'File 73/7 I (D 19) Status of Kuwait & Baghdad Railway, and Anglo-Turkish negotiations 1911' [35r] (87/631)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (334 folios). It was created in 28 Jan 1911-19 Jan 1912. It was written in English and French. 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.
3
place proved to be actually, morally, and historically part of Ottoman territory
to-day, and that she has no aims at direct or indirect encroachment. If that
is done we will take back our letters with shame, and we shall be the first to
applaud the English Government's friendly declarations.
I'V e are nure that this very simple logic will be well received by English
statesmen, and we think the time has come to put an end to the disturbed and
vague position in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and for the two sides to stretch out to each
other a hand of sincerity free from all fraud and deception; for it must be
admitted that no important cause of separation between England and Turkey
will remain when once the Bussorah nightmare has been laid aside. To come
to an understanding would dry up gossip at the source. If action is based on
equity we can see no real reason why an understanding should not be come to ;
only it is necessary that Turkey should not be treated as Central African chiefs
or sheikhs on the shores of Hadramaut and Muscat, and therefore that in the
negotiations our treaty, historical, and moral rights should be respected.
If this is not done the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
will become not a cross-roads—-a
battle-ground for the interests of the whole of Europe—but a blind alley. To
turn this into a cross-roads, to make it a high-road, depends on England's
sincerity, and on whether she will pursue a policy which will give us no
cause to hesitate. As Rifaat
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
's statement shows that this is the case
we can afford to wait, as it proves that England is ready to put an end in
all sincerity to the reign of jealousy and hesitation.
All politics of our time turn on the pivot of ententes, which are formed by
countries as obstacles to the outbreak of wars. Alliances do not meet the need
as it is impossible for two countries to have common interests on all questions.
Eor a country like Turkey, for instance, which has different interests in each
province and has to follow a different aim in every part the time has long come
to adopt a method of treatment to each part and province. That is why we
do not shrink from discussion with England, but on the contrary, support
discussion within the bounds of reason.
We say " within the bounds of reason," because the Times article we
published cannot of course form a basis of agreement. Eor instance, the
Times says, " up to the present both Turkey and Persia have neglected
their duty as possessors of the shores of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, Eor 100 years that
duty has been discharged by England." Now it is not 100 years since the
English flag was seen in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, As a matter of fact, it is half-a-
century since the East India Company passed through the danger of decline
and death not only in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, but even in India. What we mean
is that when England has not possessed a real sovereignty even in India for
half-a-century it is a contradiction of historical facts for the Times to consi
der England as possessor and ruler of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
for the past 100 years.
There is no country whose actual sovereignty in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
has lasted
longer than that of Turkey, whose flag has waved in that sea since the time of
Sultan Suleiman the Lawgiver. It may be that the Ottoman Government's
power in those parts has been weakened now and then, but if there is any
country which has a historical, moral, and real right to the Gulf it is our own.
The Times say, i( It appears that Turkey thinks it necessary and sufH-
cient, in order to establish Ottoman sovereignty, to occupy the territories
claimed by Ottoman troops." No just person can deny that it is Turkey who
has made the greatest military sacrifices on the shores of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and
has poured out the blood of her soldiers for her sovereignty. England may
have carried out a sort of sea-police duty and sacrificed a few men, but we want
to weigh the Ottoman blood spilt up to the present moment against the English
blood ; if the English can prove that they have spilt one-tenth as much blood
as we have we will give up our claim.
Moreover, how far has England penetrated from the coast ? How far
does her actual sovereignty extend in places where ours does not ? Does she
levy taxes on the people, take men for military service, or form courts of justice
in those parts ? What has been done in proof of soyereignty ? If a comparison
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memorandums, and newspaper cuttings relating to a proposed Baghdad to Basra railway, an extension of the German Berlin to Baghdad Railway. Much of the correspondence has been forwarded to the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. by the Foreign Department of the Government of India and is between Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Francis Bertie, British Ambassador to France, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Arthur Nicolson, Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Henry Babington Smith, President of the National Bank of Turkey, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, Rifaat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgar Speyer, railway financier, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Edward Goschen, British Ambassador to Berlin, Henry Cumberbatch, British Consul General in Turkey, George Barclay, British Minister to Persia, the Board of Trade, and William Graham Greene, Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty. There is also correspondence between 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, Rear-Admiral Edmond Slade, Stuart Knox, 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 Bahrain, and 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.
The volume covers the discussions prior to formal negotiations between Britain and the Ottoman Turks brought about by the Baghdad Railway and its proposed extension to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The issues and subjects involved are:
- the proposed route of the railway;
- control and ownership of the section between Baghdad and Basra;
- location of the terminus, and who will control it, including Slade's report (ff. 64-74) on the suitability of Basra;
- a proposed increase to customs duty in the region;
- irrigation of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
- the contract to transport rail materials by the rivers;
- the status of Kuwait, particularly regarding Turkish and British suzerainty and influence.
Throughout the volume there are newspaper cuttings from English periodicals that relate to the Baghdad Railway and negotiations around it.
Folio 47 is a rough sketch map of the peninsula Ras Tanurah. Folio 230 is a fold-out map of the proposed route of the railway and irrigation of the rivers.
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (334 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning (folios 2-5) is a subject index. It is in no particular order and organised under a few broad headings. The numbers refer to folio numbers of the secondary, earlier sequence.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The file consists of two volumes (parts one and two) and the foliation runs through both. The main foliation sequence commences at the title page of part one and terminates at the fifth folio from the back of part two; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be predominantly found in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A second foliation sequence runs between ff. 8-291A; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. There are the following irregularities: 7 and 7A; 13 and 13A; 15 and 15A; 16, 16A and 16B; 17 and 17A; 18, 18A and 18B; 20, 20A and 20B; 21, 21A and 21B; 52, 52A, 52B, 52C; 53, 53A, 53B and 53C; 54, 54A, 54B and 54C; 55, 55A and 55B; 56, 56A and 56B; 57 and 57A; 290 and 290A.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/610
- Title
- 'File 73/7 I (D 19) Status of Kuwait & Baghdad Railway, and Anglo-Turkish negotiations 1911'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:iii-v, 1r:6v, 7ar:7av, 7r:12v, 13av, 14v, 15v, 17av, 17r, 19r:19v, 22r:37r, 38r:46v, 48r:50v, 58r:74v, 75v:84v, 87v:93v, 94v:96r, 97r:147v, iv-r:vi-v, back-i, front-a, back-a, spine-a, edge-a, head-a, tail-a, front-a-i, vii-r:ix-v, 148r:229v, 231r:289v, 291v:294v, x-r:xiii-v, back-a-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence