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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.' [‎166v] (345/536)

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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rendered to the cause of navigation in. that district provide the Porte with a perfectly
good answer to any claim to equal participation which other Powers may put forward,
because Turkey can say, and say with truth, that owing to the multifarious services
rendered by Great Britain, she (Turkey) had cea,sed to be master on her own river, and,
that the only way in which to secure the cessation of the existing state^ of things am
the transfer of these services to the commission was by appointing a British subject as
a member of the commission. , , . . J ,, r . r
The only other policy would be for no dues to be levied at all, and tor the entire
expenses of the commission to be borne either by the Porte alone or by the Porte and
Great Britain jointly. Either proposal would, in our opinion, be open to objection, nor
would either be likely to meet with favour from the Ottoman Government. Although
we are reluctant to recommend a departure from established British policy in respect of
financial aid to works in foreign territory, we yet venture to think that, if it should
appear that the imposition of dues is impracticable, the importance of maintaining the
Shatt-el-Arab and its approaches in good navigable condition is so great that, it the
Porte could be induced to accept an arrangement under which the expenses of the
commission would be borne by the two Powers jointly, the policy of an annual giant
for this purpose from the British and Indian Exchequers merits the careful consideration
of the Cabinet. 1 ..... . „ .
On one point we think it is desirable that matters should be left open tor an
understanding with Germany. Under the original Bagdad Railway concession, the
railway company have the right to construct wharves, &c., at Bussorah. It may
eventually turn out to be better for the commission not to attempt to construct wharves
at that port, so as to leave the field clear for the new railway company to be formed
for the Bagdad-Gulf section. It would be an advantage to the commission financially,
as it will have plenty of work elsewhere for call the funds at its disposal, and it might
form the basis of an understanding under which Germany would not oppose the work
of the commission.
Dealing now with the changes made in the original draft, in the order of the
several articles, we have the honour to submit the following observations :
Article I.—The word “remain” has been substituted for “be” to emphasise the
claim that the river is open already.
Article 5 —The words “and the surveyor” have been added to meet the wish
expressed by the Admiralty that a British naval officer should be associated with the
commission.
Article 6 (a).—The words “and as the funds at its disposal will allow’’ have been
struck out, as it is feared that they might be made a pretext for the commission to evade
carrying out necessary works.
Article 6 (d).—Difficulties may occur as to the control of pilotage by the com
mission, but in practice we do not think they should be insurmountable.
Article 6 (e ).—We consider it advisable to lay down precisely the lights and
buoys which are handed over to the commission, and that a schedule should be prepared.
Article 6 (/).— We considered whether the insertion of the word “Turkish” before
“banks” would be expedient; but the convention can only apply to places under
Turkish jurisdiction, and the limitation therefore seems unnecessary. We have used
“ banks” in the plural because on the higher reaches of the river both banks are Turkish.
Articles 8 , 9 , 10 are a re-arrangement and expansion of the original articles 8
and 9 , the changes having been made especially with a view to strengthening the
provisions against discrimination.
Article 11.—We consider it inadvisable that the commission should have the
option of borrowing from any Power other than Great Britain or Turkey, since
foreign Powers might make the advance of capital a pretext for claiming representation
on the commission.
Article 15.—We do not consider it imperative to insist upon the umpire being
nominated by the British Institute of Civil Engineers, and we suggest that we
might, if advisable, concede this point in the course of negotiation.
Article 18.—Understanding that the frontier between turkey and Mohammera
is to be laid down in some other document, we have inserted a saving clause
will preclude the commission from exercising any jurisdiction on the Persian ban ,
or in Persian waters, without the consent of Persia or the Sheikh of Mohammerah.
Article 19.—This is taken, with a few slight modifications, from the moce
commercial treaty. We have suggested twenty-me years as the period ot the agreemen
on the ground that it may be advantageous that the question of its renewal shou
coincide with that of a possible renewal of the customs increase, which we understan

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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.' [‎166v] (345/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/60, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048418271.0x000092> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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