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'Correspondence re the Establishment of a Wireless Telegraph Station in Bahrain' [142r] (295/324)
The record is made up of 1 file (152 folios). It was created in 7 Sep 1902-19 Feb 1917. It was written in English and Arabic. 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.
Copy of a letter from I. D. Elliott, Esq., Under-Secretary to the Government of India
in the Department of Commerce and Industry, to all Local Governments and Adminis
trations, No. 4722—116, dated Simla, the 20th June 1916.
The~Government of India have under consideration measures for checking
the present serious delays to telegraph traffic throughout the country. The
steady increase in the volume of traffic cannot, in the^ financial circumstances,
be met by adding to the number of lines; the congestion is accentuated owing
to the war by a very heavy increase in actual signalling operations due to the
abnormal length of important State telegrams, many of which have to be
collated; and'at the same time the telegraph personnel has been largely
depleted by the demands of the military authorities for the telegraphic services
in the field.
2. The present strain can be relieved only by exercising stricter control
over the use of the telegraph, and the attention of all Departments of the
Government of India has consequently been invited to the need for co
operating in the following directions in checking the congestion of traffic.
Officers must be responsible for securing that telegrams are not sent where
the object could be obtained, without inconvenient delay, by ordinary corre
spondence through the post: if, however, it is desirable to use the telegraph,
officers must prevent the unnecessary use of Express messages, and in parti
cular, if cypher telegrams are used should reduce their length to the smallest
possible limit. It is laid down as a measure of equal importance that tele
grams should be sent from the departmental offices to the Telegraph Office
in as steady a flow as possible, arrangements being made for their issue in
batches at regular intervals during office working hours, with the proviso that
no telegrams, other than very urgent messages, should be sent to the Telegraph
Office after four o'clock in the afternoon. A very limited staff can be kept
on night duty in the Telegraph Offices and the inevitable result of the present
office ^practice of accumulating the majority of the day's telegrams for issue
in one large batch in the evening is to block the lines in all directions.
3. Instructions to the above effect are being issued in all Imperial
Departments, and the Government of India trust that Local Governments and
Administrations will assist in reducing the delay in traffic by giving similar
instructions to officers under their control.
r, & P. Dipt, Pre«-No. i34»-8.8-16~129i
About this item
- Content
The file relates to the establishment and operation of the wireless telegraph station (later also radio station) in Bahrain [frequently referred to in the papers as Bahrein]. The papers include correspondence from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Government of India; the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifah [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, Hakim of Bahrain] (in Arabic with translations in English); and other British officials.
The papers include:
- proposal from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain for the establishment of telegraphic communication with India, showing that the initiative had come from British Indian traders in Bahrain, and the response from the Government of India, September 1902 - March 1903;
- renewal of the proposal by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , advancing many reasons for the increased desirability of a telegraph service, March 1908;
- papers concerning a site for the wireless station, including sketch map (ff. 16-17), May - August 1912;
- papers relating to cost of building, testing of the ground, and preparation of estimates, August - September 1912;
- proposed removal of stone from Phoenician tombs for use in building the station, and use of stone from old Portuguese fort, July - December 1914;
- construction, May 1915;
- completion of station, appointment and payment of naturs (watchmen) to supervise the site, installation of more powerful apparatus, and letters and telegrams of congratulation on the opening of the station, March - July 1916;
- request from Sheikh Isa for a special concessionary wireless rate for himself and his sons, August 1916;
- proposals for the construction of a wall or fence around the site, August - November 1916; and,
- correspondence with the Commodore, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , concerning the need for officials of the wireless station to notify movement of Royal Navy ships more accurately, November 1916.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (152 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1, on the third folio after the front cover, and terminates at 155, on the last folio before the back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff. 75, 75A, 75B; ff. 89, 89A. The following folio numbers do not appear: 12, 22, 42, 44, 46, 55, 74, 106.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'Correspondence re the Establishment of a Wireless Telegraph Station in Bahrain' [142r] (295/324), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/20, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023385230.0x000060> [accessed 19 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/20
- Title
- 'Correspondence re the Establishment of a Wireless Telegraph Station in Bahrain'
- Pages
- 98v:102v, 104r:104v, 107r:109r, 109r:109v, 109v:113r, 113r:113v, 113v:115r, 115r:120r, 120r:120v, 120v:121r, 121r:121v, 121v:124r, 124r:124v, 124v:126r, 127r:155v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence