'Memorandum respecting British interests in the Persian Gulf' [‎34v] (34/126)

42
opinion that, while Bahrein should be acknow
ledged to possess certain rights in regard to
pasturage, &c., those rights should not he held as
empowering the Sheikh to put to sea for the
purpose of coercing any_ port in El Katr. He
regarded El Odeid as properly belonging to Abu
Dthabi.
In a Memorandum by the Rev. Mr. Badger on
Turkish claims to Oman, he wrote that the native
annals of the province incontestably prove that
it became independent of the Bagdad Khalifate
in the 10th centurv, and had never since been
subject to foreign rule except to the Persians for
a short time. He went on to say that the same
was true of the Arab Chiefdoms in the Persian
Gulf, and that their independence was virtually
admitted by Turkey in 1847.
On the 7th May, 1883, Lord Granville wrote
toMusurus Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. that “ the claim of the Porte to
rights of sovereignty over the El Katr coast has
never been admitted by Her Majesty’s Govern
ment.”
In 1895 His Majesty’s Government forcibly
dispersed, in the interests of the Bahrein Sheikh,
a settlement of malcontents who had established
themselves at Zobara, on the El Katr coast,
under the Turkish flag (see p. 31). The Turks
protested, but His Majesty’s Government stated
in reply that they did not recognize Turkish
jurisdiction on the El Katr coast {note verbule of
the 12th August 1895).
The present position is, therefore, that we have
refused to recognize Turkish authority in El
Katr, although we have acquiesced in the con
tinued presence of a Turkish post since 1872 at
El Bidaa. We did, however, object to an attempt
by the Turkish Government to appoint a Mudir
at Wakra, a point south of El Bidaa; and after
considerable pressure they cancelled the appoint
ment.
The Government of India were not completely
satisfied with this result, and desired to round off
their relations with the various Arab Chiefs by
making an agreement with the leading Sheikh
of El Katr.
A former Agreement was concluded in 1868
with the then Sheikh, by which he bound himself
to take no hostile action by sea, and to refer all
disputes to the British Resident. On the death
of this Sheikh, his successor, Sheikh Jasim, applied
for a renewal of the Agreement, but this was
Mr. Townley,
No. 8G8,
NovemVjer 8,
1904.
India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
Memorandum,
January 30, 190, r ).