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: This item consists of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 2 October 1873 and received by the India Office Secret Department on 27 October 1873, forwarding copies of papers relating to the survey of the Khateef [Qatif] coast, and the complaint by the Turkish Government [Ottoman Empire] that the survey party on the surveying schooner
Constancelanded on the Nejd [Najd] coast. The allegation is refuted by the commander of the
Constance, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf suggests that in order to prevent further 'misapprehension' by the Nejd authorities, written permission is obtained from the Governor-General in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] for the party to land on the Khateef coast. For further information see also Political No. 2 of 1874 (IOR/L/PS/6/114, ff 6-7).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 11, and terminates at f 16a, 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 four foliation anomalies: f 11a, f 13a, f 14a, and f 16a.
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 2 January 1874, forwarding a copy of a letter from the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], in which he reports that the [Ottoman] Governor-General of Irak [Iraq] has written to the Commander of the Force at Nejd [Najd] directing him to 'show proper respect' to the British Officers engaged in the survey operations on the Kateef [Qatif] Coast and to lend them aid if necessary. The despatch is in continuation of Political No. 169 of 2 October 1873 (IOR/L/PS/6/112, ff 11-16a).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 6, and terminates at f 7, 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.
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 9 January 1874 and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 2 February 1874, forwarding copies of two further letters from the Political Agent, Zanzibar, relating to his visit to Mombassa, [Mombasa] Melindi [Malindi], and Lamo [Lamu]. The Political Agent reports the actions he has taken, and their results, with regard to enslaved persons owned by the Indian communities in those places. The accounts also include information about the local Indian populations, geography and economy at those places, including the trade in ivory at Mombassa and the millet and sesame seed trade in the country between Melindi and Mambrui. There is also a description of Takaunga [Takaungu]. The despatch is in continuation of Political No. 228 of 26 December 1873 (IOR/L/PS/6/114, ff 392-396a).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 65, and terminates at f 73a, 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 three foliation anomalies: f 65a, f 69a, and f 73a.
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 20 February 1874 and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 16 March 1874, forwarding a copy of a report of a tour recently made by the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] to Busreh [Basra], Mahomerah [Khorramshahr], and the headquarters of Nasir Pasha at Hamar [Hammar], on the Euphrates River.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 383, and terminates at f 387, 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.
Abstract: Enclosures to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 1 December 1841. The enclosures are dated 5-27 November 1841. The enclosures consist of correspondence relating to a survey of Phaleeche Island [Failaka Island, Kuwait] to assess its appropriateness for a possible naval station. The correspondents are: the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant Jones, commanding the schooner
Royal Tiger; and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy.Physical description: 1 item (7 folios)
Abstract: The item contains correspondence and other papers regarding agreements made by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) for the establishment of new oilfields at Dasht-i-Qil, an area inland from Genawah [Bandar Ganaveh, Iran]. The correspondence covers:An oil drilling agreement between APOC and local leaders of the Kashkuli, a tribe of the Kashgai [Qashqai] people, copies of which are included on folios 245-251, 255-262 and 283-288Objections from Soulat-ud Dauleh [Esma’il Khan Sowlat al-Dowla Qashqai, also written as Saulat-ud-Daulah in the correspondence], also referred to as Sardar Ashair [Sardar Asha’er], who believed he should have been involved in the agreement as the representative of his son Muhammad Nasir Khan, Ilkhani [leader] of the KashgaiA subsequent agreement between APOC and the Ilkhani confirming the agreement with the Kashkuli, copies of which are included on folios 193-195 and 206-207Hostilities between Soulat-ud Dauleh and his brother Ali Khan Salar Hishmat, and discussions over the possible impact on the agreementsObjections from the Government of Persia [Iran] that the agreement was made without their involvementArrangements for surveys of the area.The primary correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia; the Foreign Office; the India Office; the Government of India; the Surveyor General of India; the British Consul, Ahwaz; the British Consul, Shiraz; the Foreign Minister of Persia; the Governor-General of Fars Province; the Governor-General of Arabistan Province; APOC Ltd; and Messrs Strick Scott & Co Ltd, managing agents for APOC.Physical description: 1 item (127 folios)
Abstract: Volume containing correspondence related to the Euphrates expedition of 1835-36, a survey of the navigability of the Euphrates River as part of a possible overland route between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. The correspondence covers preparations for the expedition, the sea journey from Liverpool to Sowedich [Samandağ] and the overland journey from Sowedich to Bir [Birecik]. The correspondence also discusses delays to the expedition caused by the obstructionism of various Ottoman officials, particularly Mehmet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, and his son Ibrahim Pasha.The primary correspondent is the commander of the expedition Colonel Francis Rawdon Chesney. Other correspondents include: Chesney’s second-in-command Lieutenant Henry Blosse Lynch; the Board of Control; the Government of Bombay; HM Treasury; the British Consul, Aleppo; the British Consul, Baghdad; and HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.The report recommending the expedition from the House of Commons Select Committee on Steam Navigation to India is included on folios 74-75. A transcript of the following House of Commons debate on 4 August 1834 is included on folios 76-85.Folios 204-224 contain a copy of the log book of the voyage of the
George Canningfrom Liverpool to Sowedich, via Malta and Beirout [Beirut], February-April 1835, accompanied by HMS
Columbine.Folios 262-263 contain a description of a turtle, probably an African softshell turtle, by the expedition’s naturalist Dr Charles Frederick Staunton.The volume includes a table of contents on folios 7-15.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 405; 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 includes two sequences of blank pages, ff 54-73 and ff 385-404, which have not been digitised.
Abstract: Volume containing correspondence related to the Euphrates expedition of 1835-36, a survey of the navigability of the Euphrates River as part of a possible overland route between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. The correspondence covers: the overland journey from Sovedia [Samandağ] to Bir [Birecik]; the journey down the Euphrates to Bussora [Basra]; delays to the expedition caused by the obstructionism of various Ottoman officials, particularly Mehmet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, and his son Ibrahim Pasha; the sinking of the steamer
Tigrisduring a storm, with the loss of 23 men; exploratory journeys along the Tigris and Karoon [Karun] rivers; and analysis of the results of the expedition.The primary correspondent is the commander of the expedition Colonel Francis Rawdon Chesney. Other correspondents include: Chesney’s second-in-command Lieutenant Henry Blosse Lynch and other officers of the expedition; the Board of Control; the Government of Bombay; the British Consul, Aleppo; the British Consul, Baghdad; and HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.Lists of the expedition’s personnel in March and October 1836 are included on folios 130 and 414, respectively. A list of the men lost in the sinking of the
Tigrisis on folio 227.A breakdown of the distances and fuel consumption for each leg of the journey down the Euphrates is provided on folio 240, and for the return journey along the Tigris to Baghdad on folios 416 and 418. The dimensions of the steamer
Euphratesare on folio 415.Lists of the contents of the
Euphratesat the end of the expedition, including valuations, is provided on folios 503-515. The final accounts of the expedition are on folio 525.The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1834-1838, the later dates cover a request for a picture and short biography of Colonel Chesney for an article in the
Dublin University Magazine(folios 551-568).The volume includes a table of contents on folios 1-8. Separate contents pages appear on folios 340-341, covering folios 342-403, and on folio 500, covering folios 501-526.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 568; 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: The file concerns a survey of the Trucial Coast in June to August 1945 by a United States Army Survey Mission. The survey was undertaken in conjunction with Survey Branch Middle East. Correspondence dated August-October 1945 discusses the Survey Mission's request to extend its work into Muscat territory. The papers record that the Sultan of Muscat gave permission for coastal areas to be surveyed, but stated that it was at that time impossible to meet a request from the survey party to travel along a parallel line fifty miles inland in addition.The file includes correspondence from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent, Muscat.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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 9; 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; these numbers are printed, and are not circled. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.