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Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway' [71v] (153/1068)
The record is made up of 1 volume (524 folios). It was created in 23 Apr 1929-23 Apr 1936. It was written in English and French. 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. .
Transcription
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THE CHAIRMAN stated that the meeting had been called at the request
of the Foreign Office with the object of arriving, if possible, at a definite recom
mendation whether or not it was desirable in principle that the pioject for the
Baghdad-Haifa railway should be pursued. The problem could be viewed from
the following three aspects :—
(a) Strategic;
(b) Political;
(c) Economic.
He proposed, therefore, that the matter should be discussed and a conclusion
reached on each of these heads. In the first place, however, he wished to ask
Mr. Rendel to explain why the matter had become one of urgency.
Mr RENDEL said that on this point he had little to add to what had been
said at the preliminary meeting on the 11th October, of which the record had
been circulated as Paper No. M.E. (0.) 147. A deadlock had been reached with
the Iraqi Government in regard to the question of the future of the Iraqi
railways, and the terms and passage through the Iraqi Parliament of the proposed
Iraq Railway Corporation Law. It was clear that, until His Majesty s (jO\ em
inent made up their minds as to their attitude towards the major question of
the proposed construction of the Haifa-Baghdad railway, no satisfactory progress
could be made towards the solution of this deadlock. ^ „
The political arguments in favour of the construction of the railway were
embodied in the Foreign Office memorandum already circulated as Paper
No. M.E. (OP 150, and he had nothing to add to these arguments at this stage.
Strategic A sped. $ S
COLONEL MACKESY said that the strategic advantages of the Baghdad-
Haifa railway were given in M.E. (O.) 149. to which he had little to ad .
The attitude of the War Office was that they would like to .see the railway buiL,
but would not press it on strategic grounds alone. The financial implications
were a matter of difficulty, and from the War Office point of view the cost ot
construction might be spent to better advantage in other directions.
In reply to a question by the Chairman, he expressed the view that, shouW
the pipe-line be threatened by a major force, such as might occur m the unlihew
contingency of hostilities with the French, the existence of a railway won
essential for the maintenance of the forces required to protect the pipe-lme.
CAPTAIN KING stated that the Admiralty had no direct interest, except
a,s affecting the supply of oil. They generally agreed that its construction was
desirable strategically, though not essential. _ r, f 1
It appeared that, when this matter had been considered by the ,
Staff Sub- Committee in 192K the matter had not been considered apart tromw
pipe-line, which had now been completed. He wished to remark on the louowing ^
two points in the War Office memorandum :— I
Firstly, it was suggested that a railway might be an alternntine route tM
East should the Suez Canal become blocked. He thought that this 1 actor
not be over-stressed, as the capacity of the railway would be very mm
compared with the capacity of the Suez Canal
Secondly, he noted that the possibility of the Shaft -el- Arab bpasMiS
for navigation had been referred to. In this connection the Admiral ,
inclined to think that the views expressed by Colonel Ward as to this possi
were somewhat pessimistic. He suggested that Colonel A and s opinw® r |
not be definitely accepted until expert advice had been obtained. _ ^
COLONEL MACKESY did not consider it necessary to enlarge on mb •
aspect at the moment, hut pointed out later to Captain King that n was^ ;
inconceivable that the Shall-el-Arab channel might be closed for a time A r _
by military action (guns, Ac.).. As stated In M.E, (O,)) 149. such action e-
doubt be over come in time, but time might he of great importance.
WING COMMANDER PIRIE stated tfaai the. Air Ministry tad »» w®®
to depart from their previous attitude towards the ocaa^tnoetacm of the rar c
They agreed that it would he useful strategically, hot they could not a| .
was*essential. They felt confident that they could maintain their squadron^
Phibbau by means of a first-class road- and were thus very anxious to see j
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About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, reports and minutes regarding road and rail transport through Iraq, Trans-Jordan [Jordan], Palestine, Syria and Iran. The following topics are discussed in detail:
- The proposed construction of a Baghdad-Haifa rail route. The file also includes records regarding the planned transfer of the Iraqi Government Railway from British to Iraqi control.
- Transport developments and trade routes in Syria, and economic competition between French- and British- mandated territories in the region.
- Proposals for the development of free zones at the port in Haifa, for Iraqi and Persian [Iranian] goods. This includes discussion of customs dues, and facilities to be offered to foreign governments.
- Proposals by Haim Effendi Nathaniel, the Iraqi Railways Canvassing Agent, for facilities to assist in the development of a trans-desert motor route between Iraq and Palestine, and the right to carry Iraqi mails via the Amman ['Ammān] route.
- Customs and Trade Agreements between French-mandated territories and Iran.
The principal authors and correspondents are: HM High Commissioner for Palestine; HM High Commissioner for Iraq; the Foreign Office Eastern Department; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; HM Minister at Tehran; and the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. The volume also contains a small number of communications received from the Government of Iraq.
The volume contains the following items of note:
- Minutes of a meeting between the Iraqi Treasurer and Haim Effendi Nathaniel, regarding the Baghdad-Haifa Desert Motor Route, held on the 18 January 1933, ff 425-428.
- Records of a meeting between the Treasurer, the Iraqi Delegation, and the Director of Customs at Palestine, regarding the proposed free zone facilities at Haifa for Iraqi goods, and the establishment of terminal facilities and a preferential tariff, ff 371-392.
- Draft minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, held Monday 17 July 1933, regarding: 1) the proposed pipeline from the British Oil Development Company's concession near Mosul to the Mediterranean, and 2) the Trans-Desert Railway from Baghdad to Haifa. Plus related despatches received from Baghdad, Aleppo and Beirut, notes on the strategic value of the Baghdad-Haifa railway by the Secretaries of State for Air and War, ff 326-357.
- Communication from the High Commissioner for Iraq (Francis Henry Humphrys) to the Foreign Secretary (John Simon), summarising the development of road and rail transport routes between Iraq, Syria and Palestine from 1925-1934, ff 247-249.
- English translation of the Decree of the French High Commissioner in Syria, 'Governing the Regime of Customs Exemptions granted to Transdesert Transport Concerns maintaining regular services of the transport of international transport goods', ff 222-236.
- Minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, held 11 and 23 October 1934, regarding the proposed Baghdad-Haifa route, ff 139-177, 90-107, and 70-89.
- Memorandum on the Baghdad-Damascus desert route, prepared by the Commercial Secretary to the Baghdad Embassy, 1935, ff 5-10.
The volume also contains a proposal by the Palestine Corporation Limited to construct a highway connecting Palestine and Iraq, found at folios 14-30. This proposal is discussed in depth in the second part of the file, IOR/L/PS/12/2852.
The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (524 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 526; these numbers are written in pencil, 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway' [71v] (153/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591287.0x00009a> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2851
- Title
- Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:13v, 31r:37v, 40r:212r, 214r:221v, 242r:264v, 266r:312v, 316r:346r, 349r:404r, 407r:411v, 417r:446v, 449r:465v, 468r:471v, 474r:474v, 478r:485v, 488r:502v, 504r:526v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence