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Coll 7/12 'Chinese Turkestan; import of arms via India' [‎104r] (207/315)

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The record is made up of 1 file (157 folios). It was created in 13 Apr 1932-17 Sep 1937. 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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Dear 1 r. Par-,
British Consulate Generalj
IDashgar.
**ugus t 3rdj 1932.
You will remember discussing with me last march
the question whether the machinery, aeroplanes and
nunitions purchased in Germany and Switzerland oy
hr• Burchan for the dinkiang Provincial Government could
be transported to this country through India. I then
agreed to enquire by telegraph whether there would be
any objection in principle to the passage of such
articles through India, but at the same time I made it
clear that information would be required as to the sixe
and weight of the packages and the approximate number
of pack animals needed. I have not yet received these
details from you, and the 'faoyin, from whom I again
enquired recently, was unable to give me any further
info rmation.
You already know something of the difficulties
of the Ladakh road, and I hope that, in the Chairman’s
interests, you will impress them upon him. ** ponyload
on that road cannot safely exceed 160 Ids, that is to
say, two packages of SO lbs. each. If the gross weight
of each package cannot be kept down to this figure,
transport through India will be impossible. This point
must be fully understood before the goods are despatched
from Europe. If the goods are sent to India and are th en
found to be unsuitable for pack transport, they will .
have to be shipped away again and sent by another route.
Apart from the disappointment and delay, this would-
involve an enormous loss of money on freight and other
charges, and it would be a great pity if the Chairman

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Content

The file contains correspondence regarding requests for arms and ammunition received by the Government of India from the Government at Sinkiang Province [Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu]. The principal correspondents are the Government of India Foreign and Political Department, the 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. Political Department, HM Consulate-General at Kashgar [Kashi], and Lieutenant-Colonel Reginald Charles Francis Schomberg. There are also a small number of letters received from Chinese officials, comprising: Pan Tsi-Lu, an Agent of the Governor of Sinkiang in Kashgar; the Peking Representative of the Sinkiang Provincial Government; and the Ministry of War.

The following topics are discussed in the correspondence dated 1932-1933: the initial approach to purchase mining machinery, aeroplanes and munitions from the Government of India or from British companies; further orders from Switzerland and Germany; arrangements for transporting materials to Sinkiang via India; negotiations to purchase arms and ammunition from Vickers-Armstrongs Limited; and the position of the Government of India with regard to the embargo on providing arms to China or Japan. Quotations from Vickers-Armstrongs can be found at folios 47-54, and 65-68.

The file contains several letters from Lieutenant-Colonel Schomberg, discussing: his role as an intermediary between the Government at Sinkiang and the Government of India; the reluctance of Chinese officials to deal with the Consulate-General at Kashgar (Nicholas Fitzmaurice); the difficulties he faced as a result of his unofficial position; Russian influence at Urumchi [Urumqi] and in East Turkestan; and his views on the Government of India's diplomatic policy.

At the front of the file is a small quantity of correspondence dated 1937, regarding a request for arms and ammunition received from the Tungan [Dungan or Hui] Government at Sinkiang. This includes discussion of the position of neutrality to be adopted towards Southern Sinkiang, the need to obtain permission from the Central Government at Nanking, and the possible application of the Barcelona Convention on the Freedom of Transit (1921).

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references found within the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).

Extent and format
1 file (157 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 157; 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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Coll 7/12 'Chinese Turkestan; import of arms via India' [‎104r] (207/315), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2181, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100064297790.0x00000a> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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