File 1247/1912 Pt 1 'Turkey:- Communication to Turkish Govt of agreement between Gt. Britain and Koweit, Bahrein & Trucial Chiefs. Decorations for Sheiks of Koweit, Mohammerah & Bahrein in connection with Anglo-Turkish Convention.' [‎172r] (263/336)

there ’ they wouid iiot —
centJrifstd tl'lntt?- ‘l' 6 S1 ! eikllS ° £ Ko "' eit esisted awards of two
onui V of its ru e aZ thp V t place f has aUr f ,:t r i “‘erchants from all quarters by the
ZseL to anv intelrpnpp r^ f ,tS ,rad . e - His Majesty’s Government could not
o^anv infrinoenifmt " f success1011 or , "' ith the internal administration,
tU J latuI1 ge n ent ot the complete autonomy of the Sheikh. On the other hand
SMkh as P aXlf s ^KaS ISe Turk ^ over Koweit, and to recognise the
an,7 L v^d dd f k ’ P rovlded 111 0 tl‘er respects the status quo is guaranteed
Hrlti 1, P ty 0 * f • Certam agreements which the Sheikh has concluded with the
Smid wTT‘ , ,S pr0V i. ded the “sof Warba and Buhrfn are
■ re Withdrawn k J be "’“ ',111 the confines of Koweit, and Turkish military posts
miiovme n of anrnr^T lna 7 the She i kh is admitted tothe full and undisturbed
j }ment oi any properties he may own or hereafter purchase on Turkish territory
Koweit would thus form a sort of enclave An area of land belonging to one country and entirely surrounded by land of just one other country. within, and forming part of the Otloman
. npile, but enjoying complete self-government under Turkish suzerainty.
■\rab Cr For dl ^f’ dt,es 1,ave recently arisen in regard to the buoyage of the Shat-el-
i i ^ e n at nui ^be r oi years British shipping has, owing to its volume
to navn'ntio'n l '' a F y ’ no recently almost exclusively, interested in these aids
d\j 0 at on. ] 0 r over fifty years the work of surveying, buoying, and lighting
Scorned Camed ont b y British W»cy to the general satisfaction g 0 f all
In these circumstances, His Majesty’s Government have some difficulty in
appreciating why the Ottoman Government have taken exception to existing and
long-standing arrangements; but, being desirous of dealing with the difficulty” in a
sp.nt ot conciliation, they would propose to the Ottoman Government the appointment
oi a small nveram commission, composed of a British and a Turkish representative
",! 1 ‘'it ciigmecr to lie mutually agreed upon. This commission would superintend
a matters pertaining to improvement of navigation, and it would likewise superintend
the requisite periodical survevs.
As regards the rest of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , on the other hand, the Turkish Govern
ment, so iar as they are concerned, would recognise the right of Great Britain
(al to control surveying, lighting, buoying, and pilotage; (b) to police its waters-
and (c) to conduct all quarantine arrangements.
K
(iii ) The Increase from 11 per cent, to 15 per cent, ad valorem in the Turkish
Customs Duties.
His Majesty s Government have consistently maintained that they could in no
circumstances assent to the increase in the Turkish customs dutif-s unless a previous
and satisfactory settlement had been reached in regard to the Bagdad Railwav
question. ^ .r
. Mtitude they adhere; and while they consider that such a settlement
might be promoted on the lines of an agreement such as has already been indicated
they could not regard a settlement confined to the railway as either satisfactory or
complete, since it would leave in a state of uncertainty a number of questions closelv
afiecimg British interests in the regions of Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
rp ls Majesty s Government are in principle favourable to railway construction in
turkey ; but they cannot directly contribute to the completion of the Bagdad Railwav
ii it is to introduce a further element of possible disturbance into an area where
nitisli rights and interests have, especially of late, been wantonly assailed; nor
do they feel that they could justify to British public opinion the imposition of a tax
which will affect British trade,—amounting in Mesopotamia to some 60 per cent, of the
whole^-unless they have provided for a general settlement of political issues in the
eisian Gulf, such as the Ottoman Government themselves desire to bring about, and
unless they have obtained some compensation for and a guarantee against the’con
tinuance of aibitraiy acts such as the demolition, on no adequate pretext of British
property in Bagdad.
If the Ottoman Government are prepared to enter upon a negotiation on these
lines, and to concur, as already stipulated, in a removal of the existing veto on the
borrowing powers of Egypt,—a measure which is called for in the interests of financial
reform in Egypt,—His Majesty’s Government will make it their first aim to con
tribute to an agreement likely to remove all causes of friction between the two