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'Memorandum on Persian Railways' [‎108r] (27/84)

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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. .

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23
opimon in India and Afghanistan if it were
<< ^ e ^ leve ^ Ihat the Russian Government intended
. 4 ^ ‘nake the line to Meshed referred to in their
Memorandum.”
in
Memorandum of 9th October 1908,
reply to Russian Aide-Memoire.
(P. 18.)
(Pol. 3970/08.)
“ 6 - ^ ith the concurrence of 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.
reply was made to the Russian aide-memoire in a
memorandum dated the 9th October 1908 and
handed to M. Isvolsky on the 14th idem, of which
the text is printed as Appendix V. In this it was
explained that His Majesty’s Government had con
templated not the actual construction of railways,
but rather the ear-marking of concessions, and- apart
from the uncertainty of the political situation-
attention was drawn to the absence of surveys, the
doubt as to the ultimate constitution of the Bagdad
Railway Company, and the doubt as to the con
struction of a branch line from Bagdad to Khanikin
as factors which, in the opinion of liis Majesty’s
Government, rendered impracticable in existing
circumstances any definite scheme of railway
development in Persia. A railway from Julia to
Mohammerah could not therefore be built with
adequate prospects of commercial success, and His
Majesty’s Government would not feel justified in
guaranteeing a minimum rate of interest for railways
in Persia. 1 he finances of Persia should be set in
order before such railways were constructed, but
vjifdt I >1 itain and Russia would be fully justified
“ i n informing the Persian Government that, in the
‘‘ event of railway communications being established
‘ m Persia, they would expect to have the refusal,
“ npon terms equally favourable to any offered by
thud paities, of all concessions which might be
“ ^ contemplation.” Besides the southern section
of a Julfa-Mohaminerah line, the concessions most
closely concerning His Majesty’s Government were
for lines from Bunder Abbas to Kerman, and
Bunder Abbas via Shiraz to Ahwaz, with option
loi a port at Khor Musa. It would be well nigh
impossible for Great Britain to assent to anything
like a discrimination of tariff rates in favour of
Russian goods on the Mohammerah railway. A
hope was expressed that the Askhabad-Meshed
project might remain in abeyance.
Views of Sir G. Barclay on the
Russian Aide-Memoire.
Sir (1. Barclay’s Despatch No. 288,
4th November 1908.
' (P. 132.)
Pol. 4161/08.
2i. After the Russian aide-memoire had been
answered, a despatch was received from Sir G.
Barclay, dated the 4th November 1908, which
specially dealt with the question of differential
rates on the Mohammerah-Julfa line : —
“1 do not know whether any decision has
“ been taken as regards the alignment of the pro-
“ posed railway, but I presume that it will pass
“ through Tabreez, Kazvin, Hamadan, Burujird,
“ Khoremabad, Dizfuh Shuster, and Ahwaz. Our
“ existing commercial interests, which would be
“ directly affected by such a line, lie almost
“ entirely within the Russian zone. Our trade,
which now passes from the head of the Persian
“ Gulf through Bagdad and Khanikin to Kerman-
“ shah and Hamadan, shows an increase during the
c 4

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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
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'Memorandum on Persian Railways' [‎108r] (27/84), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C122, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100027916873.0x00001c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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