File 50/1914 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Lights and Buoys; Expenditure' [‎79r] (161/423)

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Ko. 28 of 1916.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
FOREIGN AND POLITICAL DEPARTMENT.
SECRET.
External.
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The Right Honourable AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN,
Sis Majesty's Secretary of State for India,
Simla, the 21st April 1916.
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Sir,
We have the honour to refer to the correspondence ending with the
telegram in our Foreign and Political Department, dated the 24th December
1915, on the subject of the expenditure incurred in connection with the light
ing and buoying of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
2. We would observe that the expenditure on some of the sanctioned*
* Vide letter No. p. 642, dated the 2nd March items has exceeded the amounts estimated
1912 , from the 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. to the Trinity House. by Mr. D. W. Hood, whereas on other
items there has been a decrease. The initial and recurring costs in each case
and the extent to which there has been an increase or decrease are detailed
below.
Lighthouse Tender.
The expenditure on this vessel was originally estimated by Mr. Hood at
Rs. 4,50,000 (£30,000) initial and Rs. 75,000 (£5,000) recurring, which has been
exceeded by Rs. 1,05,000 and Rs. 12,387-8-0, respectively, as explained below.
The initial expenditure actually incurred was Rs. 5,55,000 (£37,000), vide
Lord Crewe’s despatch No. 34 (Political), dated the 2nd April 1915.
As regards the recurring expenditure we would invite a reference to our
telegram, dated the 13th November 1914, in which the total cost on account of
the complement for the lighthouse tender was estimated at Rs. 84,962. This
amount exceeded Mr. Hood’s estimate by Rs. 9,962, and the reasons for this
excess were explained in our Foreign and Political Department despatch
No. 5, dated tl»e 21st January 1916. Since the establishment for the tender
was approved in your predecessor’s telegram, dated the 12th January 1915, we
have, on the representation of the Director, Royal Indian Marine, sanctioned
the addition of a wireless operator and two tindals Non-European boatswain or head of a group of labourers. of stokers, 1st class, to the
complement of the Ci Nearchus ”, at an annual expenditure of Rs. 1,578 and
Rs. 847-8-0, respectively. The total recurring expenditure, therefore, amounts
to Rs. 87,387-8-0 per annum.
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