"سيستان، بلاد فارس وسيستان" [و‎‎٢‎٦‎٦] (٦١٧/٥٣٩)

[ 9 ]
« a Zn ttcl In ,r ^ y ea rS)
2 039 were British, and their tonnage represented 84 ®i eared , fr <?“ th e Gulf ports,
^/ 1 1 ? r . r , <dui lls l >ers i a n ports alone be reouired ?p r C f nt ^ le tota l tonnage.
£11,172,000, of which local trade — 12 liw ion h f U1 S s are Tota l trade,
£9,002,600, the British proportio oFthe’wt n • and eJ External trad e =
cent. To these totals in eithe? case there should ^ £ T^ 94 .200, or 83 per
added those of Basrah, which amounted F in ° Ur 0 ? mon ’ Mainly be
£2,157,300. Unfortunately the mZieHn whiewn Sa T tri , enilial Pe™d to
not admit of our distinguishing the countries of e • tl ^ Se hav ®. 1,6611 Prepared, do
portion, however, that should pro ^0 Zled^ °l The P™'
may be inferred from the British neroenfaoj W u- ^ A ^ lo - Indlan commerce
from that port in the three years referred to Tf^m en ^ ere(i or cI eared
cent both of the number ai tonnS^e stearr^ga^ 0 ^ ^ 93 per
the I^O'U^ropran^TekgrapliFompai^fonn'Bao toFask'^nd^of'thel ea ( j p S
and the shores of this sea. Latterly there has been „ lltL iT i h the Waters
rivaty wafferrel 11 At th in ^bF wher6troub l 6 threatened oTlhere
instructions from Her Majesty” GoTemmeiT'el^
s ill independent Sheikh of Koweit, by which he has bound himself and his
successors not to receive the representative of any other Power and not to
alienate any portion of his temtory to the Government or subjects of any other
P[ oce f dm g which was dictated by the increasing encroachment of
Tmkish authority and by the incipient intrigues of other Powers. Similar
machinations are known to be in progress at Bahrein, and will require to be
counteracted by a more strict enforcement of the conditions to which the Sheikh
is by treaty bound. _ Outside the entrance to the Persian Gulf, but included
w ithm the sphere of its political influence, the Arab State of Maskat has for
years been controlled by British influence; its trade is similarly in An^lo-
Indian hands; and its ruler lias not merely for years been subsidised by the
Government of India,, but in 1891 entered into an Agreement with us, under
the orders of Her Majesty’s Government, not to alienate any portion ’ of his
dominions to any other Power.
27. Such, briefly summarised, is the position that has been won by Great
Britain, not without the expenditure of many millions of money and the sacrifice
of many valuable lives, in the Persian Gulf. In its vindication we have
more than once been called upon to enter into military occupation of ports or
islands in the Gulf. The island of Kharak was occupied by Indian forces from
1838 to 1842, and again in 1856-57. Bushire was held during the latter years,
as also were Mohammerah and Ahwaz upon the Karun. The occupation of
these places was an illustration of the vigour with which in past years onr
ascendency has been maintained. Their abandonment was a proof of the
reluctance which has invariably been displayed to emphasise or to perpetuate
these responsibilities. The latter, however, no less than the British position in
Southern Persia in general, are now threatened by an external competition, to
the evidences of which we next turn.
28. Sir M. Durand has in general terms described the commanding posi
tion which the proximity of the Trans-Caspian Railway and of her Central Asian
garrisons, the construction of the Ashkabad-Kuchan-Meshed cart-road, and the
annual expenditure of large sums of money, have enabled Russia to take up in
the politics and commerce of the province of Khorasan. We proceed to
develop the argument by showing bow the Khorasan position lias been and is
being utilised as the base of a further and more southerly advance.
29. ( It was in 1889 that the campaign of what may be termed the Russi
fication of Khorasan was opened with the appointment of a Russian Consul-
General at Meshed. In 1891 a native trader, named Haji Agha, appeared as