File 4030/1913 Pt 1 'Baghdad Railway: Negotiations; Navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates' [‎160r] (123/280)

[This Docmnent is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
[A]
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
[September 18.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1,
[42832]
No. 1.
Memorandum communicated to German Charge
d’Affaires, September 18, 1913.
HIS Majesty s Government Lave examined with
close attention the counter-draft, communicated
by the German Ambassador on the 16th July,
1913, of the proposed Anglo-German convention
respecting the Bagdad Railway and cognate
matters , they have also considered the various
memoranda which accompanied this document,
and the detailed explanations which His Serene
Highness was good enough to furnish in a private
note of the same date.
Sir E. Grey now has the honour to submit a
revised counter-draft, printed, for the sake of
convenience, with the German counter-draft in
parallel columns, and to deal with the several
points which have been raised by referring,
where necessary, seriatim to the articles of the
British counter-draft.
Article 1, Clause [a). —The German Govern
ment suggest that the words u under the express
condition that this should not cause any prejudice
of a financial or economical nature ” might be
omitted. His Majesty’s Government consider,
however, that without such words the clause
might be interpreted as committing them, uncon
ditionally and indefinitely, to liability not to
oppose any increases of the Turkish customs
duties which might be proposed, or any alloca
tions of specific revenues which might be claimed,
if such increases or allocations were ever deemed
desirable, either to provide further guarantees
for, or in any other interest of, the Bagdad
Railway Company.
Article 1, Clause (6).—His Majesty’s Govern
ment note that the German Government would
prefer the drafting of this clause to be in a
positive rather than a negative form, though
such a modification would not materially alter
the nature of the obligation concurred. His
B
[1863 5—1]