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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [223r] (453/540)
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.
E nclosure in N o. 1.
Draft of Memorandum to he communicated to Turkish Ambassador.
1. His Majesty's Government have not failed to examine with much care and
attention the important proposals which are embodied in the memorandum com
municated by the Imperial Ottoman Government on the 15th April last.
2. Throughout their deliberations, His Majesty's Government have been ani
mated by the conviction that a complete argeement on outstanding questions is
eminently to be desired in the larger interests of both countries. They are persuad
ed 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 and future effects upon Anglo-Turkish relations in general.
His Majesty's Government therefore desire to lay before the Ottoman Govern
ment the following proposals and considerations :— ,•
3. For convenience of reference the several proposals under consideration may
be dealt with under three distinct headings:—
{%) The Baghdad Railway question.
{ii) The respective interests of Great Britain and Turkey in the region of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
.
{Hi) An increase feom U per eent. to par eent. od valorem in the Turkish
customs duties.
(&) The Baghdad Railway Question.
4. The interest which Great Britain must take in a railway which is to traverse
a region where British-Indian trade amounts to some 60 per cent, of the total ex
ports and imports is indeed so obvious as to call for^ little comment. His Majesty's
Government have on repeated occasions dwelt upon the importance of that trade
and the manner in which it has been steadily consolidated since the foundation,
upwards of two and a-half centuries ago, of the first English
factory
An East India Company trading post.
at Basrah;
they have recalled that no less than 96 per cent, of the steam tonnage entered at
the port of Basrah was British; and they have consistently maintained that a
satisfactory settlement of the Baghdad Railway question was a necessary condition
of their assent to an increase iu the Turkish customs duties.
5. The magnitude of Great Britain's manifold interests clearly renders it desir
able that some satisfactory agreement as to British participation in the southern
section of the Baghdad Railway should, if possible, be reached. His Majesty's Gov
ernment find, however, that the question of participation on terms acceptable to
them is likely to cause the Ottoman Government some embarrassment, and that
the views held on this point by the two contracting parties are difficult to reconcile.
In these circumstances His Majesty's Government, anxious to prove to the Otto
man Government the sincerity of their desire to reach a comprehensive understand
ing without delay or controversy, are prepared to withdraw their request for Brit
ish participation in the railway from Baghdad to Basrah, if a satisfactory agreement
is arrived at on the other ^points enumerated in this memorandum.
6. It would be impossible to reconcile British public opinion to such a step unless
His Majesty's Government were at the same time able to show that British inter
ests of whatever character were fully safeguarded. His Majesty's Government
consequently feel bound, apart from the territorial arrangements proposed, to lay
down the following conditions as essential to that end:—
(a) An arrangement, as set forth in the accompanying draft convention, for the Draft
exclusion of differential treatment on all railways in Asiatic Turkey frs well as vention,
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(b) The admission of two British representatives, approved hy His Majesty 's
Government, to the board of whatever company may undertake the ardministratien
construction or working of the railway from Baghdad to Basrah. In addition, His
Majesty's Government consider it highly desirable in the interests of the smooth
working of the arrangements that at least one British director, approved by them, should
be admitted to the Board of the Baghdad Railway Company.
59
C357FD
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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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