'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎17v] (39/386)

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sole charge ot the 1 ®P Pr *‘ R l Commission appointed in 1897 to
under the consideration of the Itoyal v,om ^ Their report W11S
consider the atlnlin ' st ™^ ^ ti ; ey recommended that the existing Indian
delivered m April 1900, and in _p 7 ron t £2 000, and that for the
contribution should he re( uce 1 ^ adopted. The proposals of the
future.an 5^3. and hav P e since formed
^“f^nludySl between the two Government,
■Reference has already been made to British telegraphic interests m Persia.
ssrsarifMf ?r sewk t
ll 9 rone t of n tbe C GuB cables miuired renewal; and the Director of the Indo-
European Telegraph Department P-P-^tu^te eon^eofed ^h India
Central Persian Teiegrapii line. j a direct overland line. The Persian
of, the Indo-European Telegraph Department, who were to lease it from
the Shah at a rental calculated at 4 per cent on the capital outlay. One
Quarter of the rental was to he payable to the Persian exchequer, while three-
fourths were to be retained by the Department in liquidation of their advance.
The management was to vest in the Department for a penod of 25 J e ars or
until the debt due by the Persian Government should have been icpaid. The
line was to he provided with three wires, of which two were to be reserved
for international traffic, while the third was to be devoted to internal
communication. The existing line from Kashan to Tehran was also to be
supplemented by an additional wire to facilitate the increased traffic. The
Convention si .ned, arrangements were at once made for the construe ion of
the new line. 0 The work was pushed forward with a promptitude and absence
of friction which reflected the greatest credit on the Department; and by
the 31st December 1903, the wires had been carried as far as Bam. The
alignment onwards from this point was a matter of considerable discussion. The
Telegraph Department, on technical grounds, recommended the adoption
of a southernly route via Regan, Chah Gez, Henjareh, and the Sarhad to Ladis.
The line proposed was designed to skirt the desert which intervenes between
Kerman and Nasirabad, and which was believed to be impracticable as ^ell for
the construction as for the maintenance of a telegraph connection. Further
examination was undertaken by the Government of India; and it was shown
that this belief was groundless, and that a passage of theLut by way of Shur ez,
Nasratabad-Ispe, and Hurmak to Koh-i-Malik Siah presented no insuperable
difficulty. The matter was not one, however, which could be decided on purely
technical considerations. Yielding to pressure from St. Petcrsburgh, the 1 ersian
Government had recently permitted the construction of what was practically
a Russian line of telegraph from Meshed to Seistan ; while they had refused
to allow the extension to Seistan of a light line of telegraph,. which had
been constructed from Quetta to Robat to facilitate communication with
Colonel McMahon’s Mission. The Russians aimed at a further extension
southwards through Baluchistan ; and it was clear that this intention must be
thwarted. It was determined, therefore, that the Central Persian line should
be diverted northwards so as to cross the line of a possible Russian extension
as near to Nasratabad as possible. The northern line which lay across the Dut
was thus to bo preferred. The decision once formed, the line was quickly
advanced, and, on the 9th May 1904, the Central Persian system was Imkedu-p
bv a single wire line with the Indian wire at Koh-i-Malik Siah, and for the tirst
time in history through communication was established by overland telegraph
between India and Europe,