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'Memorandum on Persian Railways' [105r] (21/84)
The record is made up of 1 file (42 folios). It was created in 20 Jun 1911. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Telegram from Viceroy, 16th March
1900.
Pol. 338/00.
Secretary of State’s Secret Despatch to
Government of India, No. 14, 6th July
1900.
(P. 15.)
Pol. 338/00.
Government of India Letter, Secret,
No. 127, 6th September 1900.
(P. 196.)
Pol. 1017/00.
Government of India Letter, Secret,
No. 183, 7th November 1901.
(P 176.)
Pol. 1376/01.
Lord Lansdowne's Despatch to Sir
A. Hai*dinge, No. 2, 6th January 1902.
(P. 5.)
(Pol. 1732/02.
Secretary of State's Secret Despatch to
Government of India, No. 8, 14th March
1902.
(P. 182.)
Pol. 1376(a)/01.
of the Government of India of the 7th November
1001 , in which attention was drawn to the dis
tinction between “commercial pleas and political
ambitions,” and the view was expressed that, if only
the object of Russia were commercial, there was no
reason why she should not establish railway con
nection across Persia, from north to south, with
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. “ The argument ” so ran the
minute (paragraph 2) —“ that Russia can safely be
“ permitted to secure a maritime outlet for herself
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and that it is desirable that
Great Britain should assist, or at least not with-
“ stand, her in that consummation rests upon a
“ fundamental confusion of ideas. Those who
“ employ it fail altogether to discriminate between
“ commercial pleas and political ambitions. It may
be urged that, whereas Russian manufacturers
in their attempt to gain access to the K as tern
“ markets, are at present compelled to make the
“ long and circuitous journey by the Black Sea,
“ the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and the Red
“ Sea, before they can reach the Indian Ocean, it
“ would be an advantage could they be transported
“ by railroads either from the < ’aueasus, or from the
“Caspian, to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
; although the
“ apparent value of such a gain would probably be
“ a good deal discounted in practice by the com-
“ paratively limited trade of Russia (which, however,
“ may admit of a considerable development in the
“ future), still more by the superior cost of land
“ carriage over sea carriage. In so far as these are
“ the ambitions of Russia, it is not probable that
“ any one would seriously resist cheir satisfaction.
“ They can be accomplished —provided the money
“ be forthcoming - by amicable arrangements with
“ Persia and with Great Britain. 1 am not, myself.
“ a believer in the paying capacities of a Trans-
“ Persian line for many years to come. T he country
“ itself is poor, and cannot furnish either the capital
“ or the traffic. Were the line, however, an open
“ line, it might conceivably attract the Russian
“ trade from one end, and the Indian trade from
“ the other, which w'ould enable it to subsist. It
“ is also conceivable that capitalists might be willing
“ to come forward and construct it -though were
“la capitalist, I should not be found among
“ their number and arrangements might be made
“ by which, while the line remained Persian
“ property, the construction and maintenance of
“ the northern portion might be entrusted to Russia,
“ and those of the southern portion to Great Britain,
“ a joint guarantee of the three Governments being
“ applied to the whole. The railway might termi-
“ nate on the Gulf in a Persian port, open to the
“ commerce of all nations, but subject to the import
“ and export dues prescribed by the Persian tariff.
“ I should, myself, regard such a venture as pre-
“ mature and as speculative in the highest degree,
“ but I do not see anything in it that need neces-
“ sarily arouse political jealousy or international
“ complications.
About this item
- Content
The memorandum outlines the development of proposals for railways in Persia between 1872 and 1911. This includes discussion of the potential advantages/disadvantages (both commercial and political) for the British in the construction of railways in Southern Persia, and the potential threat posed by the expansion of Russian railways in Northern Persia towards British India, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Proposals for various schemes are included, from those limited to internal routes within Persia, to schemes designed to link the rail networks of India and Russia via a Trans-Persian link. Consideration is also given to British and Russian efforts to maintain their spheres of influence in Persia, and their joint desire to resist any encroachment by Germany.
The memorandum is signed by John Edward Ferard, 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. .
The appendix (folios 123-132) contains supporting extracts from various papers (aide-mémoires, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and published writings). This includes the following:
- an extract from a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, dated 4 September 1899, respecting the importance of Seistan [Sīstān] to the maintenance of British influence in Southern Persia (ff 123-124);
- an extract from a minute by the Viceroy of India, dated 28 October 1901, respecting the potential threat of increasing Russian influence in Persia to Britain's strategic and commercial interests in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (ff 124-125v);
- an extract from the Anglo-Persian Agreement (31 August 1907) respecting Persia (ff 125v-126);
- various communications between British, Persian, and Russian authorities on the topic of railway construction in Persia (ff 126-130);
- extracts from various published sources on the subject of railways in Persia (ff 130-132).
An index to the memorandum can be found on folios 134-136. Some extracts in the main body of the memorandum, and some papers included in the appendix are in French.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (42 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 95, and terminates at f 136, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, 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. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/C122
- Title
- 'Memorandum on Persian Railways'
- Pages
- 95r:125v, 127r:129r, 132r:136v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence