ملف ١٩٠٤/٢٧٦٤ الجزء ٣ "سكة حديد بغداد: مفاوضات عامة ١٩١٠-١٩١٢." [و‎‎٢‎٣‎٧] (٥٤٤/٤٨٤)

m^A 0Q ^l Q ^ the Property of Eis Britannic Majesty’s Government,!
BAGDAD RAILWAY.
[July 18.]
SECRET.
Section 2.
[25838]
No. 1 .
Sir G. Lowther to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received July 18.)
(No. 479.)
bir ’ T XT A ATT? ^-L T, , , 1 , Constantinople, July 13, 1910.
1 HAVE the honour to forward herewith a despatch from His Majesty’s vice-consul
at Adana, reporting on the progress of the construction of the Bagdad Railway in his
I have, &c.
GERARD LOWTHER.
Enclosure in No. 1 .
Vice-Consul Rawlins to Consul-General Eyres.
(No. 26.)
Sir,
Adana, July 5, 1910.
WITH reference to my various despatches on the subject of the Bagdad Railway
construction in this district, I have the honour to transmit some further details with
regard to the progress that is being made in the work.
An important item is the change that has just been decided on as regards the site
of the new Adana railway station. This station, as T have shown in my previous
reports, was to have been placed to the north-east of the town between the horse
market and the Seihun River.
Now the site has been changed, and the station is to be built in the vineyards to
the due north of the town, and at about twenty minutes distant from it. The ground
here has no specific name, but it is in the vicinity of the so-called Cretan quarter. In
this quarter the land lies higher, and this change in site has, therefore, presumably
been made with a view to avoiding the possibility of the line and station being washed
out by the floods which often take place in the winter, and which were responsible for
so much damage last year. Around the present site of the new station the company
have bought up about 80 dunums of land at a price varying from 121. to 221. per
dunum, and besides the station it is said that stores, large repairing sheds, &c., will be
erected.
With regard to general work along the line, I hear that already most of the
necessary earthworks between Missis and Hamidieh have been finished, and the section
Adana-Missis (earthworks only) is also nearing completion. Another section—Chakir
Pasha through the vineyards to the new station—is also being worked upon, and a good
many culverts and small bridges have been finished. Work is also being pushed on
between Yenidje and the hills, but I am informed that little progress has been made in
that section.
There is a general feeling of discontent among the native farmers and small |
land-owners at the high-handed actions of the company, which calmly makes its j
earthworks, &c., through people’s property without first making payment.
It is said that, whereas in all cases the company pays an extremely low price for
the land it buvs, payment is often not made at all, and the owner has to be content
with the promise that he will receive his money in the future. Up till now these
farmers and others have always grumblingly bowed to the company’s will, as they
regard the latter as all-powerful. Now, however, the company have met their match
for the first time in the person of Subhi Pasha, a wealthy and influential notable and
president of the municipality, some of whose land the company is bent on taking over
without his consent. Subhi Pasha, with whom I happened to be talking the other
day, was extremely angry about this, and expressed himself in very forcible language
on the subject of this forcible taking and using of property without the consent of the
owners and sometimes without immediate payment. The Pasha finished by saying
that he was going to fight the company to the last over this matter, and would advise
[2825 s — 2 ]