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File 2764/1904 Pt 5 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; concessions proposed in respect of Kowait; negotations with Hakki Pasha in London; Anglo-Turkish agreement.' [‎78r] (164/536)

The record is made up of 1 volume (254 folios). It was created in 1912-1914. 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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%vas a direct conflict of opinion between Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and ourselves as to what the
status quo is, he maintaining that the territory between Diaiji and the Nahr Nazaileh
is in effective Turkish occupation, while we maintained the contrary. Finally he
accepted our line with the proviso that if, on delimitation, it is found that the territory
i^ question was in effective Turkish occupation on the 1st January last, the line shall
be rectified accordingly.. There is very little likelihood that this will prove to be the
case, but it may be noted that, even if it does, we get a rather better line than that
given by the Mediating Commissioners in 1850, which left the Sheikhs of Mohammerahs
palace at Failiyeh in Turkish territory.
His Majesty’s Government have, of course, to secure Persian acceptance of the line.
IV. The British Memorandum of the 18th July, 1012, enclosed a draft convention
on railway matters, but Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. propounded a counter-draft. This was quite
unacceptable, and the Board of Trade prepared an alternative, which Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
eventually accepted with some alterations (also prepared by Board of Trade), designed
to avoid frequent disputes involving arbitration. Sir H. Llewellyn Smith took part in
the discussion on this subject, and it is understood that he considers the result as
satisfactory as any document is likely to be. Some additional safeguard against unfair
differentiation in rates will be afforded by the presence of British directors on the
Board. Alterations in rates according to Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , require the sanction of the
Turkish Government, and it should be possible for the British directors to warn His
Majesty’s Government if any alteration adversely affecting British trade is proposed ;
but too much stress must not be laid on this, since it has been impossible to provide
that the directors shall actually be nominees of His Majesty’s Government.
LOUIS MALLET.
ARTHUR HIRTZFL.
May 3, 1913.
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT.
V.—Navigation of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
A DRAFT Declaration by the Turkish Government on this subject has now been
initialled ad referendum by Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and Sir H. Llewellyn Smith. The draft was
prepared by the latter, and is the result of much anxious consideration by the British
representatives, who have had the benefit of the advice of Lord Inchcape and Mr. Huth
Jackson, and who have also repeatedly discussed with Mr. H. F. B. Lynch the position
and’ambitions of his Company, which, at present, alone represents British interests on
these rivers.
The main object of His Majesty’s Government is to secure effective competition
between river-borne traffic and the Railway, if and when the latter is extended from
Bagdad to Basra, this being a necessary corollary of the withdrawal of our objections
to the extension. In the first instance, the British Memorandum of the 18th July, 1912,
had asked for three additional ships, which it was thought would, with Messrs. Lynch’s
existing fleet, suffice for that purpose. But doubts suggested themselves, and the
Board of Trade and 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. having independently come to the conclusion that it
would be better served by some amalgamation of existing Turkish and British interests,
which would secure control for the latter, it was decided to put forward a proposal to
this effect to Hakki Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , who had already intimated that amalgamation was favoured
by the Turkish Government, while the German Government had indicated their
willingness to withdraw from the navigation on certain conditions. It was thought
simpler to proceed by way of a Declaration embodying the main princijjles in a form
as satisfactory as possible to Turkish amour-propre, and to leave the details upon
which the effectiveness of British control will largely depend to be settled by a
Convention between the Ottoman Government and the British concessionnaire. It
•will be necessary that this Convention should be signed before the customs increase is
finally approved. It is proposed that the concessionnaire should be Lord Inchcape,
but that Mr. Lynch should be admitted to a share (not, however, amounting to control)
in the new Company and should have a seat on the Board.
The Declaration also provides (clause 7) that the Lynch Company should continue
as a separate body on the basis of what His Majesty’s Government are prepared to
regard as its actual rights. The British flag will thus remain on the river, and a
British undertaking which has been in existence for over half a century need not lose
its identity. This is much less than Mr. Lynch claims, but it is considered inadvisable

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to a negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1912-1914.

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 and an extension to Basra. In particular the correspondence focuses on:

The principal correspondents in the volume are the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Secretary to the Board of Trade (Louis Mallet); the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, Simla (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry McMahon); 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox).

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.

Extent and format
1 volume (254 folios)
Arrangement

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

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 foliation sequence commences at the inside 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 2764/1904 Pt 5 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; concessions proposed in respect of Kowait; negotations with Hakki Pasha in London; Anglo-Turkish agreement.' [‎78r] (164/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/60, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048418270.0x0000a5> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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