Abstract: Report by Captain Frank Cooke Webb Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai. Printed in Calcutta at the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1900. The annual report concerns the conditions and administration of the region and the development of the Quetta-Seistan [Sistan] trade route and follows on from Ware's similar reports of 1897 (Mss Eur F111/362) and 1898 (Mss Eur F111/364).The report opens with a letter from Ware to the Agent to the Governor General in Baluchistan, Quetta, dated 31 July 1900, in which the main points of the report and certain events of the year are summarised. The report itself consists of four appendices, as follows:I 'On the administration of the Nushki, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts' (folios 5-7)II 'On the Quetta-Seistan Caravan Route' (folios 8-15)III 'Nushki Trade Returns for the year 1st April 1899 to 31st March 1900' (folios 15-23)IV 'Miscellaneous' (including genealogical tables of the main Seistan and Shorawak families) (folios 24-29).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 30; 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: Report by Lieutenant Frank Cooke Webb Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai. Printed in Karachi at The Commissioner's Press, 1897. The report concerns the proposal to secure the trade route between Nushki, in what was at the time British territory, and Nasirabad [Nosratabad] in the Seistan [Sistan] region of Persia. The report is partly the result of a journey along the route undertaken by Ware himself between 27 January and 18 March 1897.The report opens with a letter from Ware to the Agent to the Governor General in Baluchistan, Quetta, dated 15 July 1897, in which the main points of the report are summarised. The report itself consists of three appendices, as follows: I Administration and local Trade of Nushki, Chagai, and Western Sinjerani country (folios 5-9); II Quetta-Seistan Trade Route (folios 10-13); III Nushki Trade Returns for months February to June 1897 (folios 15-35). Information on the history, government, economy, geography, and tribes of the region is given.Folio 14 is a map of the area where the Afghan-Persian, Afghan-British, and Baluch-Persian boundaries converge.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; 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: Report by Khan Bahadur Maula Bakhsh on his journey from Meshed to Quetta in 1898. The report starts with a description of the circumstances that gave rise to the journey and the preparations before departure (folios 12-17). The main body of the report consists of his account of the journey, written in diary form (folios 17-66). The last part of the report is formed of tables of data gathered during the journey (folios 67-72). The report contains information on distances, water, supplies, trade, human and physical geography, road conditions, and revenues.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 76; 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: A report by Mr H A Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Indian Telegraph Department. Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, 1901. The report is a survey of a potential route for extending a telegraph line from India to Persia, running from Quetta to Bam, with an alternative route going to Pahra. The volume contains a description of the routes taken, estimates of cost, and notes on alignment, marking out, location of offices, shelter huts for linestaff, maintenance, water, sand, supplies, climate, and the Quetta-Siestan [Sistan] trade route.Throughout the report are black and white photographs of the route that accompany the descriptions (folios 26,28, 30, 32, 34, 37, 39, 41, 46, 49, 51, 52, 63, 67, 70, and 71). Folio 23 is a map showing the route taken. Enclosed at the front of the volume is a copy of the 'Convention between The United Kingdom and Persia extending the System of Telegraphic Communication between Europe and India Through Persia', 1902 (folios 2-6), and twelve loose sheets of manuscript notes on the report written by George Curzon (folios 7-18).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 79; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Report by Captain Frank Cooke Webb Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai. Printed in Calcutta at the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1901. The annual report concerns the conditions and development of the Quetta-Seistan trade route and follows on from Ware's similar reports of 1897 (Mss Eur F111/362), 1898 (Mss Eur F111/364), and 1899-1900 (Mss Eur F111/374). The report opens with a letter from Ware to Captain A McConaghey, First Assistant to the Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan, dated 17 August 1901, in which the main points of the report are summarised and a brief account of the year is given.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 16; 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: Report by Lieutenant Frank Cooke Webb Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai. Printed in Karachi at The Commissioner's Press, 1898. The annual report concerns the conditions and administration of the region and the development of the Quetta-Seistan trade route and follows on from Ware's similar report of 1897 (Mss Eur F111/362).The report opens with a letter from Ware to the Agent to the Governor General in Baluchistan, Quetta, dated 18 June 1898, in which the main points of the report are summarised. The report itself consists of four appendices, as follows:I 'On the Administration of the Nuskhi, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts', with information on the history of tribes, water-supply for irrigation, lands, crops, and revenue (folios 4-12)II 'On the Quetta-Seistan Caravan Route' (folios 13-15)III 'Regarding the question of appointing Native Agents and News-Writers in South-Eastern Persia and the effect which such appointments would be likely to have on the present position in that country' (folios 16-18)IV 'Nushki Trade Returns for months April 1897 to March 1898', consisting of tables of statistics (folios 19-68).Near the back of the report are genealogical tables of the Nushki Jamaldini, Zagar Mengal Amirzai, Mandai, Sinjeranis of Chagai, Narui Baluch, and Rekis of Mirjawa (folios 69-71).Folio 73 is a map of the area covered by the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 74; 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 file consists of a report by the Secretary of State for India [Joseph Austen Chamberlain], which is addressed to the Prime Minister [Herbert Henry Asquith]. The report concerns a proposal, made by the Commander-in-Chief in India [Sir Beauchamp Duff], to extend the Quetta–Nushki railway to Seistan, on the grounds that it is a 'cogent military necessity'.The report includes extracts from a telegram and a minute from the former Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council, Lord Curzon, dated 4 September 1899 and 28 October 1901, which summarise the history of the proposed scheme and the various political, strategic and commercial arguments and counter-arguments relating to it.This summary is followed by two telegrams from the current Viceroy [Frederic John Napier Thesiger], dated 26 July and 29 July 1916 respectively. The first of these summarises the current military case for an extension to the line (which was put forward by the Commander-in-Chief in India) as follows: any continuation of the recent Turkish advance into Western Persia may result in the Government of India having to increase its military presence in Eastern Persia, which would require improved communications between Nushki and Seistan; it is further argued that a broad-gauge railway – running from Nushki to at least as far Dalbandin – although more expensive than mechanical transport, would be a preferred solution to the current reliance on camel transport.The first telegram provides the Government of India's response to these proposals. It argues that the scheme can only be justified on 'cogent military grounds', before adding that the limitation of the extension to Dalbandin would be a half measure which would not provide adequate relief to the current situation, nor aid wider strategic contingencies.The second telegram details the Railway Board's rough estimate of the cost of extending the line (2,000,000
l).Also included in the report are the following three minutes:a minute from the India Office's Political Department, dated 27 July 1916, which refrains from expressing an opinion on the strategic implications of extending the line, but concludes that the commercial prospects would be sufficient to warrant constructing a line. The minute opines that an extension as far as Dalbandin would be the more practical of Duff's two proposals;a minute, dated 28 July 1916, in which the Military Secretary to the India Office, General Sir Edmund Barrow GCB, makes the argument that the entire line would take one and a half years to build, and that therefore it is not likely to be of use during the present war. Barrow supports the Commander-in-Chief's suggestion of extending the line as far as Dalbandin, in the hope that it may be of some use in the war effort (the implication being that motor and camel transport could be relied upon from Dalbandin to Seistan);a minute from the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Sir Thomas William Holderness, dated 29 July 1916. The minute argues that a decision on whether to extend the line should be made based on the actual or possible necessities of the present war, and that future political, commercial or strategic requirements should not come into consideration.The Secretary of State for India begins the report with an extract from a private telegram, dated 25 July 1916, from the Viceroy to the Secretary of State for India, in which the Viceroy suggests that the matter requires the advice of the Chief of Imperial General Staff (Sir William Robert Robertson).The Secretary of State for India informs the Prime Minister that an immediate decision is required on the following:whether an extension of the line is a 'cogent military necessity', which should be undertaken at once;whether the extension can be carried out in time to be of use for the purposes stated by the Commander-in-Chief;whether an extension to Dalbandin would be sufficient.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 8, and terminates at f 13, 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.
Abstract: The map shows parts of countries including Iraq, Persia [Iran], and Afghanistan, the region of Baluchistan [Balochistan], the Persian Gulf, and the Northern coastline of the Arabian Sea. The route of a proposed telegraph line from Quetta to Ladis and Koh-i-Malik Seah is indicated with a red line.The map includes some indication of relief, in the form of hachures for volcanoes and mountains.Physical description: Materials: Printed on paperDimensions: 316 x 506mm, on sheet 387 x 579mm
Abstract: The file comprises papers relating to requests made by the Ministry of Shipping to find a suitable agricultural adviser to represent the Middle East Supply in Centre in Persia. The principal correspondents in the file are the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of War Transport. The ministries wish to appoint a man named Mustapha as an agricultural expert for Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 12; 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 item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 2 dated 2 January 1857. The enclosures are dated 11-16 December 1856.The papers chiefly comprise two letters from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], to Lord Elphinstone, Governor and President in Council, Bombay, forwarding the following documents:A copy of the report by Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, concerning the convoy recently despatched carrying treasure (three lacs of rupees), arms and ammunition, destined for the Ameer Dost Mahomed Khan in Kandahar [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy]. The report details the journey of a party of the Sind Irregular Horse, under the command of Lieutenant W L Briggs, Acting Assistant Political Superintendent, including the escort provided by officers and men of the Khan of Kelat [Kalat] through Kelat territory and the Bolan Pass [also spelled Bolaan in this item] to Quetta [also spelled Quettah in this item] where Briggs transferred his consignment to a party of Dost Mahomed’s men (ff 34-38)A copy of a letter from Merewether who forwards intelligence he has received of: a Persian force assembled at Bunpoor [Bampur] on the frontier of Mekran [Makran]; news of Persian activities in Herat; and relations between the Khan of Kelat and Persia.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence, reports, memoranda and minute papers, relating to military and commercial assessments of an extension to the railway from Quetta to Nushki, British Baluchistan [present-day Pakistan], and from Nushki to Seistan [Sīstān], Persia [Iran]. The volume includes: a letter from Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Chairman of the Imperial Bank of Persia and a former government administrator in India, dated 29 January 1916 and enclosing an extract of a letter from the Political Agent at Chagai, Frank Cooke Webb Ware, on the prospects of a railway line from Nushki to the Persian frontier (ff 250-256); a memorandum on the improvement of communications between Baluchistan and the Persian frontier, prepared by Webb Ware, dated 19 February 1916 (ff 184-189); a memorandum on the Quetta to Nushki railway extension, prepared by Webb Ware, dated 6 February 1917 (ff 154-161); the Government of India’s recommendations on the route of the extension, based on their objection to it passing too close to the Afghan frontier (f 116); a note on the Nushki extension railway, prepared by the Political Agent at Chagai, Major William Gorden Hutchinson, dated September 1918, with details of the distances between stations, and watering and grazing facilities along the route (ff 70-80); copies of a note entitled ‘Trade Routes to Khurasan’ [Khorasan], prepared by Lieutenant B Temple, Vice-Consul at Meshed [Mashhad] and dated 14 June 1919 (ff 12-15, ff 41-57).The volume’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India; the Agent to the Governor-General and Chief Commissioner in Baluchistan, Sir John Ramsay; and the Political Agent at Chagai.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 258; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.