File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports' [87v] (179/258)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
in general terms, to survey, and carrying with it an option to construct a line traversing
Persian territory; the actual points to be included m the alignment being left to futur e
examination and decision after approval by the Governments concerned/' Moreover
it was recognised that His Majesty’s Government reserved complete freedom of action
in regard to construction outside the Russian sphere (that is, m the neutral and
British spheres), and that such construction should not be undertaken until, i n ttuP
view of His Majesty’s Government, it should be deemed politic and feasible.
It would obviously have been impossible for Sir E. Grey, consistently with the
reservations enumerated in the letters addressed to your society in March last, to have
acquiesced in more far-reaching proposals at this_ stage; it had indeed been expressly
intimated in this correspondence that His Majesty s Government could not commit
themselves in regard to the execution ot the project until the report of the Socidtd
d’Etudes—a body primarily formed for the purpose of study and investigation—had
been submitted, and the object in view was that the conclusions arrived at in the
report should be fully considered in their commercial, political, and strategical aspects
by His Majesty’s Government.
Sir E. Grey considers that it would be hardly possible for His Majesty’s Government
to reserve that freedom of action which has always been stipulated for, pending con
sideration of the report of your society, if they were now to afford you diplomatic
support at Tehran in pressing the specitic proposals embodied in your letter of the
5th November.
I am now to refer seriatim to the enclosures in your letter.
Enclosure (A), the draft of a letter which it is proposed to present to the
Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs, sets forth under three headings the objects of the
Society d’Etudes in sending delegates to Tehran; these are to secure :—
1. Permission to make the necessary investigations and preparations for the construction, on
Persian territory, of a railway joining up the Russian and Indian frontiers, and for all extensions
calculated to further the essential object of the line—that is to say, for the building of railways
destined for passenger and goods traffic between the Russo-Persian frontier and the Indo-Persian
frontier.
2. An option, in favour of the Societe d’l^tudes, for a concession for the above-mentioned
lines. Such an option should also be assured to the societe for building branch lines which would
be natural feeders of the main line, or which might, under foreign control, injuriously affect its
traffic.
3. Finally, certain maritime facilities at the terminal points being necessary for working the
lines, the societe would desire to secure its position in this respect also.
His Majesty’s Government are willing, subject to the reservations contained in
the Foreign Office letters of the 2nd and 25th March last, to support your delegates
at Tehran in securing an option as originally proposed for a main line; they are
willing to do so on the distinct understanding that the option is not to be exercised
outside the Russian sphere, that is, in a region where British commercial and political
interests predominate, until they deem it politic and feasible.
As to the question of branches, His Majesty’s Government cannot support your
delegates at this stage in negotiating even for an option outside the Russian sphere.
When your report is completed they will consider carefully, and on their merits, such
recommendations as may be put forward; but Sir E. Grey cannot conceal from you his
view that a concession, such as is outlined in your letter, would confer upon your
society a virtual monopoly of railway enterprise, and, having regard to the magnitude
of British interests in Southern Persia, His Majesty’s Government cannot commit them
selves, even provisionally, to the proposals now before them.
While Sir E. Grey cannot but regard the question as somewhat premature, he
recognises that, if railways are built in regions adjacent to those traversed by the liue
you have in view, then means should be found for securing through traffic, destined to
pass^ on to, or coming from, your system, against unfair manipulation on railways
outside your direct control.
His Majesty s Government are also unwilling to agree to the third proposal iu
. °^ me (A)> regarding terminal facilities on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
; Sir E. Grey was not,
mdeed, aware that the Irans-Persian Railway—by which it was proposed to connect
Russian and Indian territory—was projected to reach the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, or, indeed,
that any terminus on those waters was contemplated. The matter is one of great
po itical importance; and His Majesty’s Government cannot support your delegates m
a negotiation w bich, should it now be pursued, would cause them grave concern. _ .
Enclosure (B) contains an enumeration of branch lines—a subject to which it is
unnecessary that I should refer in greater detail.
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/316
- Title
- File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:40v, 41v:47v, 51r:126v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence