Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 11 dated 16 January 1857. The enclosures are dated 22-27 December 1856.The papers comprise two letters from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], to the Governor and President in Council, Bombay, forwarding two Persian papers (with translations), received by Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, conveying intelligence from the Khan of Kelat [Kalat] and the Kelat authorities relating to Herat, Candahar [Kandahar, also spelled Khandahar in this item] and Cabul [Kabul]. They include reference to the activities of Persia [Iran] in those places.Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 35 of 1842, dated 1 April 1842. The enclosures are numbered 3-84 and are dated 10 December 1841 to 31 March 1842. They mainly consist of correspondence, and also include some minutes by the Governor of Bombay and resolutions of the Government of Bombay. The enclosures mostly concern military affairs in Scinde [Sindh, also spelled Sinde in this item] and Beloochistan [Balochistan], including:Troop movements, such as the advance of troops from Sonmeeanee [Sonmiani] to Candahar [Kandahar]The construction of travellers' bungalows at Kurrachee [Karachi], Gharra [Gharo, also spelled Gorrah in this item], and Tatta [Thatta]The remission of eight lacs of rupees required by the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan to meet the needs of the troops in Lower ScindeThe transport of a train of mountain artillery for service in ScindeMedical officers serving in, or proceeding to, Scinde.The principal correspondents are as follows: the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay; the Secretary to the Government of India; the Military Board, Bombay; the Accountant General of Bombay; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and the Quarter Master General of the Army.This item also includes copies of news letters from the Secretary to the Government of India, consisting of précises of intelligence on the state of affairs in various places, including: Candahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan; Upper and Lower Scinde; Quetta; Baroda [Vadodara] and elsewhere in India; Burmah [Burma]; Nepal; and China.Physical description: The copies of enclosures are numbered 3-84. There is a note on folio 438 stating: 'The Abstract of Contents could not be prepared for want of time'.
Abstract: Correspondence consists of a secret letter with a treaty concluded with Ameer Dost Mahomed [Dōst Moḥammad Khān Bārakzay], Khan of Cabool [Kābul], in connection with telegraphic matters.Physical description: 1 item (3 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of India Secret Department to the East India Company Secret Committee, Number 9 of 1838, dated 1 May 1838. The enclosures are dated 14 February-1 May 1838.The papers chiefly comprise despatches of: William Hay Macnaghten, Secretary to the Governor-General of India; Captain Claude Martine Wade, Political Agent in Loodhiana [Ludhiana]; Captain Alexander Burnes, on a Mission to Cabool [Kabul]; and Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger in Herat.The despatches concern the siege of Herat by Persia [Iran], notably covering and including the following:Letters for Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India, from Shah Kamran [Shāhzādah Kāmrān Durrānī], Ruler of Herat, and his Vizier [minister] Yar Mahomed Khan [Yār Muḥammad Khān], urgently soliciting the intervention of the British Government in their present dispute with Persia (ff 376-377)A detailed report by Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger in Herat relating his proceedings and those of Colonel Charles Stoddart, British Agent with the Persian Camp, acting as messengers between the Ruler of Herat and the Persian Prime Minister Hajee Meerza Akasee [Ḥājī Mīrzā Āqāsī] and the Shah of Persia, up to late February 1838, and noting that they have conveyed to the Shah’s camp outside Herat that the British Government is the ‘well-wisher’ of the Persians and Afghans but its policy is to prevent ‘foreign enemies’ from aggression on Afghan territory (ff 379-390)Macnaghten’s instructions to John McNeill, HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, regarding arrangements for conveying rapid intelligence to India during the ‘present highly critical emergency’, including the despatch of the ship
Hugh Lindsayto the Persian Gulf for his use and that of the Persian ResidentMacnaghten’s encouragement of McNeill to visit the Shah’s camp outside Herat with duplicates of the Governor-General’s replies to the Ruler and Vizier of Herat (which have also been sent via Burnes) and to mediate peace (ff 391-392)Copies of the Governor-General’s replies to Shah Kamran and Yar Mahomed, expressing friendship and sympathy, urging ‘undaunted courage’ on the ‘brave and intrepid people’ and informing them of McNeill’s advance to the Shah’s camp (ff 394-396).Physical description: 1 item (37 folios)
Abstract: The file is concerned with a visit to Afghanistan by Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté, Air Officer Commanding Air Forces in India, 26-27 August 1939; the stated purpose of the officer's visit to Kabul being to assess the condition of the Afghan Air Force and make recommendations for improvements. A report submitted by the officer has been included: see folios 4-8.Most of the correspondence in the file is between William Kerr Fraser-Tytler, HM Minister at Kabul, and William Rupert Hay representing the Government of India.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 24; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file is concerned with two topics. The first is a report from G Stuart Morgan regarding the intention of Barr Shipping Corporation to deliver six American bombers to Afghanistan in 1933: see folios 28-40. The second is the gift of a PT 17 (Stearman) from the United States to the Government of Afghanistan in 1943: see folios 2-27. A couple of notes regarding sales by the American Caterpillar Tractor Company to the Afghan Government can also be found in the file. The main correspondents are as follows: HM Minister at Kabul, HM Embassy in Washington, officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 41; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence, memoranda, maps and other papers relating to the establishment of a precise position of the frontier between Persia [Iran], British Baluchistan [in present-day Pakistan], and Afghanistan, arising in response to the proposed transfer to Persian ownership of the Mirjawa [Mīrjāveh] to Duzdap [Zahedan] stretch of the North Western Railway, and territorial claims made by the Khan of Kalat, Mir Mohammad Azam Jan Khan, and the Persian Government. The volume’s correspondents include: Foreign Office and India Office officials; the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Charles Dodd); the Government of India (Francis Verner Wylie); the Agent to Governor-General and Chief Commissioner for Baluchistan (Alexander Norman Ley Cater); the British Consul for Sīstān and Kain [Ka’īn] (Clive Kirkpatrick Daly).The correspondence covers:The historical basis for negotiations, being surveys carried out in the 1870s, and a demarcation agreement concluded on 24 March 1896 by Colonel Thomas Hungerford Holdich, later referred to as the Holdich Line. Papers include correspondence from the 1930s in response to uncertainties about the precise position of the line (including extracts of the agreement in Persian), and copies of correspondence from 1895-1896 relating to the conclusion of Holdich’s agreement.Arrangements in 1932 for a joint British and Persian survey party to map the frontier, with Captain Guy Bomford of the Survey of India leading the British party. The results of Bomford’s survey are summarised in a copy of a secret letter, dated 9 June 1932, with accompanying maps (ff 113-119).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 321; 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 two leading and two ending flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Photographic reproductions of letters, memoranda, printed copies of correspondence and maps, relating to the demarcation of the border between Persia [Iran] and British Baluchistan (in present-day Pakistan) around the town of Mirjawa [Mīrjāveh]. The majority of the file’s papers are duplicates of material in the file Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3425).Correspondence dating between 1924 and 1935 comprises the first part of the file (ff 2-153). The second part of the file is preceded by a cover slip attached to folio 154, which reads: ‘Collection ‘B’’. Papers in this part of the file (ff 154-286) comprise copies of correspondence dating between 1871 and 1912. Three of the file’s thirteen maps (f 223, f 224, f 242) are not duplicates of maps included IOR/L/PS/12/3425.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 286; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence regarding contracts to supply the Afghan Government with ammunition. The Government of India had agreed to supply 2.5 million rounds a year for six years, and the file primarily concerns negotiations between the Afghan Government and Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, over the supply of further ammunition.The majority of the correspondence is between Imperial Chemical Industries Limited and the Foreign Office, regarding the quantities of ammunition to be supplied, and price and payment options. The file also contains communications received by the India Office from the British Legation in Kabul (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler), reporting on meetings with the Afghan Prime Minister and War Minister, and commenting on the Afghan Government's arms-supply arrangements and negotiations with arms firms in Belgium and Czechoslovakia.The file also contains a small amount of correspondence (dated 1941) between the India Office, the Government of India External Affairs Department, and the Department of Overseas Trade, regarding a request made by the firm International Traders of Karachi for permission to import British radios into India and Afghanistan.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 143; 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 a continuation of Collection 7/23, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2191. It contains correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for India, HM Minister at Kabul, the War Office, the Government of India Foreign and Political Department, and the India Office Political Department, regarding requests for rifles and ammunition received from the Afghan Government.The opening correspondence concerns an Afghan Government request for 10,000 rifles and 6 million rounds of ammunition, and covers the following topics: the possibility of supplying 1914 pattern rifles from War Office surplus stocks, plus .303 Mk VII ammunition; Afghan concerns over the quality of the older rifles; payment options; Afghan overtures to arms manufacturers in Czechoslovakia; the possible provision of aircraft and training; and the need to compensate Messrs Soley Armament Company for any 1914 pattern rifles sold.The bulk of the correspondence concerns arrangements over the division of liability between the British Government and the Government of India for extraordinary expenditure on Afghanistan, and the Afghan Reserve Fund. A memorandum providing details of the Fund can be found at folios 67-71.At the end of the file it is agreed to supply a further 25,000 1914 pattern-rifles, plus ammunition, over six scheduled payments. The Government of India agree to assume liability for out of pocket expenditure (commission to the Soley Armament Company, plus inspection, packing and freight charges) in respect of rifles not wholly paid for at the time of any default on payment.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 270; 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 a continuation of Collection 7/36, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2203.It contains correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for India, HM Minister at Kabul, the War Office, the Government of India Foreign and Political (later External Affairs) Department, and the India Office Political Department.Much of the early correspondence duplicates that found in IOR/L/PS/12/2203, and concerns the Afghan Government's request for an additional 25,000 rifles plus ammunition, debates over the division of liability between British and Indian revenues, and discussion of possible payment options.The rest of the correspondence concerns arrangements for shipping the arms and ammunition, and is accompanied by delivery invoices and reports on the quality inspections conducted prior to shipping. Details of the procedures, including examples of examiners' marks, and a sketch of the packing crates used, can be found at folios 262, and 234-238.Prior to sale, the War Office had undertaken to perform firing tests on all the rifles for an additional charge. These tests were not conducted, and the file contains correspondence between the India Office and the War Office, discussing the best options for presenting this fact to the Afghan Government, options for conducting the tests or reducing the price of the order, and the potential damage that would be caused to Britain's reputation, and Anglo-Afghan relations.The correspondence also concerns complaints by the Afghan Government that a number of rifles were damaged in transit or badly corroded. It documents the disagreement between the War Office, India Office and the Government of India over the provision of replacement rifles and parts, and contains details of the eventual arrangements and final agreement with the Afghan Government (found at folios 117-122).The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are found at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-3).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 599; 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 a continuation of Collection 7/37, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2204. It contains correspondence between HM Minister at Kabul, the Government of India External Affairs Department, and the Foreign Office Eastern Department, regarding payments received from the Afghan Government for the supply of rifles, ammunition, and accessories.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 21; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.