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File 2764/1904 Pt 1 'Baghdad Railway: general negotiations 1904-07.' [400r] (808/818)
The record is made up of 1 volume (405 folios). It was created in 1903-1907. It was written in English and French. 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.
Question.
>
Mr. Gibson Bowles,—To ask the First Lord of the Treasury, what communications
have passed between His Majesty’s Government and Foreign Governments
relating to the German Anatolian or Baghdad Railway or to its extension to
Koweit on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
; with what Governments have such communica
tions passed, and what is their effect, and has been their result; have His
Majesty’s Government been approached with any proposal for giving
encouragement to the building of that railway either by guaranteeing to it a
postal subsidy or in any other manner; if so, what policy do they propose to
pursue in the matter; and will he lay on the Table any Correspondence that
has taken place. [7th April 1903.]
Answered by Mr. Balfour.
There have been no formal communications between His Majesty’s Govern
ment and any Foreign Government on the subject of the Baghdad Railway.
The proposed railway is not, as suggested in the Question, to be a German
railway.
The subject was referred to in two brief conversations, one with the French .
and one wdth the German Ambassador, about 13 months ago. Lord
Lansdowne then stated that we should not regard the undertaking with
unfriendly eyes provided that British capital and British interests were
placed at least on terms of equality with those of any other Power.
I am not aware that these conversations have (in the language of the
Question) had any “ results,” or have exercised any influence on subsequent
events.
Communications have been and are still going on with British capitalists
on the subject. No final arrangements have been arrived at. The proposals
under consideration involve no guarantee of a postal or any other subsidy.
The suggestions to be made to us are we understand ( 1 ) that British capital
and British control are to be on an absolute equality with the capital and
control of any other Power; (2) that, in respect to the negotiations which
are now going on with the Turkish Government for a new Commercial Treaty
(and which, quite apart from the Baghdad Railway, raise the question of
increasing the Turkish Customs), His Majesty’s Government should not
object to^a reasonable increase in these duties, although a part of the increase
is to be used in guaranteeing a railway so important for the commercial
interests of Turkey ; (3) that, if the railway should prove to be a substantially
better route for conveying the mails to India, it may be used for conveying
those mails, on terms to be agreed upon hereafter; (4) that His Majesty’s
Government should assist, not by money or the promise of money, but by
their good offices in providing a proper terminus at or near Koweit.
These suggestions will be carefully considered. \7th April 1903.]
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1903-1907.
The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for the international negotiations over the development of a railway to Baghdad in particular as formulated in the Baghdad Railway Convention (1903) and the financial viability of the railway. The terms of possible British, French, Russian, Ottoman and German participation are debated including the Baghdad Railway Convention. Also discussed are the terms of loans made to the Persian Government and the desirability of ensuring that any extension from Baghdad to a terminus on the shores of the Gulf was controlled by Britain.
Further discussion surrounds the motivations and strategies of British competitors in the area. The volume features a copy (ff 385-396) of the text of the 'Baghdad Railway: Board of Trade Memorandum', a number of newspaper cuttings from German and British media, as well as seven maps.
The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne; Sir Edward Grey), His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas O'Connor), the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir Thomas Henry Sanderson), the Under-Secretary of State for India (Earl Percy, Sir Arthur Godley), the Viceroy of India (Lord Curzon of Keddleston), the Secretary to the Political and Secret Department of 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. (Sir Richmond Richie) and the London Manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia (George Newell).
Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (405 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 2764 (Bagdad Railway) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/56-60. The volumes are divided into five parts with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 405; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/56
- Title
- File 2764/1904 Pt 1 'Baghdad Railway: general negotiations 1904-07.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:5v, 9r:80v, 82r:89r, 90r:113v, 116r:129v, 132v:134v, 136r:143v, 144v:149v, 153r:162v, 163v:171v, 174r:174v, 177r:182v, 187r:208v, 210r:212r, 216r:225v, 235r:283v, 288r:296v, 306r:315v, 320v:333v, 336r:352v, 354r:365v, 368r:372r, 379r:385r, 398r:398v, 400r:400v, 404r:404v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence