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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' [456r] (911/1201)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
The War Office,
Whitehall,
S.W.l.
13 June f 1936.
Dear Walton,
Your further letter (P.Z. 3886/36 of 10th June)
about the Afghan rifles, with the draft despatch to
Fraser-Tytler, calls for one or two observations on our
part.
To deal with the inspection point first: the
Afghans are getting (and paying for) an tf upright view"
of these 1914 Pattern rifles at Weedon, and that
inspection, which is not afforded to surplus stores
normally disposed of by the Army, should ensure that the
rifles are despatched from this country in a serviceable
j condition. We do not agree that the Afghans should be
free to claim replacement of any rifles or parts to which,
for various reasons, they might take exception after
receipt; though we should, of course, be prepared to
examine any complaint as to numbers, e.g., that any cases
did not contain the stated quantity of rifles. If the
Afghan Legation in London could arrange to have someone
at Weedon to see the rifles inspected and packed, we
should not object; and no doubt when the rifles are
unpacked on receipt by the Afghans, the Military Attach^
will be there to see that there is nothing gravely wrong
with the consignment? Apart from the difficulties
attaching to defining agreed deficiencies as mentioned in
your draft telegram, is there not the risk that the
Afghans might use the pretext afforded by such inspection
to upset the whole arrangement, if, as apparently you
think possible, they had in the meantime had reason to
reconsider it?
With regard to the rate of despatch, the number
of men who can be turned on to the inspection of the
rifles is limited, so that the task could not be completed
under, say, three months. On the other hand it would be
J.G. Walton, Esq., C.B., M.G.,
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.
,
S. W. 1.
inconvenient
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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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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' [456r] (911/1201), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036310621.0x000070> [accessed 18 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2204
- Title
- 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'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:121v, 123r:244r, 246r:367v, 370r:490v, 491ar, 491r:491v, 492ar, 492r:599v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence