Page 84 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

62 Part I.

Mesopotamia. Sheikh Nassircame to Baghdad on tho 1 lth instant, having previously, for
many days, refused to enter the town unless his personal safely were guaranteed by the
British and oilier Foreign Consuls, or by the delivery of a koran sealed with tho'seal of th«
Pasha. TliO'C demands being successively rojectcd, ho was ovcnlually induced to present
himself on tho transmission of tho Kcfif/ctct-Ainan (kerchief fr-un the harrni of His Excel-
lency), which among Arabs is regarded as one of the nvst sacred pledges of tho good faith of
the sender ; hut during the past fortnight tho 6amo distrust of the Turkish Authorities has
inllucnccd Sheikh tfasnr's proceeding, and as Namik Pasha refuses to sign the lirman of investi­
ture. until ho shall havo paid down threo thousand purses, tho eiirnestraonuy it seems which ho
originally tendered whon, prior to his brother’s nomination as Kaim Mukam’howas a can*
didato for tho Shoikship ; whilo ho is pcraistontly pleads his inability to advance so con«
si d era Me a sum uutil ho shall have relumed to his own districts: the consc<|uonco is n
doad-lock, which, however, it may terminato, must occasion the loss of much valuable time*
To my nppoal on this head IIis Excollency has romarkod that iho interests of tho telegraph
must give way to those of the Government, and although he still looks f..r a speedy
decision of the question, did it even issue in the postponement oT the work till noxt autumn,
ho would not consent to a s.icrifico of authority, which must eventuate in confirming the quasi-
independent of the Montelik Chiefs by assuring them of the means on all future occasion
of evading their just obligations.
It is clear, indeed, that Iho present policy of Namik Pasha is to effect gradually, by
creating division among the Chiefs themselves, what he shrunk from attempting by force
when, on Sheik Munxoor’s appointment, lie found them unanimous in resisting tho proposed
change in tho form of Government. To this cud he has avow'dlv again summoned Fn/tnt-
el-J/ce and another Chief named Musharee. to Baghdad, and as tho result of their compo i-
tion. he hopes, though tha idea of a Kaim Muknmlik is necessarily ab ndoned, that he
may he enabled to ret ain the lands extending from Bussorah to Kornali on the Shat-cl-Arab,
nnd from Ivornah to tho Hyo, on the Tigris, which ho had in the first instance 6opurated
from the territory formed by the late Sheikh Bunder.
The main objections to this policy .are tho time which would be needed to give it offect
and the bar which it would oppose to any attempt on my part to subsidize some of the
tribal Chiefs. There can be no doubt, 1 believe, that, where Namik Pasha prepared to carry
out his views by means of a military expedition, and thus to establish the authority of
Government in the Monlejik districts as it has been established in those of the Alboo
Mahomed, tho result would be conducive as well to the advantage of the people, who, if
assured of constant support against their own Chiefs w.-uld readily accede to tho change,
as to the permanence of the telegraph under construction ; but in the absence, of adequate
force for this purposo. it is certainly to bo regretted that he should have initiated measures
which, in s ite of reinforcements brought from Mosul and Kirkook and of menaces of
action, could only serve to demonstrate his weakness.
In the end I feel assured that His Excellency will ho compelled to restore matters to
their original condition, but in the interim the boats, which two months ago 1 left laden
with materials for the Euphrates are 6lill detained at Bussorah, nor will ITis Excellency
permit me, associated, of course with an ollicer on his part, to attempt their transit by
means of separate negotiations with the tribes on tho banks of the river. Ilis Excellency
has, however, consented to depute Mahmnpd Beg, an officer possessing much experience of
Arabs, to Bussorah for the purpose of promoting, so far as may be safely done, the object
in view, aud in anticipation of his success, I purpose to proceed myself immediately to
Hillch, and thence down the Euphrates to Divameh (to which point the line has been nearly
completed), prepared to take tho earliest advantage of any settlement that may be effected
by Namik Pasha.
No. 14, dated the 16th March 1864.
From—Colo5el A.B. Kbudall, c.b., Her Majesty's Consul-General at Baghdad,
To—Tho Hon’blbIE. M. Ebski:ie, Her Majesty's Cbnrgd d’AfTaires, Constantinople.
In obedience to a summons from Namik Pasha who desired to consult mo on certain
matters, ”1 returned from Hillch to Baghdad on tho
Political A., May 1864, Nos. 130-140.
13th instant.
Aijour interview on the following day 1 learnt that His Excellency had received a
telegram from Constantinople requiring explanation of tho protracted duration of the Montejih
difficulty, and promising that both Sheikh Fasxir nnd Sheikh Fnhud-el-Alcc had declined to
accept, the farm of tho Montcfik districts in any other terms than those upon which it was
administered by the lati Sheikh Bunder, while Sheikh Muoharee, if invested, was too weak am
uninfluential to maintain his authority. Ilis Excellency condescended to ask my opinion ns
to the course which should now be pursued. His Excellency admitted that the time toi a
military expedition had passed away, and that, even if preparations for transport ana
commissariat, instead of heing wholly overlooked, had been fully matured, the season was
still too far advanced to allow of operations boing o .rriud to a suceossful issue before t he ppiiu^
rise of the rivers. He admitted that measures of coercion would bo regarded with distrust ana
anxiety by the Turkish .Ministry, with whom success alone would be the test of their expe-