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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' [540r] (1082/1201)
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.
reaching Kabul before the Independence celebrations
on 16th August, m order to impress the tribesmen
visiting Kabul on that occasion, the Government of
India were persuaded to send therr, in the special
and urgent circumstances, 5,000 rifles from their
mobilisation reserves and 3,000,000 rounds of
ammunition, for which the Afghan Government undertook
to pay £60,000 in six annual instalments.
Subsequently an offer was made to the Afghan
Government of 10,000 1914 pattern rifles, drawn
from surplus $ar Office stocks. 7/e are prepared to
sell these rifles for £32,750, a price which would
cover an individual inspection and a firing test.
The Afghan Government accepted this offer in
September, and asked to be allowed to pay for the
rifles in six annual instalments. The question was
then held up by discussion between the Government of
India and h.M.G. as to which Government should carry
the financial liability in the event of a default:
at Iasi, the ireasury agreed to do so provisionally.
Colonel ^raser-Tytler was instructed on 19th
December to resume his negotiations for the sale of
the lu ,000 rifles and to press strongly for a
reduction in the number of instalments to three, or,
at the most, four. He was also instructed to offer
6,000,000 rounds of ammunition ' ‘ (from
India) in six annual instalments and naid for one
/%
year in airear. It is not possible to make any
progress regarding the further 15,000 rifles (with
ammunition) and the question of supplying aircraft
pending a settlement of the question of liability as
between n.L.U. and the Crovemment of India for
extraordinary/
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' [540r] (1082/1201), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036310622.0x000052> [accessed 20 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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