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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.' [‎151v] (307/566)

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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from a British Indian sailing vessel at Abul Khasib. He states that he asked the
authorities to capture the pirates and recover the stolen property. The Turkish
official at Abul Khasib failed to report the outrage, and no energetic measures
were taken ^ until 4 telegrams from the Grand Vizier, as well as one from the
Sultan’s Private Secretary, had been received. Even then, the men arrested
were not the real culprits, but men who had incurred the enmity of the police bv
complaining of their misdoings to Constantinople. ^
12. Mr. Crow’s Despatch No. 36, of 8th May 1907, to Sir N. O’Conor is
also of interest in this connection, as showing that, at that time, river troubles
were due to Turkish bad faith with the Arab tribes and troubles in Basrah to the
inefficiency of the Administration. In the latter regard I may Quote the
following:— ' J ^
“ There is no improvement in public security. * * jyj r
Hickey, the British subject who was attacked and robbed by an
armed force of brigands * * on May 3rd, narrowly
escaped being stabbed. * * The police were not, and never
are, on the spot, the gendarmes charged with patrolling the
streets are absent from their posts and view these incidents from a
safe distance, being much too callous to interfere, or what is still
more likely) in league with the robbers themselves. House after
house is looted with impunity, while the Turks waste valuable
time in fruitless judicial enquiries and in the pursuit of robbers
who seem well-known, but who invariably elude the mock vigilance
of the executive officers.”
* 3 - Ag ai n, m 1908, during Mr. Geary’s tenure of the office of Consul in
Basrah, several piracies occurred in the Shatt-el-Arab, which formed the subject
of complaint by Mr. Geary to the then Wali. In one case only was it suggested
that the Sheikh’s Arabs were responsible, and, on enquiry at Mohammerah it
turned out that, though the boatload of pirates pushed off from and returned'to
the Persian shore, it w as believed that they did this to hide their identity as
Arabs on the Turkish side were reported a few days later to be dividing the spoil.
No action was taken by the Turks, and the wwiter was informed by Mr. Geary
himself that the nerveless and corrupt administration of the Basrah Vilayet was
in his opinion^ responsible for the disturbances. J '
T-rf Shei ^ h ma y be excused for doubting that the situation, in 1910, is
radically different from that described above by Mr. Crow. He adds that a still
commoner method of the police, and likely to be popular in proportion to the
efficiency of the courts of justice, is to assert that the criminal has fled to Persian
rT S • statement ’ in hls letter to me of 27th April, that he
has repeatedly, in previous years, drawn the attention of His Majesty’s
and u* the at . tltU D 6 of l th . e Sheik h in regard to river troubles generally,
of tl « r / ln P a u ra AT m , P artlcular > is not supported by the archives
w th h M ate ‘ r eyond the Ma §bil case, (vide paragraph 6), and the troubles
with Moharrem Bey reported in Mr. Crow’s Despatch No 17, of 10th
apffinst I t?ip^h O '^h nSta ^ lt ' in0 u le, i ^ r * Crow seem s to have made no complaints
nftnfflo; H t ? heik ^’ and in the latter case h e apparently did not think the matter
iVot to ^ warran t his sending a copy of his Despatch on the sub-
hv tho 1 .. a i eS J s onsu l, Mohammerah. The first intimation received
the Rp<;ido' f r f r 38 u- a C /°^ ? i^i 6 - despatch in question received from
BaohdadW \u UShl ^ ( Wh0 had himseIf received it from the Resident at
gn ad), together with a request for an expression of view in the subject.
15* This is the crux of the accusation against Muhammad Chanan which
led to the attack on Zain, and was the
fans et origo malV\ though it is wholly
denied by the Sheikh. I have made most
careful enquiry from several sources, and
am unable to obtain any confirmation
of the Wall’s statements.
it is inherentlv aC f! C n0t °, n ^ can * °b ta i n no corroboration, but also
it inherently improbable that he w^ould do such a thing, since practically all the
Muhammad Chanan Opoo?ed a detachment sent
atter him for attacking several farms.
( Wdi’s letter to 1 ersian Consul-General No. 18.)
Muhammad Chanan committed aggression on
Turkish lands, threatened to kill the owners, collec
ted an armed force to oppose the gendarmes of the
state, and supported rebellion.
(Acting Wall’s letter of loth May.)

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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.

Written in
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.' [‎151v] (307/566), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030525714.0x00006c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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