"مذكرة تتعلق بالملاحة في نهري دجلة والفرات". [و‎‎٦‎٠] (٢٨٤/١٢٠)

103
Euphrates and
Tigias Steam
Navigation
Company,
February 23,1905.
Sir N. O'Conor,
No. 181.
March 21, 1905.
Mr. H. T. B.
Lynch,
May 6, 1905.
Sir N. O'Oonor,
May 16, 1905.
steamer. The Foreign Office declined to
acquiesce in this arrangement.
When the question of an increase in the
Turkish Customs was under consideration in
1905, the company urged that advantage should
be taken of the negotiations, initiated by the
Porte, to press for permission to use their third
steamer; but Sir N. O'Conor was of opinion that
the matter should be excluded from the scope of
those negotiations. Further, he thought that
the Porte might seek to withdraw the company's
privileges of navigation on the Tigris if asked, at
that moment, to allow another steamer to be
employed on the river. The company, however,
were feeling the competitioo with the new
steamers of the Oman Administration^ and
pressed upon the Foreign Office their claim to
use a third steamer. Their case was submitted
in a memorandum in May, 1905. In this
memorandum articles 1, 23, and 27 of the
Capitulations of 1809, and article 1 of the Treaty
of Balta Liman, 1838, were quoted in confirma
tion of ancient British right of navigation on the
Euphrates and Tigris; the request which led to
the issue of the firman of 1834 did not, it was
stated, invalidate British rights of navigation
enjoyed up to that time on the rivers; and
reference was made to the vizierial letter of 1861,
followed by the assertion that the British Govern
ment had never admitted limitation of the
company's right to the use of two steamers ;
and finally it was claimed in the memorandum
that, as the number of Turkish steamers had
been increased, the company should be permitted,
on the ground of equity and of their general
rights ol navigation, to use another steamer.
Sir N. O'Conor furnished categorical replies to
the contentions put forward. He maintained
that the general question of the right of British
vessels to navigate the Euphrates and Tigris had
never been raised, and to invoke the Capitulations
of 1809 and the Treaty of Balta Liman in support
of such right would not be to the advantage of
the company, as the shipping of other Powers
w T ould, under most -favoured-nation treatment,
equally benefit by anything obtained for British
shipping. He pointed out that the vizierial letter
of 1861 clearly stated that, under the firmans of
* The Administration then had on the river sk steamers—
two of large size and four new steel barges.