Page 235 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

FOB THE YEAR 1913. 93
Tho other question is that of the Zaitun lands which aro partly tho property
^ tho Sirdar Assad and other Bakhtiaris. These lands are a source of constant
Imitation and tho Shaikh must either purchase them outright at tho price tho
jjakhtiaris aalc or must give up his mortgage on them at a reasonable rate.
„ .... .. ... Our relational with the Shaikh havo con*
tiuued to be as satisfactory as ever.
With the development of Arahistan however and tho granting of tho option
{or tho Mohammerah-Khumnnabad Railway a new phaso has arrived.
The Shaikh feels that his position is not assured, in spite of, indeed partly
0I! account of, tho terms on which he is with us.
From our own point of view also tho situation is one which needs revision.
For tho Shaikh the position is not assured since the development of
^rahistan is of necessity bound to increaso tho avidity of the Persian Govern­
ment with regard to his territories. Tho fact that he is on good terms with us
and is giving us all that lies in his power does not endear him to the Persian
Government and makes him a certain number of enemies. He feels then that,
idiilc willing to give to us all that we|may desire or he can supply, he would
like, in return, to acquire a greater sense of security than he enjoys at present.
Our position also was one requiring thought. We had assured the Shaikh
that we would see that his rights and privileges were respected by the Persian
Government.- Tliis assurance was a private one.
If the Belgians increase their control over the revenues and the general
Government and the Swedes also increased their control over the country a time
might easily arise when we should find ourselves in a difficult position. To
refuse to assist the Persian Government in a reform might he to assume a posi­
tion which might seem to be standing in the way of progress and which we
could not adopt; on the other hand to agree to their demands might very easily
be agreeing to an encroachment on the rights aud privileges of the Shaikh.
To meet tho Shaikh’s difficulty aud our own the only alternative appeared
to be to inform the Persian Government of the fact that, owing to tlie great
interests we had in Arahistan, we had been obliged to take up a very special
position with regard to the Shaikh and to 6ee that his privileges were main­
tained.
This procedure has accordingly been recommended for tho consideration of
His Majesty’s Government.
Another point which required deliberation was the question of the Shaikh’s
heir. The Shaikh was anxious that we should delete from the assurances the
words referring to the approval of his tribes on this subject
It was obvious that, before we could do this, it would be necessary to have
the right to approve of the heir ourselves.
This question is also under consideration.
The Shaikh has shown himself, as ever, willing to meet all our wishes. He
consented to the terms of the Anglo-Turkish Convention in all matters in which
he was concerned, agreed to make the British Commissioner on the Riverain
Board his agent in matters affecting the Skatt-el-Arab and showed every trust
in our arrangements.
Hehas also granted us an option for irrigation on the Karun near
Hohammerah. This option is but temporary and with a view to something
more definite being determined.
Intimately connected with our relations with the Shaikh is the question
Internal admlnUtntion. of his administration.
^ A few years ago Mokammorah was an Arab village, to-day it possesses the
wme 30 Europeans, wEile 8J miles away, at Abadan, is a colony of a further 30
Europeans and 1,000 British Indians.
To cope with tho continued development of the place will need more than
the staff at tho disposal of the Shaikh.