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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' [215r] (440/1068)
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.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJEST
EASTERN (General).
+
I ;
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1
[E 2717/1247/89] No. 1.
Mr. Cowan to Sir John Simon.—{Received May 1.)
(No. 8.)
Sir, Aleppo, April 3, 1934.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 2 of the 27th February, I have the
honour to report that the contract for the first 18 kilom. of the Tell-Ziwan-Mosul
line has been given to a Beirut contractor, M. Samaho. This section is to be
completed in six months, and work was supposed to begin on the 1st April. The
award for the second section is to be made between the 10th and 15th April.
2. I am informed that the object of this extension of the railway line is not
to develop the port of Alexandretta, but of Tripoli. The distance from Aleppo
to Tripoli is 45 kilom. longer than to Alexandretta, but the rate charged will be
the same for both ports, and it is confidently believed that harbour works are to be
started at Tripoli. Seeing that the railway to Alexandretta passes through
Turkish territory and that the port itself is very near the Turkish frontier, such
a policy is only natural, but it has greatly alienated the sympathies of the
population of the sanjak.
3. I have paid particular attention to the question of the general feeling in
the sanjak towards the French mandate, and have come to the conclusion that it
is very strongly anti-French. The population have more in common with Turkey
than with Syria, especially in language, and the neglect of the sanjak by the
mandatory Power, especially the failure to develop Alexandretta, the finest
natural harbour on the coast, has increased this pro-Turkish sentiment. It is
commonly believed that France has a secret agreement with Turkey to return the
Sanjak to her, but nobody has any idea of what the French hope to obtain in
return for this concession. Occasional denials on the part of the French and
Turkish authorities of the existence of such a policy are not believed. Of course,
the transfer would be done in a correct manner, through the League of Nations,
as a result of a plebiscite. There is no doubt that in Alexandretta itself public
opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of union with Turkey. In Antioch the
younger generation also favour such a union, but Antioch is a stronghold of
clericalism and large estates, and the clericals and landed proprietors mistrust
modern Turkey as anti-Islamic and democratic. I believe, however, that the
balance of opinion would favour a transfer to Turkey. In the country districts,
with the exception of the Armenian population of Kirik Khan, the feeling is
decidedly pro-Turkish.
4. That such a transfer would be beneficial to the town of Alexandretta
cannot be doubted. This port is the natural outlet from and entry into
Anatolia
Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey.
,
with which it already has railway connexions, and it could be made a valuable
naval base.
5. If the connexion with Tripoli is established, Aleppo would suffer to a
certain extent, though much less than Alexandretta. It would lose much of its
present importance as a distributing centre, but w^ould remain an important
transit place and railway junction. The natives of Aleppo have long been
renowned as craftsmen, and although modern developments have left them to
some extent stranded, the manufacturing instinct is still there, and it is possible
that in the future Aleppo may attain eminence as a large manufacturing centre,
provided that an outlet can be found for the goods manufactured.
6. I am sending copies of this despatch to the Department of Overseas
Trade, His Majesty’s High Commissioner at Jerusalem, His Majesty s Ambas
sador at Bagdad, and His Majesty’s consular officers at Beirut, Damascus and
Alexandretta.
I have, &c.
M. PATRICK COWAN.
[106 a—1]
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' [215r] (440/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591289.0x000029> [accessed 25 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