"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٥‎٨‎٥] (١٧٨٢/١٧٤٠)

^1/
istt:
1585
upstream of it, which considerably impaired the amenity of its situation
When finished, it was the most imposing edifice in Baghdad.
Difficulties were at one time created by the local Turkish authorities
in connection with the retaining wall of the terrace on the river which
they asserted would interfere with the course of the stream ; but their
objections were frivolous, and by the intervention of His Britannic
Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople they were removed.
The question of the representation of British interests at Karbala
and Kadhimain during the greater part of the period now under consi
deration was very closely bound up with that of the administration of
the Oudh Bequest, as will be apparent on reference to a later section of
the present chaptej in which that subject is discussed. In 1877 the
affairs of the domiciled British Indian colony at Karbala, always a large
one, were superintended by Haidar 'Ali Khan, an Indian nobleman,
a native of Lucknow, and a connection it is understood of the Nawab
Iqbal-ud-Daulah, who was styled in correspondence the Honorary British
Agent; and a similar position was held at Kadhimain by Muhammad
Husain Khan, a son of Ghulam Muhammad Khan, of Arcot. Haidar 'Ali
Khan was succeeded at Karbala by Muhammad Taqi Khan, another
son of Ghulam Muhammad Khan, about 1884; and in 1888, on
the death of Muhammad Husain Khan, the Kad-himain appointment
was conferred on Agha Muhammad, the son of the deceased. Muhammad
Taqi Khan and Aga Muhammad were generally described as "Honorary
Agents of the Residency; and so in a sense they were, for the British
Government paid them nothing; but, as is explained elsewhere, they
were allowed to pay themselves salaries out of the Oudh Bequest, under
which they were " Indian Distributors/' Their work was to represent
the Resident in all local matters and to supervise the legal business
disputes, etc., of resident British Indians; and a functionary for the
performance of these duties was undoubtedly necessary at Karbala; but
at Kadhimain, only a short distance from Baghdad, the need for one
—apart from the distributions under the Oudh Bequest carried on there
until 1902—was open to question.
Difficulties frequently arose from the unofficial character of the
Agencies and from their non-recognition by the Turkish authorities. In
1879 Colonel Miles, the Resident, after a tour to Karbala, advised
that Haidar 'Ali Khan, the Agent there, while remaining Honorary,
should be invested with consular status quo at Karbala and Najaf,
and provided with a small staff; but the proposal was negatived by
His Majesty's Government on the ground of expense. In 1885
109
Representa
tion o£
British
interests at
Karbala and
Kadhimain,
1876-93.
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