File 160/1903 'Persian Gulf: El Katr; appointment of Turkish Mudirs; question of Protectorate Treaty with El Katr' [‎170v] (345/860)

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J VI rtVifoinincr their signature to a document to ttat effect, he
brother, and after ohtam g ^ ° , d tlie Mutassarif of A1 Hassa of his
informed the Porte, theWahofBasah, and tQ refer aU matters to
abdication in favour of his brother, and q t j t l| the gheikh of Katr,
the latter in future, and Sheikh Ahmed has been v ^ ^ ^ sinee 1898 Ag
and accepted as such by the P«°P le ^ was mad e Sheikh of Wakra
regards his son, Abdul Rahman, he stated that ^ ^ aot i on 0 f
6 years ago by Sheikh Ahmed , attention to it and left Ahmed to deal
the Mutassarif of Al Hassa, he ^"^“r that he disapproved of the
with the matter. I conc ''' e ?. f w k a Before leaving I requested him to
direCti “ g Ahm6d
tom Sh t erh1aImh a ;s settled in Lusail with his own household and two or
three families of his own 0 J j r iday night, and the following
The Lawrence arnred oft hYSheikli Ahmed. I asked for
morning I landed and was th ® b d ^sinfo med that he had left Wakra
his nephew, Sheikh Abdul Rahman, a “djas inm^^ gh( . kh Ahmed oorro _
on the previous day on a J^iU h^ ^ ^ re ds his abdication and the posting
berated tus brother s sta e Wakra five years ago. He stated that m
o f T A mad! I ” (Tr Julv) a letted Z received from the Mutassarif of Al Hassa
‘ JamacU 1 ,j l ^ 7 - Wnkra on a salary of 6 Turkish
nominating Abdul l^hman as « m0I ith later the Mutassarif
Li o a 4 P to Tm demtdTng a guaranS for Abdul Eahman’s future loyalty;
wrote to him aemanu 5 ^vTntassarif that Abdul Eahman was already
T'kb 7™ Xttr w/no^ giving him the title of Mudir
Sheikh ot Wafcra, ana tae o w , for a guarantee for his
AMhIB aliman Uae not jot drawn the salary offered 'o On. and
ss iKf-araa
Mutassarif in his letter relative to the appointment of Abdul liahman.
Sheikb Ahmed also stated that the Mutassarif is apparently anxious to
, S A h *n'iwklsh authority in Katr; and, if he succeeds in his designs, the
thoTe neninsuU w^be absorbed by the Turks and his family will be driven
( t .f the'eountry, as they could not oppose the Turks for any length of time,
should they really make up their minds to take over the country and employ
force and/or this reason, he is very eager to know whether H,s Majesty s
Government would extend their protection over Katr in the event of a petit on
hekfc submitted to them to that effect. I informed him that the discussion
of this subject was beyond my province, and consequently could give h.m no
rePl5 The population of Katr, as you are aware, is composed of numerous small
tribes who have been hitherto under the obligations and influence of Sheikh
Tasim-bin-Thani, wtio financed them. The whole of the inhabitants may e
“ n f l tn be ^earl-divers, and the high prices obtained for pearls in recent years
CeTmnroCd the V condition of the people, and before long their dependence
on the bounty of the Than! family will entirely disappear, and with it the hold
of the latter on their loyalty will cease. The Thani family foresee that, unless
17can procure support which will enable them to keep the petty tribes
under their direct control, they will lose Katr.
No. 2:57, dated Bushire, the 17th December 1903.
From - Lieutenant-Colonel C. A. Kemball, C.I.E., Officiating 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 Guff,
To— The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
In continuation of the correspondence ending with my letter No. 181, dated
the 2nd October 1903, on the subject of the Turkish Mudir at Wakra, I have