"الملف 14/115 VII الملحق (B 9) أكسيد جزيرة أبو موسى: مواد خلفية حول هذه القضية" [و‎‎١‎١] (١٩٠٤/٣٢)

15
B.
JtermrU m tie German expositim, 0/ the fositim 0/ ShmTA Sugar mA resveet to the
company of lessees from
wn* tn ^^ r ^ h r em ^T dum ^ rther
was to admnisterjustice, as between the
ms sovereign rights of jurisdiction \
fliA i Tl l! ab0 .\ e 18 f mi:s( i uo ; at!on - What we said was that Shaikh Sagar cancelled
t c It? 11 tlie l re ? g ^ 0fhlS . sover eign rights of jurisdiction. We went on to
« pres^ j e view uuat his principal motive was the desire to administer justice be-
l W r n r" 3 . Partners and render negatory the unauthorised action of Hasan Samai-
ye^. inis has not quite the same bearing as the German quotation of us.
- . Coula, the Shaikh cancel the lease * * *
mm wdy I* 6 qiven hy a judge —This dispute will
not be solved by reference to abstract principles of Muhammadan Law, to which
not the slightest attention is paid locally. AH these Arab rulers, the Sultan of
Muscat, ..tie shaikhs of the Trucial Coast, Bahrain, Koweit, etc., administer justice
themselves, only referring to the Shera points which obviously concern them.
Although the German Government are pleased to consider it surprising, it
seems a very natural thing to us, in a case which primarily concerns only the Shaikh
and three British subjects, to allow the Shaikh as Ruling Chief to take such
measures as he may see fit to regulate the matter, with what we consider is due
regard to the interests of our subjects. But he has not given a judicial decision
as between the partners {vide items 48 and 66).
(4;i) liassan Samaiyeh resides not in
and therefore in the judicial district of the at
bringing forward this argument the German Government renew the attempt which
they made before to bring the dispute away from the jurisdiction of the Govern
ment of India and the Resident in the Persian Gulf, into the sphere of the Con
sulate-General at Bushire and His Majesty's Legation at Tehran. The point is an
important one, and it is very necessary for us to maintain our present attitude in
regard to it.
The actual document was executed at Shargah and the partial reason for the
inclusion of Esa bin Abdul Latif in the concession was in order that one of the
concessionaires might reside at his headquarters and so be in touch with the Shaikh.
It is a pure accident that the Samaiyehs, who are of Bahrain origin, happen to
live at Lingah. They might equally well be residing at Bahrain or Koweit,
Abu Musa appertains not to Lingah or Persia, but to the Trucial Coast and to the
jurisdiction of the British representative at Bushire in his capacity of political
officer accredited by the ^Government of India to the Shaikhs and principalities of
the Arab Coast and islands of the Gulf.
As I urged in piy note of February 12th, 1910, as long as we deal with the mat
ter as one concerning the Government of India's Residency jurisdiction, we are
in a much stronger position to lay down what the Shaikh, who is a law unto himself,
can do and can be permitted to do. I may mention that in the case of a current
claim on the part of Hasan Samaiyeh for compensation for loss of gear alleged to
have disappeared from Abu Musa, I was careful, when hold ing the enquiry, to take
all the parties over to Abu Musa and make the investigation there in the presence
of the Shr.ikhof Shargah's representative.
(48) It' stvl remains to consider the
cancelling of the lease agreement and withdrawal itsdf
admissible. —This is a question concerning the Shaikh and the British authorities
only. The British Government hold that the Shaikh's action was fully justified
by the circumstances. The Shaikh and the Government of India were prevented
from going further and making any adjustment between the three concessionaires
tl inter se by the ill-advised aefaon of two of them in attempting to drag in the German
' fkm and Government. When the matter is allowed to take its natural course, it-
may be possible to regulate matters as between the concessionaires.
The legality of Hasan's action was a matter for the Shaikh and the Govern
ment of India to decide. If Messrs. Wonckhaus' commercial interests were preju,
diced by Hasan's action, it was for him to seek commercial relief in the usual way