'File No: E.7. Qatar & Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1913' [‎203r] (420/460)

7Al
Govornmont of India will be of like opinion.
(5) v subsidiary loiter to Shaikh Abdullah JIe first
pressdd for a definite respite of 10 years from the operation
of these articles as well as for the assurance that they should
not he put into effect without his acquiescence. While not
agreeing to specify any particular period I thought I might
safely say that action would not be taken on the Articles in
question without securing his consent, seeing that ultimately
we are in a position to compel concurrence, or to c ange
Abdullah for a Chief who would accord it, should the matter
ever become of sufficient urgence.I have little doubt however
that now that our relations with Qatar have been placed on an
assured an • dnfinite basis those d^sidsrata will be secured ^
without much difficulty in the course of time.
(6) As regards the question of slaves already existing in
Qatar the riovernment of India will realise that if Political
Officers were to take any ill-considered line of action in the
direction of manumission of Qatar slaves pursuant to the con
clusion of this roaty Shaikh Abdullah's position amoi!g nis
dependents would straightway become extremely difficult, the
trade in new slaves at all events by sea has practically ceased
to exist in the Gulf of late years; a few no doubt continue to
be brought over from the Mecca side, but very few; and among
those already here it is found that apart from the initial evil
of the truck-system on which from time irimemorial the pearl
fisheries have been run, cases of serious maltreatment are by
no means common, nor are the Shaikhs concerned unamenable to
advice• I am of opinion therefore that bot 1 our requirements
and the interest of the negroes will be adequately safeguarded
by our making our abstention from interference contingent
on the hypothesis that the shaikh and his dependents treat thei
slaves fairly. Shaikh Abdullah has assured me that he nil be
at pains to see justice done in any cases which are brought to
his notice. In this connection it will bo remembered that in
the case of Kuwait wo have no Slave Agreement at all an m
th quickly ir p roviiiK con ions 1^1 civilising influences ;