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49. 'File 4/27 Construction of Kuwait-Basra Railway'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials in Iraq and Kuwait (primarily at the Combined Intelligence Centre in Basra and the Political Agency in Kuwait) regarding a visit to Kuwait of a small British team from Iraq to complete a survey concerning the possibility of constructing a railway from Basra (via Zubair and Umm Qasr) to Kuwait.The file also contains a limited amount of correspondence between the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah and the Political Agency in Kuwait (in Arabic with English translations).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 2-32 and ff 20-31; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
50. ‘1899. THE LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON. TELEGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA.’
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume comprises printed copies of telegraphic correspondence, dated 1 January-31 December 1899, of Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy and Governor-General of India, with Lord George Hamilton, Secretary of State for India. The beginning of the volume contains a detailed index of names, places and subjects (ff 3-10). This is followed by telegrams from the Secretary of State for India to Lord Curzon, numbered 1-482 (ff 13-80) and telegrams from Lord Curzon to the Secretary of State for India, numbered 1-416 (ff 83-153). A wide variety of subjects are covered, including matters relating to:The Aden Protectorate, mainly the enforcement of the Venice Convention regulations regarding plague preventionAfghanistan, including the Amir [Amīr ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Khān], the supply of arms into the country, and Afghan relations with Russia and Ottoman TurkeyThe Army in IndiaBritish policy and political relations in India, including Native StatesRecommendations and awards of Honours of the United Kingdom to the British Indian Army and Government and to indigenous Indian rulers and dignitariesHealth and disease, including plague, typhoid, and the Congress on the Prevention of Tuberculosis in BerlinFamine in IndiaA cyclone in BhagulpurBills proposed and passed by the Government of IndiaRailways, including proposals, construction and extensions in India and UgandaOperations and developments of the Boer WarBritish policy in Persia [Iran], particularly the extension of the telegraph line into the countryFinancial and administrative mattersAgricultureTradeKoweit [Kuwait], particularly relations with Britain, Ottoman Turkey, Germany and RussiaMaskat [Muscat], namely British policy in the region and relations with France and RussiaThe Persian Gulf, particularly the traffic in arms and Russia’s presence in the regionQueen Victoria’s birthday celebrationsBritish relations with Russia, particularly in the contexts of Afghanistan, India, Central Asia and PersiaMilitary operations in the Somaliland Protectorate [the Republic of Somaliland]Siam [Thailand], notably British policy there and relations with France.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 153; 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.Pagination: the volume also contains two original printed pagination sequences.
51. Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.Those attending include senior representatives of the Foreign Office, the India Office (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
52. Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: This file is formed of two parts, both comprising a set of papers collected by George Nathaniel Curzon during his term as Viceroy of India. The larger set of papers (Mss Eur F111/359/1) contains copies of reports and correspondence relating to Britain’s interests in Persia and the Persian Gulf, including papers relating to Seistan [Sistan]. The second set of papers is a printed summary of the history of British policy in Persia from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, consisting of extracts from Foreign Office correspondence and extracts from House of Commons speeches given by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs respectively.Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of two physical files. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of file one (ff 1-475) and terminates at the inside back cover of file two (ff 476-531); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
53. Reports and Correspondence Relating to Persia, Including Trade and Trade Routes in Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains reports and correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], including reports on trade and trade routes in Persia.It includes:A copy of the ‘Report Received from Mr H.W. Maclean, the Special Commissioner Appointed by the Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of Trade, on the Conditions and Prospects of British Trade in Persia.’A copy of a letter from Arthur Henry Hardinge, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice), enclosing an annual report prepared by Evelyn Grant Duff, Secretary of Legation, Tehran, on events in Persia during the year 1904Copies of the reports ‘Reconnaissance from Kondi on the Seistan Trade Route via Mashkhel-Hamun and Panjgur…’ and ‘Reconnaissance and Estimate for a Railway from Nushki to the Helmand and thence to the Persian frontier at Bund-i-Seistan’Copies of printed despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, forwarding copies of the weekly Diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai (for the weeks ending 16 February, 8 March, 24 March, 31 March, and 24 October 1901, and 31 March and 8 April 1902), and a copy of the report ‘Trade Returns of the Quetta-Seistan Trade Route, for the year 1900-1901.’ by Captain Frank Cooke Webb-Ware, Political Assistant, ChagaiPrinted copies of the Diary of Captain Robert Arthur Edward Benn, HM Vice-Consul for Seistan and Kain (for the period ending 31 March, 11 April, 30 April, 15 May, 17 June, and 15 September 1901).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 126; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
54. PZ 2885/40 'Proposed trade mission to Persia'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains a decipher telegram from the Government of India, External Affairs Department, to the Secretary of State for India regarding trade opportunities and the desirability of a war trade agreement with Iran. The telegram also refers to concerns over Iranian exports to Germany, and trade relations between Germany and Russia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
55. Ext 3580/1941 'Iraqi State Railways. Reports on the Administration of.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises two reports relating to the administration of the Iraqi State Railways year ending 31 March 1939 and 31 March 1940, as well as accompanying correspondence.The two reports included are:'Iraqi State Railways: Report on the Administration of the Railways for the Year Ended 31st March, 1939' published by the Iraqi State Railways Press, Baghdad (ff 3-39)'Iraqi State Railways: Report on the Administration of the Railways for the Year Ended 31st March, 1940' published by the Iraqi State Railways Press, Baghdad (ff 43-82)The reports follow the same format with sections on: management, accounts and finance, stores, traffic department, catering section, engineering department, capital works, mechanical department, medical department, railway printing press, staff; and railway police.The reports also include appendices covering the appropriate period with revenue account, balance sheet, comparative statement of commodities, statement showing reductions, analysis of accidents, mechanical department, statement showing position of standard gauge stock on line, and revenue branch.The covering letters highlighting salient aspects which accompany the reports are from HM Ambassador to Iraq (Kinahan Cornwallis), to the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 83; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
56. Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence, memoranda, and other papers relating to railway projects in Persia [Iran] and the surrounding region. The papers deal with the proposals for, planning, and progress of, several railway lines, including one from the Mediterranean to India, the Trans-Persian Railway, the Baghdad Railway, and the Nushki and Dalbandin extension from Quetta. The documents discuss the merits and flaws of the proposals, technical issues such as gauge sizes, and the impact of such projects on Britain's relations with Russia, Germany, France, and Turkey.At the back of the file are a number of official reports on Parliamentary debates within the House of Commons, dating from 10 July 1912 to 25 May 1914, all of which feature railways (folios 128-218). Also at the rear of the file are three maps:General Map of Asia with proposed British, German, and Russian rail lines added by handWar Office map of the Middle East, showing railways and railway projectsAs above with further rail lines added and details of gauges given.Correspondents include: Arthur Campbell Yate, army Officer; Henry McNiel; Francis Richard Maunsell, army officer; George Lloyd, politician; Lieutenant-Colonel Charles à Court Repington, army officer and war correspondent; Lord Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, Leader of the House of Lords; Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (Lord Lansdowne), statesman; Lucien Wolf, journalist and historian; Charles Staniforth, businessman and railway investor; Charles Prestwich Scott, Editor of the Manchester Guardian; Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Director, Imperial Bank of Persia; and Colonel Frank Cooke Webb Ware, former Political Agent, Chagai.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 221; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
57. Letters and Papers from Various People on a Number of Matters Mostly Relating to Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence from a number of diplomats, army officers, political officers, explorers, orientalists, journalists, businessmen, and Persian notables, many of which are personal friends of Lord Curzon.Correspondents include: Lieutenant Herbert John Coningham, army officer and explorer; Major Percy Zachariah Cox, British Consul General, Bushire; Cecil Spring Rice, British Minister to Persia; Massoud Mirza zil Sultan (also written Zelle Sultan/Soltan), Persian prince and Governor of Fars; J H Dill, British Consul, Shiraz; John Richard Preece, former British Consul, Isfahan; Sir Charles Hardinge, Foreign Office; Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Campbell Yate, army officer; Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer; Major William Frederick Travers O'Connor, British Consul, Sistan; J W Stratford Andrews; Ignatius Valentine Chirol, journalist, author, and historian; Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, former Governor of Bombay; Sir Walter Charleton Hughes, civil engineer and consultant; Albert Houtum-Schindler, former employee of the Persian Government; Tahir Bey; and Edward Granville Browne, orientalist.As well as accounts of people's experiences in and around Persia [Iran], the correspondence covers a number of other matters relating to the region. Subjects include: the Anglo-Russian convention, 1907; German and Turkish activities in the region; the Persian Civil War of 1908-1909; Russian activities in Persia; the diary kept by Captain Arthur Conolly while he was captive in Bokhara; trade routes; the proposed trans-Persian Railway; the Baghdad Railway; the chaotic situation in southern Persia, including the region's gun traffic; and British relations with the Bakhtiari and Qashqai tribes.Additionally, the papers include forwarded reports, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, etc., all relating to Persia, often with requests for Curzon's reviews and opinions. There are also several invitations to dinners and meetings. The file also touches upon more personal matters such as the death of his wife, Mary, in July 1906, a motorcar accident in 1908, and his appointment as Chancellor of Oxford University in 1907.The French language material consists of letters from Massoud Mirza zil Sultan.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 125; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
58. Letters and a Manuscript Regarding Railways in Persia, and Letters and Photographs from Commander H A Phillips
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains a letter from Cecil Spring Rice, British Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran, to George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, dated 20 October 1900, forwarding a letter in French addressed to Curzon from Fabius Boital, dated 16 October 1900, regarding a concession for railways in Persia, and a manuscript volume written by Boital addressed to Curzon entitled ‘Chemins de fer de la Perse’ (Railways of Persia).The file also contains two letters from Commander H A Phillips of HMS Sphinx, to Colonel Malcolm John Meade, dated 18 and 22 June 1901, concerning matters including a request from Shaikh Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ, Ruler of Kuwait, to Charles Arnold Kemball, Acting Chief Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, for British protection. The letter dated 18 June 1901 includes six enclosed photographs of Basidu [Bāsa‘īdū] in Iran [Mss Eur F111/354, f 3; Mss Eur F111/354, f 4; Mss Eur F111/354, f 6; Mss Eur F111/354, f 7; Mss Eur F111/354, f 8; Mss Eur F111/354, f 9] with the comment by Phillips ‘I enclose a few photos of Basidu perhaps if you get a chance of shewing [sic] them to the Viceroy. I believe Hunt sent in a report of the place the other day and these photos might be useful.’In addition, the file includes a card with the reference number ‘EUR.F.111/352.’ and ‘Miss M.R. Jack.’ written on it, with the date 8 June 1964.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 54; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
59. PZ 2246/1932 'Communications between London and the Middle East'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains papers relating to communications between London and the Middle East. It mainly consists of copies of correspondence sent to the India Office from the Foreign Office. This largely consists of copies of correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the British Consulate, Aleppo, regarding the railway service, and improved mail service, between London and Aleppo and other places by the Simplon Orient Express and the Taurus Express.It also includes:copies of correspondence between HM Representative, Tehran, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, concerning the establishment of a through service to Europe via Nisibin and Istanbul, by the International Sleeping Car Company, Cairoa copy of a letter from the General Post Office to the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, regarding the mail service to Syria, Iraq and Persia [Iran] by Simplon Orient Express and Taurus Expressand a copy of a letter from HM Acting Consul-General, Beirut, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, regarding the delay in the mail service from England to SyriaThe correspondence includes enclosures in French (folios 12-14 and 32-37).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 38; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
60. Political No. 150 of 1873, Forwarding Copies of a Letter from HM Minister at Teheran to Earl Granville, Explaining Why he Believes the Completion of a Railway between the Caspian and Teheran would be Fatal to the Independence of Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 1 September 1873 and received by the India Office Secret Department on 30 September 1873, forwarding copies of a letter from the Minister at Teheran [Tehran] to Lord Granville, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, explaining the grounds of his belief that the completion of a railway between the Caspian [Sea] and Teheran would be fatal to the independence of Persia [Iran].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 244, and terminates at f 248, 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. The sequence contains two foliation anomalies: f 244a and f 246a.