Page 135 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol IV_Neat

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of arms ami ammunition into ICowcit 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 Koweit 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 Koweit
territorial waters, vessels carrying the British,
Persian, or Koweit flag, as well as Koweit vessels
in Indian and Persian waters; and to confiscate
any arms and ammunition dcstiued for Indian,
Persian or Koweit ports.
In spite of the above Notification little serious
attempt has been made to chock the import of
arms into Koweit. lu April 1901, at a time
when tribal warfare was in full progress in the
Vicoro/o interior of Arabia, the Government of India
telegram of pointed out that no arrangements had as yet
May 29, 1904.
been made with the Porte for the combined
suppression of tbo traffic, 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 tho intorior, tlio Government of India
were anxious that no additional check should be
imposed on the arms traffic at Koweit, which
afforded tho main source of supply to tho rival
Chieftain, Bin Saoud, Amir of the Wahabi. It
was explained that this did not involve autho­
rizing the Sheikh of Koweit to import arms, or
even relaxing measures actually in forco, hut
merely letting matters remain as they were.
Mr. Hrodrick to His Majesty’s Government accepted this view,
Government
of India, and the Government of India were informed on
June 21, 1904. the —<tth Juue, 1901, that fresh measures for tho
prevention of the importation of arms at Koweit
would for the present he deferred.
Tho 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 tho large iucrcase during tho year in
tho value of the arms imported in country
sailing-boats, and remarked that “ the well-known
dislike of the British authorities to this traffic,
while it has had no effect in checking tho 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 13 lakhs worth of goods.”