Skip to item: of 143
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of 'Arabistan By Lieutenant A T Wilson, Acting Consul for Arabistan' [‎41r] (86/143)

The record is made up of 1 volume (68 folios). It was created in 1912. It was written in English and Farsi. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

67
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ala-es-Saltaneh, gave no written
reply but informed Sir C. Spring-Rice verbally that the Perfian Government
™ ?? ‘"i Pv “ of ,g rantln g a concession for a foreign Company, as it was
considered that such a concession would involve the grant of the right of
foreign interference in the Karun valley.
1 he Russian Minister was verbally informed of the contents of this note.
+1 1 he Dutch Minister in London was shortly afterwards informed that as
the political situation in Persia was so unsettled and the moment so inoppor
tune for encouraging foreign concessions, the Karun irrigation question could
not be entertained for the present, but neither at this time, nor subsequently,
does it appear that he was told of the very unfavourable view the Government
° - lnc i ia > alter consultation no doubt with irrigation experts in India entirelv
concurred. The Dutch Minister believed then, as now, that the scheme
won e very profitable as a commercial speculation and no suggestion
appears rom the official record to have been made to him that reverse was
likely to be the case.
In February 1907, the Netherlands Government asked that the British
Government should adopt an attitude of neutrality to the scheme of obtain-
ing a concession for Karun irrigation for a Dutch Company from the Persian
Government, and that His Majesty’s Minister should be instructed to inform
the l ersian Government that His Majesty’s Government would have no
objection to such a concession : the Foreign Office favoured the suggestion
but the 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. considered that the Shaikh of Mohammerah’s views
ioaq n0t be lg ? ore<1 ’ and that the assurances of December 1902 and June
+ i P> Wei - e n0 ^ irrelevant t0 the question. It was therefore advisable that
the Persian Government should be recommended to recognize the Shaikh’s
position and consider his views. They might be informed at the same time
that it a concession should eventually be granted to an international syndi-
cate, His Majesty s Government would desire to be informed of the details of
the scheme, and in the absence of any objection to them or of any solid objec
tion being raised by the Shaikh, they would adopt an attitude of neutrality.
The belief that the Karun irrigation scheme was likely to yield large
profits was in no way dissipated by Major Morton’s earlier reports unfavour
able though they were. In February 1907, His Majesty’s Minister mentioned
the Karun irrigation scheme as one of the most attractive of the concessions
held by the National Bank, and he suggested the formation of an inter
national syndicate, with a view to obtaining through the National Bank the
rights to share in the concession for the irrigation of the Karun valley, in
order to compete with a possible German offer.
In June 1907, Sir E. Grey wrote to His Majesty’s Minister who remained
of the opinion that the proper course for His Majesty’s Government to pursue
was to follow the policy already laid down, i.e. y that any scheme of irrigation
which they favour must have the Shaikh’s support, and that they must keep
in touch with the latter as he desired.
Sir Cecil Spring-Bice in the same month approved the suggestion tenta
tively made bv Shaikh Khaz'al to the Ain-ud-Dauleh through the agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. of
the Mu’in-ut-Tujjar to obtain the concession for himself with the right to
obtain foreign capital up to one-third or one-half of the total amount required.
It need hardly be pointed out that the Shaikh is unable to provide any
thing like half of the total sum required for the works and that as a matter
of fact, he is most unlikely to consent to invest a penny of his own in the
scheme which he is convinced, and not without reason, cannot be profitable.
In January 1909, His Majesty’s Minister received information that the
Dutch Minister had given a two years’ option of the concession, the details to
be the subject of subsequent negotiation. On receiving this information
His Majesty’s Minister informed the Persian Government that as they had
disregarded the warning addressed to them in 1906 {v.s) His Majesty’s Gov
ernment reserved their right to object to the scheme. In reply to this note,
the Persian Government stated that in the event of a Company being formed
and a concession granted under the option, we should have a right to oppose
l 2

About this item

Content

This volume consists of a précis issued by the Government of India which provides comprehensive details regarding the history of relations between the British Government and the tribes and rulers of 'Arabistan. The volume is divided into eleven sections as follows:

  • I. British Interests in 'Arabistan;
  • II. 'Arabistan: Internal Politics up to the death of Haji Jabir and genealogical table of Shaikhs of Mohammerah, 1527-1881;
  • III. Shaikh Miz'als's rule, 1882-1897;
  • IV. Shaikh Khaz'al's rule, 1897-1910;
  • V. Shaikh Khaz'al and the Persian Customs;
  • VI. Shaikh Khaz'al: Political Relations with British Government;
  • VII. Piracies;
  • VIII. Turko-Persian Frontier Question;
  • IX. Shaikh of Mohammerah and Turks;
  • X. Irrigation in 'Arabistan;
  • XI. Acquisition and Tenure of Land in 'Arabistan with Annexes.

Between folios 51-70, the volume contains a number of appendices including copies of various relevant agreements. On folios 69-70, the volume contains the Persian text of a concession granted to the Nasiri Company for running ships from Ahwaz to Shushtar.

The volume was compiled by Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson, Acting Consul for 'Arabistan. The printing statement reads, 'Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, 1912'

Extent and format
1 volume (68 folios)
Arrangement

The volume opens with a contents page (folio 4) followed by a prefatory note (folio 5), a list of relevant officials (folio 6), a schedule of appendices (folio 7), eleven chapters of text (folios 8-50) and ends with sixteen appendices (folios 51-70).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 70; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An original printed pagination sequence is present in parallel between ff 8-65.

Written in
English and Farsi in Latin and Arabic script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of 'Arabistan By Lieutenant A T Wilson, Acting Consul for Arabistan' [‎41r] (86/143), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/70, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034861789.0x000057> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100034861789.0x000057">'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of 'Arabistan By Lieutenant A T Wilson, Acting Consul for Arabistan' [&lrm;41r] (86/143)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100034861789.0x000057">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x00000b/IOR_L_PS_20_70_0086.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x00000b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image