ملف رقم ١٨٥٥ لسنة ١٩٠٤، جزء ٤، "الكويت:- قروض للشيخ." [و‎‎١‎١‎٥] (٢٤٢/٢٢٩)

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Foreign Power, and if matters were allowed to
remain as they were, El Hassa would be taken
and Irak Arabi would be in danger; and that
be was prepared to defray the cost of Turkish
troops and artillery assisting him to re-take El
Kassim and Nejd for the Turks.
14. Reports from Basrah state that
on the 8th May 4,200 Turkish troops left
Samawa, with 10 guns, to join the Amir. A
letter was subsequently received by the Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf, from Bin Saud,
through Sheikh Mobarak, protesting against
the Turkish invasion, and begging for
British protection for himself and his country.
The matter was referred to the Secretary of
State, with a suggestion that it might become
necessary to appoint a Resident at Koweit
and to abstain from interfering to prevent
the importation of arms for Bin Saud.
On the 25th May, the Secretary of State
telegraphed that representations had been made
by Sir N. O’Co nor to the Porte and had been
renewed on hearing from the Vice-Consul at
Jeddah, who had telegraphed that troops were
being assembled at Medina in order to assist the
Amir of Nejd. The Ambassador was of opinion
that these representations might, perhaps, make
the Sultan reluctant, but would hardly turn
him from the course which he could fairly urge
was calculated to prevent internal troubles
and disturbance of the status quo. Sir Nicolas
O’Conor did not see on what grounds he could
press the Turks to desist from helping the
Amir who was the party attacked without
appearing as a distinct partisan of Bin Saud ;
and pointed out that, on grounds of general
policy, there were objections to preventing the
Turks from assisting the Amir against Bin
Saud whose apparent object is to re-establish
the Wahabi dynasty throughout Central
Arabia, the result of which might in the
near future be fraught with serious con
sequences and might imperil our authority
at Koweit, where, in the existing condition of
affairs, our influence is yearly growing
stronger. Sir N. O’Conor’s idea was that we
should confine ourselves for the present to
maintaining int ct the territory of Koweit
and awaiting developments, but that, if the
Turks persisted, as he anticipated, in assisting
the Amir, it might be expedient to reconsider
the question of" appointing a Resident at
Koweit. The Secretary of State asked for
the views of the Government of India on
the above questions, and enquired how, in view
of our declared policy of prohibiting the traffic
in arms, it was proposed to abstain from
interfering with the importation of arms for
Bin Saud.
On the 29th, the Government of India
replied, suggesting that SirN. O’Conor might
point out that, so long as the Turks had