File 1508/1905 Pt 3 'Bahrain: postal arrangements; mails; post office' [‎116r] (79/180)

Annex 1.
Sir N. 0 Conor to the Marquess of Lansdowne.
^'o. 472.
My Lord> nth j | rapia ’ -
the sub J ieet 0 nf U n. ati0U °- f “ y P es P ;,tc ' h No - of the 12thultk^’on
ho^vi«.° trr W f , 0f , tl I eHaSSa ^ 1 .he lion air to
which His Maiestv’- f '' <>U1 i C . 0 P. V ot llll ‘ report on this subject
to the Secretarv*" t/ at . Bas '; a has b y my instructions addressed
j nt [j a 11 J u ioieii^n Department of the Government of
Iho Marquess of Lansdowne, K.G ,
&c ’- &c., & c .
I have, &c,,
N. I{. O’Conou.
Annex 2.
Consul Crow to the Secretary, Foreign Department,
Government of India.
Si r -Basra,
Stea r ha p e the 1,0n ° U1 ' t0 rep01-t that the oreatlon'of'rTurkish
Ott a om S fl n P C C0mpany ? n n't? Perslan GuIf is ^ing considered l.v the
Ottoman t.overnment. the proposals put forward by the Va'li of
Basra and submitted by him to the Grand Vizier are '
(1.) To establish a direct line between Basra, Jeddah, and
trad^ and' 10 ^ 0 ° 1 ' ,a,cl ltatm = Government business and promoting
,( 2 "' To ovgantse a direct postal service between Basra and Hassa
v Inch would Oe undertaken by the new line.
The Yah states that the commercial advantages to be derived from
the scheme are great, and such as will induce merchants here to
subscribe to it. It is proposed to begin with one steamer and to
acquire a second at the end of six months, and to increase the number
it the undertaking prospers.
. T1,e 1 present postal arrangements between Basra and Hassa are
irregular and unsatisfactory. I am informed that the Turks farm out
the mail contract to an individual here and pay him about £T18 a
month. The Turkish bag is sometimes handed ‘to the British India
pilot tor delivery at Bahrein, and sometimes committed to the care of
Native passengers proceeding to Hassa.
There is no established mail service between Basra and Oieir on the
Hassa coast. J
I think it would be expedient if the British India Company con
tracted with the Turkish Government for the carriage of the'Hassa
mail. I understand that the Yali of Basra is prepared to discuss
the subject, and that some arrangement could he made.
According to present arrangements the British India Company send
a slow boat fortnightly from Bushire to Bahrein and vice versd. Mails
from Basra to Bahrein can he sent by fast mail weeklv to Bushire, and
thence fortnightly by the slow boat referred to above to Bahrein.
If the Turks will avail themselves of this service, it will not pre-
sumably entail much extra expense or trouble on the Company apart
from the care of and the responsibility for the carriage and delivery of
the lurkish bags. If the connection at Bushire were missed, as often
occurs, the bags would he consigned to the care of the British Post
Office there, which would retain them until an opportunity for
forwarding them occurred. The Company would not, I think, accept
S. 31. B