File E/8 I Ibn Sa‘ud [‎134r] (282/606)

No, C—IS, d. ted Ku..!!, ft, 6t i (reieivrf ]sll)
6rh May 1914. which 1 have addresTd to'fhe Pomi^l'^deM to^e'PerS
JEnclosure.
No. a—18, dated Kuwait, the 6th May 1914 (Confidential).
Frora -LiEUTtoANT -CoLONKL W. G. G rey , Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait,
To—The Political P.esident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire.
In continuation of my letter No. C.—16, dated 29th April I thw
^onour to report further on the subject o f Bin Saud and the Turkish Govern-
2. As stated in my last letter, the Turkish deputation headed by Saiyid
Enclosure No. 2. Talil), son of tu© J^iakib ot Basrah and.
^T ait m1116 29Auml"n Sha "kh ak's'lamch
Mishnf winch had been placed at their disposal. The same day the Order
of he Osmameh was presented to Shaikh Sir Mubarak witbout cei-emony and
J f o?, P. 1 ;? 0 " 06 0 , f a few P ersons onJ y. During the mornin- of the 30th
the Shaikh sent for my Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Mulla and asked him to let me know that the
deputation were pressing him to accompany them on the occasion of their visit
to Bin Saud. I replied through the Mulla that, as I had already informed him
His Majesty s Government had no objection to his good offices being afforded
to assist in the negotiations; and, to put his mind at rest, addressed to him the
official letter which forms enclosure (1) to this report. The Shaikh replied
to me the following day as given in enclosure (2).
3. During the whole of 30th April and 1st May the deputation were
engaged in discussing the terms which were to be put before Bin Saud, and on
the morning of the 2nd instant they proceeded to Subaihiyah whence they
returned on the 4(th.
4. I called on Sir Mubarak yesterday and he informed me of what had
taken place. His version^ which is confirmed generally by reports which have
reached me from other sources, is probably substantially correct. The Turks
first announced to Bin Saud their scheme for settlement, which was that he
must first of all accept the reposting of Turkish garrisons in Katif and Ujair
and their reinforcement by additional posts in Hassa: that all the forts
in Ujair and Hassa must be surrendered to them ; that all cannon and small
arms captured must be made over to the Turkish troops; and that he is to
have no connection whatever with any foreigners or foreign Power. In
return for these conditions they agreed to recognise his autonomy ; to allow
him to collect all taxes, &c., and to give him verbal, though not written, per
mission to retake Katar and Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. when he chose. Bin fcaud's scheme
was then stated to them; it was that he should retain Katif, Ujair, and Hassa
under Turkish suzerainty: should pay them £T3,000 per annum as tribute
money; and should be at the disposal of Turkey, with his men, in the event
of armed assistance being required. The subsequent discussions turned upon
the reinstatement of the Turkish garrisons: the deputation insisted upon this
condition and Bin Saud refused to give way. After some time harsh words
passed between him and Saiyid Umar, the latter was rash enough to say that
if Bin Saud would not accept this condition he would be compelled to do so,
whereupon the Amir started up and half drawing his sword ordered Saiyid
Umar to leave the assembly, and any possibility of successful negotiations
appears to have been at an end from tiiat moment. The Turkish deputation
returned to Basrah in the Shaikh's launch on the night of the 4th instant,
and are to report to Constantinople the failure of their negotiations.