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'File 73/7 I (D 19) Status of Kuwait & Baghdad Railway, and Anglo-Turkish negotiations 1911' [231r] (495/631)
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.
VERY CONFIDENTIAL.
No. 268, dated Baghdad, the 31st March (received 18th April) 1911.
From— J. G. L orimer , Esq., C .I .E.,
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
Turkish Arabia
A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
and Hi®
Britannic Majesty's Consul-General,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, Simla,
I have the honour to submit, for the information of the Government of India s
& copy of my despatch No. , dated the 31st March 1911, which I have addressed
to His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople.
British
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.
and consulate-GENERAii,
Baghdad, the 31st March 1911.
No. W-
Isot sent to Foreign Office,
Sent in duplicate*
Sent to Government of India*
Youk Excellency,
With reference to my despatch No. 229-9 of the 20th March 1911, forwarding
a rough estimate by the Indian Railway Board (upon certain data supplied to
them) of the possible earnings of a Baghdad-Basrah railway,, I have the honour
now to enclose copies of some papers with which Sir William Willcocks has
favoured me, relating to railway construction in Mesopotamia.
The first paper (Enclosure A) is the draft of an appendix which will accom
pany a general report that Sir William is about to submit to the Turkish Govern
ment on the subject of irrigation works in Mesopotamia. It shows, by means of
cogent instances drawn from India, how desirable it is that irrigation development
and railway construction should go hand in hand in this country ; and it concludes
with the best forecast that Sir W illiam has been able to form—necessarily a very
rough one of the amount of traffic in agricultural produce with which a Baghdad-
Basrah Railway might be expected, ultimately, to have to deal
The second paper (Enclosure B) is a map illustrating the possible interdepend-
ence and mutual subservience of railways and irrigation work in Mesopotamia.
suBDOsine the latter to be executed m accordance with projects which Sir William
is now recommending to the Porte for adoption. I would respectfully suggest
that if the map is reproduced, copies of it should be sent to the Government of
India, to whom a copy of my present despatch is being sent, as weJ as to this Kesi-
The third paper (Enclosure 0) is meant to elucidate the second, by indicating
" to what extent the cost of railway construction is unavoidably enhanced if the
irrigation and railway requirements are kept separate. "
I have understood from Sir William Willcocks and some of his engineers m
tW ffreat (possibly the greater) part of the country through which
C Xahd!d-Basrah Railway would pass lies below the flood level of the Tigris and
Fuphrates • that the line must, therefore, run" to a great extent, along embankments;
I tw the most economical and onlv proper way of arranging this would be
and ^ e , f the ma i n canals carry the railway line. It, therefore, seems
to ™ ak ® heme for the general development of the country can only be
that a of consu ltf tion and collaboration between the bodies charged
arrived at as the result oi mju , est)ec tivelv. A railway of some sort connect-
with canal and railway cmstruction ^especUveij^^ ^ jJ, all could> n0 doubt,
. 4 railway would be aWdly aligned be constructed without reference to the
which as in the German scheme, should run cana l s . but Such & railway Would elthei
through the desert from Karbala ^ *«l»f b a b sur dlv * aligned, leaving the popu-
Sous and cultivated parts of the country on
ta local and that such a railway can never be- one side o{ ^ 0I would be unnecessarily
come a section of an import »nt wor ex , )enslve f rom its having to contend,^ un-
The German acheme^tn my um ^^ isted wit ] 1 sue h difficulties arising irom
ZTJrtZ: JG L low levels, floods, and irrigation require-
J - aL - m ents as it might encounter.
C63FD
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