‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎488r] (25/112)

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(2) Railways, Tramways, Roads and
Telegraphs-
Railways.
On 20th March 1889, Sir H. Drum
mond Wolff forwarded to the Marquis of
Salisbury the following important engage
ment given to him by the Shah with res
pect to railways in Persia and with special
relation to those in the south
Translation of autograph from the Shah addressed
to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, dated the
16th September 158S.
a JUs Excellency the Minister for Foreign
Affairs—Oi His Excellency Wolff, the British
Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordi
nary’s communications information has been receiv
ed, and it has caused much astonishment. Con
vey these commands to His Excellency the Minis
ter Plenipotentiary, even give him this very auto
graph, in order that he may keep it and be
satisfied that our former promise with regard to
priority of the English Government and the com
pany of that Government over others in the con
struction of a Southern Railway to Tehran conti
nues to hold giod, and certainly whenever railway
concessions in the north are given to others
immediately a concession for a railway from Teh
ran to Shuster, or such a one, will be given to the
English Company ; and of course then the clauses
and conditions will also be examined in order that
it be to our advantage and interest, and for the
benefit of the commerce of both parties ; and
positively no Southern Railway, without con
sultation with the English Government, will be
gi anted to any foreign company.
“ F.S. —And it is clear that in Persia nobody
will be granted permission to construct railways
except it be solely commercial ones. We say so
now that they may know it.”
The exact circumstances which led up
to this autograph letter are not clear from
our most imperfect records, hut appear to
have been as follows :—
secret e., August issr, Nos. 277 - 408 , Proceeding During 1887 the British Minister, Sir
* 0 ' 318 * A. Nicolson, had been pressing the Persian
Government to grant an English company
the concession for a railway from Ahwaz
to Tehran, and negotiations were still on
foot early in 1888, though without much
expectation of success, as is evident from
the following telegram, dated 1 st May
1888, from the Marquess of Salisbury to
Sir H. Drummond Wolff:—“ As we can
not offer a guarantee, and British capi-
i 55 ecret ^ Proceeding No. talists hesitate to come forward without
one, it will not do to press for our scheme
too strongly.”
The rejection of the concession had,
however, been previously determined upon
by the Shah, who had been forced on
18th September 1887 by Prince Dolgo-
rouki, the Bussian Minister, to sign the
following memorandum, under a threat
that the grant of any concession without
1889.
Secret E., June 1889, Nos. 112-114, Proceeding
No. 112.