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File 345/1908 Pt 2 'Mohammerah: situation. Sheikh's dispute with the Vali of Basra. decoration for Sheikh. renewed assurances to Sheikh.' [‎13v] (31/566)

The record is made up of 1 volume (281 folios). It was created in 1910-1915. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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i . i , Thici was in July. I was away all August, but meanwhile
18 e tpfi His Maiestv’s Consul, Mohammerah, to consider the matter
dJ^ratelfand to let me have his matured views both as to what would be
the most convenient form of irrigation concession to ask for, and also as to
what the Sheikh’s representations and our needs, m view of the general
POll Majm S Haworth^oon afterwards furnished me with a useful memorandum
of which I now have the honour to submit a copy. In the meanwhile the
Karkunan Diversion Scheme, and with it the question of irrigation from the
Karim in Arabistan, ceased to be one of pressing urgency, and I felt unable
to submit any definite proposals or recommendations to Government until I
had interviewed the Sheikh again, and was aware of the general trend of the
verdict of the Admiralty Commission, which was confidentially intimated
about this time with the specific object of ascertaining the value and
prospects of the oil enterprise both in Arabistan and elsewhere m this
sphere. Incidentally I may mention that I am convinced that apart from its
political aspect the subject of irrigation is bound to come to the front before
long as the natural result of the general commercial development proceeding
in Arabistan. Thus, the rapid increase in the population of Ahwaz is
beginning to create a specific demand for irrigation in the vicinity , cheap
fuel in the form of crude oil is now available; irrigation is being widely
discussed in commercial circles, and it is the opinion of local officers, with
which I agree, that unless we definitely take the initiative and guide irri
gation on the lines we desire, we shall run the risk of being hampered by
the raising of the question in some inconvenient form.
5. Railway Enterprise—The progress and prospects of the projected
Mohammerah-Khurramabad Railway project are so constantly under the
notice of Government in one connection or another that I need offer no
detailed comment here, it is suflicient to emphasise the fact that whatever
alignment or terminus be ultimately selected, the greater part of the line, and
the terminus, must be in Mohammerah territory ; also that the Sheikh has
shown every desire to co-operate under our advice, by giving us an option
for the fore-shores of the Khor Musa, and by assisting to place us in
a position to obtain land for the railway, when the time comes, on favourable
terms from the Nizam-us-Sultaneh and other landowners in Arabistan. In
fact it is becoming increasingly plain that in the future our commercial
position in the Gulf, upon which our political position depends, will be
regulated largely by the position which we occupy in Mohammerah and
Arabistan, wherein our chief interests are now centred.
0. Assumption of control of the Arabistan Telegraph System. —Little need
be said on this head, except that the control of the system by the Indo-
European Telegraph Department, as now secured, constitutes an additional
quasi-British interest which on the one hand will tend to promote progress
in the Province, but on the other hand will demand, if it is to prosper,
a greater measure of security in the region traversed than at present
exists.
**4
7. The establishment of the Shatt-el-Arab Commission. —It is only
necessary to mention this important measure in which the interests of
Mohammerah are closely concerned, and have been specifically entrusted to
the British member of the Commission.
8. Russian and German Competition. —Since the conclusion of the Anglo-
Russian Convention, Russian influence has steadily increased in the Russian
zone, and is now admittedly predominant even in Ispahan both commercially
and politically, a circumstance which gives rise to the apprehension that the
Bakhtiaris, who when in the capital, as they have now been for some vears
past, of necessity fall to some extent under the influence which is most in
# m- • + + • r\ax at too evidence there, may be used to form in
* Minister to Foreign Office, No. 188, ,1 i _c o’ i -n n ” liJ -
Secret, dated 30th August 1913. f *® WOltlS Of oil \\ alter lowilley 1 ' u the
wedge of Russian influence driven down
to the Karun.” Russian activity in connection with the Karkunan Diversion

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Content

Correspondence including telegrams, hand written letters and printed enclosures, discusses an attack by a Turkish gun-boat on a village - Zain, belonging to the Shaikh of Mohammerah - which lay on the Turkish bank of the Shatt al-Arab waterway. The correspondence outlines the circumstances that led to the quarrel between the Turkish authorities and the Sheikh of Mohammerah, and suggestions that the Porte should be urged to replace the Wali of Basrah with a less aggressive official.

Correspondence discusses the proposal to give the Shaikh of Mohammerah assurances against naval attack, whatever the pretext for such action; letters and telegrams also discuss the award of a decoration (Knight Commander of the Indian Empire) to the Shaikh of Mohammerah.

A letter (dated 7 December 1913) from Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , outlines the Government of India's interests in Arabistan including: the oil fields and their future; irrigation; railway enterprises; telegraphs; Russian and German activity.

Correspondents include Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Sir Gerard Lowther, Ambassador to Constantinople; Charles Murray Marling, Ambassador to Tehran; Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign affairs; Francis Edward Crow, H M Consul at Bussorah [Basra]; Arnold Talbot Wilson, H M Consul at Mohammerah; Shaikh Khazal bin Jabir, Shaikh of Mohammerah; Wali of Bussorah; Viceroy of India.

Extent and format
1 volume (281 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 345 (Mohammerah: situation) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/132-133. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 278; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

The folio sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the one ending flyleaf.

An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel throughout; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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File 345/1908 Pt 2 'Mohammerah: situation. Sheikh's dispute with the Vali of Basra. decoration for Sheikh. renewed assurances to Sheikh.' [‎13v] (31/566), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030525713.0x000020> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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