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File 1408/1904 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf: telegraphs. Henjam-Bunder Abbas-cable’ [‎53r] (110/478)

The record is made up of 1 volume (235 folios). It was created in 1904-1909. It was written in English and French. 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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Telegram, No. 130, dated the 31st March (received 1st April) 1906.
Jrom E. M. Grant Duff, Esq., His Britannic Majesty^s Charge d*Affaires, Tehran,
To—The Foreign Secretary, Simla.
I have sent the following telegram to the 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 the Persian
Gvli:— Begins. Bunder Abbas Cable. I have arranged with the Customs
Department that the telegraph office shall not be between the Consulate and
the sea, but to the right, at a reasonable distance. The Persian Government
wish the office and the cable-house to he in one building and I gather from
your telegram No. 5G that there is no technical objection to this. Please report
if the Director of Customs has ceased building on the objectionable site. Ends.
Telegram, No. 102, dated Busliire, the 1st (received 2nd) April 1906.
From— Major P. Z. Cox, C.I.E., Officiating Political Besident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
Bushire,
To—The Foreign Secretary, Simla.
I have sent the following to Mr. Grant Duff to-day :— Begins. On receiv
ing instructions conveyed in your telegram No. 55, dated 26th March, Consul
at Bunder Abbas asks me to explain that the matter must have been much
exaggerated to you and it appears from his later reports that he used the
word “guard” loosely and that the so-called guard which he placed on the
spot on the .13th consisted of only one unarmed man. When Ms escort came
up later a large number of Surbazes had already collected and his escort was
never placed as a guard on the cable, hut was sent hack. He also pointed
out that the cable had not been handed over and is still in charge of
Telegraph Department and that Persians had already stopped work of Telegraph
Superintendent by an armed force without explanation or warning and lastly
that he had also been informed by me on your authority that the Mushir-ed-
Dowleh had specifically ordered stoppage of work which led him to think that
Mons. Stas instigated by the Russian Consul was acting in his own
responsibility. Ends.
Telegram,’"No. 105, dated the 3rd (received 4th) April 1906,
From— Major P. Z. Cox, C.I.E., Officiating 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
Bushire,
To—The Foreign Secretary, Simla.
Your No. 61. I referred to Director, Indo-European Telegraph Department,
and Vice-Consul for Bunder Abbas, etc., with the result as follows : Director
agreeable to any site for telegraph office in combination with cable-house as
long as it is on suitable building ground and a safe distance from sea and pro
vided that ground between sea and building is suitable for burying cable.
Vice-Consul for Bunder Abbas, etc., and Gabler see no objection to office in
combination with cable-house at spot 1,350 feet south-west of south-west
corner of new Consulate site and 2,400 feet north-west from beach cable-house.
Difficulty appears to be thus solved and I would suggest that matter be finally
arranged in this manner. Present building work still continues. Sent to the
address of British Minister at Tehran. Telegram repeated to foreign Depart
ment, Simla, and Eoreign with Viceroy, Viceroy’s Camp.
Telegram, No. 109, dated the 4th (received 5th) April 1906.
From—M ajor P. Z. Cox, C.LE , Officiating 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
Bushire,
To—The Foreign Secretary, Simla.
Last sentence of my telegram, dated 3rd April, No. 106, refers to Stas’
operations and is reply to the last sentence of your telegram, dated 31st March.
Sent to the address of British Minister at Tehran. Telegram repeated to Foreign
Department, Simla, and Foreign with Viceroy, Viceroy’s Camp.
Foreign Office Press—No. 24—7.4-06—54.

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Content

The volume comprises notes, memoranda, copies of correspondence and other papers, relating to an agreement reached between the British and Persian Governments for the construction of a telegraph cable line between the telegraph station at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], and a subsequent dispute between the British and Persian Governments over the location of the telegraph office in Bunder Abbas. The volume’s principal correspondents are: the 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador (or Chargé d’Affaires) at Tehran (Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge; Sir Evelyn Mountstuart Grant Duff); the Assistant Resident and British Consul at Bandar-e ʻAbbās (Lieutenant William Henry Irvine Shakespear).

The volume’s papers include:

  • proposals, set out by British officials, for a telegraph cable running between Henjam and Bunder Abbas, chiefly for the benefit of the Indian merchant community at the latter place;
  • papers detailing negotiations between British and Persian officials through 1905 concerning the construction of the telegraph cable from Henjam to Bunder Abbas, and the construction and operation of a telegraph office at Bundar Abbas. Much of the discussion centres on the running and costs of the telegraph office at Bundar Abbas, in response to the Persian Government’s insistence that they run the office, and the British Government’s insistence that only Persians be employed in the office (in order to prevent the appointment of Russian telegraphists). A printed copy of the agreement for the construction of the telegraph line from Henjam to Bunder Abbas, dated 13 May 1905, is included in the volume (f 149);
  • copies of telegrams and other papers dated 1906, documenting the construction of telegraph facilities at Bunder Abbas, including British intentions to run the cable via their consular buildings, Persian objection to the proposals, and the protracted dispute over the location of the telegraph office that ensued;
  • correspondence dated 1909, including a letter from Sir George Head Barclay at the British Embassy in Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey, dated 8 March 1909, confirming that the dispute between the British and Persian authorities over the location of a telegraph office at Bunder Abbas has been resolved (ff 20-21).
Extent and format
1 volume (235 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 237; 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 present in parallel between ff 130-143; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1408/1904 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf: telegraphs. Henjam-Bunder Abbas-cable’ [‎53r] (110/478), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/39, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026544900.0x00006f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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