Page 242 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

216 Part III.

to tlic Custom-house whcvo delivery was effected with the necessary Custom­
house formalities. In I8SX this arrangciuout was slightly modified, the autho­
rities requiring that tho addrosscc should he accompanied to the Custom-house
by a Customs messenger instead of by a British Kavas.
188. In July 1882 with a change in the management of the Custom-house
camo an important alteration in tho mode of delivering parcels and parcel mail bags
at Baghdad. A new Superintendent of Ottoman Customs having arrived from
Constantinople one of his first acts on assuming office was to write to tho Agents
of tho Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company direct instead of by
tho usual channel through tho Consul-General, complaining that “ your steamers
under the name of post bring numbers of parcels containing valuable merchan­
dise and without bringing the same to the Custom-house wharf carry them
straight to tho British Consulate and land them tlicro without tho knowledge of
the Customs officers.” He further dosired tho Agents to instruct the Captains
of their steamers “ to touch at no place and land no part of their cargo, whether
considerable or trilling, without tho knowledge of the Customs authorities.”
To mako this perfectly clear it is perhaps necessary to explain that the British
Residency and Consulate General is situated on tho river bank and has its own
private landing. The Custom-house wharf is about half a mile up the river
beyond the Residency and the English mail stoamcr from Basrah on her way up
to tho wharf stops opposite the Residency fora few minutes, while her mails are
taken on slioro in a boat. 6ho then proceeds on her way to the Custom-house.
The Agents replied to the Superintendent of Customs this custom had been
in forco Tor twenty years and that the parcel bags formed part of the letter mail
and were received by the Company’s steamers at the Consulate at Basrah in sealed
bags for delivery at the Baghdad Consulate-General. The Agents at the same
time referred the matter to Colonel Tweedie, Consul-General, Baghdad, and a
provisional arrangement was entered into with local Ottoman authorities,
while the matter was referred by Consul-General to the Embassy. Endeavours
were made to obtain a return to the mode
External A., November 1685, No*. 27-38.
of delivery introduced by Sir Arnold
Kemball in 186S, with the consent of Nauuk Pasha, but the altered procedure,
the details of which areas follow's, was insisted upon.
189. Parcel and letter mail bags together were landed at the Residency and
after the letter mail had been opened and
Extornal A., January 1SSG, Noi. 91-95.
distributed, tho seals of the bags were
removed, but the bags with tho contents untouched were carried in charge of
the postmaster to the Custom-house. At the Custom-houso the contents of the
bags were removed by the postmaster in presence of an Ottoman official, a list
of the parcels was mado by the postmastor who signed the list and affixed to
it an Ottoman Revenue stamp. The list was then made over to the Customs
authorities along with the parcel and a copy of the list prepared in Turkish by
a Custom-house clork and signed and sealed by the Assistant Superintendent of
Customs and given to the postmaster as an acknowledgment. The parcels w'ere
left at the Custom-house and delivery effected there on addresses producing a
pass signed by the postmaster. Unclaimed parcels were surrendered to the
postmaster for return to senders.
190. There were, however, further difficulties raised by tho Turkish
Customs authorities, and the Porte ex­
External A., Augnit 18S9, No*. 4GO-G7. pressed fears that the revenue of the
External A., September 1889, Noe. 231-23G.
Secret E., January 1890, Noe. 3P-G1. Government was defrauded by various
Secret E., Auguil 1890, Nor. 9-24. subterfuges and after prolonged negotia­
Secret E., January 1891, No*. G1-7G.
tions Her Majesty’s Government and the
Porte agreed upon a modus vivendi.
Sir W. Whit o’* Deaf atch to the Raiidout, dated 191. Tho procedure at Baghdad was
lGtli September 1891. henceforth to be assimilated to that in
Secret E., February 1892, Kot. 237-309.
force at Constantinople, viz.:—
‘ 1. Bcforo the arrival of each ship containing parcels a list showing tho number, woigbt,
value, etc., should bo supplied to tilt Custom House.
2. A customs official may bo allowed to go on board tho steamer in the company of the
Post Office Agent, and after landing, tho boxes arc to be taken by those two officials to a room
or office specially prepared for that purpose, and entirely soparato from the loiter post office
and opened in the presence of the Turkish official, who should then givo a receipt and take
the parcels to the Customs.house, wlionco ihey will he withdrawn in the usual way as all
the other goods. If a Turkish official fails to attend within a reasonable time, the boxes of
parcels aro to be taken opened and bunded to the Custom-house against the receipt.