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File 1569/1913 'Trans-Persian Railway' [‎141v] (293/594)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 20 Feb 1911-11 Sep 1913. 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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2
indeed, progress in any direction except down hill. The only hope for Persia is for it to
pay its own way out of the resources of its own people. I will not repeat here what I
have said in the memorandum I wrote for Messrs. Baring Brothers and Co., of which you
have a copy, but would ask that it and the scheme for control jointly elaborated bv
M. Bizot, M. Baffalovich, and myself be read in conjunction with this letter. If PersiA
is to be preserved, this can only be effected by drastic financial control. I gather that,
in Sir Edward Grey’s opinion, it would be very difficult to obtain Persia’s consent to
tight leading-strings. Yet it could be pointed out to its patriots, it they exist, that
herein lies Persia’s only hope of salvation.
3: Now that His Majesty’s Government have definitely vetoed the project for a
great trans-continental railway, it is difficult to see how the Societe d’Etudes’ life can be
prolonged with advantage to its members. With its demise the tie between Russian
and English interests is weakened. German shortly obtains under the Potsdam Agree
ment access to Tehran, and Russia will gradually build as far as Yezd, awaiting an
opportunity, in its slow tenacious manner, to reach the sea via Kerman. The network
of railways running north and east and west will suck the entire trade in these
directions, and the Gulf line from Mohammerah to Khoremabad will be debarred access
to the Russo-German chord and the northern system.
Those who think that Russia, when the projects of the Societe d’Etudes are
definitely abandoned, will look on complacently whilst purely British interests cover the
south and neutral spheres with a network of railways, according to the grandiose
conceptions of Mr. Green way, are sanguine.
4. Speaking entirely for myself, and on the assumption that His Majesty’s Govern
ment will not reconsider their decision in regard to the international scheme for the further-
ance of which the societe was constituted, I would submit for consideration the following
policy:—
(1.) Construct the Mohammerah-Khoremabad Railway, prolonging it by inter
national agreement through Hamadan to Kazvin (with a branch to the Caspian), whence
it will run via Zindjan and Tabriz to Julfa.
(2.) Open the roads from the Gulf to Shiraz, Yezd, and Kerman.
(3.) Lend Persia money on the lines foreshadowed in my memorandum and the
project of control put forward by my French and Russian colleagues and myself.
The advantages of (1) are—
(a.) The line projected should pay ;
(b.) It holds Persia together, instead of accentuating the disintegration setting in
on the lines of the Anglo-Russian agreement.
(c.) It allows our cotton and our tea, and our trade generally, an equal chance of
competing with Russian imports, since construction proceeds concurrentlv from the
north and south.
The advantages of (2) are that we are not attempting the impossible. Financial
reform with the revenues derived from loan funds in the first instance should render
this modest programme feasible.
An incidental advantage of (3), as against M. Sabbine’s scheme, is that it permits
of the survival (in an altered form, perhaps) of the societe, even if the trunk hne now
suggested is not constructed. The body in Paris would have little to do. Its
existence would, however, be agreeable to French susceptibilities, which must be taken
into account if recourse be had to the Pans market. The real spade work would be
done in Persia by the Council of Administration.
5. The first criticism of this policy that suggests itself is that Russia will never
agree. Russia is intensely opposed to the linking-up northwards of the Mohammerah
line for trade reasons.^ We, of course, cannot admit the validity of this argument,
except under compulsion, and Russia does not wish to see Persia rehabilitated.
On the other hand, we hold the purse strings. Russia wants financial assistance.
To secure her assent, I would point out that England will not, except under these
conditions, find the money for Persia and its railways. As an additional incentive,
His Majesty s Government might agree to support the extension, of the railways
from Kasvin to Yezd (a branch diverging north of Yezd to Ispahan), it being
stipulated that when, if ever, the line enters the neutral sphere, the English partici
pation should preponderate south of Yezd to the same extent as the Russian interest
preponderates north of Yezd.

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Content

This volume contains multiple files with correspondence, reports, hand written memos, financial arrangements, and maps on the proposed Trans-Persian Railway. Most letters pertain to the charting of possible routes for the proposed railway in relation to British interests vis-à-vis the Russian Empire. Interests are variously defined as either the effects of railway construction on military mobilisation or commercial and trade interests.

Correspondence on the railway is mainly between the Government of India, Whitehall, and the Inter-Departmental Committee on the proposed Trans-Persian Railway, as well as the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in Bushire, and Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Kuwait. Reports from the Inter-Departmental Committee consider a variety of factors such as weather, trade balances of various cities, construction costs, and Russian influence in making recommendations on possible routes. Population statistics and the financial potential of various markets for British goods at various Central Asian and Persian ports, towns and cities are also noted in the reports.

Extent and format
1 volume (326 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 326; 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1569/1913 'Trans-Persian Railway' [‎141v] (293/594), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/379, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035135056.0x00005e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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