Abstract: The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade routeNumber 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.The file also includes:Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for IndiaA letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position thereCopies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draftCopies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and SeistanHandwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file is comprised of copies of a series of agreements, engagements, and conventions concerning Britain and a number of related parties regarding the construction and/or extension of telegraph lines in Turkey, Persia, the Persian Gulf, and Mekran [Makran Coast] between 1853 and 1916. Related parties include the Chiefs of the Arabian coast (referred to as 'the Chiefs of the Pirates Coast'), Persia, Turkey, and Russia.In addition, there are copies of two concessions granted to the Indo-European Telegraph Company, from 1868 and 1869 respectively (a renewal of the 1868 concession, made in 1882, is also included).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 21, and terminates at f 38, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file consists of a memorandum by George Percy Badger (scholar and missionary) concerning Persian claims in Beloochistan [Baluchistan] and Mekran [Makran], particularly Gwadel or Gwadur [Gwādar] and Charbar [Chābahār]. It contains the following: a history of Persian encroachments in Beloochistan; a table outlining the political divisions of the maritime provinces of Mekran, and their respective governments; an assessment of Persia's jurisdiction on the Mekran Coast; details of the sovereignty of Gwadur; a discussion of hostilities between Persia and the Sultan of Muscat over Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] and other dependencies; a summary of the 1856 treaty between Persia and Muscat. A map depicting the political geography of Mekran is included on folio 5.The appendices include:a translation of the treaty between His late Highness Seyyed Saeed [Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd] and the Persian Government, relating to Bunder Abbas, etc., dated 1856;a report by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic John Goldsmid on the claims of Persia, Khelat [Kalat], and Muscat, to sovereign rights on the Mekran Coast;extracts from Lieutenant-Colonel Goldsmid's diaries on defining boundaries and districts;a memorandum on Western Mekran by Lieutenant-Colonel Goldsmid.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 10; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file consists of a report by Sir William Lee-Warner (1846-1914) written during his tenure as Secretary to the Secret and Political Department. It is a critique of the Government of India's current policy towards Makran, which he claims has not been authorised by the Home Government. This policy depends on the Khan of Kelat, Mir Mahmud Khan, maintaining stability in the region; it is the author's opinion that he does not have the means to do so, and more direct British intervention is required.The report contains a brief account of Makran, covering its geography, recent history, and relations with Britain. It also explains how British policy towards the region has developed, and the interventions that have been instigated as a result. It also outlines what the author considers Britain's interests in the area to be.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio. These numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This volume is a summary of events, treaties and correspondence about the suppression of slavery and the slave trade in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, curated by Jerome Anthony Saldanha, and printed in Simla in June 1906.The volume is marked as secret and divided into chapters:Measures for the suppression of slavery and slave trade in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, up to 1873 (ff 5-7);Measures against traffic in slaves by Natives of India (ff 8-16);General measures taken for the suppression of Slave Trade from 1874 to 1905 (ff 16v-22);Anti-Slave Trade Operations (ff 22v-30);Runaway slaves at Gwadur (ff 31-34);Trade in Baluchi slaves from Mekran to the Arab coast (ff 34-35);Reception of fugitive slaves on board Her Majesty's ships of war and other British vessels (ff 35v-38);Grant of protection to fugitive slaves on the Coast (ff 39-40);Some questions of practice of courts (ff 41-45);Miscellaneous questions and facts (ff 45v-48.In Appendix,
Reports on Slave Trade in the Persian Gulf,
1852-1859(folios 59-61).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to individual cases of the enslavement and trade of Baluchis from the Makran coast and Karachi, to the Trucial and Oman Coast, and in particular to Dubai. The correspondence is predominantly between Government representatives in Karachi/Sind, the Persian Gulf Political Resident at Bushire (of which there were three incumbents during the period covered), and the native Residency Agent at Sharjah, ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif. The cases discussed touch upon British attempts to identify and recover Baluchis reportedly taken and transported to the Trucial Coast, repatriation measures, the terms of punishment for traders/kidnappers, and the expenses incurred at offering protection for recovered slaves.Of particular interest in the file are reports on the slave trade between Baluchistan and the Gulf, 1923/24 (folios 98-114); correspondence between the native agent at Sharjah and the Trucial Coast shaikhs on slave trade (e.g. folios 361-362); and the Hindu community of Dubai’s efforts to take action against the trade of Hindu boys from Karachi (folio 364).Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated with circled pencil numbers from the front cover to the last folio, in the top-right corner of each recto. An earlier foliation system uses uncircled pencil numbers, also in the top-right corner of each recto.Condition: There is some insect damage on the front cover and a small number of folios, but not sufficient to impair legibility.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between various British Government officials in the Persian Gulf, who were responding to a perceived increase in the trade of slaves across the Gulf of Oman, from the Baluchistan coast to the Batinah and Trucial coasts on the Arabian Peninsula. A significant proportion of the volume is intelligence on maritime slave trading activities on the Baluchistan coast. This intelligence was collected by local Baluchis reporting to the Assistant Superintendent of the telegraph office at Jask (Mr Navarra), who telegraphed reports of the activity of dhows suspected of carrying slaves to the Arab coast to the Political Residency, then under the charge of Major Arthur Trevor. In the case of those boats suspected to be headed to the Trucial Coast, the Political Resident requested the Residency Agent at Sharjah [‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif] to use the intelligence to retrieve the slaves once they have arrived on the Trucial Coast. When there was evidence of either direct or indirect involvement on the part of one of the Trucial Coast shaikhs in slave trading, the Political Resident wrote directly to the shaikh concerned, warning him of the consequences of his actions (for example, folio 86). Conversely, when a shaikh had taken action in the rescue of a slave, he received praise from the Political Resident (folio 137).A report from Captain Brandon, Commanding Officer of HMS
Cyclamen, which was patrolling the Baluchistan coast in order to deter slave traders, wrote that a well-known slave trader on the Makran coast was in receipt of a small annual subsidy from the British Government to protect the telegraph line in the area (folios 176-77). This suggestion was contested by Mr Navarra (folios 206-08), though he conceded that others involved in the slave trade on the Makran coast, who have seen their slaves intercepted by British authorities, had threatened to cut British telegraph cables in retaliation. Mr Navarra also suggested that the trade in slaves from Baluchistan to the Arabian Coast, besides being a result of the continued drought and famine in the Baluchistan region, had been recently encouraged by an increase in the trade of rifles from Arabia to Baluchistan, one being used to pay for the other.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover with circled numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. There is an earlier foliation system using uncircled numbers that runs through the volume. The earlier foliation system is referenced by annotations in the correspondence that refer to earlier correspondence existing in the volume.
Abstract: The volume, stamped ‘Secret’ on the front cover and frontispiece, is a précis of affairs relating to Makrān (spelt Mekran throughout) coast in the south of Sindh and Baluchistan. It was prepared by Judge Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1905 by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, in Calcutta.The volume includes a preface (folio 4) and list of contents (folios 5-6). The volume is divided into chapters and sections as follows:Chapter 1: Our early connection with Mekran: (I) Jask, our port of trade with Persia from 1615 to 1622, (II) Captain Grant's mission to Mekran, 1809;Chapter 2: Telegraph and Mekran: Persian pretensions: (I) Reverend Mr Badger's reports, 1861, (II) Proposed negotiations with Persia and Mekran Chiefs: completion of the telegraph, (III) Proposed lease or purchase of Gwadur [Gwādar], (IV) Obstruction of the Persian Governor to the progress of the telegraph line - claims of Persia to Gwadur and Charbar [Chābahār], (V) Colonel Goldsmid's report of December 1863 in regard to Persian claims in Mekran, (VI) Colonel Goldsmid's first report of 1864, (VII) Colonel Goldsmid's second report of 1864, (VIII) Colonel Goldsmid's third report of 1864;Chapter 3: Agreements with Maskat in regard to telegraphic extension to Bunder Abbas [Bandar ‘Abbās] 1864-65. Colonel Pelly's report on the country from Bunder Abbas to Jask [Jāsk];Chapter 4: Negotiations with Persia for telegraphic extension westward from Gwadur, 1865-68. Telegraphic Convention of 1868.Chapter 5: Captain Ross's reports about Mekran, 1867-68;Chapter 6: Arrangements with local Chiefs as regards the telegraph undersettled state of the country;Chapter 7: Perso-Baluchistan boundary dispute settled by a Commision, 1870-72: (I) Persian agreement to demarcate the boundary line by a mixed Commission, 1870, (II) Proceedings of the Commissioners, (III) The Persian Government accepts the line sketched out by General Goldsmid;Chapter 8: Telegraph and Persian Baluchistan Chiefs. Internal Disturbances and changes, 1869-95: (I) The Persian Baluchistan Chiefs (including a genealogical table), (II) Disturbances at Jask, 1873, (III) Relations between the various Chiefs, 1883, (IV) Thefts of the telegraph lines in Geh territory, 1883, (V) Certain changes in Chiefs in 1883-84. Death of Sartip Ibrahim Khan [Sartīp Ibrāhīm Khān], 1883-84, (VI) Abul Fath Khan [‘Abd al-Fatḥ Khān], Governor of Bampur [Bampūr], 1886-89, (VII) Rising in Persian Baluchistan, 1889, (VIII) Arrest of several Baluchi Chiefs, 1891, (IX) Internal Affairs from 1891 to 1895. Death of Mir Abdul Nabi [Mīr ‘Abd al-Nabī] of Jask, 1894;Chapter 9: Jask Telegraph Station: (I) The detachment of Jask, (II) British control and jurisdiction within the station, 1869, (III) Interference of Persian officials within Jask station limits. Removal of the detachment and agreement about Jask station, 1886-87, (IV) Alleged Persian interference within the Jask station, 1889;Chapter 10: Protection of British subjects in Persian Baluchistan: (I) Plunder of British Indians by Sardar Hossein Khan [Sardār Ḥusayn Khān], appointed Governor of Charbar and Dashtyari [Dashtyārī] in place of Din Mahomed [Dīn Muḥammad], (II) Murder of a British Indian subject at Baku, 1882, (III) Plunder of Hindu traders of Dizzak and Geh, 1884, (IV) Seizure at Charbar of Doshambi, sailor of a British Indian vessel. Arrangements for his release, (V) Dharmu Mulchand's case, 1889-89;Chapter 11: Rising of Baluchi Chiefs. Anarchy in Persian Mekran. Murder of Mr Graves. British detachments stationed at Jask and Charbar. British policy, 1897-98: (I) Rising of Baluchi tribes, (II) Murder of Mr Graves and measures taken to trace and punish the murderers, December 1897 - January 1898, (III) Detachment sent to Jask and Charbar, January 1898, (IV) Unauthorised action of Commander Baker of the Sphinx in landing a force at Gulag and proceeding with it to Rapch, February 1898, (V) Operations against the insurgent and punishment of the murderers, (VI) Indemnity of the murder of Mr Graves, (VII) Rewards to Persian officers for services rendered in Mr Graves's murder case, 1898-99;Chapter 12: Changes in payment of telegraph subsidy. Settlement of outstanding claims of the British Indian subjects against Perso-Baluch Chiefs. Arrest of the remaining two murderers of Mr Graves. Detachment at Jask and Charbar. Deaths of several Chiefs, 1899.Chapter 13: State of the districts through which the telegraph line passes from Gwettur to Jask, 1909-04;Chapter 14: Gwadur and Charbar affairs: (I) Early history of Gwadur and Charbar, (II) Azan bin Ghias [‘Azzān bin Qays]'s attempts to take Gwadur and Charbar, 1869-70, (III) Seyyid Turki [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd]'s rights to Charbar, (IV) Persian pretensions to Gwadur and Charbar. Demarcation of boundary line between Khelat [Kelāt] and Persia. Capture of Charbar by the Persians, (V) Question of rendition of Gwadur to the Khan of Khelat, (VI) Reported intention of the Russian Government to place an agent in charge of the Customs at Gwadur;Chapter 14: British Political Agency in Mekran.There is one appendix on folio 63, which is a report by Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent at Muscat and Khelat, dated 31 January 1886, entitled 'Report on the nature of the Trade at Gwadur and the probably amount of its Revenues'. This relates to Chapter 5 where the report is discussed.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume relates to construction, by the British Government, of electric telegraph communication between India and England, specifically the line through Sind [Sindh], along the Beloochistan [Balochistan] and Mekran [Makran] coasts and dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, December 1860-October 1867. It comprises a mixture of manuscript original and copy letters and reports; printed letters, reports and surveys; manuscript transcribed and translated Persian letters; and some telegraphic messages.The contents notably cover and include:Copy of original proposals submitted to the Government in Bombay, on the options for land and sea lines between Kurrachee [Karachi] and Bussorah [Basra, in modern-day Iraq], via Persia, by George Perry Badger, Chaplain (later in charge) of the Muscat-Zanzibar Commission, December 1860 (folios 10-15); views on Badger’s scheme by the Political Agents in Khelat [Kalat, also spelled Kelat in the volume] and in Turkish Arabia, March-May 1861 (folios 18-20, 28-30); Badger’s detailed geographical report on the coast from Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] to Kurrachee (folios 31-33)Surveys undertaken for the Bombay and Sind authorities, analysing the geographical, historical, political and socio-cultural character of territories the telegraph is proposed to run through, including: printed reports by the Political Agent in Khelat and J P Darke, Commanding HM Steamer
Hugh Lindsay, on the ports of Gwadur [Gwadar], Ormara and the Mekran coast (folios 34-38), June 1861; manuscript copy of detailed report by Major Frederic John Goldsmid, Acting Commissioner in Sind, on Official Duty in Mekran, February 1862 (folios 75-140), documenting the Mekran Coast Route with reference to the telegraph’s purposes, agriculture, water and supply sources, inhabitants, political history of the Mission, ancient geography and history (printed version on folios 298-324), supplemented with ‘rough notes’ by the mission’s Assistant Surgeon, Lalor, 2nd Sind Horse, adding analysis of the climate, water, general health of the people, security and fertility of the land (folios 154-180)Negotiation of terms and conditions with the Shah of Persia regarding territories acknowledged to be within his realm but over which we was not exercising direct control, materials costs, protection expenses, and future ownership of the telegraph (folios 64-74)British negotiations with local chiefs and rulers ‒ in the context of political instability and diplomatic sensitivities ‒ concerning permission to construct the line through their territories and arrangements for its protection, with particular regard to disputed lands and ports along the Beloochi [Balochi] and Mekran coast (e.g. Gwadur); agreements with the Khan of Khelat and the Jam of Beyla [Jam, or Cham, of Las Bela, Balochistan]; British payment of subsidies to local rulers (and their rivals) for protection services. Includes printed report by Goldsmid ‘On Special Duty’, to the Government in Bombay, December 1863, on the respective claims of Persia, Khelat and Muscat to sovereign rights in Mekran and on what they are founded (folios 243-246)Engineering logistics, labour, security, costs and materials, including formation of the Mekran Telegraphic Department on 20 January 1863 in the territory of the Khan of Kelat, with construction commencing 7 February 1863 (folios 187-188)Temporary recall of the telegraph work party on the Pusnee [Pasni] to Gwadar line due to unstable situation created by ‘ravaging’ activities of a 'Beloochi Sirdar named Oughan’, late 1863 (folios 202-211)British convention with the Sultan of Muscat, Sultan Soweenee [Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for extension of the telegraph line through his dominions of Gwadar (sovereignty historically disputed with the Khan of Khelat) and Chabhar [Chahabar], including challenge to the Sultan’s rights in Chahbar by the Governor of Bunpoor [Bampur], ‘Ibrahim, a Persian Sirhang’) in March 1863 (folios 192-194, 218-226).Folios 339-417 chiefly comprises correspondence and papers of the Commissioner in Sind, Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind, and the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, 1864 and 1866. They are covered by two manuscript lists of numbered contents. (Folios stated below include the title page to the item number).Folio 339: ‘1866. Political Kelat’, comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. Items (No. 4 ‘Disturbance at Muscat’ and No. 8 ‘Raids on the Punjab Frontier’ are not present)Folios 340-346 (item No. 1): ‘Murree affray at Soee, death of Naib Rassuldar Shaik Hassan Ali [Nā’ib Rasūldār Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Ali], 3rd Regiment Sind Horse’, regarding attack made by 'the Native Officer Commanding the Outpost at Soorie' [probably Suri, also spelt Sooee in this volume] upon a group of Murrees [inhabitants of Mari] who had assembled 'for the purpose of plundering in British territory'Folios 347-349 (item No. 2): ‘Khureetas for HH the Khan of Kelat’ [Kalat] (two letters, not kharitas)Folios 350-359 (item No. 3): ‘Pension for Abdool Russed Khan’. Includes correspondence with Pension Pay Office, Poona [Pune]Folios 360-363 (item No. 5): ‘HH the Khan of Kelat’s subsidy for 1866/67’Folios 364-367 (item No. 6): ‘Trade and revenues of Gwadur’. Printed ‘Report on the nature of the Trade at Gwadur and the probable amount of its Revenues’ by Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent at Muscat and KelatFolios 368-373 (item No. 7): ‘Abdoolla Jageer [Abdullah Jagir, a trader] claims British Consular protection from the Jam of Beyla’Folio 374: ‘1864. Political Miscellaneous’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. (Items No. 1 ‘Report on the political state of the Frontier Districts for 1863’ and No. 8 ‘Naturalised B…’ [this is crossed through] are not present)Folios 375-379 (item No. 2): ‘Proposition for including in travelling allowances to Political officers allowances for tentage also’Folios 380-384 (item No. 3): ‘Sanction for Political Superintendent’s Toshakhana’ [treasury of objects]Folios 385-390 (item No. 4): ‘Bhawalpoore [Bahawalpur] rebels’Folios 391-394 (item No. 5): ‘Transfer of the Ionian Isles to the Greek Government’. Official notices to the Indian authorities that the British Government has left the Ionian Islands in June 1864 and the protectorate will be handed over the ‘King of the Hellenes’ [King of Greece] next yearFolios 395-401 (item No. 6): ‘Sulphur imported from Bagh in Cuchee [Kacchi, in Kalat, Balochistan] by the Engineer Department’Folios 402-403 (item No. 7): ‘Rates for Telegraph in Persia and Russia’The end of the volume consists of :Folio 404: ‘Sketch of Oka Mandel’ [Okhamandal, Gujurat, India]. Map, signed Lieutenant-Colonel R Phayre, Quartermaster-General, 27 September 1859Folio 405: ‘Route surveys in Abyssinia [Ethiopia] from Antalo to Magdala’ surveyed by the Quartermaster-General’s Department, Abyssinia Field Force. Map, signed Captain T J Holland and Lieutenant-General R Napier, 25 May 1868, with notesFolios 406-413: Manuscript, badly water damaged (past repairs visible), possibly relating to SindFolios 414-416: Printed ‘List of Dehs in the Frontier District of Upper Sind, with their population, etc., etc.’ by Colonel Francis Loch, Political Superintendent, Frontier District of Upper Sind (undated)Folio 417: Printed memorandum, dated 25 Sep 1875, issued by Bombay Government Financial Department on tentage allowances.The principal correspondents over the period 1860-67 are: H L Anderson, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay; A Kinloch Forbes, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; M J Shaw Stewart, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; Jonathan Duncan Inverarity, Commissioner in Sind; Samuel Mansfield, Commissioner in Sind; A D Robertson, Acting Commissioner in Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Henry W R Green, Political Agent in Khelat, later (sometime Acting) Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Malcolm S Green, variously Political Agent in Baluchistan, Political Agent in Khelat and Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper SindOther correspondents include: Captain William Dickinson, Acting Political Agent in Kelat; James McAdam Hyslop, Officiating Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Major William Lockyer Merewether, Political Superintendent and Commandant in Chief, Frontier of Upper Sind; Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Secretary to Government of India; Colonel Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to Government of India (Foreign Department); Sir George Russell Clerk, Governor and Resident in Council, Bombay; Charles Gonne, Secretary to Government, Bombay; William Henry Havelock (Officiating Secretary), Bombay; Charles Alison, British Minister at Teheran; Earl (John) Russell, British Foreign Secretary; Hormuzd Rassam, Acting British Resident at Muscat; Captain Herbert Disbrowe, Acting Political Agent, Muscat; Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, variously Assistant Political Agent Gwadur, Assistant to the Political Agent in Beloochistan [Balochistan], and Assistant to the Political Agents at Kelat and Muscat; Major P Stewart, HM Bengal Engineers, on Special Duty at Kurrachee; Lieutenant Arthur William Stiffe, Acting Director, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; H Izaak Walton, Superintendent, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; P W Hewett, 1st Class Inspector of Telegraphs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 420; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: The original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: Papers mainly relating to Jacob’s career in Sinde [Sindh, also spelt Scinde and Sind in this volume], notably as Political Superintendent and Commandant on the Frontier of Upper Sinde before the Anglo-Persian War; terms of the Anglo-Persian peace treaty and post-war events 1857; political instability in Sind and Beloochistan [Balochistan] and the state of affairs in Kelat [Kalat, also spelt Khelat in this volume], 1857-72. Documents are copies unless otherwise stated.(There are no indexes, or lists of contents, in this volume.)Folios 9-10: Extracts of Brigade Orders, February 1840, by Brigadier Gordon, on transferring command of the troops in Upper Scinde to Brigadier Keverson, and by Major Billamore on breaking up of the force under his command, both praising the conduct of the troops and performance of Lieutenant John Jacob, commanding the artilleryFolios 11-36: Correspondence of and relating to Lieutenant Jacob, Bombay Artillery, dated 21 May 1840-1 December 1841, mainly regarding Jacob’s much-lauded report and map of his journey from Hyderabad to Nuggur Parkur, confirming it as a practicable route to march troops between Sinde and Guzerat [Gujarat], plus praise for his ability, endeavours and enterprise when he was based in Upper Sinde in 1839. Correspondents include Captain James Outram, Political Agent in Lower Sinde; Henry Torrens, Officiating Secretary to the Government in India; J P Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay; L R Reid, Chief Secretary, to the Government, Bombay; Lieutenant-Colonel P Wilson, Commanding 3rd Regiment Light Cavalry; J D Leckie, Assistant Political Agent in charge, HyderabadFolios 27-28: Two Revenue Department letters, June and September 1842, relative to Jacob's allowances whilst on foreign field service in AfghanistanFolios 29-33: Letters from Outram, praising the conduct of various officers including Jacob and his Sinde Irregular and Horse for quelling activities the of Northern Hill Tribe ‘marauders’ and bringing ‘tranquillity’ to that area in Cutchee [Kacchi, in Kalat, Baluchistan], Scinde and Afghanistan, October-November 1842Folios 34-75: Correspondence and papers, dated February 1848-September 1853, regarding Jacob's claim for the considerable costs he has incurred since 1847 in exercising political duties assigned to him as Political Superintendent (as well as Commandant) on the Frontier of Upper Sinde. Jacob notes that he has only been paid for his regimental command of the Sinde Irregular Horse, despite all his other work in bringing tranquillity to the previously violent territory and improving agriculture and the economy; he additionally complains of disadvantages from the post not having a permanent establishment. Chiefly, correspondence between the Henry Bartle Edward Frère, Commissioner in Sinde (who supported Jacob’s case), and Jacob; Frère’s letters to Viscount Falkland, Governor and Resident in Bombay; Jacob’s petitions to Frère and memorial to Marquis Dalhousie, Governor-General of India, 15 September 1853 (folios 66-75)Folios 64-65: The Court's ‘confidential’ letter to the Government of India, 22 June 1853, recommending Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, who had been recalled from his post as Resident in Baroda [now Vadodara, in Gujarat], for return to duties in India, and the circumstances of his recall from BarodaFolios 76-87: ‘Memoranda of a personal communication by Major Jacob to HH the Khan of Kelat at Mustoong [Mastung] on the 13th May 1854’ proposing a new Treaty between the Khan and the British Government; and copy, in English and Persian of ‘Treaty between the British Government and Nusseer Khan, Chief of Kelat’, concluded by Jacob on behalf of the Governor-General of India, 14 May 1854, ratification by the Governor-General 2 June 1854, and two amendments (1855)Folios 88-105: Letters, dated October 1856-January 1857, from Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind, to Lord Elphinstone, Governor and President in Council, Bombay, regarding Major Frederic John Goldsmid, whom Jacob asserts is opposing his authority and has attempted to claim credit for the work of the Jagheer [jagir or jageer] Enquiry in Sind, when (Jacob states) the majority was undertaken by Captain Lewis Pelly whilst Goldsmid was on sick leave in Europe and then with the Turkish contingent in the Russian [Crimean] WarFolios 106-107: Letter (original) from Outram to Sir George Clerk, Under-Secretary of State for India, 20 November 1856, containing suggestions relative to the Persian ExpeditionFolios 108-109, 132-143: Letters from, and intelligence (originally sent to the Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) forwarded by the Secret Committee, East India Company to Lieutenant-General Outram, relative to conclusion of peace with Persia, the Paris Peace Treaty (4 March 1857), and Russian troops on the Persian Frontier, March-May 1857Folios 110-111, 120-121: Letters from Clarendon to Rt Hon Robert Vernon Smith, MP, President of the Board of Control, regarding the peace treaty and suitability of the British soliciting the assistance of disaffected ‘native tribes’ in Persia, March-April 1857Folios 112-115: Correspondence between Lord [John] Wodehouse, British Envoy Extraordinary to Russia in St Petersburg, and Clarendon, regarding Russian views on the British peace with Persia and the treaty ratification, including Wodehouse’s conversations with Prince Gortchakoff [Alexander Gorchakov], Russian Foreign Minister (see also IOR/H/550 folios 188-206), March 1857Jacob, regarding post-conflict dispersal of the British troops from Persia, 20 April 1857Folios 122-125: Letter from Outram to Clarendon, relating to the peace and dispersal of British troops from Persia, 22 April 1857Folios 126-127, 130-131: Letters (originals) from Outram to Jacob, relating to Persian acceptance of the treaty terms, May 1857Folios 128-129: Letter from Charles A Murray, in Baghdad, to Outram, regarding ratification of the treaty with Persia, 2 May 1857Folios 144-145: Extract from the
Tehran Gazette, 6 August 1857, confirming the release of Afghans recently taken prisoner in Persia and granting of their free movement in any part of the country. (Forwarded by Captain Felix Jones, Political Agent, Persian Field Force and Civil Commissioner and Resident in the Gulf, to Jacob, 3 Sep 1857)Folios 146-147: Letter from Lord Elphinstone, Bombay, to Outram, relating to the peace treaty terms, 7 April 1857Folios 148-156: Accounts of bravery, recommendations for medals, and honourable mention of officers who served during the Persian war, May 1857 (see also IOR/H/550, folios 111-167)Folios 157-168: Memorandum by Frère, Commissioner in Sind, Kurrachee, dated 6 June 1857, detailing measures necessary for maintenance of order in and external defence of India (following uprisings and ‘mutiny’ against the British), and ‘Route between Hindioon or Endgaon on the Persian Gulf and Kalay Sadawut on the direct route from Bushire to Shiraz, turning and avoiding the passes of Kootoob-i-Muloo and Kootoob-i-Kanaredje’ (suitable for troops accompanied by artillery)Folios 169-170, 173-174: Letters from Jacob to Brigadier H W Trevelyan, Commandant of Artillery, ‘Late on Duty’, concerning the latter’s mission to the camp of Meerza Mahomed Khan [Mirza Muhammad Khan], Persian Commander in Chief, and relations between the British and Persian camps, 8 July 1857Folios 171-172, 203-204: Letters (originals) from Outram to Jacob, 7 and 14 July 1857, appearing to discuss arrangements for Outram’s return to India and Jacob’s role in Bushire (the handwriting is partly illegible)Folios 175-176: Letter, dated 11 July 1857, of commendation and congratulation from HM Government (Foreign Office) to Outram for his conduct of the campaign in PersiaFolios 177-178: undated middle section of a letter (probably from Jacob, based on handwriting comparisons in this volume and IOR/H/549-550), regarding troop transports in Bushire, c.1857Folios 179-202: Letter from Jacob to Clarendon, 11 July 1857, conveying reports on the recent mission to the Persian military camp by Trevelyan and Herbert Frederick Disbrowe, Assistant Resident Persian GulfFolio 205: Letter, 12 August 1857, from H L Anderson, Secretary to the Government, Bombay, to Jacob, confirming approval of the mission to the Persian campFolios 206-208: ‘Memorandum of portions of recent correspondence between the Acting Commissioner in Sind and Government relative to the attempts of the Persians to obtain a footing in Mekran and the aid afforded to the Persians by Azad Khan of Khursan [Khorasan]’, recording events December 1856 to April 1857Folios 209-245: Detailed report by Frère to Lord Elphinstone, on the ‘present state of affairs at Kelat’, dated 19 February 1857Folios 246-263: Documents on Kelat forwarded by Jacob to Frère on 28 May 1858, comprising letters from Henry Green, Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, to Jacob, 20-21 May 1858, and from Colonel H B Lumsden to Green, 13 May 1858. Plus, document (author not identified) relating events in the Kelat territory from August 1868, when Green was succeeded by Colonel R Phayre in August 1868, and from March 1869 when Captain Harrison became Political Agent in Kelat, with a ‘Table of routes in Upper Sind and Cutchee’ with distances between places, state of the roads, conditions for camps, supplies, forage and water (folios 256-263)Folios 264-299: Copies of Despatches from Sir Charles Wood, Secretary of State for India, (India Office, London) to the Governor-in-Council, Bombay, relative to the construction of the Mekran Line of Telegraph. The Despatches cover July-December 1862 and include reports and communications of Brevet Major Patrick Stewart, Bengal Engineers and Lieutenant-Colonel in Persia, and cover more generally telegraphic communications with India through Persia, extension of the line to Bussorah [Basra] and Bagdad [Baghdad], connection with the Turkish telegraph, and laying a submarine cable in the Persian Gulf (Set of despatches forwarded by Major William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay, to Major Malcolm Green, Political Agent in Khelat, 27 February 1863)Folios 302-304: copies of letters by the British India authorities relating to passports for British subjects passing to the West of the Indus (into ‘foreign territory’), 1863 Folios 305-319: Printed copies of correspondence, 12 December 1868-12 April 1869, between Colonel R Phayre, Political Superintendent, Frontier of Upper Sind, Colonel Sir W L Merewether, Commissioner in Sind, Captain R G Sandeman, Officiating Deputy Commissioner, Deyra Ghazie Khan, Rt Hon Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey-Fitzgerald, Governor and President-in-Council, Bombay, concerning ‘outrages’ committed by the Murree [Mari] tribe on the Sind Frontier, violent instability caused by warring Murree, Boogtee [Bugti], Doombkee [Dombki] and other Belooch [Baloch] tribes, and British relations with Khans of Khelat for purposes of alleviating the conflictsFolios 320-352: Report, dated 30 November 1872, by Colonel Phayre to Colonel Merewether, detailing his visit to the Frontier, including places visited, geography, inhabitants, warring tribesFolios 353-386: printed reports to Colonel Merewether, on disturbances in Kelat, notably conflict between Murree and Boogtees and British relations with the Khans of Kelat. Reports by Colonel Phayre, 15 February 1872, and Captain R Sandeman, on Special Duty in Jacobabad, 6 March 1872, accompanied by Merewether’s letters and detailed comments criticising the analysis and actions of both Phayre and Sandeman, January-March 1872Folios 387-401: Document ‘Notes on Persia’ by Lieutenant-Colonel J Holland, Quartermaster-General, Bombay, originally prepared for Lord Elphinstone in February 1854, with table of the ‘Route between Bushire and Shiraz’, covering terrain, climate, roads, villages, availability of supplies and water, assailability, value of possible British possessionsFolio 402: Coloured ‘Sketch showing the localities of the Tribes on the Frontier of Upper Sind', 1854Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 405; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Relief shown by shading.Territories under rule of Imam of Muscat, Khan of Khelat and Jam of Bhelah separated by red lines.The constructed telegraph line shown in blue, telegraph under construction indicated by pecked line. Major Goldsmid’s route shown in black dotted line.Inscriptions:In the lower centre below key illegible signature.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with wash on tracing clothDimensions:171 x 821 mm, on sheet 243 x 900 mm
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Date ‘1867’ from pencil annotation in the bottom centre.Relief shown by hachures.Lettered for reference with explanation at lower left: ‘AA. Is portion of the territory formed by Muscat from Persia under terms of the treaty between those states.BB. with exception of the Choubar (Chābahār) District [marked in red] is under the sway of Belooch Chiefs who pay tribute to Persia through the GovernorThe strips of territory surrounded by red are possessions of Muscat’.Inscriptions:Descriptive notes on recto:Upper right: ‘For record in the geographical dept. An original map by Major (now Colonel) E.C. Ross, in his own handwriting and draughting [illegible] being pencil notes. I have not used the india rubber. Arthur W. Stiffe Lieuth’.Bottom margin, right: ‘The thin red Line is for Mekran Telegraph. The dotted line is for road’.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with wash on paper with additions in pencil
Dimensions:347 x 706 mm, on sheet 388 x 736 mm