مجموعة ٥/١١ "المسار الجوي إلى الهند: طريق الساحل العربي - مهبط الطوارئ في قطر" [و‎‎١‎٥‎٦] (٣٤٥/٣١١)

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5« I would suggest therefore tJmt I should endeavour
to obtain from the Shaikh a letter in which he agrees to
aJJow us to establish an emergency landing ground on the
site selected and to put down the necessary landing marks
and to provide transport on payment for the carriage of the
requisite materials f etc., and he should na add that in
return for those facilities he hopes that the British
Government will afford him their support in the event of
these measures bringing upon him the hostility of his
relatione or people. 1 would reply thanking him tof the
permission granted and say that in return the British
Government undertake to support his authority within the
town of Bohah should his apprehensions prove true. The
Shaikh may try and extend the support to his coast line,
i*e. # to change the words *withln the to wi of &ohah M to
'along the coast*, and 2 think wo should accept this if
necessary, but 2 would try and limit our support to the
town of Dohah in the first instance. Prom idiat the iPoliticrii
Agent, Bahrain, reports, the Shaikh Ntt realises that we
do not wish to be involved in adventures in the interior
and would be quite satisfied with support along the coast.
2 am strongly opposed to any guarantee of succession. The
rule of primogeniture does not exist anywhere along the
Arab coast and the invariable custom is that on the death
of a Shaikh the ruling family assemble to elect a succesafer,
and the normal result As that the strongest man succeeds.
It is in our Interests that this should be so, and we
certainly do not want to be committed to supporting the
claims of a weak ruler who hae not been accepted either by
his relations or his people. As a practical issue it seems
to me exceedingly unlikely that our promise of support
would ever involve us in any action. If the relatione of
a Shaikh wish to oppose him they do not organise an armed
rebellion and besiege his fort or anything of that sort: on
the/