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1. Coll 35/10 'Afghanistan: entry into International Postal and Telegraph Unions; reorganisation of posts and telegraphs services'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the re-organization of Posts and Telegraphs in Afghanistan.The file covers:Arrangements with the Afghan Government for the transport of passengers, goods and mails between Peshawar and Kabul, 1923Negotiations for Afghanistan to enter Postal Union, 1923Afghan postal office in Peshawar, 1923Appointment of a French Official of the Postes, télégraphes et telephones (PTT) by the Afghan Government to organise its postal and telegraph services, 1926Afghanistan enters the International Telegraph Union. Validity of Afghan stamps, 1928Establishment of postal exchange offices between Afghanistan and India, 1928Universal Postal Congress, 1934Despatch of telegrams from Afghanistan, 1936Afghan postal code, 1938.The file is composed of correspondence between: the Government of India; the Foreign Office; the India Office; HM Legation at Kabul; the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council; Service Central de Postes, télégraphes et telephones; the Afghan Foreign Office; and the Swiss Embassy in London.The file also contains a cutting from The Timesand some correspondence in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 128; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
2. File 1912/897 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf:- British post offices’
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume comprises copies of printed correspondence, handwritten correspondence, notes and other papers. This relates to the operation of British Indian post offices in Persia, and in particular in the region known as Arabistan [Ahvāz] by British officials. The file is a direct chronological continuation of File 1912/897 Pt 1 ‘Persian Gulf. British post offices [also in Turkish Arabia]’ (IOR/L/PS/10/242). Principal correspondents in the volume include: HM Minister in Tehran (Sir Charles Murray Marling); India Office staff (John Evelyn Shuckburgh; Arthur Hirtzel); the Deputy Chief Political Officer at Basra (Captain Arnold Talbot Wilson); the Chief Political Officer at Basra (Sir Percy Zachariah Cox); and the Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Stuart George Knox).Subjects covered in the volume include:a printed copy of the Convention of Rome (dated 26 May 1906), created by the Universal Postal Union, incorporating detailed regulations for its execution, in French and English, printed in 1907 by HM Stationery Office (ff 160-224);office notes relating to protests from the Persian Government at the opening of Government of India post offices at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] and Charbar [Chābahār], and the anticipated post office at Ahwaz [Ahvāz] (ff 153-159);a copy of a letter from Knox to Sir Walter Beaupré Townley, HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, dated 21 June 1914, countering complaints made by the Persian Government about British Indian postal service activities in southern Persia, by pointing out the perceived inadequacies in the Persian postal system (ff 130-133);complaints made by HM Consul at Kerman (Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer), of deficiencies in the existing Persian postal service at Kerman. The Consul emphasises insecurities and delays on routes to Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] and Tehran, the inefficiency of staff, and the importance of the service to Kerman’s European community (ff 135-136, ff 77-78);a memorandum written by Wilson to Cox, dated 21 July 1917, giving a detailed account of the prevailing political situation (including Anglo-Persian relations) in Northern Arabistan (ff 41-44);the proposal, put forward by Cox in 1916, to open a British Indian post office at the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s (APOC) concession at Maidan-i-Naphtum [Meydān-e Naftūn]. It provokes much discussion between British officials in the Gulf, Government of India officials, and officials from the India Office and the Foreign Office, chiefly relating to the likely response of the Persian authorities to such a move, and whether the move could be justified. A useful précis of the differing opinions of officials involved in making the decision can be found at ff 14-18.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 226; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: an original printed pagination sequence is present between ff 160-224.
3. File 897/1912 Pt 3 ‘Persian Gulf:- British post offices’
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume comprises copies of correspondence, telegrams, handwritten notes and other papers. They relate to negotiations between the British Government, the Government of India, and the Persian Government, over the status of British Indian post offices in south Persia, which took place before, during, and after the Congress of the Universal Postal Union, held in Madrid in November 1920. The volume’s principal correspondents include: the British Ambassador to Madrid (Sir Esme Howard); the Persian Minister to Madrid (Hussein Khan Alai); India Office staff (David Taylor Monteath; Leonard Day Wakely; John Evelyn Shuckburgh); Foreign Office officials (including Lancelot Oliphant); the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs in India (Geoffrey R Clarke); and the British Minister at Tehran (Herman Cameron Norman; Sir Percy Lyham Loraine).The correspondence centres on a threat by Persian Government officials to raise an official objection against the continued presence in Persia of British Indian post offices at the Madrid Congress. British Government officials were anxious to avoid such a move, fully appreciating the ‘anomalous’ position of their Persian post offices under the regulations of the Universal Postal Union. The correspondence indicates the Government of India’s amenability to handing over certain postal operations to the Persian authorities (folio 251), and the concerns held by many in the British Government over such a prospect (ff 288-289), not least their doubts over whether the Persian authorities could run an efficient postal service themselves.The volume includes:a commentary of proceedings at the Madrid Congress, including copies of the speeches given by Persian ministers (ff 247-249), description of their reception (f 251), and a printed copy of the Madrid Convention (ff 143-158);correspondence relating to the impact of changes in Anglo-Persian relations (after the 1921 coup d’état in Persia) on Persian demands for the abolition of British Indian post offices in Persia (ff 217-218);throughout 1921, continued demands from the Persian Government for the transfer of British Indian post offices to Persian control, and in particular those now under (post-war) Mesopotamian administration (Abadan and Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]) and the post office at Ahwaz [Ahvāz];from January 1922, debate amongst British officials (Government of India, the Minister in Tehran, Foreign Office, India Office) and negotiations between British and Persian Government officials over arrangements for the transfer of British Indian postal services in Persia to Persian administration, with a view to the transfer taking place on 1 January 1922. Included is a copy in French of the agreement between British and Persian officials for the proposed transfer, dated 5 January 1922 (ff 54-57), discussion relating to the importance of sustaining a postal service for areas serving the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) oil fields, and reports of the dismissal of the Director of the Persian postal service (Camille Molitor) in March 1922, causing consternation amongst British officials (ff 47-49, ff 84-91);British officials’ examination of events at the Washington Conference (1921/1922), which provided an analogous diplomatic situation to their own (negotiations for the withdrawal of United States post offices from China) (ff 81-83);the British Government’s assent, in April/May 1922, to the abolition or transfer to the Persian authorities of its post offices in Persia and Arabistan (ff 20-22, ff 66-70).Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; 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 also present in parallel between ff 42-62 and ff 217-321; these numbers are written in blue crayon.Pagination: a original printed pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 143-158.