‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎495v] (40/112)

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railways were constructed in the nortli of Persia
to construct a railway in the south. ,,
14. In February 1903, the Secretary of Secret e.,
State for India informed the Viceroy that No * 62,
Persia had bound herself to Russia not to
allow any railway constructioti till 1910
by a treaty which possibly may be renewed
for a further decennial period.
15. On 5th May 1903, the Marquis of
Lansdowne in the House of Lords made
the following reference to British rights
in regard to the construction of railways,
roads and telegraphs in Persia
“The noble lord said a few words with regard
<oo railways in Persia. 1 believe it is an open
secret that a few years ago Persia undertook
to defer the construction of any railways at all
for a term of years. We were not parties to that
arrangement, nor did we contract any obligations
under it. The position in which we stand is this—
that, whenever railway construction takes place
in Persia, we have a right to construct, or procure
the construction of railways in the southern part
of that country. Persia will then be opened not
only to the capital and enterprise of other coun
tries, but to the capital and enterprise of this
country as well ; and, though that arrangement
may not be recorded in any very formal manner,
we are satisfied that it is a binding engagement on
the part of the Persian Government, and we
should certainly maintain that that is its charac
ter. Closely connected with the subject of rail-
wavs is the subject of roads. As to that there is
a road between Tehran and Sultanabad which was
built by the Imperial Bank of Persia—a British
institution. There is also a caravan road between
Ispahan and Ahwaz, which was built by Messrs.
Lynch, a firm who have an honourable reputation
for the enterprise they have exhibited in develop
ing trade in Persia. Besides that, there are
concessions for the extension of the Tehran-
Sultanabad road to the Karun river, and also for
joining Kum with Ispahan, and at this moment
negotiations are in progress for the speedy con
struction of one of those two roads. This is a
matter of considerable importance, because it will
give road communication from the capital to a
point on the Karun river, thus bringing Tehran
into commaoieation with the Kavun navigation.
In the matter cf telegraphs, there is a convention
which was entered into last year, under which a
British iine is being constructed from Tehran to
the frontiers of India by the staff of the Indo-
European Telegraph Department under the Gov
ernment of India. The line will be leased by the
Persian Government to the Indo-European Tele
graph Department, it will be maintained by the
British Director and staff, and 140 miles of it
have already been constructed under the conditions
I have described.”
16. The terms of the Telegraph Conven
tion of 1901,referred to by Lord Lansdowne,
will he found in Secret E., February 1903,
Nos. 308-330.
A list of foreign road concessions will
he found in a despatch from His Majesty’s
Minister, Tehran, No. 194, dated the 7th
December 1903.
March 1903, Nos. 38*57, Proceeding