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File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎300r] (604/674)

The record is made up of 1 volume (333 folios). It was created in 1911-1912. 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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-g-°2£S5SSlil ^l.Property of Hi s Britannic Maisstv’s Government.l
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
[December 31.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1.
[47123] No. 1.
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. to Foreign Office.—(Received December 31.)
Sir, 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. , December 30, 1910.
I AM directed by the Secretary of State for India to acknowledge the receipt of
your letters of the 21st and 24th December, regarding piracies in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
and the suggested visit of one of His Majesty’s ships to Zakhnuniyeh Island.
In reply, I am to enclose, for the information of the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, copy of telegrams exchanged with the Government of India (together with
papers received by mail relating'to the Mishri case),* and to say that the Earl of Crewe
feels a certain difficulty in offering advice on these subjects. The possible presence of
a few Turkish soldiers on Zakhnuniyeh Island is not in itself of such consequence as
to justify the running of any risk, and certainly not the risk of the loss of prestige
that would ensue if, for example, one of His Majesty’s ships ran aground in the
enterprise. Similarly, the piracy, though it is of greater importance (since, as Colonel
Cox points out, it took place on the high seas), is not in itself so important as to
justify the courting of a rebuff, unless, of course, His Majesty’s Government are
determined not to allow themselves to be rebuffed.
If, on the other hand, these episodes are not taken by themselves, but as part of
the whole policy of the Turkish Government as described in Sir E. Grey’s despatch of
the 17th October, there can be no doubt that the material damage to the interests
(mainly Indian) that have been built up in Mesopotamia by a century of peaceful and
legitimate enterprise, and the loss of prestige in what we have—by considerable
expenditure of life and money—made predominantly a British sea, warrant the
strongest possible measures on the part of His Majesty’s Government. But the
question then becomes one of such magnitude that, as Lord Crewe recognises, Indian
interests must take their place among the wider interests which do not fall within the
competence of the Secretary of State for India.
Looking at the question from the Indian point of view, his Lordship would
suggest that the time has come when it is not only desirable but necessary for His
Majesty’s Government to explain clearly and comprehensively to the Turkish
Government what their interests in those regions really are, and what is the policy
that they deliberately intend to pursue, and, if possible, to arrive at some such
general settlement as was advocated by Lieutenant-Colonel Cox in the telegram
enclosed in my letter of the 9th December. The desirability of this course is
illustrated by the extracts from the Turkish journal “ Tanin,” reported in the
“ Morning Post” of the 28th December (copy enclosed*). The article from which
these extracts are taken is apparently the result of the visit of Ismail Hakki Bey to
Bagdad, which is referred to in Mr. Marling’s despatch No. 865 of the 29th November
and in Mr. Consul-General Lorimer’s summary for October 1910 (copy of which was
sent to your department on the 28th December). It appears to Lord Crewe that Great
Britain is at present incurring all the odium, without obtaining any of the benefits, of
an active policy at the head of the Gulf, and that in these circumstances no harm can,
and some good may, be done by entering into the explanations suggested above. If
these explanations were received in a friendly spirit and with a manifest desire to
arrive at an accommodation (which, it may be admitted, is unlikely), the object of His
Majesty’s Government would so far have been achieved. If not, it would probably be
necessary to strengthen the squadron in the Gulf, so as to enable it to act inde
pendently of the ^ blockade operations, and, by summarily removing all signs of
Turkish authority from places where we do not admit their rights, and affording the
Sheikhs of Koweit and Mohammerah material as well as moral support in their disputes
with the Turkish Government, to convince the latter that we are in earnest
If however, this course is on general grounds thought to be impracticable at the
present juncture, Lord Crewe does not consider, for the reasons given above, that the
two proposals immediately in question are worth pursuing separately, though he
would favour such a cruise as the naval commander-in-chief proposes, with the
* Not printed.
[1814 hh —1]

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1911-1912.

The correspondence concerns three broad topics:

  • Anglo-Turkish negotiations
  • proposals of the Turkish Government
  • the status of Kuwait.

The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for these international negotiations.

Further discussion surrounds the Draft Report of the Standing Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence.

The principal correspondents in the volume include Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ,and John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley, Lord President of the Council.

Extent and format
1 volume (333 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 2764 (Baghdad 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 335; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎300r] (604/674), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100055625147.0x000005> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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