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'Collection of papers respecting the attitude of His Majesty's Government in regard to the Bagdad Railway and the Purchase of Land at Koweit (amended version)' [‎3v] (6/34)

The record is made up of 1 file (17 folios). It was created in Sep 1907. 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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6
graph 2 o, our Secret External despatch dated the 4th February, 1904, we referred to a
te J egram from Lord George Hamilton dated the 2Gth March, 1902, in which it was
stated that the assistance of His Majesty’s Government with regard to the proloncm-
mn ot the Bagdad Railway to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. would be conditional upon British
capital receiving, m respect of construction/materials, and management, at least equal
shares with any other Power. 1
f, W 0 }lave not hitherto offered our detailed opinion upon the matter, because,
rom the information available to us, the prosecution of the scheme appeared to be
)stract ®. ^ J.'! 0 Carriers which could not be raised without the assistance and
co-operation of His Majesty’s Government. We understood that the promoters of the
sen erne would find it difficult to raise capital for more than the first few sections of
the line and that for the remainder funds would have to be provided by enhance-
ment °t the customs revenues, which would require the consent of the Powers
including that of Great Britain. It seemed likely therefore that, apart from political
considerations, purely financial needs would compel the Company sooner or later to
commence negotiations with a view to the co-operation of His Majesty’s Government.
Again although the point where the line would terminate on the shore of the
ersian had been left undecided, and is still not settled, yet it seemed most
probable that the terminus to be selected would be either at or near Koweit which is
under our special control, orpn the Klior Abdulla, bn the confines of Koweit territory
over against the Island of Bubiyan. We have in our despatch dated the 4th February’
• j sub 3 mitted P r0 P<*als for the vindication of Sheikh Mubarak’s rights to this
is and and we conceived that the existence of important British interests in this locality
would tend to postpone the acquisition of any outlet for the railway in Persian waters
obtained 0 C ° nSent ^ appr ° Val of His Majesty's Government had been sought and
In view of the Indian interests at stake, we felt sure that His Majesty’s Govern-
ment wmdd not be likely to formulate any decision in regard to these two matters
p ( discussion of the subject at anytime take a practical form, without consulting the
Government of India and we therefore abstained from presenting our views on the
question until a suitable opportunity should occur.
4. From information which has recently been furnished to us by His Majestv’s
\ 0wever ’ we x se ? f ravre reason for apprehending that the safeguards upon
which we relied as a natural bulwark for our interests are about to melt away, leaving
us isolated and exposed to all the dangers which might be expected to result from the
independent construction of the railway by our political rivals. In the first place
. a* Hi Con J or L ln hls Confidential despatch No. 249, dated the 12th April, 1906
0 bm Ldward Grey, stated that it was improbable that the Germans, if they once’
sin mounted the difficulties, financial and other, attending the construction of the line
uough the Taurus Range, and reached the open plain beyond it, would be willing to
permit the participation of the British Government in the scheme on favourable terms,
is Excellency added that, if the Germans were unable to obtain assistance for the
1 anrus section, they might find themselves forced to seek another combination
invo ving less expenditure by avoiding the mountains, and by constructing a line from
regh, or from some point west of Eregli direct to Mersina, whence by utilizing the
existing Mersina-Adana Railway the line could be continued eastwards on the^route
originally planned. ^ I he fact that the Germans have recently obtained a controlling
interest in the Mersina-Adana line is an ominous indication of the likelihood of the
Company adopting the course foreshadowed by Sir N. O’Conor. By this move not only
ia\e the Germans carried out the condition of the contract requiring them to construct
a line to the Mediterranean, but they have also secured a means of transportino-
material, rolling-stock, &c., which will enable them to push on the construction of the
me to Bagdad without having to wait for the piercing of the Taurus. Also, although
>y the Bagdad Railway Convention it is agreed that the Bagdad-Bussorah section
s ia 1 not be exploited until the whole of the trunk line is completed, yet this clause
i oes not preclude the building and working of other sections, and there is therefore
nothing to prevent the Germans from building and exploiting the whole of the line between
Atkina and Bagdad Adana could then be linked, if necessary, with Eregli, when
sufficient money had been laid aside from loans and profits on construction of the Bagdad-
Adana sections to overcome the difficulties of the mountain range.
5. But, apart from the fact that German ingenuity has suggested a method of
era.,mg, if not of solving, the problem of the Cilician Gates, it appears probable from
Mr. Mark Sykes Memorandum of the 1st March, IbOli, that German influence and
German manipulation of Ottoman finance may enable the Company eventually to

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The document, printed for the use of the Foreign Office, is a collection of letters and dispatches from 3 March 1904 to 16 September 1907, between 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. and the Government of India on the purchase of land in Kuwait for the Baghdad Railway.

Extent and format
1 file (17 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 84, and terminates at f 100, since it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 the bottom right-hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. These numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled.

Pagination: This section of the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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'Collection of papers respecting the attitude of His Majesty's Government in regard to the Bagdad Railway and the Purchase of Land at Koweit (amended version)' [‎3v] (6/34), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B166a, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026639614.0x000007> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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