'File A/5 Pearl fisheries of Persian Gulf' [‎3r] (5/62)

Q
especially recocnised in the case of fisheries, to which the inhabitants of a
neighbouring State have established a claim through immemorial exercise
of the right of fishing. There can be no doubt that the rights of which they
now claim the exclusive enjoyment have been exercised by the Arabs of
these coasts from time immemorial; and we consider, therefore, that the
fact of these fisheries being in part outside the limits of territorial waters
need not necessarily constitute a conclusive bar to the claim. In the pearl-
fisheries of Ceylon we have a precedent for the exercise of jurisdiction beyond
the 3-mile limit under the Colonial Act of 1811, which authorises the seizure
and condemnation of any boat found within the limits of, or hovering near,
the pearl banks extending from 6 to 21 miles from the coast; and it
may be observed that, in the recent Behring Sea Arbitration, the United
States of America cited the Ceylon precedent as justifying their exercise of
possession in, and control over, se;il-fisheries beyond the zone of territorial
waters as ordinarily recognised by international law. It is also worth noting
that the above contention is supported by the authority of the Swiss publicist,
Vattel, who in his " Droit des Gens " remarked, in discussing the question as far
back as the 'eighteenth century, 44 Qui doutera que les pecheries de perles de
Bahrein et de Ceylon ne puissent l^gitimement tomber en propriete?' 5 We
believe, therefore, that our claim to exclude all foreign pearling vessels from the
limits of the fisheries at present worked by the tribes within our protectorate
might, if challenged, be defended with a reasonable chance of success.
6. There remains, however, the case of foreign exploitation of deep waters
outside the sphere in which we believe that it may be shown that immemorial
usage and occupation have conferred prescriptive rights. In this still wider area
we doubt whether we possess claims in support of which we could appeal to any
law or international practice, and we fear that possible detriment to the pearl
banks in which we hold prescriptive rights would furnish no valid ground for
objecting to legitimate foreign enterprise outside the sphere of Arab occupation ;
but by authorising the Chiefs to abstain from all intercourse with such inter
lopers and to utilise the powers which they possess of interdicting the importa
tion of foreign diving appliances, of refusing to lend any assistance in men,
boais or in any other form, or, if necessary in the last-^esort, of removing any such
foreigner from their territories, we might succeed in putting such serious
impediments in the way of such enterprises as would discourage outsiders from
engaging in them.
7. The question is fortunately not one in which we are at present
called upon to decide as to the exact nature of the rights or the precise
limits of the jurisdiction which the several Chiefs possess, and which we,
as the Paramount Power, are bound to assert and maintain on their behalf;
but in view of the possibility of further attempts, whether by British
companies or by foreign capitalists, we think it advisable to be prepared in
advance. We shall, therefore, be glad to know whether His Majesty's Government
concur in the views above set forth, and to receive any instructions which it
may be deemed advisable to issue for the guidance of our local officers in the
event of renewed adventures of a more determined character.
We have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servants,
(Signed)
CURZON.
KITCHENER.
T. RALEIGH.
E. E.-G. LAW.
E. R. ELLES.
A. "T. ARUNDEL.
DENZIL IBBETSON.