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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' [‎226r] (451/1201)

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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fe2-6 )
Draft Paper.
P.2.6909/37.
Department.
tr\
The Under Secretary of State,
War Office.
in,on taut
'Oj-V*. 1^7
Sir,
1. 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. 11r.No. . .Z.5028/37
d/- 24th May, 1037.
2. 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. d.o. 1 tr.No•?£.4334/37
to fir.Bartington, V/ar Office,
d/- 8th July, 1937.
3. War Office Itr.No.0164/6262 (M.I.l)
d/- 24th /ugust.
4. War Office Itr.No.0164/6307
(M.G.O.f.a) d/~ - September, 1037.
d. Kabul Despatch No.94 d/~ 2nd Sept,
(copy forwarded to Var Office with
P.0. Itr. d/- uut**? )
• Kabul Despatch No.102 d/- 30th Sept.
(copy forwarded to V/ar Office with
P.0. Itr. No./y^A/t? &/- )
'• G. of I. Itr. d/~ 11th Oct. 1937.
(c py forwarded to War Office with
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. printed letter
No.P.Z.6909/37 of 2nd Nov. 1937).
h
Copy to F^O
Kabul "j /ir\
India.)'
ENCLOSURE IN AIR MAIL UlT^R
MO. 'O d W, l'-^
FRUM ^ ! i f
SEC^-i tEri. Irtbi/i v '', iCL
AWO
4794 5000 5.36
I am directed by t e Secretary
of State for India to re^er to the
correspondence noted in the margin and
to connected correspondence in regard to
the damaged condition of certain of the
rifles recently supplied by the ' ar
Office to the Government of Afghanistan.
2. Prom Kabul Despatch No.102 of
30th September it will be seen that the
Military Attache at H. !.Legati n has now
carried out an inspection of the 45 rifles
out of the first 9,000 rifles supplied,
in the case of which the Afghan Govt. hav<
complained of the existence of serious
corrosion and other defects, and that all
these rifles were found to bear examiners 1
marks corresponding to those given in the
Appendix to the War Office letter of 24th
August. The result of the I ilitary
Attache’s examination is substantially to
con irm the details furnished by the Afghan
Government, and it will be observed that
Major Lancaster is of opinion that the
existing corrosion, which in the case of
the 41 rifles affected cannot be removed,
will gradually eat into the steel and
render the rifles unserviceable.
3. Though the Afghan Government of cours
cannot have expected that all the rifles
would arrive in perfect condition since
they were well aware that they were over
20/

About this item

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.

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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' [‎226r] (451/1201), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036310619.0x000034> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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