File 1377/1905 Pt 1 'Perso-Baluch Frontier: Frontier Demarcation' [‎140r] (51/188)

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No. 2540, dated Camp Koliak, the 5th November 1904 (Secret).
From— 'Colonel A. H. McMahon, C.S.I., C.I.E., British Commissioner, Seistan
Arbitration Commission,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
I have the honour to forward the attached Memorandum on the Perso-
Baluch Boundary question.
2. A copy, with map, is being forwarded direct to His Britannic Majesty’s
Minister at Tehran, and should reach him about the 28th instant.
3. I anticipate that the demarcation of the Seistan boundary will be
completed early in December, and that, unless unforeseen difficulties occur, I
will be able to deliver my award on the Seistan water question about the
middle of December.
4. It is, therefore, desirable that I should be informed of the views of the
Government of India on the Perso-Baluch Boundary question as soon after the
middle of December as possible.
[ Secret. ]
Memorandum on the Perso-Baluch Boundary question—Mirjawa to Koh-i-Malik Siah.
As there is some prospect of the settlement of this portion of the boundary
soon being taken up, I consider it advisable to note briefly the principal salient
features of the question, and offer certain suggestions as to its treatment.
2 . It is unnecessary to go into the details of the voluminous correspondence
on this subject, which is cn record in the offices of the Government of India
and the British Legation in Tehran.
3. The principal facts are briefly as follows
When settling the Perso-Baluch boundary, Colonel Holdich based his infor»
mation, as to the northern portion of that boundary, on a map which, as proved
by subsequent investigations, in no way correctly represented the country under
consideration. His boundary line was defined in his agreement in accordance
• Govenm^t of Indi., North-We»t iw that map and a printed copy of
Frontier, 4 nuies=i inch, sheet No. 14 s.-w., that map,* with the boundary line drawn
dated November 1892, and sheet No. 14 N.-W., on signed hj both Commissioners,
A. H. McMahon. was delivered to the Persian Commissioner
t No. 77 of 23rd June 1896. paragraphs 45 and 46 of Colonel
A. H. McMahon. Holdich’s final report.f It is important
to remember this, and to note the position of the boundary line shown in this
map, relative to places such as Lar Koh and Mirjawa. The tracing, which is
attached to Colonel Holdich’s final report, is not his agreement map, as supposed
by some. It was prepared after his return to India. None of the northern
portion of the boundary was visited or surveyed by either the British or
Persian Commissioners.
4. The Persian Commissioner proposed
I So-called in Colonel HoidicVs agreement, £ 0 run the boundary line along the Talab X
but I believe the proper name is Tahlab. « * 7 ,. 1 P , . ,
A. H. McMahon. river to Duzdap, and thence in a straight
line to Koh-i-Malik Siah.
5. Colonel Holdich, very unfortunately, did not take advantage of that
proposal, but selected, instead, a line further east, on the supposition that it
secured “a strongly marked and almost impassable frontier” (vide paragraph
9 Of his Beport No. 35 of the 5th April 1896 and paragraph 41 of Report
No. 77 of the 23rd June 1896). He considered that “no more perfect boundary
than that afforded by mountains and river combined could be devised.” The
inaccuracy of his information, and conclusions based thereon, is illustrated by
the fact that the said mountains are in no respect impassable, and the river
on which he relies is incorrectly named. No Mirjawa river appears to exist.