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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [185r] (378/617)
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.
very friendly, has promised me that he will do his utmost f„v tt, a r. , ■
and he may possibly do something. * * Shiraz-Bushire road,
Tehram and'the Imperial^ml™^ P^ 0 • es ! ;a,3 ^ s ^ 1 ‘ 3a . r ^ i between Sultanabad and
Knm to Ispaton ” he advantage of tbi^atT 6 ° bt 5 , ’? ed ^ 'T**™ iov a road from
What we want above all is ■ oSd road f^nX^no^t^P ^ , h ® wever ’ doubtM -
limits of our zone. th P * where our shl P s unload *<> the
have^been'in'^wsVl Ki 150 ?* "j 1 ' 1 ' 11 J think we should consider seriously. Since I
various lines o^ coun^ but Ihave so T^f tbe P ossi , bilities of a ^ccessfufrailway on
mi ^ route might possibly be found from the Karun to Ispahan and the north
The Bagdad line seems to offer a chance. The Germans have done no work on hk
endeavoim } GonCeSS10n ’ un } ess s «cretly renewed, has in reality lapsed. I shall
endeavour, if a chance occurs, to get some hold ou this road, without incurring anv
^baiiassmgohhgatnus. It seems to me that it might possibly he worth while to
sena horn India an officer accustomed to the work of frontier lines to look over the
several routes and make suggestions. His journeys might, of course, excite the
suspicion of the Russians, but I do not know that this would do much harm In the
meantime I presume that Her Majesty’s Government would prefer that the Persian
Agreement with Russia prohibiting railway construction should not be renewed It
SSSmKS. is 1 ‘ l “* «* 10 „„,w a, t o™„
TRQs! abo y . th . e mat ter ouce (see my despatch No. 61 of the 12th April,
1898), and the late Sadr-i-Azam then assured me that the Shah was very much
opposed to the renewal of the Agreement. ^
,taff Th TW °T "T 6 ag i UCy 7l\ ich We 0Ught t0 em P% t0 strengthen our Consular
staff. I have already explained the position of the Telegraph Department in Persia
and on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. I am using it now to some extent as a means of obtaining
intelligence and it has at times been very useful in this way; but it should be made
useful m other ways as well. Wherever we have a Consul or Vice-Consul, as at
Rermaiisliah, Ahwaz, or Kerman, we ought to have an efficient telegraph line. The
me m these places is thoroughly inefficient, and in Seistan there is no line at all.
We can do something by pressing the Persian Government to repair and restore, and
at limes by lending efficient signallers, and by deputing officers to inspect and advise.
These things must be done with tact; but so far the Persian Government seems to
have entertained no jealousy of our Telegraph Department, which, on the contrary
has always been regarded with favour. It is difficult to make exact proposals with
reference to this point, because circumstances vary so much in different places; but
speaking generally, it seems desirable to spend some trouble, and money if necessary,
m getting the Persian telegraph system into our hands as much as possible. We
should try to construct the proposed land line from Kashan to the Kelat frontier, and
should connect it, or get the Persian Government to connect it, through Seistan with
Meshed. Eventually it should also be connected with the coast. I think we ought
also to pay our Director better than we do. He ranks here next to the Minister, and
he cannot maintain his position on a salary of 950/. a-year. The jRanager of the
Imperial Bank gets more than three times this sum. It is important that the Director
should be on good terms with the Persian Ministers and Notables, and be able to
entertain them to some extent, and he should also he able to move about the countrv
decently equipped. I will go into this matter separately and in detail, if the
Government of India are prepared to accept the principle that the Telegraph Depart
ment should be regarded in some sense as a political organization, and that some
expense may legitimately be incurred to make it more efficient in that respect.
I have now stated the main proposals which I have to make for improving our
position in Persia. It is briefly that we should increase the numbers and efficiency
of our Consular staff by the addition of certain Consulates and Vice-Consulates, and
by improving the position of our Representatives in Tabreez and Ispahan; that we
should open out roads in the Karan district and elsewhere, and possibly prospect for a
*392! E
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’ [185r] (378/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x0000b3> [accessed 3 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