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‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [361v] (721/949)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
on this foundation some 12 years a 5 o Go'veTm
ever hoisted upon it, nor are t icie a y P ^| ie Viceroy was able to
ment now upon the island. In w , £ inhabitants with the opposite
ascertain connections ^ Jh/aimost entitle Henjam to be described
” ;'S^T^n XOSJS:* fu. mrnmr » »« » *“<*“•
~ , v tqoq A TTardinsre addressed a telegram to
10. On 21 st September ® ir .^inal pronosal which we have
the Poreign Office in which he said ia 1 , ° 0 0 £ his inability to trace
just described must, he thought, be P 101 . • a> j na i Persian of the Shah’s
among the records in the Tehran . 0 c forwarded to your piedecessor with
authorisation ot 1868, a copy ot w nci ^ a . AVe do not appreciate
our Secret despatch No. 56 the Zof Persian original
the force of this argument. T1 e ,, eess i 0 n was granted; that it was
n The choice mav he expected in part to turn upon the present attitude
il. Ihe cnoice mav uv c i i . • ^gired to pursue towards
of the Persian Government an the viceroy during his recent
So Bushire^th^subsequent ^ehajdour^of^he «”tHas
characterised their r'ecent
s <& xca'i.-s
“eceTsaTbuildiS re-irected during the present cool season. Failing the
adoption of this plan, we think that the second alternative would be pre-
!• a first although it is to be feared, as anticipated by Sir A.
Hardmge in his letter to the & Marquess of Lansdowne of 27th June 1003 that
any procedure that might open the door for discussion or protest, could not fail
to be attended by considerable delay.
12. In either case the Persian Government might he conciliated by the
proposal to carry on the telegraph wire either by land or by sea from Ilenjam
to Bunder Abbas. When the Viceroy was at the latter place, he was earnestly
pressed both by the local traders and also by the Salar-i-Moazzam Governor of
the Gulf Ports, to lend his assistance to the connection ot Bunder Abbas
by telegraph with the outer world; and it is scarcely credible that the Persian
Government, unless they mean to be deliberately unpleasant, should not
welcome an extension which will he both of political and of commercial
advantage to them. Should they do so, they might opportunely be reminded
that, under the Convention of 2nd April 1868, we possess the right to continue
our land line from Jask to some point between that place and Bunder Abbas,
a phrase which might he interpreted as applicable to any spot short of Bunder
Abbas itself, such as the British Consulate at Naband, four miles on the Jask 13
13. In the event of His Majesty’s Government accepting our proposals for
the immediate re-institution of a cable station at Henjam, we trust that they will,
upon reconsideration, consent to hear at least one half of the cost of the aiiange-
ments as requested in our Secret despatch No. 56 (External), dated the 7th May
1903. The telegraph is asked for in the main in the interests of the naval
squadron which is maintained in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
by His Majesty s Govern
ment : and also on political grounds, which are divided in even proportions
between the Imperial Government and the Government of India. The larger
part of the expenditure on the shores of the Gulf is already borne by Indian
revenues: and it does not seem fair that any fresh measures that may be required
to sustain our influence on the sea—the charge of which has hitherto been
assumed by the Home Government (with substantial contributions from our
selves) should be debited exclusively to Indian funds.
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’ [361v] (721/949), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/359/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100093227831.0x00007a> [accessed 29 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