File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎310r] (624/674)

[This
is the Property of ffig Britannic Majesty’s Govern™^* i
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EASTERN DEPARTMENT.
‘"/ZSJAN191
[January 23.]
SECRET SERIES.
Section 4 .
[2490]
No. 1.
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received January 23.)
mo. 50. Secret.) ,
’ IN my despatches Nos. 14 and 15 of the 4th J^fhTd ^ToZ^; ZLt
EpotLTalnd I°X g Turke y.’ s v ! ew ? the policy to be pursued in Southern
Koweit auction and k tb COnn n m ‘ he Tnrlash mind between the settlement of the
Bagdad RaRway. ^ arrangements for completing the terminal section of the
the IndkOffife^iSr^rr* ‘ ele g ra “ of ‘he 1st December, enclosed in
e India unices letter of the 9th December, 1910, that the resident at Bushire
advocates the necessity “ from the local standpoint ” of publishing our agreement with
Roweit and intimating to the Turkish Government our intention of making ^effective
while also eliminating the anomaly of the Turkish flag there, inducing the Turks to
Bida’^Ji^ Zkasr atdB^ar’"^ bringing ‘ heir 1 ^ El
No iVTlhJTtW t0 Sub i? 1 it + tbat ’ J 0r the reasons in P art set forth in my despatch
* \ + H- t ? 1 ? t 1 lme has not y et come for snch a drastic treatment of
our outstanding difficulties with the Turks at the head of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . As pointed
out m Sir Gerard Lowther s No.’603 of the 22nd August, 1910, and in my No 14 of
the 4th instant, the Turks expect that m return for their making the arrangements we
c esne concerning the Bagdad- Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. section of the railway, we shall restore them
0 sovereignty over Koweit. They attach immense importance to the latter
point, and, should it ever be deemed expedient to accede to the Turkish desire in the
matter, such a solution might be made dependent on their resigning all claims to
Bahrein, Pi Katr and every thing south-east of Ojair. The other assets we possess for
bargaining are the ‘ Comet ” and the Sepoy Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. guard at the Bagdad consulate-general.
But as tongas lurkish constitutionalism is a mere travesty of popular institutions and
is associated mainffi with the state of siege and secret court-martials, any settlement on
the above lines, implying as it would the delivery of Koweit to the tender mercies of
committee regime, would seem to be excluded.
Should the committee eventually prove unable to establish an orderly Government
and the Empire be brought to a state of anarchy, as in Persia, it might become
necessary to consider the expediency of openly proclaiming a protectorate over
Koweit and its dependencies; but, in the meantime any whisper of our intention
to adopt such a course would raise a fierce storm both here and in Central Europe
The recent report in the “Daily Telegraph,” which reached here through the “Neue
4 reie Presse to the effect that England was about to conclude an arrangement with
. Germany that the Bagdad Railway should terminate at an “ English port ” in the Gulf,
re., Koweit, called forth very angry remarks in the “ Tanin.” The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. concludes
his comments by stating. that it is imperative to warn those who are working to
establish foreign infliience in Mesopotamia, “the oldest and most attached province of
the Empire, that their schemes are vain and that “ the mention of an English port in
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , to be established to the detriment of Ottoman interests and terri
torial integrity, is the height of indelicacy.
I have, &c.
CHARLES M. MARLING.
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