Skip to item: of 799
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎304v] (623/799)

This item is part of

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

The length of the line is undefined, but it is certainly ^vell over 2,000 kilom.
(exclusive of the old Anatolian line) with a guaiantee of lo,o00 fr. pei kilom., or
31,000,000 fr. in all per annum.
The Anatolian Railway (about 1,000 kilom. in length) was comparatively easy to
build, and passes through a peculiarly fertile part of the country near the capital, and
yet it required 191,449/. last year in guarantees. Therefoie, taking the terms of the
contract for that line as the basis for a calculation, the guarantees for the whole line
would eventually, when the line is built, be at least 600,000/. a-year.
But this sum will in all probability be considerably exceeded for two reasons.
Under the old contract there is a construction guarantee at the rate of 11,000 fr. per
kilom. per annum (or 880,000/. for the whole) which is invariable. There is next a
guarantee for working expenses of 4,500 fr. It is unlikely that the Government’s
share of the profits, after the latter guarantee has been met, will go far to meet
the calls of the construction guarantee. Secondly, the nature of the country to be
traversed by the sections now to be undertaken, to say nothing of that between Aleppo
and Mosul, offers very different prospects of financial success from the fertile and populous
districts near Constantinople.
Under Articles 4 and 35 taken in conjunction, if the Turkish Government fail to
provide the money for the two guarantees, which amount together to 15,500 fr., the
Concession is fpso/ac/o prolonged.
It would be convenient next to study the arrangements of June 1908, which differ,
as will be seen, in some important particulars from the old contract.
The Additional Convention signed on the 2nd June states that the Turkish
Government have decided to prolong the line to Helif and Aleppo, a distance of
840 kilom. The guarantees per kilometre are divided into construction expenses at
11,000 fr. per annum and the working expenses at 4,500 fr. per annum, thus making a
total of 15,500 fr., and are fixed on (1) the surplus of the ceded revenues; (2) on the
sheep tax of the Vilayets of Konia, Adana, and Aleppo ; and (3) on the Government’s
share of the profits of the line, i.e., after the gross receipts amount to 4,500 fr. per
kilometre.
The bonds to be issued for the cost of construction, according to Article 35 of the
old Convention, shall be issued as described in the annexed Loan Convention.
The most salient points of this Loan Convention (signed the same day) are as
follows :—
Article 1 : The Turkish Government will issue a loan in two series :
1. Series 2 for £ T. 4,752,000 (needing an annuity of £ T. 200,000); and
2. Series 3 for £ T. 5,236,000 (needing an annuity of £ T. 220,000), the annuities
of which shall be the equivalent of the kilometric guarantee of 11,000 fr. per annum.
Articles 2 and 3 : Bonds for series 2 are to be handed over at the present time, and
the first coupon on them shall fall due on the 1st July, 1908, when the interest for the
first half of 1908 shall be paid.
Article 9 describes the guarantees given by the Turkish Government for payment
of the interest on the loan ; they include, in addition to the surplus of the ceded
revenues and the above-mentioned sheep taxes, the Government’s share in the profits of
the line, and it is further provided that the yearly balance shall be worked out on the
average of the profit and loss of all the kilometres en masse commune ot the line. It
enumerates the prior charges already existing on the surplus of the ceded revenues, i.e.,
an annuity of £ T. 124,000, and certain fixed advances amounting to £ T. 850,000.
Article 10 describes the guarantees given by the Railway Company for the payment
of the loan, namely, the railway itself, its branches and rolling-stock, also its share of
profit from the line, but the Turkish Government must make good to the Company any
part of its share which it thus has to pay away.
Article 16 : The Turkish Government retains the right to redeem the loan at par at
any time to come on giving two months’ notice, or to convert it into a loan bearing a
lower rate of interest. ^
With regard to Articles 1, 2, and 3, the bonds for series 2 havefnot yetjbeen
handed over, and the coupon of the 1st July, 1908, has consequently fallen void; and,
with regard to construction, it seems that at present nothing is being done beyond some
surveying work. It is probable that the loan was divided into two series, of which one
was to be issued subsequently, because the available surplus of the ceded revenues only
amounts to £ T. 300,000, while the service of the whole loan requires £ T. 420,000 per
f

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.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎304v] (623/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492734.0x000018> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100026492734.0x000018">File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [&lrm;304v] (623/799)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100026492734.0x000018">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000365.0x00038e/IOR_L_PS_10_57_0623.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000365.0x00038e/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image