"ملف 53/7 D (D 7) شؤون الكويت، يناير ١٩٠٥ - ديسمبر ١٩٠٥" [ظ‎‎٧] (٣٦٦/٢١)

2
know wbat its policy is. Meshed Ali (Nejef) is full of soldiers and the Nejd
people are tired of this everlasting fighting. They don't know l:ow to feed and
clothe their children. Nothing hut fighting." He went on to tell me how
Shaikh Mubarak hated the Turks and that Ibn Saood's coming had been
delayed, but that the latest news was that he was due at Jahra on the 27 th
instant and that Nasir bin Saood, the messenger whose arrival here was reported
in my diiry under date 18th January, was now in Bussorah.
8. The immediate object of the Shaikh's letter may possibly be attained by
the good offices of His Britannic Majesty's Consul at Bussorah, but it is difficult
to know what to suggest as a remedy for these constant skilfully disguised
attacks aimed at Shaikh Mubarak as a punishment for having sought our pro
tection.
9. There remains nothing for me to add except that I saw Shaikh
Mubarak on the morning of the 23rd instant. He confirmed all that has been
said above without my asking for confirmation except that when I asked if
Ibn Saood would go to Sefwan he said that he was not sure, that both Ibn
Saood and the people of Aneyza would be greatly alarmed at the turn things
had taken and that unless some measures were taken to counteract the latest
move of the Turks or rather as he put it of Ibn Rashid and Yusuf bin Brahim,
Ibn Saood would return direct to Nejd, the Turkish troops would march from
IvejefAli and Nejd would again be plunged into war. He said apparently
quite seriously thnt if His Excellency's advice was not taken with regard to
local matters of this kind he ought to resign.
10. Incidentally it may be of interest to note that he contrasted the
behaviour of the Indian Government who allowed Yusnf-el-Brahim's Bombay
house to trade in perfect security in Sfdte of the fact that Yusuf's men had
tired on the crew of a British man-of-war, wounding two m^n, and that of the
Turkish Government who, on the iiccusation of men like Ibn Bashid and
Yusuf-el-Brahim, threw the affairs of an important mercantile firm into
confusion.
He again impressed upon me the fact that Yusuf-el-Brahim, who, it
was arranged, should stay at the Hejjaz, was back in Nejef (Meshed All) in
close communicatioa with the Mushir of Baghdad and doins? all the mischiefs
he could. 6
Translated purport of a letter, dated 15th Zi-ul-Kada 1322 = 22nd January 1905, from Shaikh
Mubarak of Koweit, to Captain S. Gr. Knox, i 'olitical Agent, Koweit.
After compliments. Suleiman-us-Shubeyli is an influential merchant in
Bussorah and he lives himself in the town of Aneyzah (Nejd) and his relations,
Hamid-ul-Hammad, is his Busra Agent. This man, Suleiman-us-Shubeyli, is
an able man and a manager of important affairs. For some years there have
been business relations between Mm and myself and besides one of mv own
subjects a merchant Pahad-ul-Khalid-ul-Khazavi is in business relations with
him and his partner and friend; and the bulk of the trading monies of the
atoresaid house are to return to me and Fahad-ul-Khalid,
t ? o a r d :? 1 : H n atllmad who for Suleiman-us-Shubeyli has been
seized by the Turkish Government and they have imprisoned him on receipt of
an order that they should take him away to Constantinople.
and ^ f " A 0,lrS and the mono y that belongs to us
and to iahad-ul-Khalid is about 1,00,000 reals (£9,000) and the business
relations between us can be verified from the account books in the house
offlc 3 s OW the h011SeiS empty aild110 0116 18 after the property and
paud !Tn^
letter to'pXd-^K^aUJ^kiti^bfm ^ llas .' ,1 ? t sen ! •
his sole agent and saying that he should Ji 18 a PP 0 ^ ln ^ hi m
is present in Bussorah. 0 brothers or that Earhan