File 788/1919 Pt 4 ‘MESOPOTAMIA DISPOSAL OF RIVERCRAFT’ [67r] (130/240)
The record is made up of 1 item (119 folios). It was created in 26 Apr 1920-3 Feb 1921. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Tl'
lao present position 1ms not arisen from ff waat of hanaony**
so far as any contributory cause lies with the Disposals Board here but
ihom a ggai_<^r i.ci^ait,ipn..._oi., tlie functions of the finis try which the
£m,m%n%M and in support of this contention the
following points aro cited for inforaation of the Gensral Officer
* t
Comraanding-in-Ohiof.
(1) Objections raised by the D.A. & to the Comissionor
Disposals Board acting' for Lord Inchcape in the matter of Inland "ater
Hoot disposals, his lordship being an accredited representative of the
Commissioner's iliniatry and the Camrassioner's action being in aocord-
-ance with tho wislies of the borne authorities from whoa alone he
receives instructions.
(B) Delays in delivering' consigncBnta sold to influential local
commercial firms* In one case a del a of now going on to four months
in the mat or of delivery of girders. Another case of 600 sheets of
iron ordered from th 3ase over 6 weeks ago aM still undelivered botn
of which are holding up payment of considerable sums of money due to
the Board.
(3) Protests from the Local Chamber of Comiorce t?iat its Heifers
• '
would cease further attempts to deal with the Board owing to generJly
unsuccessful applications to purchase, or ii availaol© lon£^ delays in
delivery*
(4) War Office declared surplus in November 19U
L35 Ford Cars aid
800 Ford Yans
fho Board has had the greatest difficulty in obtaaning lean
than 500 of the vans and has received only 2 oar3 * i:ie Ooai.isjionei
constantly having his attention dr- - . -xm. by the public to the
About this item
- Content
This part concerns the disposal of river craft in Mesopotamia and contains material relating to:
- The arrangements made by Lord Inchcape [James Lyle MacKay], of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company Limited, with the Ministry of Munitions towards the purchase of the Government’s surplus river craft in Mesopotamia
- The vessels purchased by the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company from the Government through financial arrangements in Bombay [Mumbai], from March to August 1920
- The transfer of the Inland Water Transport Department in Mesopotamia from military to civilian authorities, and the amount of military transportation vessels to be maintained
- The suggestion of the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, to the Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill, that they convince the civilian and military authorities respectively to agree to the sale of the river fleet in Mesopotamia
- The wishes of General James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane to retain a portion of the river craft until the railway from Basrah [Basra] to Baghdad has proved its reliability, and consideration that he can carry his supplies by water more cheaply than could be done by possible purchasers
- The criticism of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, of British Army control over the oil fleet as being ‘uneconomical’, for charging three times that of civilian organisations and railway transportation
- The financial statement of the Ministry of Munitions to Parliament on the ‘Disposal of Surplus Government Property’, together with a ‘Memorandum on Disposals’ (ff 40-47)
- The schedules of the Inland Water Transport Headquarters, Basrah, for fitting out and delivering the vessels to Keti Bandar, Calcutta [Kolkata] and Rangoon [Yangon] (ff 34-37)
- The shortage of personnel in the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force to make the arrangements for the delivery of vessels to the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company
- The observation by the War Office that it would entail an actual loss to make the vessels (all but nine) seaworthy and deliver them to Lord Inchcape under the stipulations
- The responsibility for policing inland waterways in Mesopotamia and the possible takeover, by civil authorities, of four armed gunboats on loan from the Admiralty
- The ‘non-delivery’ of river craft to the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company due to the change in the military’s position
- The reluctance of British military authorities in Mesopotamia to place river transport solely under private control, in case of a possible emergency in Government transportation.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (119 folios)
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 788/1919 Pt 4 ‘MESOPOTAMIA DISPOSAL OF RIVERCRAFT’ [67r] (130/240), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/805/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100148183206.0x00008c> [accessed 27 August 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/805/2
- Title
- File 788/1919 Pt 4 ‘MESOPOTAMIA DISPOSAL OF RIVERCRAFT’
- Pages
- 3r:4v, 6v:7v, 8v:10v, 11v, 16v:56v, 57ar, 57r:75v, 76v:105v, 106ar, 106r:106v, 107v, 107r, 108r:121v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
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