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Reports and Correspondence Relating to Persia, Including Trade and Trade Routes in Persia [‎80r] (159/252)

The record is made up of 1 file (124 folios). It was created in 22 Nov 1900-20 Apr 1905. 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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i
3
go)
tan Bahadur Mirza
ad has done much
at a loss where to
assist them a large
res, and the various
,11 on their members
tion. Each pattern
freight and inciden-
i be compressed into
rchasers. Arrange-
ble to purchase any
the local bank suffi-
the manufacturing
jtnent their personal
e to open an Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
ian piece and other
at low prices; The
h, consequent on the
ly commissions, and
•urchase in Quetta,
a Shikarpur, Sukkur
able personal incon-
3 Quetta, are always
i. An Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. con-
jss, provided always
nd a sufficient stock
i confined to a few
eing the case. The
7 good article, and
d finish, his natural
itries only when he
ely by recognizing
3 d Ali and Brothers
motion an allotment
•ovement of the new
owards facilitating
e Persian frontier,
i which have been
commodious levy
achof these stages
rovided, in addition
1 large rooms with
luate stabling. In
oad being provided
it will be seen that
whatever, and that
i ease, comfort and
route in Northern
3d on the frontier
present very little
construction, are
ittle trouble as the
distance apart of
) road referred to,
rrounding country,
as well as shorter,
alignment for a caravan road exists north of that now followed, it is intended,
should water be found at one place, to realign the caravan road for 60 miles of
its length. The coming winter will show whether this step can be taken, and
if it can, then the last of the special difficulties which have had to be met in
opening the trade route, will have been overcome.
As regards the other improvements introduced, these can best be summa
rised briefly as follows A kutcha road, varying in breadth from ten to twenty
feet, has been run from Nushki to Killa Robat on the Persian frontier; in place
of a weekly dak System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company. a bi-weekly dak System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company. has been inaugurated and the speed at which
the dak System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company. travels has been accelerated from 132 to 100 hours; the value payable
parcel system also has been extended to Seistan ; the number of wells at each
stage has been augmented; and the fortified posts, which guard the road through
out its length, have been much improved and strengthened.
11. The market which Persia offers for Indian indigo is an excellent one,
and it is a matter of considerable surprise that the Indigo planters of India
have neither turned their attention to it nor made any serious attempt to exploit
it. Such a promising market should not be neglected.
12. Tea exported to Persia by the overland route realizes a larger profit
when sold in the Mashad market than tea exported by the sea route and Bandar
Abt>as. While the delicate aroma of tea suffers w r hen exposed to warm sea air,
no matter how carefully it may be packed, the matter is susceptible of yet
another explanation, since it is evident that tea despatched direct from the
gardens, or from Calcutta to Quetta and Seistan is not called on to pay many of
the freight, commission, transhipment and incidental charges to which teas
exported by Bandar Abbas are liable. A careful study of the question has con
vinced the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. that it is only a matter of time for all the tea which is con
sumed in Khorasan and Northern Afghanistan to be exported via the Nushki-
Seistan trade route. Throughout Europe a large demand exists for overland,
or as they are termed, caravan teas, all of which come from China. Much of
the Indian tea is grown from imported China seed, and compares favourably
in flavour and liquor with China teas. Now that an overland route connecting
India with Europe is a fait accompli, no legitimate reason appeai-s to exist
why teas grown in India and exported by the overland route, should not
compete in Europe on favourable terms with China teas. Some of the Tea Asso
ciations of India would do well to turn their attention to the matter and to
despatch an experimental consignment of their teas to Moscow for sale in
Russia.
13. The Indian and Dehra Bun Tea Associations have both despatched
representatives to Khorasan with instructions to study the requirements of the
Persian market on the spot, and to submit reports on the subject. Both Asso
ciations are much to be commended on their enterprise which they have dis
played in exploiting the new market which the caravan road has thrown open
to them.
14. The firm of Mohamed Ali Brothers, which was established in Seistan
last year and has done good business in Central and Southern Khorasan, has
recently been followed to Seistan by the firms of Ram Singh Chaman Singh
of Shikarpur and Mohamed Azim Khan and Brothers of Lahore. Judging
from the numerous enquiries which are being received, there would appear to be
every likelihood of the number of firms, trading to Seistan and Khorasan, being
reinforced in the early future. The three firms just named can only touch
the fringe of the trade there is in the country. It is therefore to be hoped that
more Indian traders will turn their attention to the field which the Nushki-
Seistan trade route has thrown open to their enterprise.
15. The number of Persian horses which reached Quetta in the course of
the year under review amounted to 408 as against 40 for the preceding twelve
months. The dealers, who brought the horses to Quetta, experienced no diffi
culty in disposing of their animals, and the average price realized was so
remunerative that it should go far to encourage the trade in future.
16. The past year lias seen a marked increase in the number of travellers
who passed along the road. Many Shiah Muhammadans use the trade route to
travel to Mashad on pilgrimage to the shrine of the Imam Raza; indeed the

About this item

Content

The file contains reports and correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], including reports on trade and trade routes in Persia.

It includes:

  • A copy of the ‘Report Received from Mr H.W. Maclean, the Special Commissioner Appointed by the Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of Trade, on the Conditions and Prospects of British Trade in Persia.’
  • A copy of a letter from Arthur Henry Hardinge, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice), enclosing an annual report prepared by Evelyn Grant Duff, Secretary of Legation, Tehran, on events in Persia during the year 1904
  • Copies of the reports ‘Reconnaissance from Kondi on the Seistan Trade Route via Mashkhel-Hamun and Panjgur…’ and ‘Reconnaissance and Estimate for a Railway from Nushki to the Helmand and thence to the Persian frontier at Bund-i-Seistan’
  • Copies of printed despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, forwarding copies of the weekly Diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai (for the weeks ending 16 February, 8 March, 24 March, 31 March, and 24 October 1901, and 31 March and 8 April 1902), and a copy of the report ‘Trade Returns of the Quetta-Seistan Trade Route, for the year 1900-1901.’ by Captain Frank Cooke Webb-Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai
  • Printed copies of the Diary of Captain Robert Arthur Edward Benn, HM Vice-Consul for Seistan and Kain (for the period ending 31 March, 11 April, 30 April, 15 May, 17 June, and 15 September 1901).
Extent and format
1 file (124 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in no apparent order within the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 126; 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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Reports and Correspondence Relating to Persia, Including Trade and Trade Routes in Persia [‎80r] (159/252), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/357, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061375796.0x0000a0> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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