رسائل وأوراق بخصوص السكة الحديدية العابرة لبلاد فارس والسكك الحديدية الأخرى في بلاد فارس [ظ‎‎٢‎٠‎٣] (٤٤٢/٤٠٦)

493 The Trans-Persian Railway. [LORDS] The Trans-Persian Railway. 494
As regards the Military Staff in India, it is
difficult for me to speak with exactitude
about that, because in my day there was
no Military Staff that gave an opinion as
distinct from the Government of India.
The military opinions of the Government
of India were given by the Governor-
General in Council. There appears to be
a difference now. Here, again, it transpires
from what the noble Marquess said that
the Military Staff were never consulted
upon the policy of the line. All that
happened was that they were asked to
give an opinion as to this or that align
ment. They were told that unless the
line were made some ulterior consequences
of a formidable kind would ensue, and
therefore their advice was offered on the
scheme on the lines of what would be the
least unfavourable to the Government of
India. That carries an implication which
I would like to dispose of. It seems to
lie in the background of the thoughts
of the noble Marquess and the noble
Viscount that if His Majesty’s Govern
ment had not signified in some degree their
sympathy with these proposals they would
have been carried out without them.
That has lain behind both their speeches
to-night. May I venture, although I
have no official sources of information, to
state my opinion that it is absolutely
impossible that this line could ever be
made without the consent of the British
Government. It could not be made
because the money is not forthcoming ;
it could not be made because under existing
political conditions a railway cannot be
made through the British sphere in Persia
without the consent of the British Govern
ment. How, then, is a railway ever to
reach the Indian border ? I think that
the idea that this railway must in any case
be made, that we are, so to speak, on our
knees and have to accept what is dictated
to us by our rivals, is a mare’s nest for
which there is not the slightest foundation.
I would like to say this in conclusion.
There have been two debates upon this
matter, one in the House of Commons last
week and this debate in the House of Lords.
As I remarked in my former speech, not
a single Member rose in the House of
Commons to support the policy or the
attitude of the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, and not a single noble Lord
has risen in this House to-night to support
the views or the policy of His Majesty’s
Government. Perhaps that is not putting
it quite fairly. Not a single Member has
Karl Gurzon of Kedleston.
risen to express any opinion in favour of the
construction of the line. I must dis
tinguish between the two, because His
Majesty’s Government apparently re
pudiate any responsibility, though after
listening carefully for an hour and more
to the two speakers opposite I have not
at this moment the ghost of an idea what
their real attitude towards the railway is.
There were moments in the speech of the
noble Viscount when he alluded to the
cost of the railway, the profits, and so on,
when he seemed to me to be, if I may say
so deferentially, a disciple in my own
school; and yet when he talked of
the future of the railway he seemed to
contemplate its coming into being. The
same mystery ran through the speech of
the noble Marquess. He said it was not
the intention to place any charge on Indian
finances, that he was rather disposed to
the old views as to Indian frontier policy ;
but, a.t the same time, he asked what more
could they have done in the circumstances
than what they did do. Whether that will
relieve or confirm our apprehensions I
cannot say, but this debate has left one very
distinct impression on my mind, and that is
that should the proceedings of this Societe
d’Etudes take a concrete form, and should
a scheme be brought before the British
Parliament, such a scheme will have very
little chance indeed of ever being carried
out. I believe you will find, as Lord
Inchcape said, that India will be against
it; I believe the bulk of public opinion
in this country will be against it; and this
debate to-night will not have been without
its value if, whether His Majesty’s Govern
ment agree with us or not, it has indicated
to them the very strong feelings that are
; entertained upon the matter by some of
us who have served in the East. I beg
1 to withdraw my Motion.
Motion, by leave, withdrawn.
ANCIENT MONUMENTS CONSOLIDATION
AND AMENDMENT BILL, [h.l.]
ANCIENT MONUMENTS PROTECTION BIL L
[h.l.]
ANCIENT MONUMENTS PROTECTION
(No. 2) BILL, [h.l.]
The Lord Willingdon discharged from
serving on the Joint Committee, and the
Lord Stanmore added to the Committee
in his place.
House adjourned at twenty-five
minutes before Eight o’clock,
till To-morrow, a quarter past
Four o’clock.