Page 303 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

Chapter XV. 273
4G8. In his lottor No. 40, dated 26th Jaouary 1898, Colonel Loch suggested
e .r u ,ooq v.. o, or tho method followed among the Rajput
cero " ’ ' stales for placing upon the parties on both
banks of tho rivor a joint responsibility for any piratical attack occurring in tho
Shat-el-Arab.
469. The Government of India in writing to tho Secretary of State (des-
patch No. G8, dated 5th May 1898) observed :—
" That tho plan would be practicable wc doubt. Tho circumstances of Native States in
India arc very dilTerent from those of the two countrios in question. A decision of this question
depends, however, upon the influence, which Her Majesty’s Government can bring to bear upon
tho Persian and Turkish Governments ; wc can only submit tho suggestion for consideration.’1
470. Sir P. Currie informed Colonel Loch that the suggestion made by him
seemed in itself an excellent one, but that
Sforot E., Jun« 1898, No*. 14*17.
he had mado no suggestion as to tho prac­
tical steps to be taken for holding the tribes responsible (Despatch from Sir P.
Currio to the Porcigu Office, No. 201, dated 1st April 189S).
471. Colonel Loch then recommended that native boats should bo made to
carry some distinctive mark showing whe­
8ccrot E., November 1899, No*. 91*120.
ther they were Turkish or Persian boats,
and that the aot of piracy, which could thus be more easily attributed to one
bank or to tho other of the river, should bo made good by the tribes on the
Turkish or by those on the Persian side as the case might be. He considered,
that Sheikh Khazal, Governor of the Persian bank, had it in his power to
make the tribe residing there answerablo for any outrage traced to that side
of tho river (Colonel Loch’s despatch to the Embassy, No. 261, dated 6th Juue
1898).
472. Colonel Loch, however, did not make it clear, how the indemnity was
to be recovered from the Persian Sheikh, or how tho corresponding authority on
the Turkish side of the river was to he
Ibid (No. 90).
made to pay. If no force were to be
used, the only way of exacting reparation from the lliverian Chiefs would be
to hold tho Turkish and Persian Governments responsible. There would he
little prospect of obtaining satisfaction in this way. The evidence resting on
tho distinctive marks on the boats, if even means could be found to bring the
native craft under such control, would surely he disputed, and each side
would continue to throw the responsibility upon the other.
473. For theso reasons Mr. M. de Bunsen, the British Chargd d’Affaires,
Constantinople, thought that Colonel Loch’s proposal impracticable (Mr. de
Bunsen’s despatch to the Foreign Office, dated 3rd July 1898).
474. The course finally adopted by Her Majesty’s Government appears from
tho following extract of a note addressed
Ibid (No*. 122-12G).
by the British Embassy to the Porte, on
5th September 1898, while H. M. S. Redbreast was ordered to proceed to
Basrah:—
“After cftrefullf considering the means by which, under these circumstances, free traffic
may be re-established and confidence restored, Nor Majesty’s Government have been forced to
the conclusion that tho Riverian Chiefs, whether they reside on the Ottoman or Persian side,
must be held responsible for piracies prepared and carried outoloug tho banks over which they
claim to exeroise authority.
I am, therefore, instructed to direct Her Majesty’s Acting Consul-General at Baghdad to
tako tho necessary stops in order that tho Sheikhs concerned may be informed that reparation
will ho exacted from them in futuro. Arrangements are being made for one of Her Majesty’s
■hips to patrol the Shat-el-Arab during tho date season, from August to November, to assist
in suppressing and punishing acts of piracy, and to recover damages from the responsible
Sheikhs. When it is found impossible to fix the responsibility on one sido or the other of tho
river, tho loss will bo mado to fall ou both sides.
I am this day sendiug telegraphic instructions to Her Majesty’s Consulate-General at
Baghdad in the abo vo son so, aud 1 venture to hope that tho Ottoman authorities will 10
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