Page 214 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

1S8 Part III.
(x) Replacement of the Comet 1880-83.

81. Tho Sccrotary of State, as wo have noted, did not reply for sovcral years
to tho proposals mado’by the Government of India, and it was ouly in 1880 that
it was finally decided to' build a new vessel to rcplaco tho Comet, the Home
Government contributing £3,000 towards tho cost of building. Meanwhile the
Turkish Government had several times askod for the removal of tho Comet, being
under tho impression that it originally belongcd^o Messrs. Lynch and Company,
and maintaining that this firm could not have more than two steamers on the
rivers of Mesopotamia. Tho Ambassador at Constantinople succeeded, how­
ever, in proving that tho Porte made a mistake in supposing tho Comet to
belong to a private firm, and they conse­
FroGcrriings, Maj 1875, No. 223.
quently withdrew their objections.
82. InlSS2it was considered absolutely necessary to replace tho Comet;
and as tho now ship was not ready, a vessel, the ZohcZow, was hired for temporary
use, but sho foundered in the Shat-ol-Arab before reaching Baghdad. Later
on it was found that tho new vessel constructed at Bombay had been made
too largo for use on the Tigris. Consequently a second vessel had to bo built
which was ready in 1888.
83. In October 1882, it was proposed to send the Resident a steam launch
for use till tho ship could be made ready; but no suitable launch could bo
found, and tho matter was momentarily allowed to drop.
84. In March 18S3, Mr. Plowden sent a memorandum to the Secretary
of State strongly urging the necessity of
A., Political E, October 1SS3, No*. 108-200.
replacing the Comet early. Ho thought
that tho best opportunity for bringing the vessel to Baghdad would bo bis
return to that place in August, and ho proposed that no futher communica­
tion should be made to the Turkish Government. If they objected after tho
arrival of the vessel, they might be referred to the permission given in 1869.
The Secretary of State forwarded this memorandum to the Government of India
for opinion.
85. That the rivers of Mesopotamia were still unsafe was amply proved by
A., Political E., May 18S3, Nos. 72-78. the attack made in 1880 on the mail
A., Political E, August 1883, Nos. 377-379. steamer Khalifah. Two men were killed
and one wounded, and the Turks have as yet been unable to bring the perpe­
trators of the robbery to account.
86. In April 1883, Colonel Tweedie reported that disturbance thickened
round Amrah on the left bank of the Tigris, and that tho Turkish authorities
would find it difficult to restore order, though they protected tbeir mail
steamers by placing strong guards on board.
87. The new vessel was built at a cost of Its. 93,494-10-5, the original esti­
mate being Rs. 70,000. It was armed with two Nordenfelt guns of tho lightest
description. Permission was obtained from tho Porte to tako the ship up
the Tigris on conditiou that the old one left tho river first. The latter was
dismantled at Baghdad itself, and a new boat entered the river in October 1&S4.
(xi) (1) Proposed replacement of Blosse Lynch with a new steamer-
(2) Turkish opposition to navigation of the Tigris by British
ships, 1883.
88. In May 1883, Messrs. Lynch and Co. wanted to replace an old steamer
(Blosse LyncK) by a new one; but as the
Sseret E., August 1883, Nos. 312-443.
new ship (Mejidieh) was said to be some­
what larger than the vessel formerly employed, the Wali of Baghdad informed
the Resident that Messrs. Lynch and Co. could have only two steamers, and
that these must always be replaced by ships of the same size. It was then
proved that tho tonnage of the new steamer was somewhat less than that of
the former boat, hut then the Turkish authorities, acting under instructions
from Constantinople, prctoiided that the steamers were not allowed to run on
the Tigris, but only on the Euphrates.