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File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports' [‎37r] (78/258)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (129 folios). It was created in 1912-1916. 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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L ThiR Docmaent is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government]
PERSIA.
[February 8 .]
CONFIDENTIAL.
I
Section 2.
[6057]
No. 1.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir P. Cox to Sir Edward Grey,—{Received February 8.)
(No. 2. Commercial. Confidential.)
Sir, Bushire, January 19, 1913.
IN continuation of my despatch No. 7, Commercial, dated the 18th August, I
I HAVE the honour to address you in connection with the question of railway
terminal facilities at ports on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , which, as I observe from recent corre
spondence in print, has been engaging the attention of His Majesty’s Government.
2. In the penultimate paragraph of a report on railway possibilities in the sphere
of this residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , my commercial adviser, Mr. Chick, urged “ a careful investigation of
the best means of suitably improving Bush ire harbour and the probable cost; and a
similar investigation at Bunder Abbas.”
It is now apparent that the Societe d’Etudes has already begun to contemplate
the desirability of improvements in the ports included in its scheme for branch lines to
the Trans-Persian Railway, it being understood that the ports chiefly affected would be
Bush ire aad Bunder Abbas. . • • j
His Majesty’s Government have recently considered it expedient to depute
engineer officers of their own to advise them as to the relative merits of vanous routes
in South-East Persia ; and it is, I submit, no less necessary and important that they
should know, in advance of all applications for concessions, whether_ by the Trans-
Persian Railway or by the Persian Railways Syndicate, the possibility ^LP 1 * 0 ^ 1 "
mate cost of improving the harbours or anchorages at Bushire and Bunder Abbas in
order to enable them to cope sufficiently with railway requirements.
3. As regards Bushire the position is this :—
The harbour was elaborately and carefully surveyed in 1904. It was held that there
was sufficient water in the channel connecting the outer and inner anchorages o
accommodate the ships of 17 feet draft ordinarily plying to the Gulf, but that m view
of the existing state of prospects of trade through Bushire the deepening ot the
approaches to the inner anchorage (Khor Deira) would be too costly an operation to
undertake. It was considered, however, that the dredging of a canal from the inner
anchorage (Khor Deira) to the customs creek (Khor Sultam) was feasible, and should be
have the honour to enclose a copy of a letter which I have addressed to the Govern
ment of India, on the subject of railway concessions and terminal facilities at ports on
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
I have, &c.
P. Z. COX, Lieutenant-Colonel, British Resident in
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and His Majesty s Consul-
General for Ears, &c.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir P. Cox to Government of India.
(No. 198.)
Sir,
Bushire, January 19, 1913.
our aim for the present.
The officer in charge of the marine survey reported in June 1905 that there
would be little difficulty in dredging the proposed canal, but that it would be advisa e
„ J • i • • j 4 -^ fho Ava.r>r nature ot
2804 7i—2]

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Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, notes, and maps relating to the development of railways projects in South Persia and the associated marine surveys of Gulf ports, notably Bandar Abbas and Bushire.

The volume includes the report of Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson on the technical issues concerning development of railway lines between Bushire and Shiraz, and Bandar Abbas and Shiraz. Also included is a report on the commercial possibilities of these two developments, compiled by Commercial Adviser, H G Chick. These reports (folios 101-124) are preceded by an accompanying summary and analysis by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Percy Zachariah Cox.

Also discussed in the correspondence is the question of concessions for railways in the neutral zone and the relative advantages (climate, water supply) of Bushire and Bandar Abbas as railway termini in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The correspondence also features discussion of a rumoured German scheme for a Bushire-Shiraz railway.

Further discussion surrounds the arrangements for marine survey work in the region of Henjam and Bandar Abbas to be undertaken by the RIMS Palinurus. A report by the Captain of the Palinurus, Captain B W Mainprise is included along with three marine survey maps (folios 48-50).

The principal correspondents in the volume include: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Consul General for Fars (Lieutenant Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); (Lieutenant Colonel Stuart George Knox); First Assistant to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Captain L Birdwood; Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department; Under Secretary of State, 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. ; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Louis Mallet); Director, Royal Indian Marine, Walter Lumsden; Officer Comanding, RIMS Palinurus ( Captain B W Mainprise); Secretary to the Government of India, Marine Department.

The volume 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.

Extent and format
1 volume (129 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 4648 (Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports) consists of 1 volume, IOR/L/PS/10/316. The explanation of the cover sheet/divider at the front of each volume (regarding the correspondence series numbers which have been put together to form the volumes) will be given in the Scope and Content.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 127; 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
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File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports' [‎37r] (78/258), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/316, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045943904.0x00004f> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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