Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [‎184v] (368/442)

307 The Trans- [ LORDS J Persian Railway. 308
MOVABLE DWELLINGS BILL, [h.l.]
Bill read 3 a faccording to Order).
Clause 1 :
Registration of movable dwellings.
1.—(1) Every movable dwelling shall be regis
tered with the council of a county and every such
council shall assign a separate number to every
dwelling registered with them.
(2) A mark, indicating the registered number
of the movable dwelling and the council with
which the movable dwelling is registered, shall
be fixed on the movable dwelling in such manner
as the council require in conformity with regula
tions of the Local Government Board made under
this Act.
(3) A fee of two shillings and sixpence shall be
charged by the council of a county on the registra
tion of a movable dwelling.
(4) If a movable dwelling is used on a public
highway or common or roadside waste without
being registered, or if the mark to be fixed in
accordance with this Act is not so fixed, or if,
being so fixed, it is in any way obscured or
rendered or allowed to become not easily dis
tinguishable, the occupier shall be guilty of an
offence under this Act, unless in the case of a
prosecution for obscuring a mark or rendering
or allowing it to become not easily distinguishable,
he proves that he has taken all steps reasonably
practicable to prevent the mark being obscured
or rendered not easily distinguishable :
Provided that a person shall not be liable to a
penalty under this section if he proves that he
has had no reasonable opportunity of registering
the movable dwelling in accordance with this
section and that the movable dwelling is being
conveyed on a highway for the purpose of being
so registered.
Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGH:
My Lords, in conformity with the under
taking which I gave on the Report stage
of this Bill, I beg to move to leave out
Clause 1.
Amendment moved—
That Clause 1 be omitted.—(Lord Clifford of
Chudleigh.)
On Question, Amendment agreed to
Bill 'passed, and sent to the Commons.
THE TRANS-PERSIAN RAILWAY
*Lord LAMINGTON rose to ask His
Majesty’s Government whether negotia
tions in connection with the Trans-Persian
railway scheme are taking place; also
whether Papers will be laid on the Table
showing what are the views of the Govern
ment of India in regard to the scheme.
The noble Lord said : My Lords, I do
not propose to enter into a general debate
on the Question which stands in my name,
but I hope that later in the session there
will be an opportunity for a general dis
cussion, when some members of your
Lordships’ House who are absent to-day
and who are interested in the question
will take part in that debate. It is only
because of the, to my mind, very unsatis
factory An East India Company trading post. nature of the replies given by the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs last
week in another place that I have put this
Question on the Paper. I had imagined
that the negotiations with regard to the
Trans-Persian railway scheme had lapsed
after the debate we had about two years
ago in this House. But as I understand
from the nature of a reply given by Sir
Edward Grey that these negotiations are
in full force and may possibly take concrete
form very shortly, I thought it advisable
to try and get some information from the
Government to enlighten us upon this
question.
In the other House Mr. Morrell, as part
of his Question, asked whether His
Majesty’s Government had agreed or were
about to agree to any extension of the pro
posed railway beyond the Russian sphere.
To this Sir Edward Grey replied—
“No surveys have been made beyond the
sphere of Russian interest, but we are prepared
to agree to the extension beyond this sphere on
certain conditions, the general nature of which
has already been stated to the House, for I may
point out that were the scheme for a Trans-
Persian railway to fall through the result would
be that railways would be made in the North of
Persia and not in the South, a state of things
which would be very prejudicial to British
trade.”
When Sir Edward Grey says that no surveys
have been made beyond the sphere of
Russian interest but that we are prepared
to agree to the extension beyond this
sphere on certain conditions, he refers, I
presume, solely to the survey and not to
any question of the construction of a rail
way; but no doubt the noble Marquess
when he replies will be able to reassure
me on that point.
The latter part of the answer which I
have read to your Lordships seems to
mix up two totally different things. The
question of a Trans-Persian railway is
absolutely distinct from that of the con
struction of other railways in Persia,
whether in the North or in the South. At
the present time it is undoubtedly true
that the Russian Government are con