"تقارير إدارية ١٩٠٥-١٩١٠" [ظ‎‎٩‎٧] (٦١٦/١٩٩)

REVIEW BY THE POLITICAL RESIDENT IN THE PERSIAN GULF.
demoralising and disastrous around them. • In spite, of this fact however neith
the Sheikhs nor the Khans have been free from an abiding anxiety as' to th
probable future in store for them under a democratic government.
They fear, and perhaps with good reason, that the first inclination of su h
government, once firmly established, will be to exploit them and deprive them 1
their tribal privileges and the considerable measure of internal autonomy l
they now enjoy. The presence of this fear has made the Sheikh of Mohamme 1 k
and the Bakhtiyari Khans disposed both to sink their own chronic differences d
make common cause, and also to endeavour to draw nearer to the British
the hope of obtaining advice and renewed assurances of sympathy and snppo^
The Sheikh of Mohammerah moreover, apart from the anxiety above indi
ed, became not a little alarmed towards the end of the year by ominous rumou
of activity on the part of the military authorities at Baghdad, in connection w'th
the Turco-Persian frontier dispute, and at an interview with the Resident
January he begged that the attention of the British Government might be drar
to the isolated and dangerous position which he, with a large extent of fromi?
to guard, now occupied and to the persistent apathy with which the Persian Gov!
ernment regarded the question. In reply he received assurances through Hi"
Majesty's Legation which quieted his fears for the time and acutenes$ & of the
situation to which his alarm had been due, subsequently subsided.
During the latter part of the year under report the attitude.of the Bakhtiyari
on Syndicate. '? with the affairs of
Messrs. Lynch Brothers and the D'Arcy
Oil Syndicate has immensely improved. In the earlier months the operations of
the Syndicate were so much hampered and their staff and workmen subjected to
such constant risks and annoyances that it was feared that if the striking of oil
in payable quantities were to be much longer delayed the Syndicate would throw
up the sponge or their employes would decline to continue serving under such
trying conditions. Thanks however to the interest taken in the enterprise by
His Majesty's Government a special guard of Indian troops, consisting of 20
men and two British officers, was despatched in December 1907 to the scene
for the protection of the camps and working parties, and for the rest the
resolute perseverance of His Majesty's Vice-Consul and the unfailing support
afforded him by His Majesty's Legation have at last made the Khans see the
expediency of adopting a much more tractable attitude. As regards the prospects
of the Syndicate it will be seen that up to the time of despatch of Captain
Lorimer's report the outlook remained uniformly discouraging, but just afterwards
the whole aspect of the operations was changed by the striking of a vigorous
spring of good quality oil at the Maidan-i-Munaftun boring, and it is hoped that
this strong fillip will encourage the plucky promoters of the enterprise to push it
with renewed vigour. What the existence of a profitable petroleum industry
near the Karun means to the future of Arabistan, needs no demonstration.
This review would be incomplete without some reference to the all-important
MeIcran> question of the arms traffic from Maskat
through Mekran, but the subject be ; ng
fully dealt with in a separate memorandum needs but passing mention here, "in
spite of great expense in coal, and wear and tear of ships, and the utmost co
operation of the ielegraph Department on the Persian shore, our efforts have failed
to make any serious impression on the traffic, which is yearly increasing. At the
present moment the results of the Brussels Conference now about to sit, are
awaited before any fresh line of policy in regard thereto can be devised.
While on the subject of the Mekran ports I may mention that in the winter of
1 907-1908 the Baluch Khans rose against the Belgian Customs Administration
and expelled all their representatives from the Mekran ports and it was only after
a long sojourn and much diplomacy on the part of the Derya Begi that they
were persuaded or bribed to restore the control to the administration. Atone
tune owing to the forcible levy of duty by these free-booter Mirs, from British
subjects, the position on the Mekran Coast waxed somewhat delicate, as it