'File 29/6 British Relations with Khazal, Sheikh of Khorramshahr' [‎12r] (23/28)

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neighbouring tribes acting or professing to act under its orders; but that you
wished to know whether we should protect you in the event of an attempt by a
foreign Power to depose you or deprive your people of the rights which they at
present possess. This might happen in two ways: either such a foreign Power
might be at war with Persia, and might, as an enemy of the Shah, send ships
to attack your district; or such a Power, pretending to be the friend of the
Persian Government or to act on its behalf, might attempt, also by means of its
ships, to conquer you and the Arabs. I replied that both contingencies were
extremely unlikely, but if either were to arise we should, I believed, interfere,
provided you had acted in accordance with our advice; and our fleet, which is
the strongest of any in the Gulf, would be employed to prevent any forcible
measures against you. J stated, however, that I would refer these questions to
the Foreign Minister of the British Government, and he has now authorised me
to say that we shall protect Mohammerah against naval attack by a foreign
Power, whatever pretext for such action may be alleged, and also, so long as you
remain faithful to the Shah and act in accordance with our advice, shall continue
to give you our good offices and support.
As I have, however, said above, I do not regard the danger—at any rate at
present—as a real one.
The Persian Government desires, I am sure, as earnestly as you do, the
preservation of peace in Arabistan, and the establishment of a custom-house at
Mohammerah is, as I assured you last year, a fiscal, not a political, measure.
It has already informed me in a friendly spirit of the conditions under which
the new arrangement has been made, and the British Government has instructed
me to intimate its acquiescence in them. We reserve, of course, our right to
object to any further change which we may consider likely, as affecting peace and
trade on the Karun, to be detrimental to our interests.
I trust that the new arrangement may work smoothly. There will be very
likely some small difficulties and friction at first, but I trust to your wisdom and
judgment to deal with them prudently and patiently.
Our consul has my orders to afford you all help and advice, and you may place
every reliance on my friendship. You can write to me freely should you wish
to do so, as well as to the Resident at Bushire.
ARTHUR H. HARDINGE.
No. 2.
Sir A. Hardinge to the Sheikh.
(After compliments.)
Your Excellency, Bagdad, gAth December, 1903.
I have received a telegram in reply to the one to His Majesty’s Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs from Mohammerah, after my first interview with your
Excellency.
Lord Lansdowne says that if, as he presumes is the case from my account
of your Excellency’s statement to me, the Persian Government is really attempting
to repudiate the arrangement made with you last year, I am authorised to say
that you are, in his opinion, justified in opposing such attempt. He instructs
me to remind you of the message which he sent you last year, and to add that you
may rest assured of the support of the British Government so long as you on
your side observe the conditions of the arrangement made between the Persian
Government and yourself. He has authorised me to point out to that Government
the necessity for respecting the conditions of the arrangement on their side. I
do not propose to do so until I hear further from you, as I think it will be better
in the interests of good relations between the Persian authorities and yourself
that our intervention should not be invoked until all other means of adjusting
matters directly between them and you have been exhausted. Meanwhile, I should
be obliged if you would send me to Tehran, through His Majesty’s Resident at
Bushire, a copy of the note from M. Naus, promising not to take duty on your
personal imports, and any further information on the subject.
T
ARTHUR H. HARDINGE.