File 240/1913 'Mohammerah - Khoremabad Railway; the Khor Musa agreement' [‎194r] (392/452)

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Maiest.v’s Government.
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[44733]
Li
4826
1912
[October 23.]
J
Section 8.
No. 1 .
Persian Railwaijs Syndicate to Foreign Office.—(Received October 23.)
Winchester House, Old Broad Street,
wrrnrj , London, October 21, 1012.
v 11 H reference to your letter of the 23rd July last, in which it is stated : —
1. I hat the Russian Minister at Tehran concurred with His Majesty’s Minister
that the moment was opportune for pressing on the question of the
Monammerah—Khoremabad Railway, and that such action might be of some
assistance to M. Poklewsky in his efforts to secure the Tabriz-Urmia line,
and
2 . I hut Sii Walter Townley had been requested to use every endeavour to obtain
a promise of the concession, and to report what form of pressure would, in
his opinion, be likely to prove effective,
I am desired by the Persian Railways Syndicate to enquire as to what has been the
result of Sir W alter Townley’s representations to the Persian Government.
• j- TtlG s y n 4 lcate makes this enquiry because their advices from Tehran seem to
indicate that instead of the Mohammerah-Khoremabad Railway being pressed on it
has now been relegated to a secondary place, it apparently being intended to await the
result of the Russian negotiations for the Tabriz-Urmia line before any further action
in regard to the former be taken.
In view" of the contents of your letter as above quoted, my syndicate cannot believe
that this is the case, and would lie glad to know what is the present position of the
negotiations.
As indicated m my letter of the 2/th September to Mr. A. 0. Wood, copy of which
I beg to hand you herewith, the Persian Government have before them the draft
contract agreed with Mr. Shuster in his capacity of treasurer-general, and seeing that
M. Poklewsky was anxious that our application should be pressed on, there appears to
be no reason why this should not be signed at once without waiting for the conclusion
of the Russian negotiations in respect of the Tabriz-Urmia line.
I am, Sir, &c.
C. GREEN WAY.
Enclosure in No. 1 .
Persian Railways Syndicate to Imperial Bank of Persia (Tehran).
Winchester House, Old Broad Street,
Dear Sir, London, September 27, 1912.
WE are in receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, and regret to see that the
matter of the concessions has again been shelved indefinitely.
You will no doubt do your utmost to get it brought to the fore again at the earliest
possible moment in accordance with the desire of the Foreign Office and ourselves, and
the desirability of this is the greater inasmuch as Lord Revelstoke, who is at the head
of the Trans-Persian Railway Syndicate, has been invited to Balmoral to join in the
discussions between Sir Edward Grey and M. Sazonof, and will doubtless not miss this
favourable opportunitv for trying to obtain prior consideration of the Trans-Persian
proposals.
As you know, the Trans-Persian Syndicate has been told all along by the Foreign
Office that the Mohammerah-Khoremabad and/or Burujird-Hamadan lines must take
precedence of the Trans-Persian schemes. The syndicate have always accepted this
position, admitting that the former scheme is entitled to this precedence, not only by
virtue of the greater advantages of the line both to British and Persian interests, but
also in respect of the earlier promis£S*ei-Sil£port given to it by the Foreign Office.
[2662 s— 8 ]
COP'f
IS
O IhRMA
13 DEC 1912
, SECRETARY'S NgS Oj