"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٣‎٦‎٩] (١٧٨٢/٥١٢)

369
Russia or of Russian creditors of Persia. In the result the customs of
" Fars and of the Persian Gulf " were specifically excluded from those
pledged as security for the Russian loans, and the question which remained
was that of the precise meaning of the phrase " Fars and the Persian
G u lf »_an expression which His Majesty's Government contended must,
under the guarantee of 1897, be regarded as synonymous with " Southern
Persia " and as including Muhammareh.
A third British diplomatic measure, already referred to above, was the p^!°' n
signing of a Trade Declaration between Britain and Persia early m 1903, ^rade^^
whereby the new Persian tariff secretly arranged between Russia and
Persia in 1901 was made inalterable without British consent. This step
prevented the continuance of a procedure which might otherwise have
been maintained to the increasing disadvantage of British trade. ^ ^ . . .
The fourth measure was of a parliamentary character. It consisted in p^® 1 ^ 1
an announcement made on the 5th May 1903 by Lord Lansdowne, speak- ^
ino- as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in reply to a question by polic y in the
Lord Lamington. The passage referring to the Persian Gulf was report-
ed as follows in the " Times " of the 6th of May : witli a
warning to
I now'pass to the closely-connected subject of the Persian Gnlf. I fed sure that the
noble lord's interest in the Baghdad railway scheme was because he felt it did c osely
affect our interest in the Persian Gulf. I do not yield to the noble lord m the interest
which I take in the Persian Gulf, or in the feelm ? that this country stands with regard
to the navigation of the Persian Gulf in a position different from that of any other
Power. The noble lord told your lordships with absolute truth that it was owing o
British enterprise, to the expenditure of British lives and money, that the P ersian (aul
is at this moment open to the navigation of the world. It was oui s ips a c ear
those waters of pirates; it was we who put down the 8la\e trade , it waf* we w o u y
and beaconed those intricate waters. Well, at this moment, out of a total trade in t e
Gnlf ports of £3,600,000-the figures are those for 3901 ; we have none later
£2,300,000 represents the commerce of this conntry ; so that it i« clear that, up o >0
present, at all events, we have succeeded in preserving a liberal share of that commerce.
But there is no doubt that in the Gulf, as in other parts of Persia, we are feeling very
keenly the competition of other Powers. That, I am aiiaid, is oar -ate not on y i
Persian waters; nor can we expect, because we have been in t e^ eveopmen^
commerce throughout the world the pioneers of that foim of civi isation,
always be able to maintain the position of superiority which we at rst ei ] v ^
noble lord asked me for a statement of our policy with regard to the ers
think I can give him one in a few simple words. It seencs to ,
should be directed in the first place to protect and promote British na e m
In the next place I do not think that he suggests, or that we sh&u ' sugges , _
efforts should be directed towards the exclusion of the legith-^ te 'a e o ^
(Hear, Hear.) In the third place-I say it without tesitation-we should regard the
establishment of a naval base or a fortified port in the Peisian u - . . .. •, i
Power as a very grave menace to British interests, and we should certainly ■
00
European
powers.