‘BAGHDAD AND THE PERSIAN GULF’ [‎140r] (1/1)

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BAGHDAD AND THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
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rights which axe essential as giving British trade J
an independent right of access to the markets
of Mesopotamia.
If Basra is to be the terminus of the Baghdad
Railway, the settlement of the long-standing
difficulties concerning the navigation of the
Shatt-el-Arab becomes an urgent necessity.
Duties in those waters—dredging, buoying,
lighting, sounding, policing, &c,—which have
been neglected by Turkey have been performed
by Great Britain. This has given rise to con
siderable friction from time to time ; and it is
clear that any comprehensive arrangement
about the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the Baghdad
Railway must provide for the settlement
of this question with the others. The obvious
solution would be to establish an Ottoman
Commission, with strong British participation,
to exercise independently all the functions of a
navigation and port authority in the waters and
on the shores of this waterway. While the
personnel of this authority should be as largely
as possible of Ottoman nationality, it can only
be effective if the heads of both the inspection
and the engineer branches are British. We
shall be surprised if the agreement does not
include a Convention setting up such an autho
rity and defining its functions.
This is the more likely, as the Karun River,
in which Great Britain is interested, flows into
the Shatt-el-Arab above the bar. Moreover,
the left bank of the Shatt-el-Arab belongs
territorially to the Sheikh of Mohammerah, who
also owns private property on the right, or
Turkish, bank. Very close relations exist between
Great Britain and the Sheikh, whose de facto
interests in the waterway must therefore be
a matter of concern to the British Govern
ment.
These interests of the Sheikh are affected
by the long-standing dispute over the Turco-
Persian frontier, and have been the principal
obstacle to a satisfactory settlement of the
southern portion of that frontier. The reports
are obviously correct which include this frontier
question among those to be settled by the
present negotiations. A settlement equitable
to both Turkev and Persia will be a matter
of the greatest satisfaction to Russia and Great'
Britain, who have made many joint attempts
at mediation during the past 70 years.
Our Constantinople Correspondent, in his
telegram of Thursday, spoke of the abandon
ment of the Turkish right of control over
Egyptian borrowing as one of the conditions
of tho settlement. No one who knows the
importance attached to this question by the
British and Egyptian Governments can doubt
that he is correctly informed.
The agreement when completed and con
firmed will be an event of the utmost importance
for the development of Asiatic Turkey and
the promotion of British trade interests in the
Middle East. It must, however, not be for
gotten that at present it is still in negotiation.
[A telegram from our Berlin Correspondent
reporting German comment on the negotiations
will be found on page 7. f "