"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٩‎٠‎٣] (١٧٨٢/١٠٥٨)

908
who had asked for advice and protection, of the assurances obtained from
the Porte ; and to promise that, so long as the Shaikh continued to
observe the Convention of 1861. the reciprocal obligations of Britain
towards him would be fulfilled.
At an early stage of the Turkish proceedings in Hasa, the Bahrain Murder^ of
outlaw Nasir- bin-Mubarak had attached himself to the Ottoman messen g er
expedition and had been employed as a medium of communication with Bahrain,
the Arabs of the adjoining districts. In August or September 1871 an
Arab of the Bani Hajir tribe was employed by Nasir-bin-Mubarak to
convey a letter from the Turkish commandant in Hasa to Jasim-bm-
Muhammad, the Al Thani Shaikh of Dohah in Qatar; and this
individual, having imprudently embarked in a Kuwait vessel which
touched at 'Aqariyah on the coast of Bahrain and having, it was stated,
been recognised there as one of the slayers of Shaikh 'Ali-bin-Khalifah
in the invasion of 1869, was put to death by some subjects of the
Shaikh of Bahrain. Among other letters found on his body and delivered
to the Shaikh of Bahrain, by whom it was opened, was one from the son
of Nasir-bin-Mubarak to Shaikh Jasim of Dohah that ran ; " The
" Turkish Government are mindful of Qatar, Bahrain and other places, in
"view of putting down their enemies, so that their friends may rejoice.
" Please God, you will soon receive news that may gladden you.' 1 he
letter of the Turkish commandant was returned, unopened, to the master
of the Kuwait vessel, by whom it was conveyed to its destination. Some
fear was felt at first lest this incident should be utilised by the Turks as
a pretext for aggression on Bahrain, and precautions were taken by
the British Government and by the local British authorities to oblige
the Turks to resort to diplomatic, and abstain from forcible methods.
Among them was a reminder conveyed through the British Resident
at Baghdad to Mid-hat Pasha, then on his way to inspect the new
province of Hasa, of the assurances given by the Turkish Government
that there should be no interference with Bahrain. A demand for repara
tion was eventually made on the Shaikh by a Turkish Commodore, who
arrived off Bahrain on the 22nd of November 1871 with a corvette and
gunboat; it was answered by 'Isa-bin-'Ali in a conciliatory letter to
Mid-hat Pasha, written apparently under the advice of Colonel Pelly,
who had come to Bahrain. In his communication the Shaikh expressed
regret that he had not been informed of the establishment of direct
Turkish rule in Hasa, that a man belonging to a tribe at feud with e
people of Bahrain and connected with Nasir -bin-Mubarak should have
been selected as a messenger and allowed to land m Bahrain, t lat t is