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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' [76r] (162/1068)
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.
Iraqi sector of the railway for a considerable time. Apart from the question of
the technical uncertainties which still existed m connection with the estimate
for the railway, alignment, gauge, &c., the question was bound up, in so far as the
Iraqi Government were concerned, with the question of the future of the Iraqi
railways as a whole, and of the proposed Iraq Railways Corporation Law to be
passed to give effect to the provisions of section 4 of the Financial Agreement
attached to the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 (Cmd. 3797).
The Iraqi Government were convinced that the proposed Iraq Railways
Corporation would be a failure, and that the whole question of the railways would
have to be dealt with on a new basis. Until recently, they had been evading their
treaty obligations, but he understood there was now a good prospect that the Iraq
Railways Corporation Law, a draft of which was under discussion between the
Iraqi Ministers and the Foreign Office, would be passed next November. This
would mean that the Iraq Railways Corporation would be set up. In some
months, however, it might well be found that the new system would not work.
It would then be necessary to reconsider the whole position, and that would be
the moment when the Iraqi Government would be prepared to make proposals to
His Majesty’s Government regarding the financing of the railway.
King Feisal had handed to Sir Francis Humphrys a private and confidential
memorandum, representing a conversation which His Majesty had had with
Mr. Neville Chamberlain, which indicated what the Iraqi Government had in
mind. King Feisal had explained orally to Sir Francis Humphrys the details
of this proposal, which were that, after the Iraq Railways Corporation Law
had been passed and the Corporation set up, and after it had been proved a
failure, an arrangement should be made by which His Majesty’s Government
should abandon their holding of roughly £2,000,000 6 per cent, non-cumulative
preference shares in the Iraqi railways (which were unlikely in any case ever to
pay any dividend), and agree with the Iraqi Government as follows. The manage
ment of the Iraqi railways should be handed over to a board with a British
majority for x years (the precise number had not yet been specified), after
which the railways should revert completely to the Iraqi Government. In
return, the Iraqi Government w-ould guarantee the financing of the construction
of the Iraqi sector of the Baghdad-Haifa Railway, and of the construction of the
Kirkuk-Mosul Railway (including various expensive bridges); they would also
place all orders for material in the United Kingdom. It might be possible to
obtain other advantages as well.
THE CHAIRMAN stated that the Foreign Office had already received a
copy of King Feisal’s memorandum, which did not appear to put the matter in
quite so favourable a light as Sir Francis Humphrys had suggested.
SIR FRANCIS HUMPHRYS explained that King Feisal had now produced
a revised version of this memorandum, which differed somewhat from the first,
and which would be available shortly. It was essential, however, that the
discussions should be confined to the implementing of the existing agreement at
this stage.
SIR EDGAR LUDLOW-HEWITT enquired what the procedure would be
if this suggestion were to be followed up. Was it suggested that the Iraqis
should take the initiative in putting forward the scheme ?
THE CHAIRMAN pointed out that the Iraqis had long been showing a
strong desire to evade their obligations under the Financial Agreement oi 193
in regard to the Iraqi Railways. It was not quite accurate to say that a dra
Railway Corporation Law had been agreed upon between the horeign Office and
the Iraqi Ministers. A compromise draft had been drawn up ad referendum^
seemed clear that, in their present frame of mind, the
the Iraq Railways Corporation would be a failure.
If there was to be any
b 2
[10963—2]
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' [76r] (162/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591287.0x0000a3> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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