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Coll 7/37 'Afghanistan: sale of 25,000 1914 pattern rifles from War Office stocks and 7 million rounds of ammunition from Government of India stocks; negotiations with Afghan Government' [‎168r] (335/1201)

The record is made up of 1 file (598 folios). It was created in 13 Jul 1935-28 Mar 1941. 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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v
Tel. No.—Whitehall 9400.
i
Any further communication on this
subject should be addressed to:—
The Under-Secretary of State,
The War Office,
London, S.W. I,
jB^the following number quoted.
** -
0164/6307 (M.0.0.1.a.)
Ai~l
! 938 THE WAR OFFICE,
^
14th April, 1938.
ii. ,
I am Gonmanded by the Army Council to reply as
follows to your letters No. P.3. 6909/37 ox ^3nd
November, 1937, and No. P.3.686/38 of 4th March, 1938,
relating to the recent sale of 23,000 rifles to the
Government of Afghanistan.
The negotiations for the sale were conducted
by H.M. Minister at Kaoul and the Council observe that
the letter constituting the eventual agreement‘to supply
the rifles (a copy of the letter was attached as
Annexure I to Despatch No.175 dated 89th December, 1936,
from Eis Majesty's Minister at Kabul) did not cover, no
doubt unavoidably, many matters, such as the quality of
supply and conditions of acceptance, which would normally
be regulated in a formal contract of sale.
Although these matters had to some extent been
discussed in the preceding negotiations, the absence of
a definite statement of arrangements is always a source
of potential difficulty and dispute. Further, in some
respects, the negotiations themselves appear to have been
incomplete or inconclusive. The Council are unable, for
example, to trace in the correspondence available to them,
any record of an agreement as to the extent to which the
Afghan Government were to be at liberty to question the
qualify of the rifles supplied to them.
The Council also have it in mind that the
rifles were sold at a greatly reduced price, and were
carefully selected and inspected before issue and that
The Under-Secretary of State for India,
Political Department,
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. ,
S.-W.l.

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Content

This file is a continuation of Collection 7/36, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2203.It contains correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for India, HM Minister at Kabul, the War Office, the Government of India Foreign and Political (later External Affairs) Department, 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. Political Department.

Much of the early correspondence duplicates that found in IOR/L/PS/12/2203, and concerns the Afghan Government's request for an additional 25,000 rifles plus ammunition, debates over the division of liability between British and Indian revenues, and discussion of possible payment options.

The rest of the correspondence concerns arrangements for shipping the arms and ammunition, and is accompanied by delivery invoices and reports on the quality inspections conducted prior to shipping. Details of the procedures, including examples of examiners' marks, and a sketch of the packing crates used, can be found at folios 262, and 234-238.

Prior to sale, the War Office had undertaken to perform firing tests on all the rifles for an additional charge. These tests were not conducted, and the file contains correspondence between 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 War Office, discussing the best options for presenting this fact to the Afghan Government, options for conducting the tests or reducing the price of the order, and the potential damage that would be caused to Britain's reputation, and Anglo-Afghan relations.

The correspondence also concerns complaints by the Afghan Government that a number of rifles were damaged in transit or badly corroded. It documents the disagreement between the War Office, 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 Government of India over the provision of replacement rifles and parts, and contains details of the eventual arrangements and final agreement with the Afghan Government (found at folios 117-122).

The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are found at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-3).

Extent and format
1 file (598 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 599; 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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Coll 7/37 'Afghanistan: sale of 25,000 1914 pattern rifles from War Office stocks and 7 million rounds of ammunition from Government of India stocks; negotiations with Afghan Government' [‎168r] (335/1201), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036310618.0x000088> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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