IOR/L/PS/10/547/2

Correspondence and other papers concerning the proposed re-appointment of a British Consul at Basra, and how the new post should be funded. Subjects covered include: whether the Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] could also be appointed Consul at Basra (the two places being in close geographical proximity); the High Commissioner for Iraq’s (Henry Robert Conway Dobbs) argument that a full-time Consul is required for the post; discussion between officials from the Government of India and the Foreign Office about who should fund the new appointment; assessments of the importance of British trade in Mesopotamia, including tables of statistical data outlining diplomatic and consular expenditure in Turkish Arabia, and trade between India and Turkish Arabia; the Government of India’s refusal to contribute to the cost of the Basra Consulate; the transfer of land and property associated with Basra consulate from the Government of India to HM’s Office of Works; a further report written by Dobbs, dated 1928, arguing for the appointment of a British Consul at Basra, enclosing a memorandum written by Charles Wills of the Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation Limited.