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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [13v] (31/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. 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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6
steps that might with adrantage
trade route, I have the honour to
he taken to develop and improve the new
submit the attached remarks.
protectioi
1 To me the very first consideration of all appears to he the safety and
sction of caravans passing along the new tra e rou e.
_ - travellers will he deterred at the outset from facing
Neither caravans or assure d that they have nothing to fear
forlhe^afety oTtheir goods while in transit. Since my return to Quetta I
have been interviewed by more than one trader and almost the very first query
nut is : ‘“will Government guarantee_ the safety of our goods and indemnify
us for loss resulting from robbery or raids ?” .
2 The next consideration naturally is the comfort of caravans using the
route." Under this heading “facile princeps” comes the matter of water-
sunnlv between Nushki and Robat (Koh-i-Mahk Slab), excepting along
two stretches, one of 65 miles and one of 42 miles. The present supply is
sufficient to meet the exigencies of all caravans. The supply can well be, and
I trust shortly will he, greatly improved, facilities for drawing water increased,
etc., etc., but still, as I have just said, excepting those stretches referred to, the
supply is ample. Three wells are thus required. One is already nearly com
pleted, two still remain. To detail a party of Sappers and Miners to dig
two wells, of an average depth of, say, 30 feet at a distance of 300 miles from
Quetta, appears to me rather a waste of scientific energy, a small party of Pathan
navvies amply sufficing. The difficulty we will have to contend against is
wind-driven sand. I found that almost invariably the accumulation of sand
in wells was due, not to the collapse of either mouth or side walls, but to the
action of sand storms. This is so thoroughly recognised by natives that the
system they adopt, on these sand-swept wastes, is to cover over the entire well
mouth, flush with the ground, only leaving a small orifice available through
which mussacks can be lowered. They say, to build up any projection, against
which sand can lodge, ensures a drift forming, and the well being quickly
blocked up; whereas under their plan, the driven sand is swept across the
mouth, very little effecting a lodgment in the small orifice left open.
No one who has not had personal experience of the country I am dealing
with can conceive the rapidity with which, should a drift once form, wind-
driven sand is capable of choking wells.
o. The ground in the vicinity of old wells’ mouths—wells in use for genera
tions is so thoroughly saturated with filth and polluted to such a depth that,
cover cuer the mouth as you may, nothing short of sinking new wells up
S i !- ef |™ 5 ar remov e( ^ ^ roni ^ ie polluted ground, and keeping them solely for
( rm ’ing purposes, will avail: percolation from a shower of rain at present being
sufficient l' 0 ren der their water temporarily undrinkable.
of well wf c . om “ o nly in vogue to prevent the damage or collapse
01 well mouths was both simple and effective.
squam^framework^nfV 8 e + xca ^ ate( ^ 1° .^l 16 depth of three or four feet, then a
built up well backed wit} 6 runks ^ud branehes, the size of the well shaft,
the friction of both “T' 5 ' 1 St0,1< ?- The Rework within takes off
taction 0 both buckets and ropes, and preserves the well from injury.
increased! 101 ’ 165 “ drawln S water and watering camels might well be
one occasion made’by'me^ t0 136 O|X0<1 al,ove wells ’ mouths were on more than
tive to matter of stovirig ■ Brazle r-Creagh’s suggestion rela-
greatly to^h e popXn\vof e ?hfrome OOI t t0 k aVelle - 8and earavans > and add
godowns, or thanas, would of neoes^itv h 01 + e _ sto _ rl ug of the supplies proper
As this is, however, a matter that wilHi T 6 °a ? e au( ^ agents appointed,
m my report, I will refrain h ffrom with atsome ^ttle length
8. An exhaustive list of " , g fUrther 011 ^ subject,
m each thana; amongst these willffij ni 01 ^ e * rS for tkanas posted
protection of trees, the procurino- of snob « 16 r u est lns t r uctions relative to
® tc - * ° 0t SUch su PP lie s as are at present available,
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); 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 View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [13v] (31/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000020> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence