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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎267v] (544/885)

The record is made up of 1 volume (436 folios). It was created in 7 Feb 1912-25 Sep 1912. 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

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Tribunal is likely to endorse the principle of
uti possidetis, especially in so far as possession
only dates from, and not prior to, the Treaty of
Erzeroum (1848).
Now the only impartial evidence as to what
ought to he considered the status quo at the date
of the Treaty of Erzeronm, and of where Turkish
territory ended and Persian began, is afforded by
the line drawn by the Mediating Commissioners in
1850, and therefore I submit that the efforts of His
Majesty’s Government should be directed to the
acceptance of that line as the basis of negotiation,
except in so far as it can be demonstrated not to
have been in strict conformity with the express
terms of the Treaty: it is clear that the
Mediating Commissioners made a departure
from the express terms of the Treaty when they
drew the line to the east of Sheikh Jabir’s fort
(at Failieh) instead of a few T miles to the west.
If we do not adopt the Mediating Commis
sioners’ line, with this slight modification, as the
basis of negotiation, there seems some degree of
danger that Turkey may revive some of her
earlier extravagant claims. It seems incon
ceivable that that line should not weigh, as
impartial evidence, with the Hague Tribunal to
such an extent as to preclude that danger; and
it accordingly appears to be to the interest of
Great Britain to uphold the line except only in
so far as it does demonstrably deviate from the
treaty expressis verbis.
So much for the first question—that of the
precise place w r here the boundary should leave
the river; the second question is, whether the
boundary, while following the course of the
river, should he traced in mid-channel or on the
Persian hank.
In 1844 Sir Stratford Canning wrote that the
Persians could not navigate any part of the
Shatt-el-Arab without being liable to the duties
levied on shipping and merchandise by the
Ottoman authorities.
In the negotiations which preceded the Treaty
of Erzeroum, Turkey took very great pains to
record her assertion of sovereign rights over the
entire waters of the Shatt-el-Arab, and, although
there is no clause in the treaty to that effect,
the Porte did maintain to the British and
Bussian representatives at Constantinople that it
only agreed to negotiate about Mohammerah on
the understanding that the course of the river
Sir Stratford
Canning, No. 239,
November 1,1844.
To Lord
Bloomfield
(St. Petersburgh),
No. 256,
July 12, 1850.
Sir Stratford
Canning, No. 47,
March 19, 1846;
No. 51,
March 31, 1846.
Lord Cowley
(Constantinople),
No. 109,
November 3,1846

About this item

Content

The volume discusses the disputed Turco-Persian Frontier, particularly at Mohammerah, and the negotiations in Constantinople to attempt to settle it.

The correspondence focuses on:

  • the differences of opinion over the actual boundary at Mohammerah, including several maps demonstrating these differences;
  • movements of Turkish and Russian troops;
  • ownership of the Shat-el-Arab and questions of access for navigation;
  • copies of treaties, correspondence and memoranda dating back to 1639 relating to the question of the Turco-Persian frontier.

The principal correspondents in the volume are the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Secretary of State for India (Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe); 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Sir Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador to Constantinople (Sir Gerard Lowther); the British Ambassador to Russia (Sir George Buchanan); the Viceroy of India (Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst); the British Ambassador to Tehran (Sir George Head Barclay); representatives of the Foreign Office (particularly Alwyn Parker) and 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 Arthur Talbot Wilson, on special duty in relation to the Turco-Persian Frontier.

This volume is part one of two. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (436 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1356 (Turco-Persian Frontier) consists of 2 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/266-267. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 436; 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.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎267v] (544/885), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/266, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036171273.0x000091> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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