File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’ [185r] (129/929)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
atgg—fc -2—•—
l
As indicated in tho meaeage® set out a'boVi» ti&o
for receiving tenders expired on the 10th March simultaneous
ly in Mesopotamia and India*
On tne morning of the 11th I received your wire of the
6tli reading as below. I would call your attention to the
delay in transit
rT You:e telegram received stop Subsequent telegram from
"Civil Commissioner Baghdad addressed to you dated 3rd
"March indicates that Col Wilson is co-operating with
"you and that you are now 7 proceeding with arrangements
"for sale of craft in Mesopotamia stop Department of
"Overseas Trade desire information as to date and condi-
i i' .
"tions of sale for communication to possible buyers stop
"can we say sealed tender to Col d© Grey Baghdad closing
"midday Both March ends Surprodis London".
To this message I replied immediately as follows
"your telegram sixth, time for receiving tenders both
"Mesopotamia anl India expired tenth March, m now deal-
"ing with tenders".
The wire from foreign and political Delhi to political
Baghdad repeated to
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.
and dated 26th.ffeh gave 6th
March as last date for receiving tenders but this was subse
quently extended to tenth March.
I ashed that the message should be shewn to you and the Civil
Commissioner^ subsequent message of 3rd March to me which
notified tenders returnable noon 10th was duplicated to you.
In suggesting the 20th therefore as the closing date it appears
the contents of these messages must have been overlooked althougi
the message of 3rd March is quoted.
All tenders cams to hand by the 12th and I immediately proceed
ed to deal with them with the result that I have accepted
offers for 362 vessels, as per list attached, and numbered 1.
realizing approximately £1 ( 540612. being the equivalent aw the
exchange of 2/4 per rupee of Bsl3,205,251.
There was considerahle divergence in the prices offered hut in
every case the highest offers were accepted no advantage being
given to any buyer. Die re the number of craft was in excess
About this item
- Content
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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- 1 item (482 folios)
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/805/1
- Title
- File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’
- Pages
- 159r:192r
- Author
- Mackay, James Lyle, 1st Earl of Inchcape
- Copyright
- ©Anonymous
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