Publications, Newspaper Cuttings, Photographs and Correspondence about Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎294r] (588/879)

THE MADRAS MAT
Contents of Cages 3 & 6.
Page 3.—Shipping—Dawk News—The Artificial
Propagation of Pearls—The Nizam’s Railway—
The Indian Congress—Legal Intelligence—Fort
St. George Gazette—Commercial, &c.
Page 6.—Ootacamund Notes—Military Notes—The
Volunteers—Planting Notes—A Curious Old
Dam—A Station Tragedy—The Kolar Gold Field
—“M. A. P.”inthe Boudoir—Something like
Leather—To Increase the Demand for Pure
Linen.
Calenoar April.
* Dav i
Sun
Moon
Week
Month
Rises.
Sets.
Rises.
Sets.
1 Wedusy
22nd
5 4AM
6 12pm
1 49am
1 50pm
Thursy.
23rd
5 44 ,,
6 12 ,,
2 29 „
2 38 „
' Friday.
24th
5 44 „
6 12 ,,
3 12 „
3 28 „
Saturdy
25th
5 43 „
6 12,,
3 54 „
4 20 „
f Sunday.
26th 1
5 42,,
6 13.,
4 38 ,,
5 13 „
o Monday
27th
5 42 „
6 13 ,,
5 24 „
6 8,,
: Tuesdy.
28 th 1
5 41 „
6 13 „
6 14 „
7 6„
q
Financial.
Stocks, Shares and Exchange.
" MADRAS, 22ND April. Buyers. Sellers.
31 per Cents. Ged. 1904 ...Rs. 98-12 99-4
3 per Cents. Gt’d. 1916 ... ,, 86-8 87-8
" Bank of Madras Shrs. (Rs. 500). ,, 950 960
t Coml. Bk. of India, Ld. (Rs. 100), ,, 50 55
q Sovereigns each ... ... ,, 15
s Bank Bills on Lond. On Demand 1s.331d. to 1s. 41.
d Credits on London 6 m/s 1s. 4]4d. to 1s.43d.
Do. do. 3 m/s. Is. A^d.tolsA^d.
Ex. on France 3 m.’s Credits...fes. 1 70.
• Tone of Market, quiet. Bank rate, 7 p. ct.
Domestic Occurrences.
(The charge for notifying a Domestic Occurrence
is Rs. 2, which must accompany the announcement.)
births.
HAYTHORNTHWAITE— At Woodall Cottage, Simla,
on the 11th April, the wife of the Rev. J. P.
Haythornthwaite, Principal of St. John’s Col
lege, Agra, of a daughter.
Johnston—At Jubbulpore, on the 13th April, the
wife of Lieut.-Col. W. T. Johnston, R.A.M.C.,
of a son.
marriages.
Broadfoot—Brooke—On the 20th April, 1903, at
the Cathedral, Madras, by the Venerable the
Archdeacon, Ramsay Douglas Broadfoot, I.C.S.,
youngest son of the late Alexander Broadfoot, to
Maude Sabine, youngest daughter of the late
Sir William 0. S. Brooke.
Kendall—Shortt—At Calcutta, on the 15th
April, 1903, by Rev. Firminger, Chaplain of
Kidderpore, at the residence of her sister Mrs.
Bretton-Priestley, Frank Kendall, District Loco
motive Superintendent, Bengal Nagpur Rail
way, to Maude Komereck, second daughter of
R. D. Shortt, of “Fernwood,” Ootacamund,
Nilgiris.
DEATH.
Alphonso—At Bangalore, on the 20th April, 1903,
of pneumonia, Mr. J. A. Alphonso, Retired
Assistant Superintendent, Government Telegraph
Department, aged 63.
The gtladras gtlail.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1903.
stance in the recent history of Great Britain .
of golden opportunities lost; and the sequel
will doubtless be the same—competition with
powerful rivals in regions where we might
have ruled supreme, or at any rate which
we might have controlled alone. For
about half a century no scheme was more
insistently pressed upon British Cabinets,
the House of Commons and the public than *
that of establishing a steam route to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and India by way of Mesopo
tamia. From 1835 to 1845 several schemes
were proposed for the navigation of the
Euphrates up to the latitude of Aleppo.
These were proved impracticable for one part
of the year and precarious for the other part,
owing to the marshes which draw off the
lower waters and to the rapids and banks
which obstruct the upper. In 1851 a private
Company was promoted to make a through
line from the mouth of the Syrian Orontes
to the valley of the Euphrates at Jaber,’
and thence to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Koweit.
Under the leadership of Mr. Andrew, Chair-,
man of the Delhi, Punjab and Scinde Rail
way, and with General Chesney as its ad
viser and surveyor-in-chief, this Company ac
tually obtained from the Porte in 1856
a concession and a promise of a 6 per cent,
guarantee on the capital to be expended.
The guarantee was never secured, the funds
were never subscribed, and the concession
lapsed ; and for this untimely end the lack of
support accorded by the British Government
was chiefly responsible, and also the com
petition of the Suez Canal, which pro
ject definitely assumed shape in the same
year. In an amended project in 1863 the
Company promised to bring its rail-head
ultimately to the Sea of Marmora, but by
that time French influence had waxed strong
in Syria, and the Porte had become suspi- x
cious of any route to India which might lie 5
through its territory. "
Some few years later efforts were made tolu
induce the British Government to carry the
scheme through as a national undertakings
and as a set off against the Suez Canal. The •
agitation led at last to the appointment of a?
Select Committee of the House of Commons,
in 1872, which reported favourably on the’
Seleucia-Koweit project, at an estimated cost ‘
of 10 millions sterling. The Report, however,
met with but a cool reception, the Govern
ment being afraid of complications with
France, and unwilling to put the necessary
pressure on the Porte. In 1879 another
effort was made, and the Euphrates Valley
Association was formed with the Duke of
Sutherland as President and a strong Com
mittee to back him. But that also flickered as a
candle and went out. During the last 20 years
there has only been one scheme of a railway
across Asia Minor that has attracted any
attention, and that was a proposal to lay a line
THE MADRAS MAT
(Jonfent:
5 of
Wages 3 & 6.
Page 3.—Shipping—Dawk News—The Artificial
Propagation of Pearls
—The Nizam’s Railway—
The Indian Congress-
-Legal Intelligence—I 4 ort
St. George Gazette—Commercial, &c.
Page 6.—Ootacamund Notes—Military Notes—The
Planting
Notes—A Curious Old
Dam—A Station Tragedy—The Kolar Gold Field
—“M. A. P.” in the
Boudoir—Something like
Leather—To
Increase the Demand for Pure
Linen.
Galenocr— April.
Dav
Sun II Moon
Week Month
Rises.
Sets.Rises. | Sets.
Wednsy 22nd
5 45 AM
6 12P M | 1 49am 1 50pm
Thursy. 23rd
5 44 ,,
6 12 ,, | 2 29 ,, 2 38 ,,
Friday. 24th
5 44 ,,
6 12,, II 3 12 „ 3 28 „
Saturdy 25th
5 43 ,,
6 12,, II 3 54,, 4 20,,
Sunday. 26th
5 42 „
6 13 ,, I 4 38 ,, 5 13 ,,
Monday 27 th
5 42 ,,
6 13 ,, | 5 24 ,, 6 8 ,,
Tuesdy. 28th
5 41 ,,
6 13 „ II G 14 „ 7 6 ,,
financial'.
Stocks
Shares and Exchange.
MADRAS, 222
D April
Buyers. Sellers.
3} per Cents.
Gt’d. 1904 ...Rs. 98-12 99-4
3 per Cents.
Gt’d. 1916 86-8 87-8
Bank of Madras Shrs. (Rs. 500). „ 950 960
Oomi. Bk. of India, Ld.
(Rs. 100), „ 50 55
Sovereigns each
... ,, 15
Bank Bills on Lond. OnDemandls.o^d. to 1s. 4.
Credits on London 6 n
/s 1s. 4Hd. to 1s.4gd.
Do. do. 3 m/s. 18. 4d.tols.A^d.
Ex. on France 3 m.’s Credits...Fes. 1'70.
Tone of Market, quiet. Bank rate, 7 p. ct.
Domestic Occurrences.
(The charge for notifying a Domestic Occurrence
is Its, 2, which must accompany the announcement,)
births.
HAYTHORNTHWAITE—At Woodall Cottage, Simla,
on the 11th April, the wife of the Rev. J. P.
Haythornthwaite, Principal of St. John’s Col
lege, Agra, of a daughter.
Johnston—At Jubbulpore, on the 13th April, the
wife of Lieut.-Col. W. T. Johnston, R.A.M.C.,
of a son.
MARRIAGES.
Broadfoot—BROOKE—On the 20th April, 1903, at
the Cathedral, Madras, by the Venerable the
Archdeacon, Ramsay Douglas Broadfoot, I.C.S.,
youngest son of the late Alexander Broadfoot, to
Maude Sabine, youngest daughter of the late
Sir William O. S. Brooke.
KENDALL—Shortt—At Calcutta, on the 15th
April, 1903. by Rev. Firminger, Chaplain of
Kidderpore, at the residence of her sister Mrs.
Bretton-Priestley, Frank Kendall, District Loco
motive Superintendent, Bengal Nagpur Rail
way, to Maude Komereck, second daughter of
R. D. Shortt, of “Fernwood,” Ootacamund,
Nilgiris.
death.
Alphonso—At Bangalore, on the 20th April, 1903,
of pneumonia, Mr. J. A. Alphonso, Retired
Assistant Superintendent, Government Telegraph
Department, aged 63.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1903.
The Bagdad Kailway Question.
Once more comes news of the FORMA-
tion of a Company to construct the Bagdad
Railway, that “ hoary enigma,”—if we may
borrow the expression the Viceroy once used
with reference to the Madras Harbour,—of
the Middle East. According to Reuter the Im
perial Ottoman Bagdad Railway Company has
been formally constituted at Constantinople
with a nominal capital of 30,000,000 francs.
One of the Managers of the Deutsche Bank is
to be the President; the administrator of the
Ottoman Bank in Paris is to be Vice-Pre-
~ sident; while the Directorate, we were first
i told, was to consist of nine Germans, seven
| French, two Swiss and one Austrian, and
subsequently it was announced that three
English Directors had been already chosen
and that more were to be appointed.
The conditions of the participation of British
capital are not yet definitely settled, but ac
cording to the statement of Mr. BALFOUR,
which was telegraphed from Home a few
days ago, it is understood that the suggestions
to be made are that British capital and
control are to be on an equality with those
of any other Power; (we have since been
informed that France and Germany will
participate equally with England in the con
trol of the Railway); that Great Britain will
consent to a reasonable increase in the Turk
ish Customs, though a portion of the pro
ceeds will be devoted to the Bagdad Railway;
that if the railway prove a better route,
it may be used for the Indian Mails ; and
that Britain will use its good offices to
provide a terminus at or near Koweit.
Undoubtedly, said Mr BALFOUR, the Gov
ernment must come to a decision with
out delay; but this is what they have been
trying to do ever since 1835. Such a deci
sion will be gladly received by all sections
of the community even if at present it is
impossible, as the Prime Minister said, to
give a forecast thereof.
The Home papers, generally, have wel
comed Mr. Balfour’s speech, and they have
urged upon the Government not to lose
the “ privileged monopoly position” of Great
Britain in the Gulf. Public opinion in
England, however, is against the Govern
ment assenting to an increase of the
Turkish Customs as a guarantee for the
loan, or of allowing Koweit to become the
Southern terminus; and a still more recent
telegram states that the feeling in England
against British participation in the Bagdad
Railway is remarkably strong and increasing
daily. Still we prefer to think with Mr.
Balfour that as it is impossible to prevent
the construction of the railway, it would be
| foolish to allow a railway which is the
shortest route to India to be entirely
financed by foreign countries.
The British people had to decide, conti
nued Mr. Balfour, whether or not it was
desirable that British interests and capital
should be as largely represented as those of
any other Power, and whether the proposed
trade opening in the Gulf should be in the
territory of a Sheikh under our protection
and with whom we had special treaties, or
somewhere where we had no such preferen
tial advantages. It is hard to reconcile with
the above the statement, which, according to a
later telegram, is attributed to Mr. Eyres,
the British Consul at Constantinople, who
has issued a Report subsequently to Mr.
Balfour’s speech and letter. He says the
management of the Bagdad Railway has
already been secured by the Germans. It is
difficult with the meagre details to hand to
tell exactly what has been done, but one
thing is evident, and that is that the line
through Asia Minor is going to be construct
ed and that the Government at Home will
have all their work cut out for them to
preserve British prestige and predominance
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. under the changed con
ditions which will be inaugurated by the
opening of this Railway. The matter is of
such vital importance to India, however,
that it is to be hoped that the Government
will do as the Times suggests, and submit the
whole question to a searching examination
in conjunction with the Government of
India and the Military and Naval advisers
of the Crown both in England and in India.
Indeed, as we are told in a telegram to-day,
the Times urges the pronouncement of a
definite British policy with regard to the
Middle East generally,
The story of the several abortive railway
schemes in Asia Minor affords one more in
stance in the recent history of Great Britain |
of golden opportunities lost; and the sequel
will doubtless be the same—competition with
powerful rivals in regions where we might
have ruled supreme, or at any rate which
we might have controlled alone. For
about half a century no scheme was more
insistently pressed upon British Cabinets,
the House of Commons and the public than
that of establishing a steam route to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and India by way of Mesopo
tamia. From 1835 to 1845 several schemes
were proposed for the navigation of the
Euphrates up to the latitude of Aleppo.
These were proved impracticable for one part
of the year and precarious for the other part,
owing to the marshes which draw off the
lower waters and to the rapids and banks
which obstruct the upper. In 1851 a private
Company was promoted to make a through
line from the mouth of the Syrian Orontes
to the valley of the Euphrates at Jaber,
and thence to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Koweit.
Under the leadership of Mr. Andrew, Chair
man of the Delhi, Punjab and Scinde Rail
way, and with General Chesney as its ad
viser and surveyor-in-chief, this Company ac
tually obtained from the Porte in 1856
a concession and a promise of a 6 per cent,
guarantee on the capital to be expended.
The guarantee was never secured, the funds
were never subscribed, and the concession
lapsed; and for this untimely end the lack of
support accorded by the British Government
was chiefly responsible, and also the com
petition of the Suez Canal, which pro
ject definitely assumed shape in the same
year. In an amended project in 1863 the
. Company promised to bring its rail-head
ultimately to the Sea of Marmora, but by
that time French influence had waxed strong
in Syria, and the Porte had become suspi
cious of any route to India which might lie
through its territory.
Some few years later efforts were made to
induce the British Government to carry the
scheme through as a national undertaking
and as a set off against the Suez Canal. The
agitation led at last to the appointment of a
Select Committee of the House of Commons
in 1872, which reported favourably on the
Seleucia-Koweit project, at an estimated cost
of 10 millions sterling. The Report, however,
met with but a cool reception, the Govern
ment being afraid of complications with
France, and unwilling to put the necessary
pressure on the Porte. In 1879 another
effort was made, and the Euphrates Valley
Association was formed with the Duke of
Sutherland as President and a strong Com
mittee to back him. But that also flickered as a
candle and went out. During the last 20 years
there has only been one scheme of a railway
across Asia Minor that has attracted any
attention, and that was a proposal to lay a line
from Ismailia to Koweit, under agreement
with the Emir of Nejd, and through territory
with which neither France nor the Porte had
any concern. Too little water and too much
sand is said to have quashed that scheme,
not to mention the vital question of policing
500 miles of railway line exposed to lawless
hordes and bandits.
Such are the most important schemes
which have been proposed during the last
70 years. Even till 20 years ago we had
pretty well the monopoly of this trans-
continental route between Europe and Asia
had we only gone through with it. But the
situation has, unfortunately, now quite
changed, and we shall be lucky if we can
share control with two other European
Powers.
Under the aegis of the new Company the
section of the line which will first be con
structed will be from Konia, the terminus of
the present Anatolian Railway to Eregli.
Thence it will run to Iskanderoon and from
there via Aleppo and Anah to Bagdad ; and
thence, if as is alleged England has acquies
ced, to Basra and Koweit. The advantage
which this line would have as the quickest
route for Mails and passengers between
Europe and India has been variously esti
mated. The Times of India, however, points
out that measurements and maps are often
very misleading in matters of this kind, and
considers that sooner than lose the Mail con
tract the P.| and O. Company will undertake
to reduce the period of transmission by at
least 48 hours, and that then there
will not be much to choose between tho
present route and the Bagdad Railway.
Moreover, continues our contemporary, “ the
Gulf route will probably not attract many
Anglo-Indian passengers, at any rate on
the homeward journey, nor can it possibly
compete with the Canal for the carriage of
heavy merchandise. The prospect of linking
up the Bagdad line with Indian railways
cannot be realised for many years to
come ; and it must always be remembered
that the connecting link must run through
Central Persia, as there is no practicable
alignment along the shores of the Gulf.”
Be this as it may, if it effects a reduction
of even 48 hours in the time taken by the
Mails between London and India, the Bagdad
Railway will be welcomed in this country as
a boon, and if it also has the effect of
making the P. and O. Company revise its pas
senger rates between the two countries the
popularity of the scheme will be doubly
assured. A little healthy competition in this
matter is just what is wanted.
Some Anglo-Indian Stories.
Most of us, in the course of our Indian
pilgrimage, have come across amateurs of the
long bow, people with a natural gift for fic
tion who desire, like certain boys at school,
to make our blood run cold. Every Province
has its romancer, who takes a misguided pride
in being the greatest storyteller in the little
society in which he moves. Such people do no
harm, as a rule. Their inventions do not usually
take the form of scandal; they are more usually
of the type of the tales which all fishermen
(proverbially a harmless race) “ swop” as to
their captures. The worst that can befal them
is that their reputation for inventiveness may
do them an ill turn when they are stating
plain matters of fact. If any such spinner
of Indian yarns has suffered from the lack of
faith in an incredulous world, let him be com
forted. When the Anglo-Indian retires on
pension, he will be unable to talk of India at
all. Lord Curzon has said that the untravel
ed British are curiously ignorant of India.
The reason is not far to seek. The
Anglo-Indian dares not describe his harmless
adventures in the East to a sedate suburban
audience. He intercepts incredulous glances ;
he is embarrassed by coughs which express
pained astonishment. And all the time he is
relating facts which to him seem almost too
commonplace and trivial for narration, were
he not telling them to people who have
never seen an Indian crow, heard the jabber
of an Indian minah, or devoured a “ beef
steak” made out of the breast of an Indian
fowl. But we shall best explain our meaning by
telling, briefly, one or two stories which, when
related to a Western audience, have been ac
cepted as mild, but unveracious, imitations
of the art of Schererazade. The Anglo-Indian
reader will observe that they are utterly
pointless, and that their sole merit consists
in their truthfulness, in the fact that they are
scientific observations of actual occurrences.