Settlement of the Opposing Claims of Persia and Afghanistan to Seistan [‎451v] (50/54)

Dated Simla, the 31st October 1871.
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Enclosure No. x-
From—His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor General in Council.
To—His Highness the Ameer of Cahul.
The letters noted in the margin have passed between Your Highness and
, , „, „ x myself on the subject of the settlement
„ Ameer to viceroy „ 8th October „ ol the boundary in beistan, between Your
„ viceroy to Ameer „ J 0 7 ember n Highness’s territories and Persia. In my
„ Ameer to Viceroy ,, 26th February t-p J
„ viceroy to Ameer „ 28 th April „ letter of 28th April 1871, 1 inlormed Your
„ Ameer to viceroy „ 17 th July „ Highness that I had every reason to be-
lieve that my communications with the Persian Government on the subject
would be favorably received, and that, before the commencement of the season
of the year in which it is possible to travel in those countries, the preliminaries
for the negotiations would be settled in a manner satisfactory to Your Highness
and to His Majesty the Shah, and I promised to communicate again with Your
Highness as soon as intelligence should arrive from Teheran. In your reply of
17th July, you intimated that you would act agreeably to the wishes and advice
which the British Government, after the receipt of intelligence from Persia,
would communicate to you, and that you would, please God, endeavour your
best to act in accordance with the advice of the British Government.
My friend, it gives me much pleasure to inform you that His Majesty the
Shah has now agreed to submit the question of Seistan to arbitration in the
following terms:
When the British, Persian, and Afghan Commissioners are all assembled
together in Seistan, the Persian and Afghan Commissioners respectively
will state and substantiate their claims. If local enquiry be necessary, the
Commissioners will proceed to any point for that purpose, and make a map of
any districts without let or hindrance. When the British Commissioner con
siders that there is nothing further to be done on the spot, the Commissioners
will then return to Teheran, where the question will be fully discussed with a
view to its settlepient, and the British Commissioner will also state his arbitral
opinion. Should the Persian or Afghan Government not agree to the arbitral
opinion of the British Commissioner, reference will then be made to Her Majes
ty’s Secretary of State for Poreign Affairs, who, taking into due consideration
the arguments put forth, will issue a final decision, both the Persian and Afghan
Governments binding themselves beforehand to abide by the same.
My friend, the terms now finally arranged with the Persian Government
are, in all essential respects, the same as those which I proposed to Your High
ness in my letter of 8th September 1870, and which were accepted by Your High
ness in your answer of 8th October 1870 and subsequent correspondence. They
are Mich as, having regard to the identity of the interests of both Governments
and the welfare of Afghanistan, I have communicated and suggested to Persia.
1 entertain the confident belief that the settlement of the Seistan question on the
above basis will for ever put an end to those unhappy disputes which have so
long disturbed the peace and interfered with the prosperity of Seistan. I now
invite Your Highness at the earliest possible date formally to intimate to me
in writing your acquiescence in the ah we terms which, in accordance with my
suggestions, have been definitely settled with His Majesty the Shah, and
which I now offer for Your Highness’s final acceptance, with reference to your
last letter to me, dated 17th Julv 1871.
n J/^ orn ? e( l You1, Highness in my letter of 8th September 1870, Major-
General Goldsmid has been selected as the Commissioner on the part of the
British Government. I trust that you will now select an intelligent and
trustworthy officer as Commissioner on the part of Afghanistan, and will com-
mumcate his name to me without delay. I trust also that you will invest him
with the necessary powers to enable him to settle finally the question in the
discussion which, after all needful local enquiries have been made, will take
place at Teheran.
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