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'Report on the Preliminary Survey of The Route for The Central Persia Telegraph Line from Quetta to Bam and Pahra' [‎56v] (117/162)

The record is made up of 1 volume (77 folios). It was created in 1901. 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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|8
It would be interesting to know View these figures afe arrived at, and what
method of check, if any, is employed to test their accuracy.
There are no customs offices on the Nushki route, such as exist on other
trade routes through which, when trade passes, some guarantee of the amount
If this trade is established. I understand the registration and valuation of pass
ing caravanV^fon the Nushki route entrusted ^ subordmate offica s, a each
th^na a local Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. working under the orders of the loca ihanadar. it is, or
course in the interest of such officials that the route should prosper, and appear
in its most favourable light. How then do these men arrive at therr valuations ?
Do they accept the statements of the owner of the caravan in the matter, or do
thev ad^pt a valuation of their own ? From what I know of the valuation of
caravans 9 the custom is that, when there are taxes to be paid, owners will under
state the’value of their goods, but, if there are no taxes, they will exaggerate the
rea vie There are no taxes to be paid on the Nushk. route, so that owners
of caravans would in all cases probably declare a valuation of their property very
much in excess of the real one. Persians are especially inclined to exaggerate,
and do so to an absurd degree. I found it impossible to get accurate information
from them about tbe size of anything. It would, in many cases, be quite safe to
divide any figures they might give by 10, and, regarding their own property, the
valuation^ arfived at in this w!y would probably be very expensive. Can he
Munshis A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. and Thanadars along the trade route be relied on to properly reduce
the exaggerated values given by owners of caravans, or to fix a true value. ot
their own? It is not, 1 think, unreasonable to raise these questions, and, in
so 1 have no desire ’to throw’ any doubt on the good faith of Captain Webb
Ware, the officer who signs the trade returns, for he cannot possibly nojcH for
the accuracy of initial valuations himself.
Whether the figures are accurate or not, it may be noted they start
from zero,* and so at first positive results would naturally be expected,
more especially as the route so far has been, what I may term, bounty fed. Cara-
vans coming along it to Quetta are free from all trade taxes ; they are, as far as
my information is correct, even exempt m some cases from the ordinary Quetta
octroi duty. Considerable sums have been spent to cater for the convenience of
travellers, and an expensive staff is maintained to administer to their wants. n
fact traders are offered liberal inducement to travel by this route, and are no^
asked to contribute anything towards its upkeep. In support of this, 1 may
mention here rather a quaint remark which one intelligent. Pathan trader made
to me during my recent tour in reply to some of my enquiries regarding various
routes from Persia to India. “ Sahib, ” he said, " this route differs from all
other routes I know ; this one takes expenses from Government for our benefit,
whereas we have to pay expenses to Government when we travel by the others.
Herein is described exactly the attraction of the Nushki route, and the only
advantage it offers over its rivals.
Assuming the statistics which I have just quoted to be accurate, the route
can at present be considered as in its experimental stage only. How far trade
along it will continue to expand remains to be seen. 1 here may be an abnorma
rise in the returns for last year,f 19001901, but, if so, no direct conclusions can
at present safely be drawn from this, for there have been disturbing influences on
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. routes which may account for it. I understand the customs at
Bunder Abbas, and all the Gulf ports, were in the spring of 1900 placed under
the management of Belgian officials, a measure which produced a gieat deal of
opposition on the part of Persian merchants, and resulted in commercial unrest
and uncertainty. There was, 1 believe, almost a total cessation of trade through
Bunder Abbas for a space of four or five morths. It is probable that exaggera
ted rumours of this state of affairs spread to the interior of Persia, and induced
many caravans to turn their course from the Gulf routes to tl'e new Nushki route.
If this latter is really attractive for Persian traders, it will secure the continuance
of any increased traffic which has come to it in this, w'ay, and trade through
Bunder Abbas will suffer accordingly. The poor restricted area with which only
the Nushki route has to deal will, however, not permit the flow of its trade ex
panding much.
• A small amount of trade passed over parts of this route before 1^96.97.
t Since writing this, I have Seen it stated in a Pionetr article that the trade returns for IQOO-IQOI gave a total
of 13$ lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rucees, or a comparative rise of a little less than 1 lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees over the returns for 1899-11,00. I his, in the
circumstances, is not as much as I would have expected.

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Content

A report by Mr H A Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Indian Telegraph Department. Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, 1901. The report is a survey of a potential route for extending a telegraph line from India to Persia, running from Quetta to Bam, with an alternative route going to Pahra. The volume contains a description of the routes taken, estimates of cost, and notes on alignment, marking out, location of offices, shelter huts for linestaff, maintenance, water, sand, supplies, climate, and the Quetta-Siestan [Sistan] trade route.

Throughout the report are black and white photographs of the route that accompany the descriptions (folios 26,28, 30, 32, 34, 37, 39, 41, 46, 49, 51, 52, 63, 67, 70, and 71). Folio 23 is a map showing the route taken. Enclosed at the front of the volume is a copy of the 'Convention between The United Kingdom and Persia extending the System of Telegraphic Communication between Europe and India Through Persia', 1902 (folios 2-6), and twelve loose sheets of manuscript notes on the report written by George Curzon (folios 7-18).

Extent and format
1 volume (77 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 79; 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.

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English in Latin script
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'Report on the Preliminary Survey of The Route for The Central Persia Telegraph Line from Quetta to Bam and Pahra' [‎56v] (117/162), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/377, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075142289.0x000076> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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