Page 135 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf) 1907-1953

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of arms and ammunition into Kowcit and the
territory under my control, and the exportation
of the same are absolutely prohibited,” and that
“all arms and ammunition imported into any
parts of Kowcit territory, or exported therefrom,
in future will be seized and confiscated(2)
a Proclamation conferring on British and Persian
vessels of war the right to search, in Kowcit
territorial waters, vessels carrying the British,
Persian, or Kowcit flag, as well as Koweit vessels
in Indian and Persian waters; and to confiscate
any arms and ammunition destined for Indian,
Persian or Kowcit ports.
In spite of tho above Notification little serious
attempt has been made to check the import of
arms into Koweit. In April 1904, at a time
when tribal warfare was in full progress in tho
Viceroy's interior of Arabia, the Government of India
telegram of pointed out that no arrangements had as yet
May 29, 1904.
been made with the Porto for the combined
suppression of tho truffle, and that the impor­
tation of arms was proceeding briskly. In view
of the support rendered by the Turks to Bin
Rashid, Amir of Ncjd, one of tho warring
Chiefs of the interior, tho Government of India
were anxious that no additional check should be
imposed ou tho arms traffic at Koweit, which
afforded the main source of supply to tho rival
Chieftain, Bin Saoud, Amir of the Wahabi. It
was explained that this did not involve autho­
rising the Sheikh of Koweit to import arms, or
even relaxing measures actually in force, hut
merely letting matters remain as they were.
Mr. Brodrick to His Majesty's Government accepted this view,
Government
of India, and the Government of Indiu were informed on
June 24, 1904. the 24th June, 1904, that fresh measures for tho
prevention of the importation of arms at Koweit
would for the present he deferred.
The latest reports of tho Political Agent at
Koweit show that a large and increasing traffic
Major Knox to in arms is being carried on at that port. Major
Government
of India, Knox, in his Trade Report for 1906-7, drew
May 7,1907 attention to the large increase during the year iu
tho value of the arms imported in country
sailing-boats, and remarked that “ the well-known
dislike of tho British authorities to this traffic,
while it has had no effect in checking the import
of arms and ammunition, has had the very un­
fortunate result of losing to a British Company
(the British India Steam Navigation Company)
the freight on 18 lakhs worth of goods.”