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File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’ [252v] (264/929)
The record is made up of 1 item (482 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1919-24 Nov 1920. It was written in English. 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
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P. 7822.
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.
, Whitehall, London, S.W. 1.
5th December, Wly.
Sib,
^ i j 79/17 rlfltpd the 18th November, on the
With reference to my letter, • p ’ j^ S p 0S ,i n o- 0 f the vessels owned by
subject of the proposed ar ran gem ^ ^ ^ anl j a j am directed by the Secretary
His Majesty’s Government m P- p ^tion of the Minister of Munitions
of State for India to forward for the information ot ^ letter8 to and
To Foreign Office, dated 28th November, from the Foreign Office noted
From Foreign Office, dated 4th December. f n the margin.
Mr. Montagu understands pSchase^who art
prepared to pay the ““P^^^l^uTten that the proposals of
State for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State tor India.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
(Sd.) L. D. WAKELY.
The Secretary,
Ministry of Munitions.
Telegram—P. Pty. A.
From—Political Baghdad. . .
To—Secretary of State for India, London.
No. 1385.
Dated 31st January, 1920.
Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation, Basrah, have received following tele
gram from Head Office, London, begins:
“ River Craft will be sold in Bombay by Lord Inchcape about 16th or
17th February. Anyone wishing to buy should be in Bombay by 15th Febru
ary. Let this be widely known to Europeans and Natives. Inform Baghdad
ends.”
Notices will be inserted in Baghdad papers under date February 2nd.
Matter is presumably now out of hands of His Majesty’s Government,
but it will be obvious that it is impossible for British or Native Firms in
Baghdad to be in Bombay by February 15th and in the absence of informa
tion as to what boats are being offered for sale it can scarcely be worth any
body’s while to go there.
Most would-be purchasers are represented by a single managing partner
or agent and it is clearly out of the question for me to arrange for advances
to selected firms if sale is to take place at Bombay. If therefore intention of
Lord Inchcape is to sell at Bombay ships which are now here and are required
for use in Mesopotamia the result of this move will be to confer effective i
monopoly upon firms which Lord Inchcape controls which firms alone have
access to information as to nature and condition of vessels being offered for
sale.
Telegram—R. Pty. A.
From—Political Baghdad.
To—India Office, London.
No. 1517.
Dated 3rd February, 1920.
My telegram of 31st January, 1385, crossed your telegram of 31st
January.
British and Native Chambers of Commerce have separately prepared pro
tests which will be transmitted to you shortly. I fear that much feeling has
been aroused.
Members of both Chamber's are telegraphing to their Representatives in
London urging Parliamentary action with view to sale being deferred and
held in Mesopotamia after due notice has been given of particulars and class
of boats to be sold and opportunity given for inspection.
About this item
- Content
This file concerns the disposal of river craft in Mesopotamia and contains material relating to:
- The opposition of the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, Colonel Arnold Talbot Wilson, to the proposals of Lord Inchcape [James Lyle MacKay, 1st Earl of Inchcape] for the disposal of river craft in Mesopotamia, on the grounds that it involved ‘unnecessary and undesirable abrogation by [the British] Government of its proper functions in favour of a private individual [Lord Inchcape] ... who is thereby enabled to exercise autocratic power in Mesopotamia’
- The particulars and estimated costs of the Inland Water Transport Fleet to be delivered to Basrah [Basra] and put into commission, the valuation of the Dockyard, and estimated cost of Magil [Al-Ma‘qil] Yard and its associated structures
- The announcement by the Manager of the Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation that if the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company were not given a monopoly for the transportation of goods, they would ‘create one by carrying goods for nothing, until they had forced out of business any local firms who were attempting to compete’
- The petition of the merchants of Basrah to the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad to arrange for the sale of the river craft in Basrah instead of Bombay [Mumbai] to provide them with a fair opportunity to purchase some of the vessels
- The opposition of Sir Percy Cox to assurances given to Lynch Brothers, Lord Inchcape and others, rather than a ‘consideration by commission or other specially constituted authority’ for navigation rights on the Tigris and Euphrates
- The plan for the sale of surplus Mesopotamian river craft by Lord Inchcape on behalf of the British Government to take place in Bombay, and the issues relating to the inability of British and native firms from Baghdad to be present at such short notice, as well as the general absence of information about which specific vessels were being offered for sale
- The Inland Water Transport schedules for the barges necessary to carry petrol for post-bellum Army requirements, and the oil barges used for storage at depots (ff 435-439)
- The statement of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, to the Secretary of State for India on the vessels required for the civil administration of Mesopotamia, with an abstract of applications received from commercial firms for Inland Water Transport river craft (ff 423-431)
- The question of Lord Inchcape and his associates obtaining a legal or practical monopoly over river transportation in Mesopotamia and the position of the British Government
- The conditions set out by Civil Commissioner Baghdad that only ships designated by the Army as being surplus before 10 March 1920 be put up for sale, and the need to ensure equal opportunities for local purchasers with those from Bombay
- The Schedule for Craft required by the Civil Administration, from Brigadier-General Robert Herbert Wilfred Hughes, Director of Inland Water Transport, to the Civil Commissioner Baghdad (ff 316-319)
- The Sub-Committee on Mesopotamian Ports, Surveys and Inland Water Transport’s inter-departmental conference on Middle Eastern Affairs, 16 March 1920
- The information from the Inland Water Transport Office to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, on pumping installations in connection with oil distribution at various stations (ff 261-269)
- The inter-departmental conference to discuss the disposal of surplus river craft in Mesopotamia, led by the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, and including representatives from the War Office, Inland Water Transport, Ministry of Supply, the Foreign Office, and the 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. , 8 April 1919
- The invitation by the Commissioner, Ministry of Munitions Disposal Board, General Headquarters, at the request of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, on behalf of Lord Inchcape, of tenders for the purchase of all surplus Government river craft available in Mesopotamia
- The report by Lord Inchcape to Minister of Munitions, Lord Inverforth [Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth], on his disposal of surplus small craft belonging to the Mesopotamian fleet, 31 March 1920 (ff 159-192)
- The advertisement for the sale of the river craft in the Baghdad Times, the popular response to a rumour about a possible sale to the Lynch Brothers, and the views of the Manager of the River Steamship Company expressed to the British Chamber of Commerce.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (482 folios)
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/805/1
- Title
- File 788/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA Disposal of River Craft’
- Pages
- 122r:123v, 124v:133v, 134ar:134av, 134r:158v, 192v:193v, 194v:278v, 279ar, 279r:303v, 304ar, 304r:312v, 313ar, 313r:399v, 400v:412v, 414v, 415v, 417v:564v, 565ar, 565r:570v, 571ar, 571r:582v
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- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
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