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'Report on the Preliminary Survey of The Route for The Central Persia Telegraph Line from Quetta to Bam and Pahra' [‎58r] (120/162)

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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Political Assistant, Chagai. The opinions of both correspond closely, and should,
in their proper valuation, be accepted with great- caution. References have
appealed m other local papers, but with less frequency than in the Pioneer. In
fact from the free use that has been made of the press in attempting to force
on the Nushki route, I cannot help likening it to the case of some new patent
medicine, pushed torward on the public by loud advertisements, and exaggerated
promises, and, with these methods, sometimes even a worthless article will thrive
tor a time. That it should be necessary to advertise any Government under
taking with such unblushing persistency, as in the case of the Nushki route, show-
1 think, that its intrinsic worth is of a poor order.
The Nushki trade route. General remarks.
28. I have now finished my discourse on the Nushki-Siestan trade route.
I have written more freely about the subject than I at first intended, but I hope
I have not transgressed the limits of'propriety. I offer my remarks for what
they may be worth, without laying claim to any knowledge not directly within
my province, or that is not within the reach of an ordinary uninitiated observer.
The opinions I have expressed may, or may not, be sound. They have, however,
not been hastily formed. I have now had the experience of having three times
traversed the country from Quetta to the Persian Frontier, via Nushki, twice in a
westerly, and once in an easterly, direction. I have had the advantage of con
sulting local traders as far west as Bam, and of hearing their opinions, and I
have also heard the views of various officials. On careful consideration I can
come to no other conclusions than those I have stated. From what I have
written I may be considered prejudiced against the Nushki route. This is not
the case. That my opinion is unfavourable I admit, but if it could be shewn how,
and where from, a reasonable flow of trade might be expected, and how any
tangible result is likely to accrue to Government for all the expense the route
entails, I would be glad to change this opinion. I trust my criticisms will be
found moderate and fair, as I know my statements of fact are accurate.
Conclusion.
29. The overland routes available for the extension of the Central Persian
telegraph line to India are, I think, from Pahra to Karachi, or from some place
such as Pahra, or Bam, to Quetta. As far as I can gather the Pahra-Karachi
route appears a practicable one, and does not present any unusual difficulties,
whereas, on the other hand, the Quetta route will under any circumstances be
troublesome. Before at all considering the construction of a telegraph line
along the Quetta way, it is essential for the Telegraph Administration concerned
to obtain a definite understanding as to whether the Quetta-Nushki-Siestan trade
route is likely to be permanent, or not. If the route is to be permanent then,
as I have already said, the maintenance of a telegraph line along it would be
facilitated thereby, but if it proves a failure, or should at any time be abandoned,
the trouble and expense of keeping open a long line of communication through
five or six hundred miles of most difficult country, a barren uninhabited desert
of the worst description, would all devolve on the 1 elegraph Department. 1 he I
figures of cost, etc., given in my estimates will not in this case apply, but will
require to be greatly increased. * Some signs of life now appear at the various |
thanas and rest huts along the trade route, but withdraw the artificial support
that keeps these thanas and the staff at them in existence, and the country will
at once lapse into its normal condition of weird desolation. I ha\e attempted
to show that the Nushki trade route is a very inferior means of communication
between Persia and India j (1) it runs through a barren desert as far as Siestan
for about 500 miles; (2) the range of its Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. is very limited, that is, it taps
no field of commercial prosperity along its course, and very little at its ex
tremity ; (3) the country with which it has to deal is poor; (4) the expense of
its up keep is considerable; (5) the amount of trade which can along it is
restricted, because there can be only a small flow' in the eastward direction, and,
consequently, the westward flow is checked thereby ] moreover the cost. of
transport is great, and prohibitive for many ordinary articles of commerce which
might otherwise be dealt with. These and other disabilities must, I think, prevent

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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' [‎58r] (120/162), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/377, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075142289.0x000079> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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