"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٥‎٤‎٧] (١٧٨٢/١٧٠٢)

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British co -operation and consent; and that no terminal port can he selected, unless a
similar consent has been obtained, and unless the port is made open and international
in character; farther, if these views are also entertained by His Majesty s Government,
we think that nothing but good could result from Germany being made acquainted
with them, lest, when her railway reaches Baghdad, she might complain oE having
been kept in ignorance of British policy and intentions.
The construction of the projected, and at length authorised, railway
involved the raising of large amounts as capital; the engineering diffi
culties of certain sections of the line were known to be great ; and the
security to investors consisted in tinancial guarantees for construction
and working such as the Turkish Government were able to give. By
some British authorities it was hoped that these obstacles, the impor
tance of which would be greatly enhanced by the abstention of Britain
from participation in the scheme, might suffice to bring the undertaking
to a standstill before it had gone very far ; but these hopes were vain.
Germany could not but be sensible of the inconveniences and dangers
of isolation with reference to the Baghdad Railway ; but, confi ent m
her political and financial ability to carry it through successfu y,
even single-handed, she did not desist from the enterprise.
The onlv visible effect produced by the attitude of Britain was
postponement of a decision as to the point where the railway shou
reach the Gnlt. As related in the chapter on the lustory of Kuwa.t,
the German Technical Commission which visited that port at the hegin-
nino- of 1900 seem to have favoured the selection of Kadhamah in
Kuwait Bay as a terminus ; hut a difficulty was thrown - ^ ^
of this by British diplomatic representations made to the or e an
German Ambassador at Constantinople in April 1900, with rc eren
to the political status of Kuwait. In autumn of 1901, when he
Anatolian Railway Company approached the Turkish ^
r-r-rrvr ri 8 1':' ^ »—- -
of one at Kuwait, ine 1 one, i; f £ their
arrangement which appeared to imply doubt as to the validity of the,r
arrangement, mc i'i the Conyenfaon of
claims to sovereignty over Kuwait, and h y shelving
1903 it was laid down, as a compromise an Baghdad by
the difficulty for a time, that the line should run
Karbala and Najaf to Zubair ^ ■■ a determiner d'un
Softomau etle concession-
naire."