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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [235r] (477/617)
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
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[ 20 ]
at present to discuss, and wliich would require to be examined on independent
grounds. Nor again would an Anglo-Russian agreement preclude France or
AY 0th ^. Vo Y GV from ; endeavouring to acquire in Southern Persia
v the .POsition from which Russia would ex hypothesi have debarred
T'hpsjp^iin even be combined action between them for that object.
These however are features inseparable from the solution which we are dis
cussing, and which should not be of a formidable character, if the influence of
the principal competitor were removed from the scene. They might be the
cause of future annoyance to the British Government; but they could hardly
ilnder any conditions, constitute a menace to the Indian Empire.
61. ^ There remains the further danger, distinctly contemplated by Sir M*
Durand in discussing the question of a possible understanding with Russia, that
she would, not abide by the terms of any such understanding. Sufficient grounds
for this induction may unquestionably be found in the history of Russian
advance in. Central Asia during the past half century. But an appreciation
of the inclinations and idiosyncrasies of both parties to an agreement, in the
light* where possible, of past experience, is an element in the drawing up of a
fresh bargain which is not likely to be lost sight of by either agent, whether
it be regarded as involving a discount from, or an appreciation of, the value of
the new contract. Moreover such contracts, if not of perpetual duration, or
even if ultimately infringed by one of the two parties, have been shown in
many cases to be of immense value, in the respite that they afford from the
strain of an otherwise ceaseless rivalry, and in the opportunity presented for a
peaceful consolidation of existing interests.
62. We have now placed before Your Lordship t\iQ pros and cons, as they
present themselves to our eyes, of the alternative policies in Persia. Should
Her Majesty’s Government decide upon making any overtures to the Russian
Government in the direction indicated, and should they either be rejected, or
result in failure, it will still be possible to adopt the alternative recommended
by Sir M. Durand. Indeed, if the terms of a reasonable arrangement are proffered
by one party, and are refused by the other, the natural corollary would appear
to be that the originator of the proposal should reserve to himself the right to
protect by whatever means may be at his disposal the interests which he has
endeavoured to conserve by friendly co-operation; and should meet what would in
such a case be conscious aggression on the one side by retaliation on the other.
63. In either case, however, though still more in the case of a failure to
arrive at an understanding with Russia, we conceive that it is incumbent upon
Her Majesty’s Government and upon the Government of India to ^ ome an
early decision upon the subsidiary question, raised by Sir M. Durand, namely,
as to the steps that require forthwith to be taken in order to safeguard British
and Indian interests in the so-called British sphere in Persia from the competi
tion with which we have shown them to be threatened.
64. Sir M. Durand, in his despatch, has made a calculation of the sums
annually expended by Her Majesty’s Government and the Government of
India respectively upon the British establishments at present maintained m
Persia. He arrives at a grand total of £36,970 per annum distributed m the
following proportions: Her Majesty’s Government, £12,876; Government of
India £24,094. Inasmuch as these figures are not, in all respects, correct,
and as they omit several items of charge for which Indian revenues are respon
sible we have made an independent computation, which is here presented, for
nurnoses of comparison in tabular form. In a further column we present the
chafes also borne by the Government of India and Her Majesty’s Government
severally in respect o^f Mesopotamia and the Tigris-*^.,
Turkish Arabia
A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
, an ama,
S though not belonging to the Persian dominions, is so closely adjacent
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’ [235r] (477/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740555.0x00004e> [accessed 4 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