Page 13 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

FOB THE YEAR 10lf. 3

telegraphy had not advanced beyond the preparation of estimates of the cost of
constructing the necessary buildings, and though the framework of a lighthouse
. 4I ,, . was brought out and deposited on Tanb
I^Mbg «* taq»g I" it. MI. Wand in October, and several gas buov.
landed at the embryo lighthouse dep6t at Abadan, it was not found practicable
to instal any of the latter during the year, and the Engineer deputed to erect
the foi?ner only arrived in the Gulf towards tho eud of December.
On tho other hand, some 5,000 tons of ooal were unostentatiously deposited
on our concession on Henjam during the
Henjam.
spring, without raising any protest from
the local authorities or the Persian Government, and towards the end of the
year the coaling staff were transferred to Henjam from Basidu, which thus
reverts to its former state of peaceful obsourity.
The Bahrain Order in Council underwent further careful examination :
and at the close of the year it was under­
Judicial.
stood that it was on the eve of publica­
tion.
An Order in Council was issued in May modifying the Persian Coast and
Islands Order in Council, 1907, so as to include within its limits Mohammerah,
irith its dependencies, and the Coast and maritime provinces of Persia, the
latter term being defined as meaning the provinces of Arabistan, Fare, Laris-
tan, Kerman, Persian Baluchistan, and those districts by custom and for the
time being included under the authority of the Persian Governor of the
Gulf Ports.
The effect of this change has been to make the judicial sphere in Persia
of His Majesty’s Consulate-General correspond in a large measure with its
administrative sphere, and to empower all political officers within it, who are
endowed with judicial powers to function when occasion requires, to act under
the Gulf Order, subject to the usual authorization of the Government of India.
The negotiations with the Porte for a settlement of our conflicting inter­
ests in the Persian Gulf, to which refer­
Anglo-Turtish Negotiation*.
ence was made in last year’s report, have
made but little progress : it was not until April loth that the Turkish reply to
our proposals of July 29th, 1911, was received, and on all important points it
was almost wholly unfavourable ; whilst Great Britain has claimed nothing
new, hut has merely been asking for the recognition of the position which she
lias built up for herself in the regions affected, Turkey took advantage of the
negotiations to assert claims which she never has been, and is not now, in a
position to substantiate.
The rejoinder of His Majesty’s Government to the Turkish counter-pro­
posals was sent in July : bat the "outbreak of the Tuvko-Balkan war no doubt
prevented deliberate consideration of our reply by the Ottoman Government,
and no reply had been received up to the close of the year.
As in 1911, so during the current year, whilst His Majesty’s Government
deemed it expedient during the pendency of the above negotiations to refrain
from overt action at Kuwait or elsewhere which could be colourably interpret­
ed as a breach of the status quo, the Turks continued to violate it in various
directions notably in connection with lighting arrangements on the bar of the
Shatt-cl-Arab.
Steady progress was made during the year with the construction of the
line, in spite of the Turko-Italian and
The Baghdad Bailwaj.
Turko-Balkan wars, but it would appear
that the German employes of the line have incurred the distrust and dislike of
{he natives, whom they are stated to have so far treated with no very rigid
justice and with scanty consideration.
An agreement was reached during the year between the Baghdad
Jhdlway Company and the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company,
"•ho formed a Transport Syndicate to purchase and run vessels on the Tigris,
•pecially to deal with the former Company’s requirements : had such a com­
promise not been arrived at, it would have been open to the Baghdad Bailway
Company to run vessels of their own under Article 9 of their concession. Tho