100 THE BAGHDAD RAILWAY. 



in the House of Commons on April 23, 1903. Let 

 me hasten to dissipate any such inference. My 

 desire to see British co-operation is prompted not 

 by any quixotic goodwill towards Germany, but by 

 the necessity, which is plainly apparent, of protect- 

 ing our own interests. Nothing could be more 

 fatuous than for us to look quietly on, while a 

 railway in the hands of two foreign nations, " with 

 whom," to quote the words of the Prime Minister, 

 " we are on the most friendly terms, but whose 

 interests may not be identical with our own," is 

 being pushed right down to a sea with which we 

 are so closely concerned as the Persian Gulf. And 

 so I urge CO - operation, in order that the railway 

 may become an international undertaking, and that 

 Great Britain may have that voice in the matter 

 which, in view of her special interests, she is entitled 

 to demand. But though I urge co-operation I urge 

 it upon certain conditions, because I realise that 

 Great Britain is in a position to dictate. On no 

 account should the Government consent to further 

 the undertaking without the certainty of securing 

 equal powers of construction, management, and con- 

 trol. I have elsewhere urged that the section from 

 Baghdad to the gulf should be placed in British 

 hands ; ^ but should this prove impracticable, the con- 

 ditions as stated above should, provided we main- 

 tain our supremacy in the gulf, prove adequate to 

 safeguard our interests. It was because these con- 

 ditions were not guaranteed that the Government 

 refused their support in the spring of 1903, and it 

 is because I am convinced that in the end these 

 conditions will be offered that I welcome the 

 decision which was then come to. 



^ In an article written for 'The Times' of April 9, 1903. 



