"دليل الخليج. الجزء الأول. المواد التاريخية والسياسية. ملخص عن شؤون قطر، ١٨٧٣-١٩٠٤." [ظ‎‎٣‎٣] (٩٢/٦٦)

66
Government could mt properly or consistently enter I'nto any agreement with Sheikh having
nature o^ protectorate which would constitute departure from ttatu* quo on their part
In these circumstances communications t ) Sheikh should be limited to assurances of continued
friendship so long.as he abstains from entering into engag-ements with other Powers. O'Conor
who has been consulted, does not fear any further attempt at Turkish aggression."
220. When the correspondence on the subject between the India and For
eign Offices and Sir N. O'Conor was received from London, it was found that Sir
N. O'Conor had expressed the following opinion in his telegram dated 14)th
November 1903:—
" I am more concerned lest other Powers should profit by the increasing weakness of the
No. 290 of Secret E., May 1904, No?. 234-393. em P ire extract concessions inimical to our sup-
. i m i • i . * ernao y and interests in those regions, than of
any further attempt at Turkish aggressr n."
It would be contrary to the spirit of our late representations as to the maintenance of the
status quo to make a formal declaration of protection; but whether We are thereby debarred
from making an agreement with the Sheikh of Katar in maintenance of the status quo and
directed solely to the exclusion of foreign influence, is mutter for consideration."
221. As regards the Mudirate of Wakra, it appeared that no definite
orders had been issued cancelling the appointment of Abdul Hahman.
His Excellency the Viceroy, therefore, telegraphed to the Secretary of
No. 284 of ditto. State on 20th January 1904, expressing
. a ^ 0 P e that His Majesty's Government
would press for the actual cancellation of the letter of appointment, which had
been issued to Abdul Eahman by the Mutasserif, of which Katar should receive
formal intimation.
222. With reference to Mr. Gaskin's opinion* about the wanino- influence of
the Thani family in Katar expressed in his letter of 20th September 1903, Colonel
Kemball, who was asked to report on the matter, stated in his letter No 33
dated i2th February 1904, as follows :— * *
" I am inclined to doubt if it is the case that the inOnence of the Thani family in Katar
is rapidly waning It may however, be less than it was for the reasons exp'ained by the
Assistant Political Agent. What these people fear is the extension of Turkish rule over
Katar, as they know that they could not resist the Turks for long ; and it is for this reason
that the arrangement with His Majesty's Government is desired. If they were assured of
the support of the British Government against Turkish encroachments, it is probable that the
pos't.on of the family with regard to the tribes in Katar would be strengthened and
Sheikh Ahmed wou d have no necessity to appeal for support in asserting his authority over
ms own tribesmen J
223. As regards the proposed Protectorate treaty with Sheikh Ahmed-bin-
No. 292 of ditto. lhani of Katar, the following despatch
. ,, ^ _ (No. 77, dated 31st March 1904) was
addressed by the Gorernment of India to the Secretary
The decision ujHis Majesty's Government that no agreement should at present be
concluded with the Ch.et, appears to have been based on two main considerations, first that
such a Convention would constitute a disturbance of the sfatvs quo which, in view of the
promise of the Turks to cancel the appointmentsofMudirs in Katar which they had made in
violation of the understanding to respect the ?«, was held to be unjustifiable and
•econdly, that the influence of S ic.kh Ahmed was on the wane, and that an arrangement with
MumS 0Ve ' n UBeCl by the Chief t0 retl,ieve his diminishing
With reference to the former objection, we observe thatt His Britannic Mniestv's AmW
sador at Constantinople is of opinion that, though the formal declaration of the pro(eor„ra.t„
tnisht be considered contrary to the spirit of our recent representations to the Porte we
be justified in making an agreement with the Sheikh, with the object of securing the mainte
nance of the position which the remonstrances of His Majesty's Gtovornment have s"o far partiallv
preserved, and of excluding the possibility of foreign interference in the future. We concur in
Sir Nicolas O Conor s view Wc submit that the action of the Turkish Government and of
their local officials has not been such as to require anv excess of forbearance on oor mrt tW
more so in that, so far as we are aware, they have tailed to carry oat the undertaking U," b *
the Grand Vizier morethan six months ago that their recent nominee for the Mudirate at
" akr \ sh 7' d Q fo ™ 3 "y be dc P rlve , d of tit's- While we obsorrc that so recently as the 28th
December 19^8 Mr Crow reported to Sir Nicolas O'Conor the arrival at Basrah of a battalion
intended for the Katar Peninsula At any rate the Turkish Government could hardly ob .t
to onr entering into friendly relations w.th the successor of Sheikh Muhammad Jn-S.
with whom Colonel Pelly concluded a treaty on 12th September 1869. '
* FiVe paragraph 217 aw^e. ~
t Vide paragraph 220 ante.