THE BAGDAD LINE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13335, 25 March 1911, Page 5

THE BAGDAD LINE.

BRITISH RIGHTS TO BE MAINTAINED. Press Association.—Telegraph.-Copyright. Received March 25, 9.15 a.m. LONDON. March 24. Sir Edward Grey, in the House of Commons, intimated that negotiations for the Bagdad' Gulf section of railway were proceeding, it being Britain’s intention to secure fulfilment of the guarantees of absolutely fair treatment to British' trade throughout the system, and making the Gulf section purely a commercial undertaking.

It was cabled a few days ago that the convention between the Porte and the Bagdad Railway Company had been signed. This meant that the German Company would he now in a position to push on with the line; and the proposal to connect at ones with Alexandretta, 1 a splendid harbour on the Mediterranean, shows that the promoters of the scheme intend to utilise its commercial possibilities- to the full. There still remains the difficulty about the outlet of the line. Theoretically the Porte has given authority for the construction only as far as Bagdad; and Germany’s greatest problem is that Koweit, the natural terminus for the line on the Persian Gulf, is under British protection. Germany has manoeuvred for a long time to get over this obstacle, and the attack of Turkish troops upon the territory of the Sheikh of Koweit a few years ago was freely attributed to German machinations. However, there does not seem to be much doubt at Home that England is prepared to defend her political, commercial, and naval interests in this part of the world if ever they are assailed. Our position in these regions has been described recently with great clearness and force by Mr Perceval Landon:—“Hie interests of the British in the southern stretch of the Bagdad railway are immediate and vital. Our policy in the matter is clear. We have for many years regarded the coast of Asia from Aden to Singapore as the containing line of a British sea, and we have not hesitated to make public our claim. In particular, we have for at least a century vindicated a special and exclusive position for ourselves in the Persian Gulf. We have restored, and still make ourselves responsible for good order in these waters; we have expended millions of pounds for this purpose, and if blood be the price of Admiralty in the Persian Gulf, ‘Lord God, we ’a paid in full!’ A few years ago Lord Lansdowne stated, in the most explicit manner, that an attempt on the part of any other Power to establish' itself in those waters would be regarded by us as an unfriendly act, and would be opposed by, every means in our power.” We have no reason to believe that England’s policy has altered within the last ten or twelve years; and whatever commercial loss we may sustain through the introduction of German trade into Persia and Central Asia, •it is incredible that any British Government would see the work of so many years and the expenditure of so much blood and treasure wasted without making the most strenuous efforts to secure our rights and claims. “Absolute fair treatment to British trade throughout the system” is what Britain, according to Sir Edward Grey, intends to secure. It remains to lie seen what Germany will have to say to this pronouncement.