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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [121r] (246/617)
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.
\2.'
[ 23 ]
‘‘The interests involved the 11 Karua^serviee ^are 2 ° ft , A "g ust 180 5, said-
Jhereby ^ n ° W Ceases Aether,’the LtUToUe “ff
an end to bribery and
The matter
the initiative
is, perhaps, scarcely
m bringing: forward.
one which the Government of India could have
£ j w "" — it has, however, been under notice at homf' in
course of correspondence connected with a projected Persian loan, and I give the fol owinrr
extracts from recent Foreign Office Prints : ® 1Ve tne toliowm ?
Lord Salisbury to Mr. Hardinge, March 5th, 1898 (telegraphic).The Imvm&l
Bank of Persia... are unable to make any further advance to the Persian
Government from their own resources, as they have already advanced £216 QUO
which is the full amount sanctioned by their charter. ’
It is absolutely necessary, if the loan is to be obtained from other financiers that
tliG bank ^ should b6 ablo to state that the customs of the Persian ports, which are
to be assigned as security for the loan, have been placed under the control of
European employes of their own nomination ”
Imperial Bank of Persia to Lord Salisbury, March 11th, 1898— (< The efforts which
have been made by the Imperial Bank of Persia to negotiate a loan for the
Government of Persia have been unsuccessful
“ We are assisting the Persian Government directly and indirectly to the extent of
about £480,000 while the bank considers the security of the customs in
the manner offered to be good, yet we have found that objections are raised
on every side, not to the nature of the security offered, but emphatically to lending
to a Government the stability of •which is regarded as doubtful and the enforce
ment upon which of financial obligations is not guaranteed.
“Under these circumstances, the Imperial Bank of Persia can do no more than urge
Her Majesty's Government, as strongly as is consistent with propriety, to
guarantee a loan of £400,000, which, we believe, will be sufficient to meet the needs
of the Persian Government in consideration of the exceptional circumstances
of the case; the urgency of financial relief to Persia; the indisputable character
of the security, and the great and permanent advantage to English influence
and commerce in that country ”
Treasury to Foreign Office, March 16ih, 1898.-" Chancellor of the Exchequer...has
no doubt that the request for a British guarantee must be declined. Indeed it is
not clear that there is any real necessity for a loan. The financial difficulties
seem to be mainly the result of the Shah's refusing to let money go out of his
Treasury for the necessities of his Government.
“ The Chancellor of the Exchequer does not believe that the Persians are to be trusted to
Th fulfil their obligations in respect of any loan unless Europeans were placed m
ewle of the revenues hypothecated to its service. He imagines that if we did
this fn the south of Persia the Eussians would follow smt Jth of
influence' must be first defin'ed by
iJmZI e/ 1 Office,
borrow £50,000 on the secun y ac;suran ce from Her Majesty's Government
we would venture to suggest a wii ^ necessar y i n the event
of the fullest protection and supportso f . ian Government for
■ swartss: tc,«-
revenues of Bushire and Kermanshah. The Persian Government
Foreign Office to Imperial Bank the co’ntempiated advance of £50,000 as
accept the conditions of f W” . , t d agree to band over the control of
stipulated in your letter of th ® i^ediately as security for this advance
customs at Kermanshah and Bush, e nn 7^ djfficu!ties m obtain,ng
taken
the Our}
.2/2-
’ Mr Zdinge does not -ticipM ^eontract.
the "observance by the Persian Government ‘ Gov e rn ment in holding the
“ Bat e ,‘ h v ernmen?of PemiaCto peXrmance of its obligations.”
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’ [121r] (246/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x00002f> [accessed 8 August 2026]
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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