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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎259r] (525/617)

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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. .

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[ 29 ]
- -ality be subordinate to
some friction. We do not “e tf 6 SUSpiC1 ° 1 n and even Produce
subject, and shall be glad to be acquainted wWb twT 06 d ® fl , mtel 5 r u Pon the
by Your Lordship. ^ ^ Vlews are entertained
a matter wldch Ve^avlate^dy Ireued te b^’ We 1 des , ire to add an a PPeal upon
to be inseparable from rdSssi™ of n -'r Cl0 f^ ““^cted therewith as
should amount 1 tri^qT 6 " 01 ^ V ° S fT ^ the Tigris and at Ba gbdad s
aiouia amount to £8,9/0 a year, while the contribution of Her Maiestv’s
mX" inerndtaWp d^ 3 - C - S ^ ^f 6 ' 110 £131 a ^ ear ’ a P pears to a
paitiai and inequitable division. We recognise that there are advantages
to British interests generally m maintaining at Baghdad an establishment
on the scale and of the importance that are associated with an Indian Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
the second class. But the objects for which such an establishment is there
hept up are neither exclusively, nor, as we think, mainly Indian in character.
The same remark applies to the Basrah Consulate, where Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment have recently taken into their hands the appointment of the Consul
while leaving the entire charge to be defrayed from Indian funds. Least of
all can such a claim be made for the Tigris subsidy, which, in our opinion,
lalls into the category of commercial arrangements properly devolving upon
Her Majesty’s Government; although under existing conditions the total cost
is borne by Indian revenues. We trust that, in any reconsideration of the case,
a more generous division of financial responsibility may commend itself to Her
Majesty’s Government.
89. We have now completed our survey of the proposals that have been
submitted to us for examination, and of the situation in Persia as it presents
itself to our eyes. In commending our views to the earnest consideration of Your
Lordship and of Her Majesty’s Government, we trust that we may have
succeeded in impressing upon both, the gravity of the situation with which
Great Britain and India are jointly faced, and the necessity, while there is yet
time, of meeting it with definite and united counsels. We conclude by reiterat
ing the confident hope, already expressed in our despatch of August loth, 1898,
that in the last resort, and in any sudden emergency, we may rely upon Her
Majesty’s Government for the protection of interests which are vital both to
India and to the British Empire.
We have the honour to be,
My Loan,
Your Lordship’s most obedient, humble servants,
(Signed) CURZON OE KEDLESTON.
„ W. S. A. LOCKHART.
„ E. H. H. COLLEN.
„ 0. M. RIYAZ.
„ C. E. HAWKINS.
„ T. RALEIGH.
R. GARHINER.

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
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎259r] (525/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740555.0x00007e> [accessed 23 May 2024]

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