynch has three steamers, and the
Turks have added four large steamers to their fleet: there is also a small stern
wheeler running up to Samarra, above Baghdad. The trade appears to have
been created by the transport facilities,.and there is no reason whv the same thino"
should not occur along the Euphrates. ^
As a matter of fact, cultivation has largely increased along the Euphrates-
Captain Powell went from Feluja to Meskene in 1872, and he recorded on a map
of the river all existing cultivation. In the spring of 1908, I travelled up and
down the Euphrates Valley and took pains to compare existing facts with those
recorded on the map. I found a very large increase of cultivation. I attach a
note (Appendix 2) of my observations.
8. I venture to suggest that we should atonce turn our attention towards
obtaining the construction of a British, or British managed, railway, somewhat
as follows :—
Alexandretta to Aleppo.
Aleppo to Meskene.
Down the right bank of the Euphrates to Falluja.
From Falluja to Baghdad.
Baghdad to Basrah or the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
I am aware that we shall not obtain a concession for such a railway without
difficulty, but it is important that the most direct line to India should be in our
hands, and also that the line serving irrigation works carried out under British
Engineers should not be in the hands of any other nation. I presume that the
money for the irrigation works v ill le found in England, and if this is correct,
we must ensure, as far as possible, that our enterprise is not taxed by others