File 600/1905 Pt 1 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Dthala' [‎411v] (84/174)

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11 intended for expenditure on the objects indicated in General Maitland’s
would be mtendea tor ex[ )etter « 0 f the 26th October 1903, tat
* Sub-enciosure to enclosure i. over ac tual disbursement of which we
have no control. In the past we have granted the entirety of the stipends
; Jdin the Aden Hinterland in consideration of obligations of a general
t l lml without insisting on the provision of any definite means of fulfilling
+h^fnd^wtakinss given. H cannot be said that this system has been altogether
successful Dcspfte the considerable stipends which we have paid to the several
S order has not been preserved; outrages have disturbed the security
of the trade routes; our officers have been unable to enter tribal territory
without a strong escort or heavy payment for the right of passage, and ve
have had to remain in that ignorance of tribal affairs which has been such
a severe handicap throughout the recent delimitation proceedings. We cannot
L™ to correct all these evils at once, but we now appear to have a specially
favourable opportunity of taking, in the case of at least one section o the
tribe" and on one of the most important trade routes, a step which we believe
to he in the right direction, and which we hope may render it unnecessary to
consider further for the present the proposals which have been put forward
fo r the maintenance of tribal levies under the supervision of British officers.
5 It will be seen from the correspondence that it has been suggested that
the new agreement should bind the Amir, if and when required, to furnish land
for the location of a sanitarium and for the construction of a railway within
his territories, and also to receive a Political Officer. We agree, however, that,
ms xeintuin, , ^ tbe reas0]ls men tioned by General
f Sub-enclosure to enclosure No. 7. Maitland in bis lettert of the 2nd April
1904, it would he iuadvisable to include these provisions. _ Although, however,
we do not propose to make any explicit stipulation in the treaty as to
the reception of a Political Officer, we concur with the Resident that it
1 is necessary to retain for the present an officer and a small body of troops
f at Dthala. It is understood that General Maitland is satisfied that Lieutenan
I Merewether, an officer of the Bombay Political Service, is qualified for he
post, and the services of Mr. Bury, who has an intimate knowledge ot Arab
life and language, will also probably be available to the Resident for gene
work at Aden and in the Hinterland. A British force is at the pre*nt
mome nt quartered at this spot, tbe Amir is declared to be reconciled o
of its r emaining there, and tbe Uesident believes that be would be aver ^L ,
withdrawal. General Maitland’s proposal has tbe support of ^ Colonel wanao
and Mr. Fitzmaurice, and also of Mr. Bury and the late Captain Warne o *
seems to us unlikely that the proposal made by tbe Bombay Governmen o * p
a special officer with bis head-quarters at Aden and a roving commissio
travel as occasion may arise is likely to prove an efficient substitute or
measure advocated, until affairs in the Hinterland have settled
the unrest, which we understand at present to exist, has subsided. e P "
of non-interference in tbe affairs of the Hinterland has resulted, as t e r P
of the Boundary Commission show, in a serious loss of territory to e >
and tbe ignorance of tbe true tribal border which^ this P°kf V q a :j
probably responsible for tbe establishment of a Turkish post at Sliei •
If we are to defer the actual demarcation of tbe frontier nortn-eas
desert, it is essential that a Political Officer should, for some time to ^ ’
in close touch with the Yaffai and tribes in that direction, so as to , " #
position to ascertain what their real boundaries are, in case at any time
cation is forced upon us. It must be remembered also that by the dem ? r ^
of a boundary across a cultivated plain above^ Dthala, we have m
territorial and international responsibilities vis a vis tbe Turks, an i
be hardly fair to the Amir to leave him to discharge these without a a y ^
at first giving him tbe moral support and guidance that such °r ice
afford. For the present, therefore, we would retain at ^ Dthala a ^
force and a Political Officer, who would also watch affairs as t e y
down and advise, as the result of an intimate acquaintance and ot a p ^
experience, which have not previously been available, as to the best ^ ^
conducting our future relations not only with the Amir and bis subjects, ^
with other sections of the tribes. The proposal has the additional a ^ va • J era |)ly
owing to its elevated position, Dthala is, during the summer months, const
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