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Coll 28/95 ‘Persia. Relations with H.M.G. Private claims against H.M.G.: case of the S.S. “Kara Deniz”.’ [‎103r] (205/691)

The record is made up of 1 file (343 folios). It was created in 29 Oct 1927-10 Feb 1938. It was written in English and French. 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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the latter took certain measures, which were to an extent successful, in retrieving
some small part of the goods, while at the same time they denied their
responsibility for affording any compensation for the loss of the remainder. On
his part Sir P. Loraine definitely maintained their liability for the losses.
Unfortunately, it is added that there is little to go on in the case, as His
Majesty’s consul at Kerman had never furnished full details, and that no
further attempt had been made to press the claim upon the Persian Government
since 1923. Search among the Kerman returns fails to add anything, and we
have accordingly neither the names of the claimants nor other evidence to support
this claim of some thirteen years’ standing, and in the circumstances it is not
clear how it can be further pursued unless fresh material can be brought forward.
Claim No. 93.—This is perhaps the most important claim of all. The
Persian Railway Syndicate claim £202,207, with accrued interest, amounting in
1932 to a total of £326,082 25. Id., for the costs of survey of certain specified
railway routes in Persia. Their claim depends upon options granted them in
1920 by the then Persian Government, and the material clause on which their
claim is based runs : ‘ c Should the Persian Government, after the expiry of the
periods mentioned, decide not to construct the railways as State railways, and
should the syndicate not be agreeable to accepting a concession on reasonable and
practicable terms, then the Persian Government shall give notice that, after six
months following the above-mentioned period, they will take over the plans and
surveys and pay for them at a price equal to the cost thereof and interest
thereon.”
Ihe contention of the Persian Government is, in short, that the options given
were never sanctioned by the Majlis, and so were not in accord with article 26 of
the Fundamental Law; an argument which, as Sir R. Hoare has pointed out, was
untenable, as no Majlis was in existence at any of the material dates. In 1933,
however, the Persian Government still maintained their view; if the syndicate
were not satisfied they might refer the matter to the competent courts, in which
event the Persian Government would set forth in detail their arguments and
evidence in support of the non-existence of their responsibility. It was
ascertained that by the phrase “ competent courts ” the Persian courts of justice
were meant.
In November 1933 the Persian Railway Syndicate wrote to say they were
prepared to compromise for the actual costs of the survey, viz., £131653 85 . 2d .;
if this offer was not accepted their original claim would hold good. Later, in
March 1934, they furnished an opinion on their case by Sir Leslie Scott, and in
April a further statement of account, plus interest, amounting in all to
£348,907 175.
Claim No. 96.—This is a claim for arrears of salaries and pension allowances
of officers of the Indian Medical Service formerly employed in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Quarantine Service. The period for which these arrears are claimed is from the
1 st July, 1923, to the 30th June, 1924, and the amount due is stated by our
Legation to be 69,967 10 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. and 16,814 krans.
J he Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Quarantine Service remained under the supervision of
British medical officers until 1928, when, by agreement with the Persian Govern
ment, it came to an end. The correspondence shows that these quarantine
arrangements were confided to British medical officers about as far back as 1864;
their services, however, rested upon no contract or written agreement, though
their presence had been recognised in numerous ways by the Persian Government
and the service expanded and elaborated from time to time with their express
approval. Down to 1928 their salaries appear to have been paid by the Persian
authorities out of the local Customs Administration funds, with the exception of
the period in 1923-24 for which they are claimed, and the reason for this
omission is said to be obscure, but appears to have been due to some overlapping
of accounts, which resulted in the payments for the period mentioned not having
been sanctioned by the Majlis.
As apart from some budgetary difficulties in framing estimates, it is not
clear that the Persian Government really disputed the right of these British
officers to be paid for work which they were efficiently rendering up to the time
when the Quarantine Service was in 1928 handed over to the Persian authorities.
But the correspondence seems to have passed mainly at Tehran, and I cannot find
that we have any very accurate particulars here of the payments made to these
officers in such detail as to make evident the precise deficiency left in such

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Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to the case of the SS Kara Deniz , a Turkish-owned steamship that was claimed as prize by the British Government at the moment of the Ottoman Empire’s entry into the First World War, while the vessel was moored at Bombay [Mumbai]. The papers focus on a financial claim made against the British Government by the vessel’s Greek owners, Socrates Atychides and Theodore Vahratoglou, based on the argument that the vessel had been sold to Persian owners before it was claimed as prize.

The file includes: correspondence beginning in 1927 and exchanged between the Foreign Office, 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. and Government of India, responding to the Government of Persia’s desire to conclude the claim being pursued by Atychides against the British Government; discussion of whether the Kara Deniz was detained prior to or after the Ottoman Empire’s entry into the War; accounts detailing the seizure of the Kara Deniz , including a 1928 note entitled ‘A brief account of the circumstances attending the alleged detention at Bombay of the S. S. “Kara Deniz” prior to her capture as a prize vessel in 1914’ (ff 323-330), and another note entitled ‘Diary of certain events relating to the detention of the S. S. “Kara Deniz” at Bombay in 1914” (ff 151-152); copies of correspondence (some in French) from Atychides; a printed copy of the court proceedings at the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Admiralty and Vice-Admiralty Jurisdiction, entitled ‘Case No. 3 of 1914. In Prize. Steamship “Kara Deniz.”’ (ff 189-246); discussion of the claim in relation to other outstanding claims and disputes to be settled between the British and Persian Governments; a report prepared by HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary A diplomatic representative who ranks below an ambassador. The term can be shortened to 'envoy'. at Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare, dated 1935, entitled ‘British claims against Persia’ (ff 84-109).

Extent and format
1 file (343 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 345; 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 and French in Latin script
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Coll 28/95 ‘Persia. Relations with H.M.G. Private claims against H.M.G.: case of the S.S. “Kara Deniz”.’ [‎103r] (205/691), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3501, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100066723404.0x000008> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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