File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎322r] (648/674)

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3
^i£D_ocmgntj3ji eJ>roperty of His Britaniiic Majesty’s Government.]
eastern department.
SECRET SERIES.
JAN1911
[January 9.]
[848]
—- .—r'xj’v '
jCj{ f TJ'g’p K v '
No. 1.
Section ].
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received January 9.)
(No. 14. Secret.)
Sir,
SIR HENRY BABINGTON SMITH W n Pera, January i, l<m.
s~iri co s-°i!rot •> ? ? z o^r
Si? r’ 1 "* , k “ i TT
t t0 °P erate lu Turkey. Sir Henry has forwarded to Sir Arthur Nioolson a
repl^on wSru r eed dUm ; ^ n ,° d ? ubt have -—ted on the Grand V "er’s
S vo^ aMenrioul T ^T fOTe . dw f’ b,lt the P° int t0 which 1 to
V ^rt 0 1 attentlon 18 ins Highness s reference to Koweit.
aUnsionto ^ ,? akki Paslla,s was no doubt Sir Henry’s
the 1 H kkl Babanzade s ^cently published reports on Mesopotamia and
appeared^i^Vh? + 1 ?° r oj 5 ? r ^ cu ^ ar fy the violent arti ele from his pen which
British action in ^ P e ? em ber> and which was specially devoted to
my despatch No 15 nf^n^ 'i ri ^ sk 1 relations with the Sheikh of Mohammerah (see
the Bao-dad ftailwa i r? ’ , ? akkl ^si 131 i 13 ^, however, just previously spoken of
may be^hHe^^d^tharihp a p Gr °{ Ko ^ reverted to it, so that it
ay oe interred that the Grand Vizier for the moment had, as was suggested in
conc^d the^rnf f 03 of 29th August last, like the Young Turks,
conceived the idea of making the solution of the two questions interdependent
no distant^i 8 -^ 8 P robabl ? ^ tke question of Koweit will be raised at
©distant date, if indeed it is not, as Ismail Hakki counsels, forced upon us This
fo^HirM'^r^r 8 ’ 1 thmk ’ unllkel Y’ b3 i b venture to suggest that it might be well
s Majesty s Government to consider whether in the event of the Porte inviting
us to discuss the Koweit question it will be more expedient to enter into pourparler!
or to postpone negotiations for some little time. Looking at the preseat aggressive
attitude of the Committee of Union and Progress, which, as you are aware, is the real
power guiding the affairs of Turkey, postponement would seem the wiser course. The
e ec ions from the committee s ranks and its dwindling majorities in the Chamber
ltS Jql ltl T f-p eS n SeC1 i re 1 n ° W than a few months a g° i ^ere are also signs
tivpn bv 111 ;? 1 ! S T GV vV Pa8l f and Seni ° r officers b ^ no me3ns approve the direction
given by it to Turkish policy. Ihe lesson learnt by the refusal of the French
Government to allow the late loan to be quoted in Paris has had its effect, and that
there is a tendency m the committee to modify its chauvinism, at least, temporarily is
shown by the substitution m the secretaryship of the moderate Haji Adil Bey, lately
a; i of Adrianople, for the violent Dp Nazim. Time will, therefore, to all appearances,
bring about a change for the better in our favour, but, on the other hand, the causes
that are at work may operate slowly, and in the meanwhile articles such as those of
+ r ai i i-h 1 . no . t to mentl on hints which have already appeared in the local press
that English intrigues are responsible for the troubles in Kerek—may do us some
harm, even m the eyes of those sections of the people who have now no doubts as to
the sincerity of our ‘friendship.
Another danger from delay lies in the fact that the Turks desire the Bagdad
ailway to be built. It is true that the financial arrangements have only been
completed for the construction as far as El Helif, but, as the Grand Vizier implied to ]
bir Henry Babmgton Smith, there can be no question but that the money will be
found for the annuities for the sections as far as Bagdad. There is even reason to
believe th a t negotiations for the purpose are already on foot, and it is thus probable
at although the line cannot, actually be built for some years, the Germans may '
potentially reach Bagdad within a few. months, and will be free to turn all their
attention and influence to asserting their existing rights under the concession to the
agdad-Bussorah-Gulf sections. It is not, perhaps, out of place to remark here that
[1852 1]
Already printed : see [636] and [637].
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