"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٤‎١‎٥] (١٧٨٢/١٥٧٠)

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My object, moreover, in forwarding these documentB is not only to satisfy His
Majesty the .King of Oudh that the benefactions which came originally from the
Lncknow Treasury have been duly administered, but to obtain also his Majesty's
approval of the general scheme of distribution ; for there is a certain fanatical party
at Karbala, headed by some of the junior Mujtahids, which repudiates all appropria
tion of the funds in question to charitable or secular purposes.
Colonel Sleeman, the Resident at Lucknw, replied expressing his
entire concurrence in the arrangements made which seemed to him " most
benevolent and judicious " and his willingness to submit the accounts to
the King of Oudh^ but pointing out that His Majesty^s approval of the
proceedings through it could readily be obtained^ was not in any sense
requisite.
Relations of other European powers with Turkish 'Iraq, 1839-61.
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Besides Britain the only European power which at this time main
tained a representative in Turkish 'Iraq seems to have been France.
There are frequent references in correspondence in the years follow- Repivsenta-
ing 1841 to a French Consul-General at Baghdad, whose attitude to the French
British representative, perhaps in consequence of the divergence of British interests at
and French policy in regard to Syria and the failure of a recent French a o 1 a '
mission to Persia, seems to have been unfriendly.
This official, though his country had no local interests except such
as were connected with the Catholic religious orders, seems to have con
cerned himself a good deal in internal affairs. We have seen that Najib
Pasha, before proceeding to the reduction of Karbala in 1842, thought it
necessary to inform the French as well as the British representative at
Baghdad of his intentions; and during the Karbala operations the French
Consul-General was visited by some Persians who " requested his advice
to know if they should proceed to Kerbella to help the Sheeahs, as it
was a religious war".
In 1843, as has been mentioned under the head of relations with
Persia, the British Political Agent at Baghdad found that attempts on
his part to interpose between the Turkish authorities and Persian subjects
were regarded with jealousy by his French colleague; and in 1845, in the
debate regarding the necessity of retaining a British armed vessel in
Mesopotamia, Major Rawlinson, as we have already seen, made reference
to the ambitions of France in Asiatic Turkey.
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