File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’ [144r] (47/929)
The record is made up of 1 item (482 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1919-24 Nov 1920. 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
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Mr Brown, vj
Lord InverfortV 3 remarks fall under three heads:-
auwitude _ 1 dopte d by the Civi l C or)imis 3 ioner f -
I do not think that we ought to admit that Colonel Wilson’s
attitude was a matter for censure. It is true that he was from
the first very strongly opposed to the disposal of the vessels
torough Lord Incocape, hoi ding that there was a great danger in
Mesopotamia of the establishment of an oppressive transport
monopoly in the hands of the Inchcape interests. His doubts
were to some extent shared here, and,with reference to Lord
Inverforth’s remark# that the arrangements were made in
consultation with this Office, it is to be observed that,
although this Office and the Foreign Office agreed - with some
hesitation - to the original arrangement#, under which Lord
Inchcape was to buy the whole fleet outright and resell the
vessels on his own account, we were not consulted in regard
to the revised arrangement, under which Lord Inchcape was
merely to sell , as agent for His Majesty’s Government, and
were only informed of it after Lord Inchcape had left for India
to carry it into effect. This brings us to the second main
head of Colonel Wilson’s objections - vis. the inadequacy of the
opportunities given to would-be purchasers in Mesopotamia -
which was to a large extent a question af adequate time. There
was here undoubted cause of complaint. Lord Inchcape left for
India on the 30th January, -and we heard of the fact, and of the
arrangements made, on the following day. 7e had had no
warning of the imminence of this move on the part of tae
I'K
Ministry of Munitions. Lord I n ehcape's mission was to sell
rivercraft that were surplus.to Government requirements; but
few, if any, ships had so far been declared surplus by -the
military authorities, and it still remained to be decided what
portion
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This file concerns the disposal of river craft in Mesopotamia and contains material relating to:
- The opposition of the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, Colonel Arnold Talbot Wilson, to the proposals of Lord Inchcape [James Lyle MacKay, 1st Earl of Inchcape] for the disposal of river craft in Mesopotamia, on the grounds that it involved ‘unnecessary and undesirable abrogation by [the British] Government of its proper functions in favour of a private individual [Lord Inchcape] ... who is thereby enabled to exercise autocratic power in Mesopotamia’
- The particulars and estimated costs of the Inland Water Transport Fleet to be delivered to Basrah [Basra] and put into commission, the valuation of the Dockyard, and estimated cost of Magil [Al-Ma‘qil] Yard and its associated structures
- The announcement by the Manager of the Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation that if the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company were not given a monopoly for the transportation of goods, they would ‘create one by carrying goods for nothing, until they had forced out of business any local firms who were attempting to compete’
- The petition of the merchants of Basrah to the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad to arrange for the sale of the river craft in Basrah instead of Bombay [Mumbai] to provide them with a fair opportunity to purchase some of the vessels
- The opposition of Sir Percy Cox to assurances given to Lynch Brothers, Lord Inchcape and others, rather than a ‘consideration by commission or other specially constituted authority’ for navigation rights on the Tigris and Euphrates
- The plan for the sale of surplus Mesopotamian river craft by Lord Inchcape on behalf of the British Government to take place in Bombay, and the issues relating to the inability of British and native firms from Baghdad to be present at such short notice, as well as the general absence of information about which specific vessels were being offered for sale
- The Inland Water Transport schedules for the barges necessary to carry petrol for post-bellum Army requirements, and the oil barges used for storage at depots (ff 435-439)
- The statement of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, to the Secretary of State for India on the vessels required for the civil administration of Mesopotamia, with an abstract of applications received from commercial firms for Inland Water Transport river craft (ff 423-431)
- The question of Lord Inchcape and his associates obtaining a legal or practical monopoly over river transportation in Mesopotamia and the position of the British Government
- The conditions set out by Civil Commissioner Baghdad that only ships designated by the Army as being surplus before 10 March 1920 be put up for sale, and the need to ensure equal opportunities for local purchasers with those from Bombay
- The Schedule for Craft required by the Civil Administration, from Brigadier-General Robert Herbert Wilfred Hughes, Director of Inland Water Transport, to the Civil Commissioner Baghdad (ff 316-319)
- The Sub-Committee on Mesopotamian Ports, Surveys and Inland Water Transport’s inter-departmental conference on Middle Eastern Affairs, 16 March 1920
- The information from the Inland Water Transport Office to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, on pumping installations in connection with oil distribution at various stations (ff 261-269)
- The inter-departmental conference to discuss the disposal of surplus river craft in Mesopotamia, led by the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, and including representatives from the War Office, Inland Water Transport, Ministry of Supply, the Foreign Office, and the 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. , 8 April 1919
- The invitation by the Commissioner, Ministry of Munitions Disposal Board, General Headquarters, at the request of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, on behalf of Lord Inchcape, of tenders for the purchase of all surplus Government river craft available in Mesopotamia
- The report by Lord Inchcape to Minister of Munitions, Lord Inverforth [Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth], on his disposal of surplus small craft belonging to the Mesopotamian fleet, 31 March 1920 (ff 159-192)
- The advertisement for the sale of the river craft in the Baghdad Times, the popular response to a rumour about a possible sale to the Lynch Brothers, and the views of the Manager of the River Steamship Company expressed to the British Chamber of Commerce.
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- Title
- File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’
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- 122r:123v, 124v:133v, 134ar:134av, 134r:158v, 192v:193v, 194v:278v, 279ar, 279r:303v, 304ar, 304r:312v, 313ar, 313r:399v, 400v:412v, 414v, 415v, 417v:564v, 565ar, 565r:570v, 571ar, 571r:582v
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