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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎273v] (557/799)

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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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the line should run on the right or left bank of the Tigris until Sir William Will-
cocks’ survey is further advanced and more is known about existing marshes
and how the irrigation works are likely to alter them. Eventually the line will
probably be needed, especially if the canals take so much water as to render
navigation more difficult than it is at present during the low season.
10. Of the branches to which the German Company has a preferential right
on equal terms, the one which is of most imponance to a future Euphrates
Valley Railway is the branch from El Bad] to Hit. This branch might not be
valuable, supposing that the German Railway was open from Aleppo to Baghdad,
because this railway would tap the rich wheat-growing districts sout h of Mosul
as well as the Persian trade : but the El Badj-Hit branch would be valuable if
the German line was not open : and the fact that the Tigris near El Badj was in
direct railway communication with the sea might tend to deter the German Com
pany from prosecuting its plans for further railway development in that region.
It is clear that if the Euphrates Valley Railway reaches Hit before the German
Railway reaches El Badj, the former Company will be in a position to offer terms
which could be accepted by no one else.
11. As the possession by the Germans of the Aleppo-Alexandretta section
would injure the westward traffic along a Euphrates Valley Railway, so the pos
session of the Sadija-Khanakin Branch would injure all British trade with Persia.
It is therefore most important that we should obtain control of this section if
possible. The control of the Baghdad-Kerbela-Basrah Section is not so important
commercially, if there is an alternate line on the other bank of the Euphrates,
but the control of this section is required on political grounds which have many
times been discussed.
12. Sir William Willcocks has represented to the Minister for Public Works
the necessity which exists for the Turkish Government to retain freedom of action
in the matter of the Aleppo-Alexandretta Railway. Sir William has also written
a “ private” memorandum containing his views on this railway. I enclose a
copy of this document as Appendix No. 3. I believe that Sir William has sent a
ccpy of this document to some of his capitalist friends in England with a view
tc stimulating their interest in a scheme which he intends to urge on the attention
of financiers when he visits England this summer.
13. The arguments which I have tried to develop may be briefly summaris-
as follows :—
ed
(1) The regeneration of Turkey depends upon financial assistance to be
obtained from Mesopotamia.
(2) The success of irrigation works in Mesopotamia depends upon direct
railway communication with the Mediterranean.
(3) If the Germans obtain the management of the Aleppo-Alexandretta
line they will be able to reap large profits which fairly belong to
the irrigation worku
(4) If the port of Alexandretta is also in their hands their position will
be even more dominant.
(5) Neither the German nor the French Concessions make it impossible
for the Turkish Government to make a railway from Aleppo to
Alexandretta, which can be under British management.
(6) There is nothing to prevent a direct Baghdad-Aleppo line.
(7) The Germans in possession of the Khanakin-Sadija Branch will be
able to tax all our trade with Persia.
(8) The Germans in possession of the Baghdad-Basrah Section will be able
to tax all our trade with India, and our sea borne trade with
Europe, unless we have an alternative line on the left bank of the
Euphrates.
(9) Until improvements are made steamer freights are not likely material
ly to decrease.
(10) The irrigation of Mesopotamia will be a protection for India against
famine.
(11) This report is only written from the commercial point of view.

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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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎273v] (557/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492733.0x00009e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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