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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [174r] (353/540)
The record is made up of 1 volume (268 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1911-26 Dec 1912. It was written in English, French 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.
[This Docmaent is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
[B]
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA. [July 9.j
CONFIDENTIAL. S ection 7.
[29185] No. 1.
Board of Trade to Foreign Office.—(Received July 8.)
(Urgent and Very Secret.)
Sir, Board of Trade, July 8, 1912.
I AM directed by the Board of Trade to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 4th July, forwarding the draft of a memoranclu:n respecting negotiations now
pending with the Turkish Government, which Sir E. Grey proposes to communicate to
the Turkish Ambassador, and to return the draft herewith with certain amendments,
indicated in red ink, # which they desire to suggest for Sir E. Grey's consideration.
With regard to the several amendments, I am to point out that the words " from
11 per cent, to 15 per cent, ad valorem " have been deleted from (hi) of the third
paragraph of the draft and from the heading to section (iii), since the effect of the
proposal for the special treatment of British cotton manufactures, set out in the amended
form of section (iii), will be to limit the rate of customs duty to something less than
15 per cent, in the case of an important item in the Turkish import trade.
The addition of certain words at the end of the fifth paragraph of the
draft has been suggested with a view to emphasising the close relation between the
withdrawal of the British claim to participate in the railway between Bagdad and
""j y ^ Bussorah and the other proposals dealt with in the memorandum.
/ In view of the amended form of section (iii) now suggested, the words deleted
from (a) of the sixth paragraph appear unnecessary.
The Board think it advisable to indicate in [b] of the same paragraph the necessity
of the British representatives upon the board of the railway from Bagdad to Bussorah
being approved by His Majesty's Government, and they are also disposed to suggest
that, should Sir E. Grey see no objection, this opportunity should be taken to direct
{\ the attention of the Turkish Government to the desirability of British representation
upon the board of the Bagdad Railway proper.
Finally, section (iii) of the draft has been amended so as to indicate more
precisely the attitude of His Majesty's Government towards the proposed increase of
the Turkish customs tariff.
I am at the same time to forward to you herewith the draft of a railway convention
for submission, with Sir E. Grey's concurrence, to the Ottoman Government, and to
state that the proposed schedule of cotton duties will be forwarded to you at the
earliest possible date.
I am. &c.
H. LLEWELLYN SMITH.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Draft of Memorandum to he coinmunlcated to Turkish Ambassador.
J
1. HIS Majesty's Government have not failed to examine with much care and
attention the important proposals which are embodied in the memorandum communicated
by the Imperial Ottoman Government on the 15th April last.
2. Throughout their deliberations, His Majesty's Government have been animated by
the conviction that a complete agreement on outstanding questions is eminently to be
desired in the larger interests of both countries. They are persuaded that such an
agreement, to be justly appreciated, should be viewed not only in the measure of
sacrifice or advantage which each individual clause may imply, but also in its cumulative
* Printed in erased type and italics.
[2546 «—7]
About this item
- Content
The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memorandums pertaining to Anglo-Turkish negotiations brought on by the Baghdad Railway and particularly the extension to Basra. Correspondents include: Percy Cox, 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. at Bushire, William Shakespear, 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. at Kuwait, Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Admiral Edmond Slade, the Board of Trade, the Government of India, 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. , and several private companies, including Trans-Atlantic Trust Company, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Imperial Ottoman Bank, and Imperial Persian Bank.
The form of the negotiations was a series of memorandums containing proposals and counter-proposals. The issues and subjects discussed are:
- ownership and control of the line;
- custom duty increases in the region;
- navigation of the Shatt al-Arab, including the establishment of a commission to oversee this;
- transport of railway materials by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
- delimitation of the Turkish-Persian border;
- status and territorial limit of Kuwait;
- other Gulf matters, including the statuses of Bahrain and Qatar, the suppression of arms traffic, piracy, and slavery, and the protection of pearl fisheries.
Folios 261-262 are a map showing the proposed territorial limits of Kuwait.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (268 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning (ff. 3-4) is a subject index, in no particular order but grouped under several broad headings. The numbers refer to folio numbers from the secondary, earlier sequence.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers positioned in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . There are two earlier foliation systems running through parts of the volume. The first uses uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and the top-left corner of verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. pages. This foliation system numbers pages if they have content on them, which is the case for all rectos and some versos. This foliation system appears intermittently through most of the volume. The other foliation system uses circled blue pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and appears from folios 5 to 42. Numerous printed materials contained in the volume have their own internal pagination systems. The following foliation irregularities occur: 1a, 34a, 51B, 219B, 250B.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [174r] (353/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/611, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023826001.0x00009a> [accessed 13 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/611
- Title
- 'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 1ar:1av, 2r:5v, 16r:22v, 24r:34v, 34ar:34av, 35r:42v, 44r:49v, 51r:51v, 51br:51bv, 52r:54v, 56r:63v, 66r:67v, 72r:112r, 113r:134v, 136r:168v, 170r:182v, 184r:204r, 205v:213v, 215v, 219br:219bv, 222r:225v, 227r:236v, 238r:250v, 250br:250bv, 251r:261v, 262v:264v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence