File 345/1908 Pt 2 'Mohammerah: situation. Sheikh's dispute with the Vali of Basra. decoration for Sheikh. renewed assurances to Sheikh.' [‎155r] (314/566)

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visited me the same evening and, according to his account, the Wali gave him a
friendly reception, kept him to lunch and discussed the Zain business and general
relations with Mohammerah unreservedly.
Both parties gave their respective versions of the immediate events which
led to the breach, and the Wali remarked, inter alia,) that local reports had been
sent to Constantinople complaining that he left the administration of outlying
districts too much in the hands of the Sheikh of Mohammerah and said he had
been censured by Constantinople in consequence. He read and accepted the
Sheikh’s written reply to his letter without comment, saying merely that he had
nothing against the Sheikh personally, but he wanted his loyal assistance to
catch Turkish criminals who escaped to Mohammerah and professed himself
willing to reciprocate if Persian criminals fled to Basrah. He added he would
not allow the Police to take advantage of the friendly understanding between the
Sheikh and himself in order to make a scapegoat of Mohammerah whenever
they failed to catch culprits, and said applications for surrender would only be
made in well authenticated cases, alter careful enquiry and production of
satisfactory evidence of the parties’ guilt. He assured him that friendly rela
tions with the Sheikh were now restored.
Haji Rais asked the Wali to write a friendly private letter to the Sheikh to
that effect, and the Wali undertook to do so. Haji Rais also referred to the
partial destruction of some of the Sheikh’s new buildings on the Ashar creek,
and the Wali agreed to examine the ground in his presence on the following day
and see what was required.
I called on Abdul Wahab el Kartass at Saraji, about 3 miles down river, on
June 6th, and discussed the affair with him. He is an intimate friend of Sheikh
Khazal’s and is well aware of all that has lately occurred. He agreed to visit
the Sheikh at Mohammerah as soon as Haji Rais had returned and inform me
how matters stood. Haji Rais called again on me in the evening. He brought
me a copy in Arabic of the Sheikh’s reply and showed me a sealed private letter,
which he had received from the Wali for the Sheikh, of which, however, he did
not know the contents. He said he had come to an amicable understanding
with the Wali about the Sheikh’s new houses and had arranged to stop all work
.until the Vilayet engineer had drawn up a plan of the proposed new quarter to
■ work upon. Haji Rais then left for Mohammerah.
I called on the Wali on Tuesday morning, June 7th. I had not met him
since his return from Baghdad, on June 1st. He was friendly and polite but
observed a frigid silence in regard to the Mohammerah question. When I
broached the subject, he expressed deep resentment at my interference, and
could not believe that tlie British Government, which had helped Turkey so
much in past years, was now going to turn against it on account of the little
Sheikh of Mohammerah. He said he could not conceal the great ^ surprise my
letters had caused him and that he was prepared to meet any criticism of his
acts provided it came from the proper quarter, namely his own Department. He
was astounded that I should have represented ^the Sheikh of Mohammerah
as being interested in the affair of Kut-el-Zain, as that locality was part
of Turkey and the brigands who were harboured there were Turkish
subjects. He remarked that he had directed the Acting Wali to accept no
interference from me in the matter, either official or private, as the question in^ no
way concerned England. He then went onto tell me that, before his appoint
ment as Wali, he had been Editor of the “ Tesvir Efkiar ” and was quite aw
courant) not only of events in Persia, but also of English foreign politics, and he
proceeded to give me a lengthy and somewhat journalistic account of his views on
these subjects. His arguments, however, as far as I could measure them, seemed
as wide of the matter in hand as they were removed from the precincts of reason.
I replied that I was sorry we were such an interfering people; unavoidably
we had our finger in many pies but this need not disturb the excellent relations
which existed between ourselves, and I merely wanted to tell him what the