File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎72v] (149/674)

From Secretary of State to Viceroy, Ikth July 1911.
Private. Your private telegram of 14th July. Bagdad Railway. Your
presumption correct.
From Viceroy, 16£h July 1911.
Private. Bagdad Railway. Your telegram of 13th instant. The pro
posals seem satisfactory on the whole and a great advance on those made
hitherto. The following are our views :
Proposal No. 1 may be accepted on the understanding that proposals
Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, are granted in full.
It would then be desirable to arrive at an agreement with 1 ranee and
Russia to support British interests in the Gulf section in return for our
support in any other section in which they may respectively be interested.
In this way the control that we desire might be obtained.
Proposal No. 2. The condition proposed is a valuable one and should be
obtained. n . ... T ?
Proposal No. 3 seems quite satisfactary, and should be the means ot
excluding any other power. . , „ T r • • t
Proposal No. 4. The situation (? to be) desired for Koweit is one ot
(? complete) autonomy under the suzerainty of Sultan, and great care should
be taken to avoid any ambiguity in the formula adopted which might present
an opening for future Turkish interference or aggression.
Proposal No. 5 is quite satisfactory.
If m return for these conditions we are to agree to the additional 4 pei
cent. Customs duties, I would recommend that we should avail ourselves of
this opportunity to obtain at the same time from the Turkish Government
their recognition of our right (1) to police the waters of the Gulf ; (2) to
conduct all quarantine arrangements in the Gulf; (3) to control the lighting,
buoying, and pilotage of Gulf (outside the waters controlled by Turco-British
Riverain Commission).
From Viceroy, 21st July 1911.
Private. My private telegram of 16th July. Baghdad Railway. I venture
to attach some importance to the recognition by Turkey of the three points
contained in the last paragraph of my telegram, since it would form a useful
precedent to obtain similar recognition from other Powers.
I am not sure that we ought not to insist at the same time on the
recognition by Turkey of the administrative frontier of Persia west of
Mohammerah which still remains under dispute, but the three additional points
mentioned in my telegram are more important.
From Secretary of State to Viceroy, 31st July 1911.
Private. Your private telegram of 21st July. Baghdad Railway. Three
points referred to will be inserted in Foreign Office’s reply to the Porte.
Foreign Office see objections to raising question of frontier west of
Mohammerah.