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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.' [‎149r] (310/536)

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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fe P btnkry7bZ 0 Sfrir etMng that tlle Kerkha sho >^ be adopted as
^ frontier as locally
the Turkish Customs Post at Di’ai i between the ‘bo obanne! running from
and Aqawat, to the junction of the Nahr Nazaileh with the° • a ' ll!ll>l .''ah, Bowarin,
between the Nahr Di’aiji and the iffoK ^^ 0 ^
Nahr Khaiym until it reaches the point where the Nahr Khaiyin and the Nah?
Nazaileh meet the mam channel of the Shatt-el-Arab. (See man No 2 ) '
XT ^ ‘ben proceeds as shown by the broken black line (see accompanying mans
!&?S.t S3 - ““ «WS
The claim made by Persia rests on continued and undisturbed possession for
over a century, and on the recognition of Persian sovereignty by local representatives
« f , ‘be Turkish Government in many ways and on many different ocdsimis
Thus t ere is unanimity of evidence amongst the local tribesmen that the boundary
as locally observed has not been questioned by the Turkish authorities who on
the contrary, many years ago had actually buried some coal in a pit as a permanent
boundary mark; and it further appears that the periodical cleaning of the Nahr
V a JV n ldS a ", ays b e .® n undertaken by Persian subjects under the orders of the Sheikh
of Mohammerah, whilst the cleaning of the Di’aiji Canal has been carried out
exclusively under the orders of the Turkish mudirs.
The local inhabitants moreover draw a very clear line of distinction between
the position of the Sheikh of Mohammerah m, for instance, the islands of Akawat
Barm or Bowarin, Shamshamiyah, and Umm-ut-Tuwaileh, of the greater part of
which he is merely proprietor, and his position on the Persian side of the locally
recognised boundary. J
From _ the point where the locally observed frontier leaves the Khaiyin Canal
and, opposite the Nahr Nazaileh, enters the main channel of the Shatt-el-Arab‘it follows
the medium filum aquce of the Shatt-el-Arab down to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . (See mans
Nos. 3 and 4.) 1 ’
This line of demai cation is in accordance with the general presumption that
where a navigable river forms the boundary of conterminous States, the middle of
the channel or “thalweg” is the actual line of separation between those two States.
Such a presumption may, however, be swept away, either by proof of prior
occupancy and long undisturbed possession on the part of one of the two States, or
by express treaty stipulation.
. r ^ le records of the past 30(3 years, as contained in the official archives of the East
India Company and of His Majesty s Government, are far from supporting any claim
on the part of Turkey to “ prior occupancy and long undisturbed possession” of the
Shatt-el-Arab ; while no express stipulation is contained in the Treaty of Erzeroum
(1847) as to the ownership of the river.
If, therefore, His Majesty’s Government had strict regard either to purely local
considerations or to the letter of the treaties, they would not hesitate to press for
the frontier as locally recognised along its whole length from Hawizeh to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . But they prefer to look at the negotiations in which they are now
engaged as a whole, and are sincerely anxious to arrive at an arrangement which both
parties can accept ex animo, and which, by removing all points of grievance and
friction not only between themselves, but also between the Sublime Porte and the
Sheikh of Mohammerah, will place the relations of all concerned on a thoroughly
satisfactory footing. Provided, therefore, the Turkish Government will accept the
frontier status quo as already indicated from the neighbourhood of Hawizeh to the
point where the Khaiyin Canal and the Nahr Nazaileh enter the Shatt-el-Arab, then
His Majesty’s Government are prepared to use their influence with the Persian Govern
ment and the Sheikh of Mohammerah to induce them to recognise Turkish sovereignty
over the whole waterway of the Shatt-el-Arab, subject to the following conditions :—
(i.) The following islands to be recognised as within the territorial limits of
Persia:—
(cl.) Muhalleh and its adjunct Bahriyeh, the four islands situated between Shatait
and Ma’awiyeh, and the two islands off Manquhi. These islands are in fact parts
of the island of Abadan, and must be so regarded.
(b.) Any islands now in existence, or which may hereafter be formed, and which
may be connected at low water either with Abadan Island or with the Persian hank
below the Nahr Nazaileh.

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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.' [‎149r] (310/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/60, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048418271.0x00006f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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