'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [‎154r] (313/540)

CONFIDENTIAL.
No. 1410, dated Bushire, the 13th (received 22nd) July iqi2.
From — L ieutenant -C olonel S ir P ercy C ox , K.C.I.E., C .S.I., Political Resi
dent in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire,
To—The Secretary to the Government oC India in the Foreign Department,
Simla.
In continuation of this office letter No. 1233, dated the 22nd June 1912, on
the subject of Messrs. Wonckhaus and Company's proceedings at Kuwait, and
with reference to my telegram No. 7H, dated 10th July 191 2, I have the honour
No. C -S3, dared jrd Jul, .9,2. t0 forward, for the information of Govern.
ment, a copy of the communication margin
ally noted received from the 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.
No. C .-53, dated Kuwait, the 3rd July 1912.
From -^captain w. H, J, shakespear, I.A., Politcial Agent, Kuwait,
To—The Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire.
I have the honour to invite a reference to the correspondence ending with
my letter No. C -47, dated the 10th June 1912, reporting the efforts of Messrs.
Wonckhaus and Company to obtain a permanent footing in Kuwait.
2. I am informed by the Shaikh that after his return to Kuwait he was one
day approached by Alexander Forage, a Baghdadj Christian in the employ of
Messrs. Wonckhaus and Company, who recently returned to Kuwait , with a
request for a confidential interview. After some ordinary conversation, similar
to that already reported requesting permission for the firm to establish a
European agent in Kuwait, the talk drifted to politics with special reference to
the Baghdad Railway. According to the Shaikh, Forage first enquired as to the
ownership of Um Kasr, saying that the terminus of the railway would probably
be located at that point. 1 he reply was that Um Kasr had belonged to the
As-Subah for many years, that the present fort there was actually built by Shaikh
Jabir (the grandfather of Mubarak) for the protection of the wells and such
Kuwaitis as their business took to that region. Forage questioned the Shaikh
being able to maintain this claim in view of the fact that a Turkish detachment
actually occupied the fort. The Shaikh's reply was that his boundaries to the
north were and had been for generations from the Batin depression near the
Ar-Ratk ridge eastwards to Jabal Sanam, Safwan and thence to Um Kasr
and the sea. The Turks had p aced these small detachments in Safwan, Um
Kasr and Bubiyan only some eight or nine years ago after they discovered that
an aggression contemplated by them on Kuwait itself would not be permitted by
the English; but the occupation of a place by half-a-dozen soldiers for eight
years couM scarcely be held to abrogate the As-Subah's rights which had existed
for generations. Further that even now should any raid be made within the
boundaries named, redress was always demanded from and obtained through
Mubarak as the recognised ruler of the territory in which the raid had taken
place. Of course if the Turks intended to seize the place by force that was
another matter; and if their intention should be to make the place of importance
without consulting him, he would certainly assert his rights in a manner suffi
ciently forcible to leave no doubt as to his claims. He would have done so before
but for the fact thatf the place was of small value at the time of the Turkish oc
cupation and certainly not worth risking the possible consequences of a forci
ble opposition at that time to the weight of the whole Ottoman Government.
4. In parenthesis I would here observe that the Shaikh's claim to the line
which he describes as his northern boundary is, to my own personal knowledge,
justified by the terrain, in so much that, if a recognizable natural boundary can
be said to exist in a desert, one certainly is traceable along the line indicated.
Also, that Arabs whether Bedouin or townsmen invariably do apply to Mubarak
for redress if looted or molested within (that is—to the south of) this line.
Further, that to this day the garrisons in Safwan and Um Kasr have continued
to exist only on sufferance.