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File 442/1907 'Persian Gulf: British and German shipping; German competition' [‎8v] (21/446)

The record is made up of 1 volume (220 folios). It was created in 1907-1911. 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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■ 1 ^ ■ tit v,,- ^
2
ten (this latter number is smaller than in 1907 or 1908), the sailings of the Anglo-
Algerian line from thirteen to eighteen ; of the Bucknall line from seven to fifteen;
and of the West Hartlepool line from four to ten. (This is the largest number recorded
since 1906 for this line. See table on p. 2 of Colonel Cox’s despatch.) It appears that
of the three lust-mentioned lines only the West Hartlepool calls at Antwerp. The#
paid-up capital of the West Hartlepool line is 410,000/. ; 16,000 10/. shares are held by
Mr. Julius Guthe, chairman and managing director, who is a naturalised British subject,
and Messrs. T. P. Guthe and Julius Guthe, Junr., are two out of the other three
directors. It may therefore be assumed that the elder Mr. Guthe has, directly or
indirectly, a controlling interest. The company has paid no dividend since 1907. Its
debentures stand at 70. In March last it had a debit balance of 23,000/. The sailings
are from Middlesbrough, with calls always at Antwerp. From enquiries made by the
commercial intelligence branch, it appears that the company has no connection with any
other British lines, and is stated to be ignored by them.
It seems obvious that, assuming the above statement correctly represents the facts,
the West Hartlepool line cannot be going to Antwerp in competition with the Hamburg-
America line, and there would appear to be at least a possibility that the opinion
expressed by Colonel Cox and Mr. Chick as to an arrangement between the two lines
may be correct. (The statement of the firm in their letter to the Foreign Office, of
which copy was sent to the Board of Trade on the 31st October, does not necessarily
conflict with this.)
The situation certainly seems unsatisfactory, but it does not appear possible to
get at the actual facts, without direct enquiry of Mr. Strick, and it may be doubted if
he would be willing to give any definite information. In any event we know
that as he had secured contracts in respect of general trade from England and sugar
from Marseilles, and has now control of the Hormuz oxide deposits, he is satisfied with
his position, and would only be willing to engage in a conflict with the Hamburg-
America line, and an attack upon their continental trade, in return for a substantial
subsidy, which it has already been decided could be defended only on political
grounds.
Light is thrown on Mr. Strick’s general attitude by his reply to the communications
made to him by the Commercial Intelligence Branch, in consequence of the telegram
from Colonel Cox of the 27th September, urging that an attempt should be made to
induce Mr. Strick to cancel or suspend the recent increase of homeward freights for
grain earned by the lines under his control, which is said to render the competition of
British hrms with the German firm impossible. The reply is simply to the effect that
the increase is perfectly reasonable, and cannot possibly have any harmful effect, and
we do not appear to be in a position to controvert this, or to‘offer Mr. Strick any
inducement to modify his policy.
2. The Sugar Trade.
Colonel Cox and Mr. Chick draw attention to the efforts of the Germans to
dominate the sugar trade in the Gulf, and to the fact that the exports of suo-ar to the
Cult form an important part of the cargoes from Antwerp. The possibility of an
attempt to capture any part of this trade by sending British ships to Antwerp—other
t an the West Hartlepool line, which carries a large amount of sugar—has been dealt
vut above; it is possible also that the Belgian refinery from which the sugar comes has
ma e ong-penod contracts in respect of freight, in which case it would not be possible
to divert the traffic. ^
regards the trade in sugar from Marseilles, as to which it is asserted (p. 6 of
Colonel Cox s despatch) that the carriage will soon be in the hands of the Hamburg-
menca me, i must be pointed out that the only Marseilles refinery shipping to the
Gulf is under contract to ship only by the Anglo-Algerian and Bucknall lines, and
cannot do otherwise for some time to come without breaking the contract. (Mr. Strick’s
letter to Foreign Office, of the 10th August, 1911.) V
With respect to the sugar trade generally, it may be remarked that the Board of
tbpv- 6 ave ® ucce . e e 111 interesting Messrs. Tate in the matter, and understand that
Th q y, lte r . e 1°! lm P? rtai ice. It is not apparent that anything else can be done.
p ? U - les 111 16 that the Persian demand is mainly for loaves, which are not
for hntl. ^ an ^ nAeq Kingdom refinery, though they are made by Belgian refineries
maol • r ^ ome an export trades. The manufacture of loaves requires special
the marniffl ^ 2 * * S ^ e( fr arran g em ents for drying, and is a considerably longer process than
anufacture of tablets or cubes, and the Persian market alone is so small that there is

About this item

Content

The volume contains letters and other papers, mainly by British Consular officials, reporting on the issue of competition from German shipping, 1907-1911.

Included are a number of reports with statistical tables:

  • List of cargo shipped per SS Canadia from Antwerp (14 July) and Hamburg (16 July);
  • Report on trade done by Hamburg-American line with Basra (with four annexes of statistical tables) compiled by F E Crow, Consul, Basra;
  • Proposed state aid to British shipping companies in the Gulf;
  • Difficulties concerning lighterage at Bahrain.
Extent and format
1 volume (220 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 220; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 442/1907 'Persian Gulf: British and German shipping; German competition' [‎8v] (21/446), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/109, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030572060.0x000016> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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