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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' [74r] (158/1068)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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amount to 25s., as compared with the present rate of 30s. from Baghdad to
London via Basra. If the new railway was eopiipped for bulk transport of grain,
a further saving of 2s. a ton would be secured. There would also be a saving of
about three weeks in time on the journey in each direction. At present the
minimum motor freights from Baghdad to the Mediterranean were from £6 to
£8 per ton. He understood that the Consulting Engineers were of the opinion
that the Haifa Bailway would probably not pay a dividend for the first ten years.
Sir Francis Humphrys then referred to the tactics which he proposed to
adopt on his return to Baghdad. He would not encourage the Iraqi Government
to expect that any offer on the lines of that made by King Feisal in 1933 (both
written and oral) would be acceptable to His Majesty’s Government. If the
Iraqi Government, on their own initiative, put forward any such offer, he would
refer the matter to London and enquire whether he was authorised to discuss a
railway settlement on a basis different from that which was set forth in the
Financial Agreement attached to the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930.
While he did not expect the Committee to adopt any definite recommenda
tion in favour of a hypothetical scheme, he equally deprecated the suggestion that
it should be definitely negatived in advance. He disliked the word “ essential,"
and said that it was easy to pick holes in any scheme, especially if judgment were
clouded overmuch by logical considerations. In his opinion, the Haifa Railway
would be a fine political investment for Great Britain with great economic
possibilities which were fully realised by France. We left the Suez Canal to be
constructed by the French, let us not make a similar surrender to them of the
Middle Eastern Railway. His Majesty’s Government had already sanctioned
a considerable sum for the detailed survey of the Haifa Railway and the report
of the Consulting Engineers was not unfavourable. He had not understood from
the High Commissioner for Palestine that the High Commissioner w T as opposed
to the idea of this railway. The project had merited and obtained much careful
consideration by Cabinet Ministers during the past few years, and, until the
Iraqi Government had laid their cards on the table for a general settlement of
the railway problem in Iraq, he asked that a final judgment should be suspended.
After further discussion it was agreed that, in the light of the considera
tions which had been placed before the Sub-Committee, it would be impossible toi
Sir Francis Humphrys to encourage the Iraqi Government to expect that any
offer on the lines of that made by King Feisal in 1933 would be acceptable to His
Majesty’s Government. If the Iraqi Government, on their own initiative, pu
forward any such offer, he would simply refer the matter to His Majes y s
Government. Meanwhile, consideration would be given to the question ot w a
alternative demands His Majesty’s Government might make m return or
abandoning their ownership of the Iraqi railways, with the object or issuing
instructions to enable Sir Francis Humphrys to discuss the railway question with
the Iraqi Government on a new basis.
Conclusion ^
The Conclusions reached by the Sub-Committee, for submission to the
Standing Ministerial Sub-Committee, were as follows .
(a) Strategically. . „ „ , , 3
The construction of a standard gauge railway from ^gid ^to be
would in certain eventualities be valuable, but cou
essential. A good road would, however, be necessary m any
(b) Politically. . ^ , • •
The factors were too intangible and conj^ectura 1 to cons^ ^
reason for the construction of tire railway; but i s c0 , of^it, with
measure of insurance against the assimilation o iaq, rLp-igp influence
Syria, or the spread of French influence at the expen ^ further
that on general political grounds future pipe me y’ t p r0 ho-h Syria;
constructed through
Transjordan
Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan
and Palestine ra ^ ^ ^ p r0 ve to be
and a railway might, as in the case of the existi g p P '
a decisive factor.
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' [74r] (158/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591287.0x00009f> [accessed 23 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