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File 1808/1912 'Bagdad Railway. Navigation of the Tigris & Lynch's Agreement with the Company for the transport of railway material.' [‎37r] (78/514)

The record is made up of 1 volume (253 folios). It was created in 27 Mar 1912-15 Apr 1913. 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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This Document is the property of the Secretary of State for India in Council.
SECRET.
P. 1376. Immediate. India Obfice,
15tli April 1913.
Sir,
In reply to your Letter No. 14,674, of the 9th instant, regarding
transport on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, I am directed by the Secretary
of State for India to say that he agrees with the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs that it will be difficult to prevent Messrs. Lynch from
coming to an arrangement with the Bagdad. Railway Company as regaids
the existing concession ; but that if His Majesty’s Government obtain the
three additional ships from the Turkish Government and transfer them to
Messrs. Lynch, stringent conditions can presumably be imposed, including
the presence of a Government Director on the Board with a power
of veto.
2. But below this difficulty lies the fundamental difficulty that the policy
of the Bagdad Railway Company, if they get a footing on the river (whether
through Messrs. Wonckhaus or otherwise)—which it will be difficult to
prevent—will probably be to undercut Messrs. Lynch by quoting through
rates on the railway and German ships. This contingency was foreseen
when the whole question was under discussion in June last, and it can
apparently only be met by similar measures on our part, i.e., either by direct
subsidy, or by an interworking arrangement between Indian railway
companies and the steamship companies concerned. The Marquess of Crewe
will obtain the views of the Government of India on this subject, but it will
necessarily require careful consideration, and an immediate answer is not
to be expected.
3. In the meantime I am to suggest that the question of amalgamation
should be more closely examined. The parties immediately concerned
appear to be the Turkish Government, the Turkish Nahriye Company, and
His Majesty’s Government (if the view taken in your letter of 26th March is
correct), acting through Messrs. Lynch. No foreign power or firm has any
permanent rights of navigation, but it should be observed that the temporary
Societe des Transports Fluviaux (one-half of whose capital is held by the
Bagdad Railway Company, and the other half by Messrs. Lynch), has the
right of transporting general merchandise as well as railway material. But
this is a right as against Messrs. Lynch, and not as against the Puikish
Government.
The Turkish Government are now understood to favour the formation
of a single Turkish Company, combining all interests, for the
navigation of the rivers. But apparently, except for the temporary
interest of the Bagdad Railway Company in the Societe above-
mentioned, the sole interests are Turkish and British, and the
question suggests itself whether the Turkish Government could not
The Under Secretary of State,
Foreign Office.

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Content

The volume concerns the navigation of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, and moves by The Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company (also referred to as Messrs Lynch) to negotiate an agreement with the Baghdad Railway Company for the transport of railway material up the rivers of Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. .

The principal correspondents are senior officials of the Foreign Office, 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. , and the Board of Trade; and the Secretary of The Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company.

The papers cover: contracts and agreements; Russian concern over the proposed agreement; the formation of a joint company to operate river transport on the Euphrates and Tigris; the assertion by Britain of exceptional rights to navigation on the rivers of Mesopotamia; and papers concerning the general Baghdad Railway question.

The French language content of the volume consists of contracts, agreements and conventions, with English translations.

The volume contains conventions and agreements that are earlier than the man date range, dated 1903-11.

Extent and format
1 volume (253 folios)
Arrangement

The subject 1808 (Bagdad Railway) consists of one volume only. The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 255; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 3-254; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1808/1912 'Bagdad Railway. Navigation of the Tigris & Lynch's Agreement with the Company for the transport of railway material.' [‎37r] (78/514), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/271, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036166449.0x00004f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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