Abstract: The memorandum concerns various agreements — between the British and Persian Governments — relating to telegraphic communications between India and Europe via Persia. It outlines the landing rights that the Indo-European Telegraph Department has at Bushire and Jask. It also includes copies of a number of agreements and conventions signed between the two states, which are as follows:agreement for the construction of a telegraph line from Khanakeen [Khānaqīn] to Bushire, dated December 1862 (ff 25v-26);convention for an additional wire between Bushire and Khanikin [Khānaqīn] for the exclusive use of international messages, ratified 1 May 1866 (ff 26v-28);convention for the construction of a telegraph line between Guadur [Gwādar] and a point between Jask and Bendar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], ratified 25 August 1868 (ff 28v-29);convention for the erection of a third wire between Tehran and Bushire, and the replacement of wooden poles with iron ones, ratified 31 March 1873 (ff 29-31);the Jask agreement to extend the territory of the telegraph establishment, dated 25 February 1887.Also included in the memorandum is a letter (folio 26) from the Persian Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Governor of Bushire dated 18 May 1863, which orders the construction of a telegraph station at Bushire for the use of the British.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at f 24, and terminates at f 32, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The agreement between Shaikh Ahmad of Kuwait [Āl Ṣabāḥ, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir] and Cable and Wireless Ltd for the opening of a telegraph station in Kuwait. It covers the extent of the company's remit, taxes, payment of set-up costs, expansion, security, technical training for Kuwaiti nationals, and the Shaikh's allowance of free messages. Signed by Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Ruler of Kuwait, and C G Gott, Divisional Manager at Cable and Wireless Ltd, on 1 May 1947. Witnessed by Maurice Tandy, Political Agent at Kuwait.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence starts on the front cover and continues through to the back cover. The numbering is in pencil, circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Publication statement: Karachi: Government of India Telegraph Department, 1899.The report describes the 'Branch Section' (Ispahan to Ardistan), followed by the five 'Sections', and 'Unsuitable Routes', of the Central Persia Telegraph Line. For each section the report provides a description of the track, a gazetteer, details of sites selected for telegraph offices, and a general summary.The Report includes the following appendices:(a) Table of distances.(b) Table of Freights from Coast to Interior.(c) Chemical Analyser's report on sample water.(d) Statement showing cost of journey.(e) Statement showing disposal of presents.(f) Glossary, Persian and Baloch words.The report includes a map at folio 5, 'Skeleton of Curzon's map of PERSIA showing Routes Examined for the Central Persia Telegraph Line'; plus a 'Sectional Plan of the Route from Ardistan to Pahra, giving Altitude of Places', at folio 21.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 148; 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 (v, 274pp, including map and sectional plan).
Abstract: This file consists of a report, which is attributed to Hermann Anderson Haines, Secretary, Public Works Department, and which provides a brief account of a number of agreements reached between the Government of India and the Persian Government (and between the Government of India and HM Treasury) for the construction (by the Indo-European Telegraph Department) of the following four telegraph lines: the Robat-Seistan line, the Henjam [Henjān]–Bunder Abbas line, the Lingah–Bundar Abbas line, and the Kerman–Bunder Abbas–Lingah–Jask line.The report, which was received by the Political Department on 28 June 1916, addresses each telegraph line in turn. In addition to summarising the negotiations relating to each line and the agreements that were reached, each section records the overall cost of each line, and, where applicable, the date of completion.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 5, and terminates at f 6, 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 volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, Tom Hickinbotham, Cornelius James Pelly, Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the India office (Roland Tennyson Peel, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison), the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (Ward P Anderson, Hamilton R Ballantyne), and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), later the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) (Floyd Ohliger, Charles E Davis) regarding permission for direct radio-telephony communication between Bahrain and Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān] which could be used to oversee launches and barges moving oil between the two places.The correspondence includes discussions on the frequencies at which this service could operate, the wartime restrictions that were imposed on conversations, and the need for local authorities in Bahrain to be able to use the service for emergency communications to Dhahran. Later adjustments to the service included the right for the Resident Manager of CASOC at Dhahran to be able to send emergency messages too, the extension of conversations to include matters relating to the new pipeline being constructed, and the introduction of new modern equipment to improve the reliability of the service.The volume concludes with a request by BAPCO to extend the remit of their direct communication service to cover all business matters and an agreement reached with Cable and Wireless Limited to permit them to do so. Also included are copies of the orders issued by both companies regulating the use of the radio-telephone service between Awali [ʻAwālī] and Dhahran.Also included in the volume are copies of the notifications issued by the Political Agent at Bahrain to the India Office each time a request for an emergency transmission is made through the Bahrain to Dhahran radio-telephony service. These emergency transmissions related primarily to forced landings of RAF planes, searches for missing planes, and medical results for employees of CASOC at Dhahran suspected of having Typhoid or other contagious illnesses.Other matters discussed include:discussion regarding Cable and Wireless rights in relation to Bahrain, which were determined not to be exclusive rights, and a request by Sir Edward Wilshaw, Chairman of Cable and Wireless to negotiate concessions with the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait, which was postponed until the conclusion of the war;negotiations between BAPCO, CASOC and Cable and Wireless regarding payment of a nominal annual fee to Cable and Wireless in acknowledgement of their permission for the oil companies to operate their direct communication service;a letter intercepted in wartime censorship which alluded to the continuation by CASOC of the practice of sending sea-going vessels out beyond territorial waters to transmit messages directly to the USA and considered what might be done to prevent such a practice from continuing;the possibility of direct communication with CASOC in Dhahran being established and operated by the Air Liaison Officer in Bahrain to reduce the amount of emergency requests having to be sent through BAPCO;list of rates charged by the Indo-European Telegraph Department, Persian Gulf Section for cables sent to various towns and cities in the United States of America.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 197-209.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 213; 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 5-194; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume contains letters sent and received by the Resident at Bushire, Captain James Felix Jones and by Lieutenant Herbert Frederick Disbrowe, Commanding Resident's Escort. Correspondents include the India Office in London, the Government of Bombay, H M Minister at the Court of Persia.The main subject is the construction of an overland telegraph line from Constantinople to Baghdad, to be extended to Karachi.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation is in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering 1-58 covers all pages of writing.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:This printed pen sketch shows the town of Fao in latter-day Iraq and was probably sketched from on board ship. A flagstaff to the left of the image probably denotes the location of the telegraph station and post office. Fao is described as ‘the Turkish town’ on p. 7 of the same volume; this is indicated by the ay-yıldız (star and crescent) indicated on the flag atop the flagstaff.Inscriptions:Printed, below image: ‘FAO Telegraph Station and Post Office’Physical description: Dimensions:130 x 193 mm; 129 x 195 mmCondition:The prints are in good condition with minor transfer from opposite printe page and surface dirt throughout. Some light foxing and creasing at edges.Foliation:‘23’
Abstract: The memorandum concerns events in Persia, and diplomatic exchanges (predominantly between Britain and Russia) related to Persia, during 1906 and 1907. More specifically it covers the following topics:proposals by the Dutch engineer Graadt Van Roggen for a Karun irrigation scheme, and objections from the Persian Government to the Seistan [Sīstān] Water Award;an attack on HM Consulate at Seistan on 28 March 1906, and a separate attack on Colonel Douglas and Captain Lorimer in Luristan [Lorestān];proposals for an increase in the Consular Guard at Ahwaz, Isphanan [Eşfahān], and Shiraz.It also provides information on recent developments in the Persian telegraphic network:a proposed exchange of control of the Meshed [Mashhad]-Seistan and Tehran-Meshed telegraph wires between Britain and Russia;a proposal to secure the renewal of the Indo-European Telegraph's Persian Concession from 1925;proposals to extend the Seistan telegraph to the Indian frontier and install a duplicate wire from Tehran to Shahrud.The following financial topics are also included:efforts to effect the appointment of a French financial adviser to the Persian Government;a concession obtained for the establishment of a German bank at Tehran;a proposed Anglo-Russian loan to the Persian Government (the text of which can be found on folio 77v), and a further proposed advance upon the accession of a new Shah.The appendix (folios 81v-94) contains transcripts of papers (aide-mémoires, correspondence, draft agreements and conventions) illustrating the development of the Anglo-Russian agreement on Persia, see folios 81v-90. It also contains a copy of the text of the Anglo-Russian Agreement on folios 90-93v, and a declaration respecting the Persian Gulf on folio 94. The correspondents include: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary; Sir Arthur Nicolson, Ambassador to Russia; and Alexander Izvolsky, Russia's Foreign Minister. The appendix is made up of a combination of English and French language material.The memorandum is signed by William Erskine of the Foreign Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at f 61, and terminates at f 94, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The memorandum concerns telegraphic communication between Britain and India, with a particular focus on the telegraph lines routed via the Persian Gulf region, and therefore the Indo-European Telegraph Company. It was authored by Benjamin Traill Ffinch, Director-in-Chief of the Indo-European Telegraph Department; a department of the Government of India.It outlines how the telegraph lines through the Persian Gulf developed over time, and the concessions granted by various governments to permit their establishment. It also notes how charges have varied over time, and how various international telegraph conferences have affected them. It also explains the rise of competition — over traffic to India — between the Indo-European Telegraph and the Eastern Telegraph companies, and how this led to the signing of the Joint Purse Agreement between them. It also explains that the interests of the Indo-European Telegraph Company and the Indo-European Telegraph Department have diverged. It therefore claims that the prevailing circumstances make it very difficult for the Government of India to push down prices.An appendices section is included with the following content:'No. 1 Convention between Great Britain and Turkey for the establishment of Telegraphic communication between India and the Ottoman Territory'. 3 September 1864, ff 7-8;'No. 2 Memorandum on Tariffs between Europe and India', f 8v;'No. 3 Tariffs to India and beyond from 1863 to present time', f 9;'No. 4 Statement showing Traffic Receipts of Departments from October 1864 to 31st March 1898', ff 9v-10.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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 pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume is a précis on trade and communications in the Persian Gulf. It was prepared by Jerome Antony Saldanha and published by the Government of India, Foreign Department, Simla in 1906.The volume begins with a preface by Saldanha, written on 26 March 1906, and is then organised into five parts, each divided into chapters, and eight appendices at the end, as follows:Part I, Regulations and Duties, 1803-1847: Chapter I, Line of conduct to be pursued by the Resident at Basrah with regard to the American vessels trading in the Persian Gulf, 1803; Chapter II, Regulations for country ships visiting Bushire, 1813; Chapter III, Rules for the guidance of British vessels visiting the Persian Gulf, 1831; Chapter IV, Export and import duties in Persia and export of mules and horses from Persia, 1822-23, 1835-42; Chapter V, Question of exempting Arab ships from the discriminating duty imposed on foreign ships, 1836-37; Chapter VI, Ports of Arabia to which the Government of India notification dated 9 January 1839 should apply. Vessels of every description belonging to those ports to be to be provided with Registers or Passes countersigned by British Officers, 1839-47; Chapter VII, Mode and extent of taxation in operation at Bushire and surrounding districts, 1847.Part II, Trade and Traffic, 1834-71: Chapter VIII, Report in the trade of the Persian Gulf, 1834; Chapter IX, Traffic between Karachi and Bushire and other Persian Ports, 1854-58; Chapter X, Trade between Bombay and Bushire and Basrah [Basra], 1856-57; Chapter XI, Trade of the Persian Gulf, 1863-1869; Chapter XII, Colonel Pelly's reports on the trade of the Persian Gulf, 1870-71; Chapter XIII, List of British subjects and British protected persons on the Persian Court and islands, 1869.Part III, Review of the Trade reports from 1872 to 1905: Chapter XIV, Trade of the Gulf of Oman and Persia, 1873-1905; Chapter XV, Persian Opium Trade.Part IV, The Gulf Telegraph Line: Chapter XVI, Construction of the Telegraph Line; Chapter XVII, Telegraph Station at Fao; Chapter XVIII, Telegraph Station at Bushire; Chapter XIX, Medical arrangements for telegraph stations at Bushire, Fao and Jask.Part V, Miscellaneous: Chapter XX, Wreck of the SS
Hallamshirenear Ras-el-Hadd and the measures proposed for the prevention of wreckage by the wild tribes on the Arabian Coasts, 1878; Chapter XXI, New system of registration of native owned vessels in the Gulfs of Persia and Oman, 1883-84.Appendices: Appendix A, Statement of the exports and imports of Bushire, 1832-34; Appendix B, Statements of Trade between Bushire and Basrah and Bombay, 1857; Appendix C, Comparative statements of exports of Bushire, 1863-65; Appendix D, Trade Returns appended to Colonel Pelly's letter No. 86-37, dated 23 April 1870; Appendix E, Returns of British subjects and British Protected persons on the Persian coast and Islands, 1869; Appendix F, Comparative Statements of Persian Gulf Trade with the Principal Countries, 1873-1905; Appendix G, Contrasted Statements of Principal Exports and Imports from and to the Ports in the Persian Gulf namely Bushire, Lingah, Bunder Abbas [Bandar Abbas], Bahrein [Bahrain], Basrah, and Maskat [Muscat] from 1893 to 1904; Appendix H, Returns of Shipping of the Ports of Bushire, Maskat and Basrah.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to American influence and activities in the Persian Gulf. The correspondence is mostly between the Political Agency at Bahrain, the Political Residency at Bushire (later at Bahrain), and the India Office.The file opens with a copy (folio 3) of correspondence on the subject of American influence in Saudi Arabia, between the British Ministry at Jeddah and the Foreign Office, dated 4-10 May 1944.The file contains a report, dated 1 March 1945 (folios 5-9) by Tim Hickinbotham, Political Agent at Bahrain, on American activities in the fields of politics, commerce, aviation, and wireless and telegraphic communications.The file also contains a letter (folio 13) from the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain, to Doctor W H F Storm of the American Mission Hospital in Manama, dated 12 November 1949, regarding medical work in the Hadhramaut region of Yemen.At the back of the file (folio 14) are internal office notes.On the front cover of the file there is reference to 'File 18/8 and 1 A/20'. These files are believed lost or destroyed.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 parallel between ff 3-14; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume consists of telegrams, letters, and reports relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, the India Office and the Foreign Office in London, and the Government of India.Much of the volume covers Saudi-US relations, including:US financial assistance to Saudi Arabia;the report (ff 146-147) of a medical tour of the country made by the American Mission to Bahrain;a trip to Kuwait made by Colonel Hoskins, President Roosevelt's Personal Envoy to Ibn Sa'ud in August 1943;the opening of a US Consulate in Dhahran;a secret report (ff 223-224) on 'America and Arabia' from the Political Residency in Bushire.Other subjects covered are:the report (ff 79-99) of a trip to Riyadh made by Tom Hickinbotham, the Political Agent in Kuwait;the wartime supply situation in the region;the financial situation in Saudi Arabia;Ibn Sa'ud's relationship with Sa'ud bin 'Abdullah bin Jiluwi, the Amir of Hasa;telegraphic communications in the country;meteorology, including a report (f 181) on the British Meterological Party's tour of Saudi Arabia;Ibn Sa'ud's request for British military and financial assistance.Also notable within the volume are:Gerald De Gaury's interview with Ibn Sa'ud (ff 19-22);annual summary reports on Saudi Arabia produced by the British Legation in Jeddah for the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944;a letter (152-154C) from Bertram Thomas to the Political Residency in Bushire following his trip across Arabia, detailing anything he thought might be useful for the British Government to know;a report (f 175) on the Saudi Arabian royal family by the British Legation in Jeddah.At the end of the volume (ff 249-264) are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled and located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. There are the following irregularities: 1A, 1B, and 1C; 28A and 28B; 154A, 154B, and 154C; 216A and 216B.Condition: the broken spine cover is detached from the volume and enclosed in a plastic sleeve numbered folio 265, at the back of the volume. The plastic sleeve may cause some loss of sharpness to the digital image of the spine cover.There is a second sequence that is inconsistent. It is also written in pencil but is not circled.