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49. Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel William George Grey, Indian Army, Political Agent, Kuwait to Sir Arthur Hirtzel, Secretary, Political Department, India Office
- Description:
- Abstract: The letter from Lieutenant-Colonel William George Grey to Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel encloses a copy of a letter No. C/8 of 1915 by Grey, as Political Agent in Kuwait, to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 9 June 1915, regarding Arab co-operation with the Turks in the Shatt al-Arab [Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab] country.The letter refers to remarks made by Lord Curzon of Kedleston both in the House of Lords and in relation to an address given by Mr P Landon on Basrah and the Shatt al-Arab at the Society of Arts in April 1915. The remarks are regarding Arab tribes supporting the Turks, and further observations made by the Secretary of State for India on the Battle of Shaiba, at which it was reported that the Turkish troops had been joined by almost 10,000 Arab combatants. The letter also raises the question of why they were now siding with the Turks given their previous relations with Britain.Grey's response to these observations includes a detailed explanation of the composition of the tribes involved as being primarily from Arab communities in Iraq, and the Muntafiq [al-Muntafiq] tribe of the Euphrates and Shatt-ul-Gharaf [Shaṭṭ al-Gharrāf, also known as Shaṭṭ al-Ḥayy] regions. His response also notes that the tribes involved are not those of the Persian Gulf region as had previously been assumed by Lord Curzon.The letter goes on to explain these tribes' relations with the Turks and the reasons for their having sided with them. The letter concludes by providing information on some of the tribes of the Persian Gulf, in particular the Zaffir [al-Zafīr] who had declined Turkish invitations to take up arms; and the Yuarin, Bani Malik [Banī Mālik] and Shammar all of whom had chosen to remain neutral.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 26 and terminates at folio 26, 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in the volume; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
50. PZ 701/1935 Question of Continuance of Pension of Naoum Abbo of Basra
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the issue of whether a pension paid from 1918 to 1923 to Mr Naoum Abbo of Basra, an Iraqi national, should be continued.The correspondence includes:Letters and copies of letters between the India Office and Mackrell, Ward and Knight, including a copy of a letter to the Secretary, India Office, dated 29 January 1935 (folio 13), stating that their client, resident in Baghdad, is interested the request of Abbo - who the letter states was employed by the British Consul at Basra as Chief Dragoman for approximately fourteen years up to the outbreak of the First World War, and four years thereafter in the Political Department of the Government of India – for continuance of a pension paid to him from 1918.Correspondence between the India Office and the Foreign Office regarding Abbo’s case, including letters from the India Office to the Foreign Office enclosing copies of correspondence between the India Office and Mackrell, Ward and Knight, and correspondence from the Foreign Office to the India Office enclosing copies of correspondence between the Foreign Office and Mackrell, Ward and Knight. This correspondence includes a copy of a letter from D.J. Scott, Foreign Office, to Mackrell, Ward and Knight, dated 3 June 1935 (folio 2), in which it is stated that the question of the continuance of Naoum Abbo’s pension is solely one for the Iraqi government.The file also includes copies of earlier papers relating to the case, dated 23 March 1915 to 26 April 1923.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 42; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
51. Coll 17/40 'Iraq. Basra Consulate-General Monthly Summaries'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file consists of copies of monthly summaries from the British Consulate-General at Basra, for March, April, and May 1947, which were sent to the India Office by the Foreign Office.The summaries cover the following: the political and tribal situation in Basra; labour; the press; personalities who had visited Basra; finance, oil, commerce and industry; communications; naval and military matters; and foreign activities.The file includes a divider, which gives lists 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 14; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-13; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
52. Coll 17/38 'Iraq. British Consulates in Basra.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains a carbon copy of one letter from the Foreign Office to the Secretary of the Admiralty, dated 26 January 1942 (sent by the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under Secretary of State for India), informing the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that the status of the consular post at Basra had been raised to that of a consulate-general for the duration of the Second World War, and that William Lowry Craig Knight had assumed charge as HM Consul-General on 22 January 1942.The file includes a divider, which gives lists 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 5; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
53. Coll 5/35 ‘Iraq: Civil aviation in: Opening of airports at Bagdad and Magil’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to the establishment of new civil airports at Baghdad (1933) and Basra (1934), and subsequent additions to these facilities. It also contains copies of a number of notices to airmen issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Communications and Works: see folios 5-8 and 11. One of these notices (see folio 11) is in both Arabic and English.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Francis Henry Humphrys), officials of the Foreign Office, and other officials at the British Embassy in Baghdad. The correspondence is periodically forwarded to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in order to keep the India Office informed of developments; none of the correspondence in the file is directly addressed to 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 (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.
54. Extracts of Communications relating to the Permanent British Occupation of Basra
- Description:
- Abstract: The item contains extracts from a letter, telegrams and a note, covering the period November 1914 to December 1916, and all relating to the permanent British Occupation of Basra:Extract from a letter from Sir Percy Zachariah Cox to Persian Gulf and other Chiefs, including the Sheikh of Mohamerrah [Khorramshahr] and the Amir of Nejd [Najd], November 1914 - informing the Chiefs that Britain would never allow Basra to be subject to Turkish Authority again;Extract from Viceroy's Telegram, dated 7 December 1914 - regarding a request from Sir Percy Cox to make a public announcement of the permanent occupation of Basra by the British;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 9 December 1914 - advising against a public announcement regarding the permanent occupation of Basra as it would be a breach of the undertaking agreed with Britain's allies;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 19 December 1914 - requesting that Cox be permitted to intimate in conversation that Basra would not be returned to the Turks, in order to provide reassurance;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 25 December 1914 - informing that there would be no objection to Cox intimating in conversation with those already under British control circumstances regarding future protection against the Turks;Summary, written by Sir Arthur Hirtzel and dated 14 December 1916, of a statement made by His Excellency Lord Hardinge, during a visit to Mesopotamia, in response to a deputation from the British community of Basra, 3 February 1915 - regarding the British not being able to make statements on the future owing to their commitments to allies, but that there was no intention of them withdrawing from Basra.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 98 and terminates at folio 101, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right hand corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 6-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
55. File 1283/1913 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Anglo-German Commercial Competition'
- Description:
- Abstract: This is part one (of two) of a larger volume IOR/L/PS/10/366; it concerns increasing German competition experienced by British firms trading in the Persian Gulf region, and contains discussion between British officials as to possible action to strengthen the latter.Specific issues predominantly discussed in this part include:suggestions for the introduction of a lighterage (i.e. lightering) service on the Shatt el Arab, and counter claims that such a service is not required;a trial to import Indian wood from Mysore for use in boxes for the Persian Gulf date trade to compete with wood imported from Europe in German ships;the view that better co-ordination is needed between British shipping companies and the British Government in order to compete with the Germans.The file also contains two memoranda of interviews held at the Board of Trade: an interview with H J Tweedy representing the Basra Trading Company on 27 March 1913 (see ff 289-290) and an interview with C J Longcroft representing David Sassoon and Company on 3 April 1913 (see ff 270-271). It also contains a printed note by Haji Sultan Shushtari calling for a Persian shipping company to provide competition to the British India Steam Navigation Company (see folio 240).Henry George Chick's (Commercial Adviser and Vice-Consul at Bushire) reports on German Trade and Shipping in the Persian Gulf have been included in this part for 1910-11 (see ff 315-329) and 1911-12 (see ff 219-230 and ff 201-215, two copies), along with a copy of a Diplomatic and Consular Report on the Trade of Basra for 1911 (see ff 272-282).Physical description: This item is part of a larger physical volume and is located towards the back; it occupies folios 199-334.
56. File 1508/1905 Pt 3 'Bahrain: postal arrangements; mails; post office'
- Description:
- Abstract: Part one of the volume relates to postal services in the Persian Gulf. The correspondence is between the Foreign Office, India Office and Government of India. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from the General Post Office in London, representatives of Gray, Mackenzie, and Company and the British India Steam Navigation Company, and numerous political and diplomatic offices in the Persian Gulf and Turkish Arabia.The papers cover the discussion over who and how Turkish mail is to be carried to Hassa [al-Hasa] from Basra, and an agreement with the Shaikh of Bahrain preventing him from establishing a foreign post office in his country.Physical description: 1 item (91 folios)
57. File 2977/1913 'Baghdad Railway: negotiations with Germany'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume contains diplomatic correspondence and agreements relating to the completion of sections of the Berlin to Baghdad Railway. In particular, the papers discuss the extension of the railway from Baghdad to Basra, and possibly its extension to the Persian Gulf at Shatt-al-Arab waterway. A significant portion of the papers relate to the financial arrangements governing the incorporation of the Imperial Baghdad Railway Company, which was also responsible for the governance of the railway and any possible extensions.However, the majority of the papers express British concerns on German encroachment towards the Persian Gulf, and by extension, towards British interests in South Asia. The papers reveal the British strategy of containing German influence by dictating the composition of the railway company's board.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 337; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 259-337; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
58. File 342/1913 'Mesopotamia: Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Co; mail contract'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume contains memoranda, correspondence, telegrams, and minutes of letters between British officials regarding a contract between the India Office and the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company for mail service and commercial transports on the River Tigris between Baghdad and Basrah; the India Office's complaints for their unsatisfactory service from 1912, and the renewal of the contract in 1914. The volume also briefly discusses the British Post Offices in Baghdad and Basra, and the abolition of British Post Offices in Turkey.The main correspondents are: Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company, the India Office, and the Foreign Office.There is a letter in French within the file, a copy of a declaration from Hakki Pacha, Ottoman Ambassador.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 140; 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 cover. A previous foliation sequence between ff 44-138, which is also written in pencil and circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
59. File 3531/1905 Pt 1 ‘Mesopotamia:- Euphrates + Tigris S. N. Co.; Mail contract’
- Description:
- Abstract: Part 1 of the volume comprises correspondence relating to, as well as draft copies of (ff 325-327, ff 338-341, ff 384-386) an indenture for the renewal of the concession agreed between the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company (ETSNC) and the British Government, for the conveyance of mail between Busreh [Basra] and Baghdad. The part’s principal correspondents are: the Secretary of the ETSNC (Frank Bottomley); the Legal Adviser and Solicitor to the Secretary of State for India (Sir Horatio Hale Shephard); the Assistant Under-Secretary of State to the India Office (Sir Horace George Walpole).The discussion between Government officials focuses on clauses relating to the maintenance of regular weekly communication between Basra and Baghdad by the ETSNC (clause 5), and the resultant penalties (or exemptions from penalties) incurred by delays or cancellations to the mail service (clauses 11 to 13).Physical description: 1 item (72 folios)
60. File 370/1905 ‘Turkish Arabia: - Basra Consulate. Expenditure etc’
- Description:
- Abstract: The main contents of the volume are exchanges of letters about government expenditure on building maintenance and repairs to the British Consulate and Post Office at Basrah [Basra] in what is referred to as Turkish Arabia. The correspondence is mainly between British officials at the Foreign Office, India Office, Treasury and Office of Works in London and Government of India officials at the Foreign Department in Calcutta.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 127; 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 ending flyleaves.