"مذكرة تتعلق بالملاحة في نهري دجلة والفرات". [ظ‎‎٩‎٢] (٢٨٤/١٨٥)

32
l3y vessels under the British flag. ' Sir If. Layard, 1879 (cont,)
however, replied that, considering the suspicious
temper of the Porte at that moment, he foil sure November 23.
that, if such a demand was then made it would
be pretty certain to be refused.
In Julv of this year, representations were maue Sir II. Layard,
^ r F0l0 2rr£tOiiic
to the Porte, at the instance of the Euphrates and j u iy n 2; No.' 731,
Tiariis Steam Navigation Companv and Messrs. 14 5 anci
Gray, Dawes, and Co.. respecting the injurious Commercial,
effect upon navigation and export trade caused ^ l G *
by the erection of a dam on the Tigris below
Amarah, for the purpose of flooding rice-fields.
The Porte explained that the river had been tem
porarily diverted in consequence of drought, and
that notice had been given to European and
Ottoman navigation companies.
18S0. —In January the Euphrates and Tigris 188(X
Steam Navigation company applied to this Euphrates and
office for a copy of the " Imperial lirman bv Steam
. » . . Navigation
virtue or which that company was authorised to Company,
employ steamers on the Rivers Euphrates and Januai T 2 ' 1880
Tigris," as they stated 41 they had no copy of the
document in their office *; whereupon a copy of
the firman of 1834 and of the vizierial letters of
1811, i:: '1846, and 1861 (above referred to) were * See note on p. 9.
sent to them.
The Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Euphrates and
Company stated that they heard from Bagdad Na^gatST
that an arrangement had been come to for Company,
leasing the Turkish steamers on the Tigris to ' ,lUmary 2 '
some native merchants with a monopoly for
fifteen years of the navigation (exception being
made in favour of the two British steamers).
Sir H. Layard was informed that the Govern
ment of India had arranged to send the^Chenab"*
to Bagdad as a temporary measure to replace ^ llKJ W<W3
the " Comet," and he was instructed to ask ca P 8 i ze d in the Shatt-el-Arab,]
the Porte to send instructions to the local
authorities. Arrangements had been made in the
previous year for a grant of 3,000/. from Imperial
funds towards the cost of the new vessel.
Sir H. Layard reported that the Dutch Minister sir H. Uyard
at Constantinople had demanded of the Porte that s ' Commercial,
a Dutch company might, by treaty right, be
granted the same privileges as had been conceded
to the English, to navigate the rivers of
Mesopotamia, and that, as the foreign law
oflicers of the Porte had reported the demand
to be well founded, a firman to that effect would
be issued. ] n Uu s connection Sawas Pasha, the
Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, observed
To Sir 11. Layard,
No. 42,
January 16.
* Note.— The " London " was eventually
— 7 —
January 16,