‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎518r] (85/112)

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f< I request that you will speak to Count
Lamsdorff in the above sense.
“ You should add that His Majesty^ Govern
ment are ready to discuss in the most friendly
spirit with the Russian Government the possibility
of concerting some arrangement by which both
powers might make a simultaneous advance to
Persia. The two Governments mig;ht accept as
their respective security for the advance Persian
revenues derived from sources falling within the
two spheres already indicated.”
The Russian reply contained na refer
ence to this particular assertion of British
claims.
5. In November 1901 the new Russo-
Persian Tariff negotiations which ignored
Great Britain were practically concluded,
and it being thought advisable to call
renewed attention to various British
interests, Sir A. Hardinge addressed the
Grand Vizier on 21st November 1901
in the following terms
Sir A. Habdinge to Grand Vizier.
2ht Novemler 190L
{Extract.)
Enclosure No. 2 in Secret E,, March 1902, Nos. “Your Highness was good enough to inform mo
s; 7-521, Proceeding No. 493. that these negotiations were practically concluded,
and that M. Goluboff was leaving for St. Peters
burg with a draft of the new Persian Tariff for
the final approval of the Russian Government.
“ I am directed by my Government, in connec
tion with this matter, to remind the Persian
Government of the great importance of the trade
of the British Empire with Persia, more especially
with the ports of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , in which the
foreign trade of Persia is almost exclusively British.
It is unnecessary for me to trouble Your Highness
with statistics in support of this well-known fact,
and [ will merely observe that, in view of it, my
Government cannot regard with passive in
difference a revision of the commercial relations
between Persia and foreign powers. Its latest
treaty with Persia gives it, it is true, merely
a most-favoured-nation treatment clause, which
every other Treaty Power, including countries so
remote and unconcerned with the trade of Persia
as Spain and Denmark, enjoy, but it is obvious
that its moral claim to a careful consideration of
its commercial interests is, in view of their import
ance, and of the political relations between
England and Persia, of a very different oharacter,
and entitle His Majesty’s Government to demand
that a complete change in the system of duties
to which its trade is subject should be negotiated
with them as well as with Russia, and shonld
not be effected without any reference to their
views. It is conceivable that a rearrangement of
that system in which the interests of Russia and
Persia were alone considered, might, without any
appearance of differential treatment, be distinctly
prejudicial to our trade.
“ A tariff, for example, under which petroleum
(from whatever country) was admitted at a low
duty, and tea (from whatever country) was
charged with a very high one, would benefit
Russian trade and injure British without infring
ing our strict treaty rights. I am therefore