'File II. IRAQ (3) Vol. 1 Shaikh of Kuwait's Date Gardens on the Shatt-al Arab. (Kuwait's relations with Turkish Govt. and Turkish demand that Kuwaitis should take out Turkish Nationality Certificates)' [‎210r] (437/636)

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No. 2972 , Confidential, dated Bushire, the 6th (received 15 th) November 1910 .
From—Lieutenant-Colonel P. Z. Cox, C.S.I., C.I.E., Political Kesident in the
. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
With reference to my telegram No. 997, dated 27th October 19KV I have
the honour to forward, for the information of the Government of India, a copy
Koweit, No. C.- 64 , dated 26th October 1910. marginally noted letter, since
received from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Koweit,
regarding the attachment by the Turks of the date crop on the Eada^hia
property belonging to Sheikh Mubarak and the measures taken by the latter
to secure the removal of the attachment, already briefly reported in my
telegram above-mentioned. J
2 . The attitude of the Basrah authorities towards this question is another
of the factors which combine to bring me to the opinion expressed in my
No. 1029, dated.2nd November 1910. telegram that the present position is
\ . 1# impossible ’, and Captain Shakespear’s
views as expressed in this present communication have my entire concurrence.
No. C - 64 , Confidential, dated Koweit. the 25 th October 1910 .
From—Captain W. H. I. Shakespear, I.A., Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Koweit,
To—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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire.
. I have the honour to invite a reference to the correspondence regarding
Sheikh Mubarak s I adaghia property ending with your Second Assistants
endorsement No. 2793, dated the 19th October 1910.
2. As you met the Sheikh at Mohammerah in person no answer is required
to the query addressed to me in Captain Crosthwaite’s endorsement No. 2659
dated the 4th October 1910, to which I have not been able to reply earlier
owing to the Sheikh’s absence from Koweit.
3. Since his return, however, I have discussed the subject with the Sheikh
and it appears that subsequent to his meeting with you and after the despatch
of your telegram of the 14th October to the Secretary of State, attachment
of the date crop at Eadaghia was actually carried out, a number of Turkish
soldiers being posted in the gardens and all shipments stopped. The Sheikh
tells me that he then again sent his Secretary to the new Vali pointing out
the injustice of the procedure in view of the facts known to all that the
property really belonged to Sheikh Mubarak, that he was ready to pay the
revenue due, and indeed that though prepared to do so for a long time
the offer had been declined by the Turkish authorities. Einally, the ^Sheikh
informs ine the revenue was actually accepted and a receipt passed for the
amount citing that the “ revenue for the Eadaghia property standing in the
name of Ayesha Khanum had been received from the hand of Abdul Aziz bin
Salim bin Badr.” The Sheikh seemed pleased with this subterfus-e and
said that the attachment was then immediately removed by order of the Vali.
4. It was of very urgent importance that the attachment should be raised
as early as possible and the Sheikh may have cause for self-congratulation in
having effected it by his own unaided efforts; but it is impossible to avoid the
reflection that as a solution of a very important question involving ultimately
the whole status of Koweit, it is an exceedingly poor substitute for the recog
nition of “ Koweiti ” as a distinct nationality, distinct that is to say from
Turkish. The difficulty has been tided over for the present, but the Sheikh is
still left exposed to the machinations of the Turkish officials at Basrah and is
still unrecognised officially as the rightful owner of the property.
5. In submitting this report, I have the honour to solicit your utmost
support in recommending to His Majesty’s Government that no really perma
nent solution of the difficulty is possible until at least the recognition of
“ Koweiti ” as a distinct and separate nationality has been obtained^from the
Turkish Government. The Sheikh again expressed his faith and reliance on
British support, but, considering his age and the extent to which his j^atience
has already been tried in this far-reaching matter and one which at
present also so closely affects his pocket, it is, in my humble opinion, one
deserving of the most urgent consideration, if His Majesty’s Government ’still
attaches importance to the maintenance of our special position in Koweit and
to the possibilities of the port, both commercially and strategically in the near
future.
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