File 3047/1909 'Railways: Asiatic Turkey; railway construction in Asia Minor' [‎9r] (22/368)

[This Document is the Property
of His Britannic Majesty^ Government]
^ ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
oUL igi
I
[June 20.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 2.
[24643]
No. 1.
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey—(Rec^ved June 20.)
gj ' 1 . 0 ^ ' ^ June 20, 1911
WITH reference to your despatch No. 149 of the 30th ultimo, enclosing certain
papers relative to a proposed concession for railways in Asia Minor, I have the honour
t 0 observe that the scheme referred to in these documents is, as yon are aware, the one
which was originally submitted to the Turkish Government in 1909 by a certain
Dr. Glasgow. „ ^ , i t
Tins sell 6 ni 6 at first ni 6 t witli soiii 6 favour in Cioi 6 iiiiii 6 iit and parliamentai j
circles, but the negotiations were suspended and eventually ceased when Mr. Chester
came forward with his proposal to construct the same network of lailrvajs on conditions
which appeared more favourable to the Government than those offered by Dr. Glasgow.
Mr. Chester’s project has been before the Government for nearly two years, and
negotiations had advanced so far that, as I had the honour to inform you in my
despatch No. 383 of the 2nd instant, the Government was m a position to lay all the
papers as well as the convention drawn up and agreed to b} the Public M orks
Department and Mr. Chester, before Parliament in the eail} pait of last month.
Owing, however, to the approach of the closure of the session, the House vas unable
to devote any time to the examination of the project and the inattei has consequent!}
been placed on the agenda for early discussion when Parliament meets foi the m xt
autumn and winter session. It is understood that the long negotiations betv een
Mr. Chester and the Public Works Department resulted in changing some of the
proposals first made by Mr. Chester, and that the convention as finally diawn up and
presented to Parliament, embodies a considerable number of modifications favourable
to the Government. A copy of this draft convention has so far not been procurable,
and it is therefore impossible to compare the proposals, as they now stand, with those of
the Glasgow' scheme contained in the papers communicated by Lord Denbigh.
The Government is now' so far committed to the Chester project that I think there
is little chance of other proposals being considered, unless they offered conditions clearly
more advantageous than those which now stand in Mr. Chesters name. The region of
country through which the proposed railway is to pass is mostly mountainous, and the
cost of construction would consequently be high; the railway w ill enjoy no guarantee,
and the return on expended capital will have to be derived solely from traffic receipts
and such problematical profits* as can be made out of the working 0 f mines which
the concessionnaire may chance to find within a certain zone on either side of the
line. Whilst unable to form an opinion as to the real merits of such a concession, I am
inclined to believe that although the construction of such a network of railways will be
beneficial to the country, the conditions offered for carrying out such an undertaking
are altogether of too speculative a character to engage the attention of serious
capitalists.
Lord Denbigh and his friends will, however, have to satisfy themselves as to
the soundness of the scheme now before the Government and in the event of a
favourable view being taken they will have the option of either joining hands with
Chester or submitting proposals more favourable than those to which the Government
seems at present committed.
I have, &c.
CHARLES M. MARLING.
[2082 cc— 2 ]