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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎340r] (694/799)

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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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BAGDAD BAILWAY.
SECBET.
[19733]
Mr - Barclay to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received June 9.)
(No. 300.) y y
^ ir ’ 7 Therapia, June 2, 1908.
W1IH reference to my telegram No. 128 of yesterday, I have the honour to
forward herewith a copy of the Bagdad Bailway Loan Contract which is to be
submitted to the Council of the Public Debt at its meeting to-day.
It will be noticed tnat the Debt Administration is to be charged with a consider-
able amount of work in connection with the service of the loan. The role assigned to
the Debt cannot fail to enhance the value of the bonds by making them more popular
amongst investors. ^ Its obligation as regards the Government share in the surplus of
t e ceded revenues is at present confined to handing over this surplus to the Turkish
Government, and it^is clearly open to the Administration to refuse to undertake the
new work which it is now intended to throw upon them. Their refusal to assist could
not alter the fact that the Germans have secured the surplus of the ceded revenues for
t e Bagdad Bailway, but it could hardly fail to have the effect of reducing the issue
price of the bonds, and after consultation with the Delegate of the British bondholders
who is communicating with his Council in London, I have thought it well to inquire
• aS -^ ie it is desired that Sir Adam Block should observe
m this matter. Sir Adam Block alone could do nothing, but assisted by the French
Delegate ana the Delegate of the Ottoman Bank, he could carry his point. Commandant
Berger, the President of the Council, is, as might he expected, ready to sign the
contract, and it would need very strong instructions from Paris to make him take the
opposite line.
The terms of the contract differ in several particulars from the resume of the
toft Convention given out by the Anatolian Bailway Company (see my despatch
Iso. 27o of. the 24th ultimo). It will be observed that the surplus of the ceded
revenues is pledged not from 1913, but from any time after the repayment of the
temporary charges. These are calculated in the contract at £ T. 850,000, but
Sir Adam Block has pointed out to me that this is too low an estimate, as it does not
take into account the interest on the advances named. Nevertheless, it may reason
ably he expected that these charges will he cleared off by the end of 1910 or" early in
It will also be noticed that the sheep tax of the vilayets of Adana and Konia is
eaimaiked, in addition to that of Aleppo, as subsidiary guarantee, subject to a charo , e of
£T. 40,000, which sum is already pledged for another purpose, ie., the Bussian war
indemnity.
In conclusion, I beg to point out that the Government’s share in the surplus of
the ceded revenues is pledged by the contract to the extent of £T. 420,000 a-year.
At present, after meeting the permanent charges upon it, the Government’s , share onlv
amounts to some £ T. 300,000.
I have, &c.
(Signed) G. BABCLAY.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Bagdad Railway Loan Contract.
ENTBE le Gouvernement Imperial Ottoman, represente par son Excellence
Mehmed Zia Pacha, Ministre des Finances, agissant en vertu dun Trade Imperial en
date du , d’une part; la Societe Imperiale Ottomane du Ohemin de Fer
de Bagdad, representee par M. E. Huguenin, Administrateur-Delegue, et M. Ch.
Helfferich, Administrateur de la Societe, d’autre part; la Deutsche Bank, representee
par M. E. Huguenin et M. Ch. Helfferich, intervenant pour ce qui la concerne dans
le present contrat; et M. le Commandant Berger, President du Conseil d’Administra-
[1824 i —1]

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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.' [‎340r] (694/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492734.0x00005f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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