ملف رقم ٣١٤٢ لسنة ١٩٠٣ "سكة حديد الحجاز" [و‎‎٣‎١] (٤٨٨/٦٨)

IThis Document is the
Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government,
Sir G. Lowther to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received September 26.)
(No. 134. Commercial.)
Sir, Therapia, September 18, 1908.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 122 of the 31st ultimo, I have the honour
to transmit to you herewith copy of a despatch I have received from the British
Delegate on the Board of Health, reporting on the unofficial meetings he has had with
members of the Young Turk party, to explain to them the exact situation of
the Mixed Commission and the Board of Health, as well as a Memorandum he has
drawn up on the subject, and presented to the Board. In this Memorandum
Dr. Clemow has made a most excellent and lucid exposition of the situation of these
two bodies, and the measures which it is needful to take in hand.
It seems that there is room to hope that matters in connection with the sanitary
arrangements of this country may be put on a proper footing both as regards finance,
and ^especially as regards the establishment by Turkey of a Sanitary “ Reglement ” based
upon the Paris Convention of 1903.
The idea of holding a Conference by the Powers interested in the pilgrimage is
still only nebulous and there will be time to consider it when it takes more
definite shape, but, as Dr. Clemow says, it seems at first sight to have much to
recommend it.
I have, &c.
(Signed) GERARD LOWTHER.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Dr. Clemow to Sir G. Lowther.
Sir, Constantinople, September 14, 1908.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 96 of the 29th ultimo, I have the honour to
report that, together with my Italian, Dutch and French co-Delegates, I have recently
seen, quite unofficially, and conversed with two members of the Young Turk party
here—Dr. Essad Pasha ^id Dr. Djenab Bey—and with Dr. Loutfi Bey, of Paris.
As I had anticipated, there seemed to be a considerable lack of exact knowledge
as to the financial and other arrangements in connection with the existing mechanism
for the external sanitary defence of the Turkish Empire. I have, consequently,
prepared a brief note on the subject, which was presented to the Board at last Tuesday’s
meeting, and of which copies are inclosed herewith.
In this note I have given a brief history of the Board of Health and of the Mixed
Commissions, and have grouped the reforms that it appears desirable to introduce
under the following four headings :—
(a.) Purely sanitary questions ;
( 6 .) Financial questions;
(c.) Question of a “ Reglement Interieur ” of the Board and the Sanitary
Ad ministration ; and
(d.) Question of the attitude of Turkey towards the International Sanitary
Conventions.
I have pointed out that the reforms of the second group (financial) are already
being considered by the Mixed Commission; those under the first and third headings
may for the most part be carried out by the Board of Health. Particularly in purely
sanitary matters the course marked out for the Board is a perfectly clear one. One of
the four reserves under which Turkey was prepared to accept the Venice Convention ol
1897 was the maintenance of the “Reglement” of 1867 (now entirely out of date), until
[1974 cc—1] B