Page 136 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol IV_Neat

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Major Knox found it necessary in May 1900 Major Cox to
to remind Sheikh Mubarak formally of his Arms ^n°jia"imout °f
Prohibition of 1900, and to request that it AuKuat 19-iyoc-
might he more strictly enforced. The Sheikh
did not take the reminder in good part, and (he
Resident in the Persian Gulf gave his opinion
that the question was one which might at any
time endanger the good relations between the
Sheikh and the Political Agent. Major Knox
put the caso still more strongly in a letter to the
Resident. “The Proclamation,” he wrote on
the 3rd July, 1900, ” is not worth the paper it is
written on, and is only a cause of friction.”
4. Trucial Chiefs.—At the close of 1902 the
'Prueial Chiefs entered into engagements respect­
ing the arms traffic, * similar to thoso of tho
Sheikhs of Rahrein and Koweit.
5. Turkey.—The importation of arms and
munitions of war of all kinds into Turkey was
prohibited by an Imperial Decree which was
notified to the British Embassy in February 1802.
The orders issued under this Decree to the
custom-house authorities were communicated
to the British Embassy by tho Ottoman Govern­
ment on the 11th February, 1800. They forbade
absolutely the import into any part of the
Ottoman Empire of all arms and ammunition,
except “ les armes de chasse ct de luxe, les armes
blanches, telsquo sabres, dpiSes ct coutoaux, et la
poudre de chasse cn petite quantity, dcstiuds it
I’usagc privd”; and stated that all contraband
articles would be confiscated by the State.
On the 4th October, 1893, the Porto made a
fresh communication to the Powers, inclosing
the Regulations which had been accepted in the
Turco-German Commercial Treaty just then
concluded, and notifying them as those in force.
The acceptance of these Regulations was not at
the time considered opportune by Great Britain
and the other Powers, but it would seem
that, nevertheless, the Turkish Government con­
tinued to regard the Regulations as those in force
in the Ottoman dominions.
In their despatch of the 30th July, 1903, the Govcnirai-nt of
India’s letter of
Government of India recommended that an en­ July 30. 1903.
deavour should be made to come to an arrange­
ment with Turkey permitting vessels uuder the
Turkish flag to be searched for arms by British
ships of war, or, failing this, that the Porte
should be asked to notify formally to His
Majesty’s Government that the importation of