'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part III)' [‎15r] (23/30)

23
P. il.
f India, Secret, No. [83,
1881.
J As above. Enclosure 14.
§ As above. Enclosure 15.
As above. Enclosure 17.
As above.
** Home, No. 477 of 1881.
If Memo., Part I., p. 3.
Turkish claim to jurisdiction at El Bidaa and other
points of the Guttur coast, and to the possibility
that direct dealings on their part with the Bidaa
Sheikh might bring about a remonstrance from the
Ottoman authorities. But the result of careful
consideration was to convince them that, having
regard to the necessity of defending Bahrein, which
is under British protection, and to the views of
Her Majesty's Government regarding the recogni
tion of Turkish jurisdiction on these coasts, as
announced in Lord Salisbury's Despatch to Sir H.
Layard of the 5th January 1880,* they would, in
the event of an expedition against the island being
undertaken from the neighbourhood, not be justified
in allowing vague claims of territorial rights—if
unsupported by any practical attempt to discharge
the correlative duties which such rights necessarily
imply—to prevent them from taking measures to
coerce both Nasir-bin- Mubarik and the Bidaa
Chief . At the same time it seemed to them proper
that every opportunity should be afforded to the
Turks of using whatever authority they might
possess, and might be willing to exert, upon the
dated 27th May part of the coast in question.f
Accordingly, the following instructions were sent
by telegraph on the 7th May to the Resident in the
Gulf:—
" You are authorized to warn Jasim-bin-Mu-
hammad Thani that, if he is in any manner ac
cessory to an attack upon Bahrein Island, he will
be held directly responsible. If the attack is made,
you will report again before acting against El
Bidaa ; meanwhile ascertain and report whether
there is any Turkish force or sign of Turkish autho
rity at El Bidaa." J
Simultaneously, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Baghdad
was desired to intimate to the Turkish authorities
that, unless they could undertake to prevent and
punish any attack on Bahrein Island from that part
of the coast over which they claimed jurisdiction,
the Government of India might be compelled, in
the event of measures becoming necessary to pro
tect Bahrein, or to redress injuries, to take the
matter into their own hands. §
Colonel Ross, on the 10th May, reported, as
directed, that there was a Turkish guard, about
130 strong, at El Bidaa, and that the Turkish flag
was hoisted on the fort, where the guard was
stationed.]]
These proceedings having been reported home to
the Secretary of State,][ were referred to the Foreign
Office on the 7th July last, with the following re
marks :—**
" Under Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty of
31st May 1861,ff the British Government is under
an absolute obligation to protect the Sheikh of
Bahrein from aggression by the neighbouring tribes,
and to exact redress for injuries that may be in
flicted upon the island and its dependencies.
<e It is obviously impossible, therefore, to tolerate