File 600/1905 Pt 1 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Dthala' [‎418r] (97/174)

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No. 113, dated Bombay, the 8tb January 1904( (Confidential).
From The Hon ble Mr. S. W. Edgerley, C.I.E., Secretary to the Government
of Bombay, Political Department,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
I am directed to forward, for the consideration of the Government of
India, the accompanying copy of a confidential letter No. 333, dated the 18th
December 1903, from the 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. , Aden, and of its enclosures,
submitting proposals for the permanent posting, in future, of a Political
Officer at Dthala, and for the enrolment of levies to patrol the frontier of the
Aden Hinterland as it is demarcated.
2. I am to state that any remarks the Bombay Government may desire
to make in this connection will be submitted hereafter.
No. 333, dated Aden, the 18th December 1903 (Confidential).
From— Major-General P. J. Maitland, C.B., 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. at Aden,
To—The Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. , Political Department.
The delimitation of the boundary of the territories under the Amir of
Dthala is now approaching completion, and I venture to think that the time
has arrived when it is necessary to consider the arrangements that should he
made for the maintenance of the line which has been demarcated with so much
labour and at so large an expenditure of money.
2. As the first and most essential point, I would submit that one of the
Assistant Political Residents at Aden should be, in future, permanently
stationed at Dthala, or in its neighbourhood, to watch, and, ^ if necessary, to
control, under the direction of the Resident, affairs in that neighbourhood. I
am decidedly of opinion that without a British officer on the spot there would
soon be an active renewal of Turkish intrigue and encroachment, and that very
undesirable complications, not only with the Turks, but with the local tribes,
would almost certainly ensue.
3. Our general policy would, of course, be to support the Amir, while
maintaining good relations with the Yaffai and other tribes beyond his sphere
of influence, and with the Turkish officials at Kataba. I have elsewhere
explained the position of the Amir as the head of a confederacy, rather than
the chief of a tribe, and some of its difficulties. If Government are pleased to
• Resident’s ietter No. SS 2, detea the26th October grant Amir Shaif the increased stipend
1903 . which I have suggested,* I think he will
do well, under the advice of a Political Officer. But without a respectable
stipend, and the support of a British officer on the spot, I am afraid the
will not be able to prevent his country again becoming disorganised under the
influences which the Turks will certainly bring to bear.
4. The Political Officer will require an escort, the^ strength of which may,
perhaps be varied from time to time, according to circumstances, and which
may be^artly composed of convalescent British soldiers and men recommended
by the medical authorities in Aden for a change of air.
5. I have all along been of opinion that something in the form of a local
levy would be required to patrol the demarcated line, to inform the Political
Officer of any attempts at encroachment, and^ to see that the boundary pillars
are not thrown down. Such a levy would also increase our hold over the tribes,
and be useful to the Political Officer in a variety of ways. After several dis
cussions on the subject with Captain Warneford, at present Political Officer at
Dthala, and also with Mr. Bury, I directed the former to draw up a memo
randum on the formation of a levy for the Amin and Shailn frontier alone, a
copy of which is enclosed herewith. If, and when, the Haushabi and Subaihi
borders are demarcated, the levy would have to be increased in proportion to
the extent of the demarcated line, and the probabilities of encroachment from
the Turkish side.
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