'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of 'Arabistan By Lieutenant A T Wilson, Acting Consul for Arabistan' [‎26r] (56/143)

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® . an<1 ^ !? P i am th A at that un(lerta king involves the maintenance of
the status quo m that country, and includes the continuance of the state of
autonomy which Your Excellency at present enjoys. It follows from the
above that any external aggression upon Your Excellency would constitute
‘ A‘ n glTlfu““^ ^ " reC ° gni8ed ^ the ter “ s of the
. t u T at e -fu n u i0 . n , 0f his assur , ances t0 . his successors was very satisfactory
o the Shaikh, but he was not wholly satisfied, and desired some means where
by he himself with his property and tribes might come to some extent at all
events under British protection. He expressed a desire to find some means
whereby British capital might be invested in his lands, thus increasing our
stake in his country. He complained bitterly of the expense to which he was
put in keeping order m his territories, and said he only did so in the hope
of obtaining our support. r
ou I ? ontl l s later when the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. again visited the
ohaikh, the situation had greatly changed. On the one hand, oil had been
struck in paying quantities in the Bakhtiari Oil Field and a Company had
been formed to work it, and to construct a pipe line through the Shaikh’s
cm tones to a point on the Shatt-al- Arab where a refinery was to be erected :
on the other hand, the revolutionary movement was daily gaining strength
m Persia and the Shaikh was much perturbed at its possible effect on his
own position. He earnestly begged that further assurances might be granted
to him, and His Majesty s Government, in view of the magnitude of the
Bntish interests then developing so rapidly in ’Arabistan, were more disposed
than before to look more favourably on his requests which may be summarized
as follows :—
(1) I o be assured that the British Government would not allow any
Persian regime, absolute or constitutional to disturb the status
quo in regard to himself and his successors.
(2) That so long as he fulfilled his obligations to us, the British Gov
ernment would not disturb it.
(3) That His Majesty’s Government would oppose any power attempt
ing to do so. i r j r f
When the Shaikh realised that a dynastic guarantee was impossible, he
earnestly begged that the assurances already given to him might be extended
at all events to his immediate offspring provided that they gave us satisfac
tion. He said that he was quite ready to satisfy us as to the concurrence of
the tribunal of Shaikhs.
Sir E. Grey had, however, before these requests had been communicated
to His Majesty’s Government, already provided the instructions given to
Major Cox by Sir George Barclay in respect of the revolutionary movement,
and the assurances required by the Shaikh. Sir E. Grey added “ Great
Britain and Russia having promised to respect Persian integrity, we cannot
admit the possibility of her ceasing to be a Sovereign State or being occupied
by Foreign Powers; our assurances would be more binding than ever in the
eventuality which the Sheikh contemplates. He should not forget the danger
of losing his strong and unhampered position by engaging in political party
connections.”
The instructions referred to above as given to Major Cox by Sir George
Barclay were to the following effect:—
He was to refuse advice to the Shaikh in reply to requests for counsel on the con
stitutional issue. He was to inform the Shaikh, if he thought fit, that as
regards the Turko-Persian boundary, in the Mohammerah district, His
Majesty's Government were not prepared to recognise any other frontier than
that laid down by the Mediating Commissioners in 1850. Any advance of
Ottoman troops in the neighbourhood of Mohammerah likely to cause a dis
turbance of the status quo there w T ould not improbably lead to active inter
vention on the part of His Majesty’s Government. 1
On the 5th April, Major Cox intimated to His Majesty’s Minister with
reference to the assurances to be given to the Shaikh, that these might satisfy
1 A detailed account of the Turko-Persian froidier question as far as it affects ’Arabistan will be found in
Chapter VIII as also a precis of the correspondence on the subject of the situation to which this pronouncement
^ave rise.