'File 73/7 III (D 24) Status of Kuwait & Anglo-Turkish negotiations' [‎136r] (284/709)

demands, nor of our suggestions or concessions thereto—he has left his case in
our hands with the expectation that we will at least see his just demands
Satisfied. Consequently we shall have to bear the odium and any resentment
resulting from such disappointment as may follow from the agreement falling
short of the Shaikh's expectations. I have shown in previous reports and
above what can fairly be considered Kuwait boundaries, and now propose to
state what I feel convinced would be the really genuine objections the Shaikh
would advance to the draft agreement on Foreign Office print No. 12978,
dated 26th March, if it were communicated to him.
6. Taking the draft agreement by articles seriatim—
(a) Article 1 may be passed by as without objection.
{b) In Article 2 the objection is that the title of Kaimakam is a very
inferior one and connotes that Kuwait territory is merely a "Qadha". An
almost exact parallel would be furnished by calling the Shaikh a Deputy Com
missioner or Collector under the Indian Government and his territory a
"district". When it is added that a Turkish Kaimakam's annual salary
amounts to £1^5 to^£270 only, and the position indicated thereby is contrasted
with the fact that the Shaikh has hitherto enjoyed almost complete indepen
dence, been accorded a salute of 12 guns by British men-of-war and always been
addressed officially as " Ruler of Kuwait", the depreciation of his position
under the draft agreement may be realized in some measures. Further, though
Turkish officials address him as Kaimakam and add the title of Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the
(Shaikh himself does not acknowledge the style and invariably describes
himself as 44 Ruler of Kuwait and Chief of its tribes". I venture to think
that we should stipulate for Kuwait to be described at least as a " Sanjak "
and its ruler as a " Mutasserif of which the Indian equivalents would be
a Division and a Commissioner. The question of the continuance of a salute
to the Shaikh would also seem to be involved in our recognition of whatever
Turkish title or rank may be selected.
((?) Article 3 defines complete autonomy sufficiently clearly.
(d) Article 4 permits the appointment of a Turkish Agent, and has the
most serious objections. The Shaikh has not dreamt of such a possibility, and,
I am sure, would object most strongly to the idea. He could doubtless be
compelled to receive one, but the pressure would have to be applied through,
with the consent of, or perhaps even directly by, the British Government. The
effect on our relations with and our interests in Kuwait of forcing the
representative of an undesired Power upon an unwilling Ruler and people
may be easily imagined. There is further to be reckoned with the inevitable
and recurrent intrigues which will result from the residence of a Turkish
official .in Kuwait. My own opinion is that the Turkish Agent, if permitted,
will either be regarded as a spy by the ruling Shaikh of the time or be utilized
by him in intrigues and efforts to play off the Turkish and British Govern
ments against each other for his own ends.
{e) Articles 5, 6, 7 require to be considered together with the map. In
the first place, the division of his territory into two portions, over which he
and the Turkish Government will have authority different in degree and kind,
will be unintelligible to the Sheikh and will moreover lead to constant friction,
for the inner segment defined in Article 6 has no naturally definable boundary
and is a paper arrangement which the Shaikh will be unable to maintain
in the exercise of his authority throughout the whole of the two portions
over which at present it is identical in character. Secondly, the su^ested
difference will furnish the Bedouin tribes subject to the Shaikh and the Turkish
authorities with endless opportunities for petty intrigue and friction, particularlv
if permission for a Turkish Agent as suggested in Article 4 is accorded. Assum*-
ing the best intentioos on the part of the Turkish Government and its officials,
intrigue remains as the breath of life to Bedouin, and the suggested division of
his territory will undoubtedly hamper the Ruler of Kuwait in his dealings with
the tribes. I would suggest that the Shaikh's complete autonomy as defined
in Article 3 should extend to the limits described in Article 7, modified so far
as may be considered possible by the information I have given above in para
graph 4. The alternative southern boundary given in a starred foot-note to