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‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [339r] (676/949)
The record is made up of 1 file (475 folios). It was created in 7 Nov 1901-23 Aug 1905. It was written in English. 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
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Telegram, No. 90, dated the 26th June 1903.
From—His Britannic Majesty's Minister, Tehran,
To—The Foreign Secretary, Simla.
Please see your despatch of the 7 th May to the
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.
, Henjam.
It would be simpler, simultaneously with the re-opening of the station, to
announce to the Persian Government that difficulties of communication with
our Consulate at Bunder Abbas had led us to avail ourselves once more of the
Shall s permission which was given to us in 1868 , there being, we hoped, no
doubt (?) that the Persian Government would authorise a further extension of
the line for 50 miles from Henjam to Bunder Abbas itself. The Persians will
not, I imagine, dispute our right once we confront them with an accomplished
fact; but if we notified our intention beforehand, they might create difficulties,
as their suspicion would certainly be aroused. The chief of the Indo-European
Department thinks that, unless there is urgent reason for immediate action, the
re-opening of the station had better be deferred till September at the earliest
on account of the heat.
A despatch on the subject follows by mail.
Repeated to the Foreign Office, London.
(Received with letter from the Secretary, Political Department,
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.
, No. 26, dated the
12th June 1903.)
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.
,
10 th June 1903 .
Sir,
With reference to your letter of the 16 th August 1900 , relative to the ‘ ^ *
proposal of the Government of India for the establishment of telegraphic
communication with Maskat and with Bunder Abbas, I am directed by Lord
George Hamilton to enclose, for Lord Lansdowne’s information, a copy of a
letter from the Government of India, No. 56 , dated 7 th May, and enclosures,
with regard to the latter project.
As Lord Lansdowne is aware, the construction of a cable to Maskat was
carried out at the cost of Indian revenues, and the line opened for traffic in
November 1901 .
The Government of India now propose that the establishment of tele
graphic communication with Bunder Abbas should be undertaken, and submit
estimates for effecting this object by diverting the existing cable to the island
of Henjam, and extending it thence to Bunder Abbas, either by a cable or by
a land line over Kishm, at a cost varying from £ 18,539 to £ 11 , 835 .
The scheme, in either of the forms proposed, may raise the question
whether the permission granted by the Persian Government to the Government
of India in 1868 to occupy Henjam for telegraphic purposes still holds good.
A copy of their letter has been furnished by the Government of India to His
Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, whose views will no doubt be reported to Lord
Lansdowne in due course.
With regard to the question of incidence of cost, Lord George Hamilton
gathers from your letter above referred to that the proposal that the cost of
this project (should it be decided upon) should be divided between the Imperial
and Indian Exchequers in equal shares, will not be considered unreasonable
in view of the fact that the Maskat cable has been paid for wholly out of
Indian revenues.
About this item
- Content
This part contains papers mostly relating to British interests in Persia [Iran] and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
It includes a copy of the Board of Trade Commercial Intelligence Committee ‘Report received from Mr. H. W. Maclean, the Special Commissioner appointed by the Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of Trade, on the conditions and prospects of British trade in Persia.’
A handwritten note at the front of the file, on folio 5, states ‘Spare copy of notes & correspondence of the “Helmand Control” file (with maps)’. Folio 110 consists of handwritten notes, including one dated 27 April 1904, which states ‘The secret Helmand papers have been printed up, and a set, with necessary maps, is submitted for H.E. the Viceroy to take to England.’ Much of the file concerns the question of controlling the water of the Helmand river and irrigating its whole delta, and the work of the Seistan Arbitration Commission to arbitrate between Persia and Afghanistan on the question of rights to the water of the Helmand in Seistan.
The file also includes reports by W A Johns on reconnaissances of potential railway routes made while he was attached to the Seistan Arbitration Commission, and other papers relating to railways and roads in Persia.
In addition, the file includes copies of the following Government of India Foreign Department Proceedings, which reproduce received Foreign Department correspondence on the following subjects: ‘Selection of a British naval base in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .’, November 1901, Nos. 74-83; ‘Visit of His Excellency the Viceroy to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. during November-December 1903.’, February 1904, Nos. 33-127; ‘Establishment of telegraphic communication with Henjam. Question of the selection of a naval base in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Aggressive action of the Persians at Tamb and Abu Musa; their claim to the Islands.’, June 1904, Nos. 300-388; ‘Reports of the Commercial Mission to Persia.’, June 1905, Nos. 45-111; ‘Question of retaining flagstaffs erected in the neighbourhood of the Musandim Promontory’, August 1905, Nos. 288-307.’
The file also includes: brief handwritten notes written by Curzon on headed paper belonging to the Viceregal Lodge, Simla, relating to Seistan and to Lord Kitchener’s planned reforms for the reorganisation and redistribution of the Indian Army; and a printed copy of the report ‘A Note by Major H.L. [Herbert Lionel] Showers, C.I.E., on the present state of affairs in Kelat and a review of the system of Administration now being pursued.’
The file includes four maps: ‘Map of the Tail waters of Helmand River’ (13 July 1903), f 122; ‘Plan Shewing Proposed Routes for a Railway from Nushki to Afghan Frontier near Robat’ (10 April 1903), f 139; ‘Extract from Admiralty Chart No. 753. (Entrance to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ).’ (October 1901), f 219; and ‘Sketch of route Ram Hormuz to Fellahieh.’ (April 1904), f 230.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (475 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in no apparent order, apart from the Government of India Foreign Department Proceedings, folios 231 to 474, which are arranged in chronological order.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [339r] (676/949), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/359/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100093227831.0x00004d> [accessed 28 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/359/1
- Title
- ‘Persia – especially Seistan’
- Pages
- front, 2r:194v, 195v:196r, 197v:199v, 200v, 201v, 203r:272r, 273v:275v, 277r:405v, 408r:408v, 409v, 411r:413v, 414v:419v, 420v:424v, 425v:432v, 433v:435v, 436v, 437v:443v, 444v:471v, 473r:475v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence