Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [‎186r] (371/442)

313
The Trans-
314
[25 May 1914] Persian Railway.
The Marquess of CREWE : And for
that, of course, no leave from us would be
necessary. Then the noble Lord spoke of
the difference which it is important to bear
in mind between a Trans-Persian railway
—that is, a rail way going, say, from Astrabad
right through to India—and on the other
hand the system of branch lines or sub
sidiary lines some of which were mentioned
by my noble friend on the Cross Benches,
Lord Sydenham. That, of course, is quite
true. The picturesque idea of a line running
right through from Russia to India is one
which has undoubtedly appealed to the
imagination of many men in Russia and
of some men in India. But a railway
system to develop Persian commerce is
another matter altogether, and the distinc
tion ought carefully to be borne in mind,
always remembering that if you construct
a number of short lines combining various
trade centres together you may find that
almost before you realise it you have built
a considerable part of a Trans-Persian
railway. That, however, would not apply
to that portion of the line which ultimately
might conceivably join India to the rest of
the system. The construction of such a
line is, of course, purely a matter for the
British and Indian Governments, and we
have made it quite clear that whatever
railways are made in Persia any continu
ance towards India remains an absolutely
reserved question, and that unless and until
we agree to its construction it cannot and
will not be made.
We have also made it quite clear that we
are bound to reserve the control of the ports
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . When the noble Lord
spoke of some agreement having been
arrived at as to the construction of a line
with Bandar Abbas as its terminus, he was
going perhaps slightly beyond the mark in
regarding that as in any way a settled
question. It is not unfamiliar to noble
Lords who have followed this question
that those who have favoured the construe- |
tion of a Trans-Persian railway as such do
not admit in the first place that a line of
that kind would be in the technical sense a
Trans-Persian railway at all. In the
second place, as far as Russian interests
are concerned, it is considered by those who
favour those interests that the mere con
struction of a line from the Gulf ports
inland is no contribution to the idea
of a Trans-Persian railway, and, further
than that, that its effect can only be to
abstract from Russia a certain portion of
| the trade which in her opinion legitir
mately belongs to her. That is how
the matter stands at this moment. Certain
observations have been taking place on
the question of alignment, but no definite
conclusion upon that subject has so far
been reached.
My noble friend on the Cross Benches,
Lord Sydenham, alluded to the different
projects for lines inland, and I share his
hope that sooner or later all those lines
which he mentioned, or something like
them—because I do not pin myself to any
precise alignment—may be constructed.
What the relation of any of those lines
may be to an ultimate Trans-Persian
railway it is, of course, impossible to
predicate at this moment. I agree with
the noble Lord opposite that from the
point of view of Persian development,
which, after all, is the matter which we all
are bound to have most at heart, the con
struction of lines of that character is
bound to be more immediately effective
than the construction of a great through
line. Of the two projects it seems to
me that it would be preferable from the
Persian point of view to begin, so to
speak, with the legs and add the spine,
rather than begin with the spine and trust
to the subsequent formation of the legs.
But so far as Russia is concerned I have
no doubt that she will proceed in due
course to make a line within her sphere
from Teheran southwards with which in
time we should be able to link up. Of
course, we continue to bear in mind, what
to us must be a vital factor, perhaps the
most vital factor of any in the w’hole
situation—that of the necessity of
ensuring the defence of India. We are,
I am glad to say, on terms of pleasant
amity with Russia in that part of the
world. Long may that continue. But
it would be admitted I am certain by any
thoughtful Russian, as well as by anybody
outside, that the existence of an amicable
feeling on both sides between two countries
in no way entitles either to neglect the
ordinary precautions of national defence
which all countries are bound to take ;
and so far as the alignment of this possible
railway is concerned, I believe that has
been most frankly and generously recog
nised by Russian statesmen and by Russian
public opinion.
I have not been able to give anything
like a categorical answer to the noble