‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎495r] (39/112)

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#L
37
1902.
Road concession in Southern
Persia.
Secret E., March 1903, Nos 261-328, Proceeding
No. 287. b
tf
Ibid, Proceeding No. 293.
“ His Excellency said that he fully understood
our feelings on these subjects, and that he would
be glad to discuss them with me unofficially when
ever I liked. In the meanwhile, he expressed the
opinion that it was most unlikely that railway
schemes of the kind which I had described would
be undertaken by the Russian Government.
After this conversation the Marquis of
Lansdowne sent a note to the Atabeg-i-
Azam on August 22nd, 1902, recording
some of the principal points which had
been discussed, and with regard to the
road concession in Southern Persia and
the Company’s preferential rights to rail
way construction wrote:—
— tum^sion, you stated
that you were prepared to meet in principle the
views of the new English company which has
acquired it, and although you considered the term
ot ten years was an unnecessarily lon^
one, you were willing to agree that that period
should be given for the company to complete the
work, provided that you were satisfied that it was
seriously undertaken and that a beginning would
be made without delay. With this object a
draft concession was to be prepared for your
consideration. I suggested that, should there be
hereafter any question of railway construction in
the region traversed by these roads, the company
might not unreasonably expect to be oiven “a
piefeience; but it was understood by us both that
any arrangement of the kind should not be
embodied m the public agreement.'”
The reply of the Atabeg-i-Azam was as
follows:—
“ Je T3 suis ^’accord pour repefer que le Gouverne-
ment I ersan consent en principe a favoriser autant
quil le pourra les entreprises de la nouvelle
compagme Anglaise, qui a repris la concession de
la route d’Ahwaz k Teheran par Sultanabad et
Ivoum. C est dans cette ordre d'idees que j'ai
dejk accorde le delai supplementaire de dixanodes
demande par la compagnie pour Fachevement de
la route. Mais d’antre part, j’espere que les
travaux seront entames sans delai et poursuivis
activement. Tontefois en ce que coneerne la
question eventuelle d’une concession de chemin de
fer a laisser esperer a la mdme compa<mie je ne
puis que rappeler les reserves que j'af formule'es
en repetant encore qu’en ce moment il gerait
premature d’envisager n’importe quelle solution a
cette question.”
Secret e., July 1901 , Nos. 62-67, Proceeding No. concession referred to in the above
Secret E., April 1902, Nos. 170-173, Proceeding C011 eS P 0n dence IS the Klim-Sllltanabad-
No.m. Ahwaz road, which was originally held bv
No Se " et E -» January 1904 , Nos. 249-54, Proceeding the Imperial Bank of Persia and purchased
from them by the Persian Transport Com-
. pany Limited under a promise of a subsidy
from the British Government of £2,009
a year for ten years. The company is
empowered to make a branch from Buru-
jird to Ispahan.
1903. 13. On February 18th, 1903, Viscount
Cranborne, Under-Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, m the course of a speech
on British interests in Persia, said
“ It was true that the Rusdans had ceifain
rights in respect of railway cons:ruction in Persia ;
bo had this country. We bud the right when