File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’ [578r] (920/929)
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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I
SECRET.
Pol. 1745/19.
!. 31%,
Mesopotamia: Disposal of Rivex-craft.
tit'
tlie
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.
on the
of surpJns rivereraft in
r
ian Civil
t ^ inter-departmental Conference was held
hth April I d Jj to discnss the question of the dis
Mesopotamia. The following were present: —-
Si a Thomas Holder ness (in the Chair).
h pATh v' h " 'Wp- Civil Commissioner, Mesopotamia.
CAriAiN J. V. Urett, War Office.
Captain Jackson, Inland Whiter Transport.
Captain Harris, Ministry of Supply.
Major H. \V. Young, Foreign Office.
Mr. J. E. Siiuckburgii,
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.
.
2.. Colonel Wilson explained hrielly the objects which the Mesopotam
Aclimmstiation have m view in this connection. They are as follows •
(!') i' 0 ensure. that :rivercraft, if disposed of locally, should not come into the
possession of other than British or local firms ; such firms being required
to.guarantee that at least 75 per cent, of their holdings are owned by
British or local subjects.
(_) l hat no action should be taken that would confer, or might be interpreted as
conferring, a monopoly upon a single individual or firm, or that could
give, use to complaints at the present juncture of the exclusion of forei°'n
subjects as such.
(o) l.hat Messrs. Lynch Brothers should be permitted to purchase a sufficient
number of ships to bring their fleet up to its pre-war standard, and that
for this purpose the 3 r should — subject to their tenders being satisfactory—
be given the first refusal of the necessary vessels.
(J) l hat Indian shipping firms should be permitted, if they so desire, to
repurchase vessels previously owned by them, and requisitioned by the
military authorities lor service m Mesopotamia, on the understanding
that such vessels will revert, on repurchase, to their original use.
(5) That, in the interests both of the revival of British trade and of the demobili
sation of Inland Whiter Transport personnel, as many vessels as possible
should be released forthwith.
O. Colonel Wilson went on to make certain specific recommendations as to the
best means of giving effect to the policy outlined above. He prefaced his remarks by
a description of the constitution, &c., of the “Sales Board ” no.w functioning at
Baghdad. This body was constituted by the General Officer Commanding, Mesopo
tamia, with the approval of Whir Office, to co-ordinate the disposal of surplus
military stores by the various military Departments concerned. It consists of the
heads of all Departments having stores for disposal, under the
presidency
The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
of the
Director of Ordnance Stores. The Secretary (Lieutenant-Colonel Mackay) is a
specially selected office]’ of commercial experience, who is also Director of Civil Stores,
and works in* the closest co-operation with both the civil and military authorities.
Tire results hitherto attained by the Sales, Board have been highly satisfactory ; sales
have been spread over a wide area according to local needs, and, as a consequence,
excellent prices have been realised. Owing apparently to doubts as to the procedure
to be followed, rivercraft have not hitherto been included in the Board’s sphere of
operations.
4. Colonel Wilson’s specific recommendations were as follows :—
(а) All rivercraft declared by the military authorities to be surplus to military
requirements should be reported at once to the Sales Board, Baghdad.
(б) The Sales Board should be authorised to dispose by sale of all such craft us
may be reported to them, calling for sealed tenders in the case of large
vessels, but with discretion to sell small craft by auction if considered
desirable.
S 32 30 4'19
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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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/805/1
- Title
- File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’
- Pages
- 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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