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'Seistan' [‎3v] (6/782)

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The record is made up of 1 file (388 folios). It was created in 17 Jan 1899-4 Apr 1904. 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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*
2
4 -^ intn optnal losses bv the exactions of customs
hopes for profits are c0 "™ te * ect t * t i, e « s i x British subjects begging their
i, "t “ “s’rr sviiTSs
tte of t”* Mo-SfS *«
'“Ti.. ■‘.■r B&SS
that he should return to Kirman if the Buss iau
officer should not appear.^^ ^ ^ [iheiihood of a Russian officer taking up
X do not tlui k ~ , rinrino' the comiu 0, summer. The post was
a Consular appointment m Se 1 1 * ta ^ U D B „ oman 0 f the Russian Consulate here,
offered to M -“ Political Secretary
but he has not appeared o ^ reason the Russian Government have
not A yet k Spoiotfd 0 r any”ne U elsef notwithstanding that the inauguration of a
Russian Consulate in Sistan was publicly announced.
With resnect to the proposal that Captain Sykes should retire to Kirman,
■ -its-.- is •; sssr r&rxarwss
already old and at such a distance, an effective enquiry is not practicable
Tinder the circumstances, I wouldrecommendthat Captain Sykes should, after
the commencement of the hot weather, remain in the lulls near Seistan or at
Biriand • one of the customs sub-oontraetors Muza Abdul a khan resides at
Biriand Captain Sykes should have a subordinate who could watch the pro-
ceedin-s of Mirza Muhammad Husain, the other sub-contractor, at Nasratabad
in Seistan Unless measures of the kind indicated are taken, I wouid beg to
point out that it will not be possible to counterbalance Russian ascendency
m Seistan and Southern Khorassan. In addition to the Russian officers at
Turbati-Haidari and Karez, there are Persian sowars who are paid trom
Persian revenues through Russian officers at the following places
Kalagak

5
Jam sowars.
Chahar Shamba Robat .

4
Hazam sowars.
Karez •

5
Ditto.
Karat . •

5
Ditto.
Duzbad • •

4
Kkaf.
Barabad • • •

5
Ditto.
Salami . • •

5
Ditto.
Rushkar .

5
Karai.
Turbat-i-Haidari . •

5
Ditto.
Zarmehr • • •

5
Ditto.
Turshiz *
<
5
Ditto.
Badrashkan. •

\
5
58
Ditto.
sowars.
Although these sowars are Persians, still they would naturally regard those
who personally pay them as their masters irrespective of the source from which
the funds are derived. In addition to all this Russian strength in Persia there
is the garrison at Ashkabad. The authority and weight which it gives to the re
presentations of the Russian Consul-General can easily he imagined. Russian
trade is carried by the rail to Ashkabad and on a carriageable road to Meshed.
Against this strength and these facilities it is extremely difficult for British
trade to struggle, and the departure of the Consul for Kirman would still
further weaken the position as regards British traders.

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Content

The file contains papers relating to Seistan [Sistan] and Persia [Iran].

The file includes printed copies of despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General of India and HM Consul-General for Khorasan and Seistan (Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Martindale Temple), to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, with enclosed despatches from Captain Percy Molesworth Sykes to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (the Marquis of Salisbury). Skyes’s despatches regard matters including: Seistan; trade routes into South-East Persia; the boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, in relation to the River Helmund [Helmand] changing its course (in despatch No. 5, which includes four sketch maps, folios 12, 13, 14 and 15); Sykes’s journey to Birjand (in despatch No. 7, which includes a sketch map on folio 20); the ruling family of Kain, which also governed Seistan, Tabbas and Tun; Sykes’s journey from Seistan to Kerman [Kirman] (in despatch No. 11, which includes a sketch map); and the direct Kerman-Quetta caravan trade that Sykes was trying to establish.

The file also includes copies of the following papers:

  • A despatch from Temple to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing a letter from Temple to Sir Henry Mortimer Durand (HM Minister, Tehran), with copies of enclosures, regarding the establishment of a Seistan and Kain consulate
  • A letter from Charles Edward Pitman, Director General of Telegraphs, to the Secretary to the Government of India Public Works Department, enclosing a copy of a ‘Report on the Preliminary Survey of the Route for a Telegraph Line from Quetta to the Persian Frontier’ by H A Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Indian Telegraph Department, which includes six photographs of views along the route [Mss Eur F111/352, f 52; Mss Eur F111/352, f 53; Mss Eur F111/352, f 54; Mss Eur F111/352, f 55; Mss Eur F111/352, f 56; and Mss Eur F111/352, f 57], and a map showing the proposed route of the telegraph line [Mss Eur F111/352, f 59]
  • Letters from Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan, to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing copies of the diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai, for the weeks ending 16 February, 28 February, and 8 March 1900
  • Diary No. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of Major-General George Frederick Chenevix-Trench, HM Consul for Seistan (Diary No. 6 includes a sketch map, folio 86)
  • A copy of a ‘Report on Reconnaissances Made while Attached to the Seistan Arbitration Commission’ by W A Johns, Deputy Consulting Engineer for Railways, Bombay
  • A copy of the report ‘Notes on Persian Seistan’, compiled by Captain Edward Abadie Plunkett, and issued by the Government of India Intelligence Branch, Quarter-Master General’s Department
  • Two copies of map signed by Plunkett titled ‘Persian Seistan-Cultivated Area’ [Mss Eur F111/352, f 270]
  • A booklet entitled ‘Notes on the Leading Notables, Officials, Merchants, and Clergy of Khorasan, Seistan, Kain, and Kerman.’
  • Printed copies of letters from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), relating to the maintenance of British interests in Persia, dated 4 September 1899 and 7 November 1901 (the former with an enclosure of a minute by the Viceroy on Seistan).
Extent and format
1 file (388 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of 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 390; 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. The file contains one foliation anomaly, f 301A

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Seistan' [‎3v] (6/782), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/352, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069721602.0x000009> [accessed 10 May 2024]

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