"مذكرة تتعلق بالملاحة في نهري دجلة والفرات". [و‎‎١‎٩] (٢٨٤/٣٨)

23
Under these circumstances they were anxious to
know what their liabilities would be in regard
to the transit duties levied on boats engaged in
the internal traffic.
They pointed out the inutility of the vizierial
letter of 1846, owing to the fact that no really
sea-going vessel could navigate the Tigris and
Euphrates,
NoTos 1 ,October 1; Colonel Eose obtained a vizierial letter to the
No. 158, ' Pasha of Bagdad putting a stop to the abuse of
December 7, 1852 i • mi i j .i i ,
(Appendix XIII). lev ying illegal transit duties and tolls on British
goods between Bussorah and Bagdad, irrespec
tively of the mode of conveyance, and directing
that arrangements as to freights should be made.
He was disinclined to press a claim as to
English steam navigation on the Mesopotamian
rivers, as by doing so he might interfere with
various other schemes, and the matter seems to
have been dropped.
One of the schemes referred to was for the
establishment *of communication between Con
stantinople, Bagdad, and Bussorah, partly by rail
way and partly by steamers on the Mesopotamian
rivers, and it was probably in connection with
Colonel Rawlinson, this that early in 1852, as Colonel Rawlinson
No. i2 FeblUa0 11; reported, the Governor of Bussorah announced
Februarr 2§, that he intended to establish Turkish steamers on
1852, Archives, . . _ _ _ t
vol. 367. the rivers, and proposed that Lieutenant Lynch
should be placed in command of them.
Colonel llawlinson was, however, quite opposed
to giving any assistance to the Turks in the
matter, as success in this project would have
made them much more difficult to deal with.
Two boats were eventually purchased in Bel
gium, and one of them commenced to ply
between Bussorah and Bagdad in April 1859.
Lord Stratford de In 1852 the British merchants at Bagdad
May 28, 1853 ' requested that the armed steamer belonging to
the East India Company should be used to pro
tect their merchandise and vessels on the Tigris
against the Arabs, and to extract compensation
from them.
This request was referred by Colonel Eawlinson
to the Government of India, who replied that
their object was to cultivate friendly relations
with the Turkish Government and the Arabs;
but they added that the steamer should not be
employed in hostilities, even at the request of
the Turkish Government, except under very
exceptional circumstances.
Lord Stratford de Bedcliffe in writing to