ملف ١٩١٢/٤٩٤٩ الجزء ٤ "أبو موسى - فرصة امتياز . ١٩٠٧". [و‎‎٢‎٥‎٢] (٥٢٨/٥٠٥)

25£
the Regent in 1898 was evidently a proper and natural desire to administer justice
between the partners of the Company, and to render nugatory the unauthorized /fi^
of Hassan Samaiyeh. Moreover, on learning how far the terms of the contract withv^^*
Herr It. Wonckhaus went, conferring as they did a preferential right of renewal for an
indefinite period, the Sheikh may well have felt that his own pecuniary interest in the y .
mines would not, in view r of the increasing market value of red oxide, he properly
safeguarded by a payment limited indefinitely to a sum of 250 dolla rs a-year. In
these circumstances the Sheikh would not unnaturally have deemed it advisable to/if
protest against the contract with Herr Wonckhaus so soon as he became aware of its
purport, rather than to allow this gentleman to acquire, with the lapse of time, a
vested interest in the output of the mines.
The position at the present time appears to His Majesty’s Government to be that
Herr Robert Wonckhaus has entered into a contract with Hassan Samaiyeh, who,
having acted without authority from his partners, is unable to carry out his contract,
and is consequently liable to Herr Wonckhaus in damages. If, therefore, further
steps are taken they should be of a legal character, and it will be at the discretion of
Herr Wonckhaus whether they are taken or not.
His Majesty’s Government appreciate the friendly manner in which the German
Government have dealt with the case, and, pending a final decision of the whole
question, they are prepared to use their good offices in order that temporary arrange
ments may be made whereby Messrs. Wonckhaus will be enabled to procure a limited
amount of red oxide to place them in a position toTulfil"'sueh eoTrtrfll’iT'flTTfr^rnilly
have entered into before the cancellation of the lease. Instructions have accordingly
been issued to the British Resident in the Persian Gulf to ask the local representative
of Messrs. Wonckhaus to give due notice when the firm intend to resume operations
in order that the necessary arrangements may be made.
His Majesty’s Government are, however, informed that, for climatic reasons, no
serious operations are possible during the next three or four months for transporting
the accumulated minerals from inland to the beach.
Foreign Office, July 10, 1908,