File 2764/1904 Pt 3 'Baghdad Railway: general negotiations 1910-1912.' [‎30r] (68/544)

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ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
[March 12.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1.
[ 10800 ]
No. 1 .
(Secret.) Board °f Trade to Foreign Office—(Received March 12 .)
Sir, _
, directed b y the Board <’f Trade to acknowklgethr^eip^oftolir ][tt 2 ' f
the 9th February, transmitting copy of a desnateh from (a " m ‘ P . y ^ Ur let . ter of
Constantinople with regard to the effect minn l, His Majesty s Ambassador at
modification P of the of he Bagtd iS W andtoT^ thetr^ ° f t SUgge8ted
thereon for Sir E. Grey’s consideration i- 7 ’ he folIowln g observations
Khaniki^rcm^^is^Bntlsh'oTiBriti^h^Indhm 8 *^ ^ fi ' 0 m , Ba g dad -to Persia by the
German trade in Persia does not seriously compete, the' searrcannof ^oubt^th Utf
be^f substantia?te^TtoliritishVade ^hat iU^ldt® TT ° f trans P or t> would
rnS tX b /j th c :
t point out that their opinion related to the event of Pr^af "R i
presented < muc 1 i greater dyc h ulty S ° Uthern KallWa7 C ° mpany totaIly differen t- and
“net the pt^g^raph “
by the transference of the concession for that line to the prono^d g intc T 1
company for the construction and operation of the line between Bagdad and the Persian
Gulf. On this I am to observe that the Board have no information which leadtT
to suppose that the Bagdad Railway Company would consent to snoh at J r them
since the Khan,kin branch stems likely to £ cLm^ciaUy on o/ftt moTtS
parts of their undertaking ; and as, so far as they are aware His Ma,Wv’?P valuaM e
have never hitherto put forward any claim to the consteuction of 3 Tlf n f
with respect to anv railway construction northward of Bagdad the Board ’on^te’
S“:.“s.5r *** *• ■** *4 •»«t 4 :
him ^ erard Lo " theris .p possession of any information which leads
p , , . at d 1,L ' reasonably possible to secure the transference sugnested 11 ,
Board admit that a new situation is created, which appears to them te reaufe thal 1 th 6
c l aes * 10n °f British participation in the new international company should b!
examined afresh m the light of this new fact. P 7 snouId be
4. Subject to the last observation, the Board of Trade as at nrp«<w • i
no reason to modify the views expressed in their previous letter and thev a VlSG y’ se ®
hat the course of events has obviated any possMW^ relleVed
taking up a position with regard to the suggested nfodification which
would not have been to the test interests of British teade th6y 0 ° n3lder
I am, &c.
bl- LLEWELLYN SMITH.
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