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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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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2
Section (/f^.-Koh-i*Malik Slab to Ladis 76 miles, country though stony
and barren is better as there are no sand-hills ; and water
is more abundant.
3. From the description of the country it will be seen that it would be most
difficult and costly to construct and maintain a line of telegraph along the above
routes, and considerable detours would probably be necessary to avoid the sand
hills, assuming that this could be done.
The most serious obstacle is the sand, though the absence of water for long
distances is almost as grave a difficulty. Mr. Armstrong recommends (para
graph 7 of report) rubble foundations varying from 144 to 600 cubic feet
according to the nature of the sand, but I am very doubtful if his proposals are
practicable.
4. I also forward estimates of the cost of constructing a line from Quetta via
Amir Chah to Ladis and from the latter place to Kohu-Malik Siah, miles 520, and
of an alternative line from Quetta vid Amir Chah to Koh-i-Malik Siah and thence
to Ladis 551 miles hereafter described as routes “ B ” and “A” respectively.
These estimates which amount to Rs. 11,32,600 and Rs. 12,71,200, respectively,
indicate what a costly scheme it is.
5. If it be decided not to extend the line from Ladis to Koh-i-Malik Siah
or vice versa the cost of the line from Quetta to Amir Chah and thence to Ladis
would amount to Rs. 9,29,700 only. Either line would not only be a very
expensive one to construct, but the cost of maintenance would be very heavy as,
on account of the great scarcity of water, food, labour and transport, special
arrangements would be necessary. A staff of
coolies
A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory.
and riding camels, which
would have to be bought at a cost of Rs. 2,160, would have to be maintained
and provision made for medical aid, and it is calculated that including interest,
depreciation and ordinary line maintenance and interest, depreciation and main
tenance on the cost of first fitting of offices, vi3. } Rs. 3,740, the annual charges
for the two lines “ B ” and A, ” respectively, would amount to Rs. 1,02,130 and
1,15,77° to which should be added an annual charge of Rs. 28,680 on account of
the line and office establishments that it would be necessary to maintain at the
terminal and intermediate offices and stations on each route. Four offices includ
ing quarters for servants and line establishment for observation and maintenance
purposes would have to be built at Nushki, Dalbandin, Amir Chah and Ladis or
Koh-i-Malik Siah at an aggregate cost of Rs. 71,000 and 7 rest houses for the
line staff at a total cost of Rs. i,8oo so that the total capital outlay on the line
and offices would amount to Rs. 12,11,30c and Rs. 13,49,900 respectively.
6. If in case of route B, however, the line is sanctioned only up to Ladis,
then the annual charge for interest, depreciation and ordinary maintenance
including the upkeep of permanent
coolies
A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory.
and riding camels would amount to
R s - 8L353 to which should be added an annual charge of Rs. 21,840 on account
of line and office establishments. Three offices would have to be built at an
aggregate cost of Rs. 48,000 and 6 rest houses at a total cost of Rs. 1,500.
The total capital outlay on line and offices would amount to Rs. 9,83,965.
7. Traffic may be taken as practically nil. All trade is transit, and it is very
doubtful if any appreciable telegraph revenue would be obtained from the Kafilahs.
8. I would invite special attention to paragraphs 7, 8, g and 12 of the
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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'Seistan' [36v] (72/782), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/352, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069721602.0x00004b> [accessed 13 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/352
- Title
- 'Seistan'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:51v, 58r:58v, 60r:112r, 113r:125v, 147r:218r, 218r, 219r:269v, 271r:301v, 301Ar, 301Av, 302r:388v, 389v:390r, 389r, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence