'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [‎183r] (371/540)

[Tins Bocumeat is the Property of His Britaimic Majesty's Govemment.}
[B]
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA. [j u l y n.]
CONEIBENTIAL. S ection 4.
[30306] No. 1.
Anglo-Persian Oil Company to Foreign Office.—(Received July 17.)
Winchester House, Old Broad Street, London,
Sir ' JwtyJG, 1912.
BAGDAD-KHANIKIN Railway.
I enclose copy of a letter just received from Mr. E B. Soane, our representative
at Kasr-i-Shirin, containing some information which will doubtless be of interest
to you.
I am, &;c.
C. GREENWAY,
Managing Director.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Mr. Soane to Mr. Greenway.
Dear Mr. Greenway, Bagdad, June 14, 1912.
I THOUGHT it might interest you to hear the result of a confidential talk I
have been enabled to have with his Excellency Meissner Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , director-in-chief of the
Bagdad Railway.
In return for certain information I was able to afford him regarding the country
of Irak and prospects, he was good enough to tell me that as the main section of the
line is being delayed, partly over some question concerning the kilometric guarantee
and partly over that of the Bagdad-Bussorah section, lie was anxious to construct such
branches as, not being included under the kilometric guarantee, are not liable to the
\\ causes of delay suffered on the parts thereto subject.
He looks first to the Khanikin line as being easy, offering a quick return, and one
which will keep his highly paid staff employed in the interval. He informed me that
the line would probably pass north of Bakuba, Shahraban, and Kizil Rubat, crossing
the Diala river between the last place and Khanikin, and that if lie finally decides to
go ahead he would not take more than eight months to get trains running, as the route
is very simple.
He will be visiting Khanikin with the chief of customs in a few days (to decide
upon a site for the station and customs house) and asked me to meet him there, and
also for permission to come to Chia Surkh. I gave him an invitation to do so, as there
is nothing there with which he is not familiar, and he is a man whose great influence in
the affairs of the Bagdad and Mosul vilayets renders his friendship very desirable.
He knows very well that the oil found on the Turkish side (at Mandali, Gil, Khurmati,
Dwazda Imam, and Kirkuk), quite apart from the fact that it is so impregnated with
sulphur as to be refined only under great expense and difficulties, is not exploited, and
has very little chance of being exploited for a long time to come. (All these places are
far beyond the zone of 20 idiom, beside the line which they may exploit themselves.)
In that case, if we have sufficient oil, we might be able to sell fuel oil to the
Khanikin branch, the better prospect of such being afforded by the fact that Meissner
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , being notably engineer first and politician after, looks only to the satisfactory
consummation of his technical aims, and utilises what suits him in its attainment,
regardless of the questions of nationality, which present obstacles where other foreigners
are concerned.
The characteristic is witnessed by his attitude towards and assistance to another
British concern here, solely because they can further the progress of his work.
Yours sincerely,
E. B. SOANE.
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