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File 1880/1904 Pt 1 'Perso-Afghan Frontier: - Seistan Arbitration.' [‎49v] (103/520)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (254 folios). It was created in 26 Feb 1903-31 Dec 1910. 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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8. In his arbitral award, Sir Fredrick Goldsmid, as regards the Helmand
and water rights, laid down that:—
“ (1) She (Persia) should not possess land on the right of the Hel
mand. * * * The main bed of the Helmand, therefore, below
Kohak should be the eastern boundary of Persian Seistan,
“ (2) and the line of frontier from Kohak to the bills, south of the
Seistan desert, should be so drawn as to include within toe Afghan
limits all cultivation on both banks of the river from the band
upwards. * * *
“ (4) It is, moreover, to be well understood that no works are to be carried
out on either side calculated to interfere with the requisite supply
of water for irrigation on both banks of the Helmand”.
9. In her appeal against this award, Persia contended, inter alia, that
Persian Seistan could not live without control of the Helmand up to Rudbar
{vide despatch, dated 27th November 1872, from the Persian Minister in Lon
don to Lord Granville) “ le Seistan ne peut vivre qu’avec ses frontibres
naturelles de Roudbar, en remontant le (illegible) ses rives s’elbvent de mani-
hre qu’il devient impossible de detourner le fleuve de son lit actuel. Le domi
nation de Seistan doit done necessairement le dominer au moins jusqu’a
Roudbar. * * * Du cote du Nord nous voulons garder le Naizar et vers
le Sud Est conserver le Hermunde jusqu’a Roudbar”.
10. These objections, like all others raised by Persia and Afghanistan
to the award, were over-ruled on appeal by Her Majesty’s Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, who confirmed the award on 7th March 1873, and the award
was subsequently ratified by both countries.
11. Afghanistan does not appear, in her appeal, to have raised any ob
jection on the water question in particular, but, subsequent to the confirma
tion of the Goldsmid award hy the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the
Kabul Envoy, deputed to discuss the Goldsmid award with the Government of
India, raised the question of the interpretation of clause 4 of that award. He
contended that this applied only to new works, and not to (1) canals alreadv in
existence and operation, and (2) such old or disused canals as mio-ht be nut in
proper repair. ° * ^
12. Ihe^ Government of India, in referring this question to Her Majesty’s
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs^ (despatch No. 74. dated 15th September
18/3;, after pointing out that the Amir desired to construct new, and repair old
canals, leading from the He mand, in order to strengthen his frontier and Establish
an Afghan colony at Tarakun wrote In our opinion the clause referred
to in the award cannot be understood as applying either to existing canals or
to such old and disused canals as the Afghan Government may wish to put Tn
proper repair; nor would it interfere with the excavation of new canals
provided the requisite supply of water for irrigation on the Persian sfde k
not diminished. If Her Majesty’s Government concur in this view, we would
Amfr ’ aD eXpkliatl0n ma r be S iver “ we can commun cate to the
3. Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs accented the
1 1 e“iw,i i 1 ^ ; : a lf al y “ f01 '“ ed -. The _ above ruling
13.
a , lK)V 'vVir r r 1 "as ulu y mrormed. The above rnlins'
should, therefore, be considered as an integral portion of the Goldsmid award? 8
14. No water disputes between Afghanistan and Persia are on record for
many years after Mr Fredrick Goldsmid’s Mission. In the meantime the
Helmand showed an increasing tendency to find outlets to the west, and large
portions of its volume appear to have found their wav westwards throufh
channels of which the most important were the Shela-i-Shamshiri, a SS
now known as Shela-i-Lakshakh, taking off below Puri ; A. ’a
channel Shela-i-Jehanabad taking off above Burj-i-As The two latter drew
off much water towards Jehanabad, and discharged it into the low lying land"
between that place and Jelalabad, whence it escaped northwards through the

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Content

The volume contains printed selections from official papers of the Foreign Department of the Government of India (telegrams, official letters, and extracts from official diaries), and maps, concerning the settlement of the disputed frontier between Afghanistan and Persia in Seistan (also spelled Sistan in the volume) [Sīstān] during the period 1901-10. The papers are mainly in the form of dispatches from the Government of India, Foreign Department, addressed to the Secretary of State for India. Each despatch includes a list of documents ('enclosures') cited. The later papers are accompanied by minute sheets of the Secret Department, Government of India.

The papers cover: the work of the Arbitration Mission under Colonel (Arthur) Henry McMahon (British Commissioner, Seistan Arbitration Commission), 1903-05, including events up to the departure of the Arbitration Mission, proceedings of the Mission, demarcation of the boundary from Koh-i-Malik Siah to Siah Koh, the Seistan water dispute, and McMahon's report (folios 22-30) on the final settlement and demarcation of the boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, followed by a complete list (folios 31-34) of the boundary pillars on the Perso-Afghan boundary; and reports on the distribution of water in Helmand, 1909-10.

The main correspondents are: McMahon; His Britannic Majesty's Minister, Tehran; the Secretary of State for India; His Britannic Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran; His Britannic Majesty's Consul for Seistan and Kain [Kūh-e Kā’īn]; and the Amir of Afghanistan.

Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

The map in the back of the volume, on folio 254, relates to the work of the Sistan Arbitration Commission of 1872 under General Sir Frederick John Goldsmid. The last dated addition to the volume is a note on folio 4 stating that a copy of a paper had been sent to the Foreign Office on 12 January 1911.

Extent and format
1 volume (254 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1880 (Perso-Afghan Frontier) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/52-53. The volumes are divided into two parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 256; 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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File 1880/1904 Pt 1 'Perso-Afghan Frontier: - Seistan Arbitration.' [‎49v] (103/520), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/52, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040047749.0x000068> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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