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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' [256r] (522/1068)
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 MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (General).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 1217/6/65]
I j
February |3, 1934.
Sectio
No. 1.
A cting Consul-General Havard to Sir John Simon.—{Received February 23.)
(No. 21.)
Sir, Beirut, February 15, 1934.
WITH reference to Sir Harold Satow’s despatch No. 181 of the
21st November, 1927, I have the honour to transmit herewith copies of a~decree( 1 )
No. 28/L.R. of the 2nd instant which restates and develops the existing regula
tions regarding the exemption from customs duties of the motor cars, fuel, &c.,
used by transport companies on the desert route, and which also lays down the
conditions under which goods will be carried in transit between the rail-head and
the frontier.
2. The decree of the 26th March, 1932, to which reference is made, simply
states that the carriage of goods in international transit is entrusted to the
Compagnie de Chemin de Fer Damas-Hama et Prolongement for the stage
Beirut-Damascus, under the terms of an agreement dated the 21st March, 1932.
The new decree covers the further stage to the frontier. I am informed that its
terms will tend to favour serious concerns with capital, and stamp out the
competition of mushroom companies, since the latter will be unable to provide
the containers specified or to operate units sufficiently large to reduce the cost
per ton per 100 kilom. within the prescribed limits. A return will thus be
guaranteed on capital expended for large units, such as the multi-wheeled vehicle
recently brought from America by the Nairn Transport Company, which carries
thirty-one passengers inside, with their baggage. Further, I am reliably
informed that the Nairn Company has entered into a working arrangement with
the Societe auto-routiere du
Levant
A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
, an off-shoot of the railway company; effective
control of the entire route is thus placed in French hands, with the benefit of
Mr. Nairn’s experience of desert transport.
Copies of this despatch have been sent to the Department of Overseas Trade,
His Majesty’s Ambassador at Bagdad, His Majesty’s High Commissioner at
Jerusalem and His Majesty’s consul at Damascus.
I have, &c.
G. T. HAVARD.
( x ) Not printed.
[31 z—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' [256r] (522/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591289.0x00007b> [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