ملف رقم ٣٣٩ لسنة ١٩٠٥ "الكويت: - الوكالة السياسية. الإنفاق. زوْرق بخاري" [و‎‎١‎٧] (٣٦٨/٣٨)

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No. 107 of 1912.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
ESTABLISHMENT.
To
The Most Hon’ble the MARQUIS of CREWE, K.G.,
His Majesty's Secretary of State for India.
Simla, the 19th September 1912.
My Lord Marquis,
In reply to Your Lordship’s despatch No. 48 (Political), dated the
10th May 1912, we have the honour to explain that, before authorising the
provisional allotment of Rs. 6,740 per annum for the maintenance of the
Koweit Agency launch, we caused enquiries to be made as to the circumstances
which necessitated expenditure on this launch on a scale so much higher than
that approved for the maintenance of the Consular launch at Mohammerah.
2. Our enquiries demonstrated that no comparison could safely he
instituted, owing to the variation of prices obtaining in the different localities
and to the dissimilarity of the work which these two launches are required to
perform.
The launch at Mohammerah, for instance, is a flat bottomed river
launch stationed in fresh water and is only required for river trips, while that
at Koweit is a sea-going vessel drawing 7 feet of water stationed in salt water
and required to make comparatively long voyages. Eurther, as the Mohammerah
launch, owing to her unsuitability and defects, has been very little used, there
has been no opportunity to test the sufficiency or otherwise of the allotment
sanctioned for her up-keep.
3. When the Koweit launch was first provided, the sum of Rs. 6,740 which
was allotted for its maintenance was based on the following items :
JRs.
Coal and stores ... ... ••• 4,200
Repairs ... ••• ••• 2,300
Miscellaneous ... ••• ••• 240
At the time it was not contemplated that the vessel would be required to take up
a regular mail service between Koweit and Lao, and, consequently, this estimate
proved insufficient. As the launch ceased to perform this extra duty in May
1911, we proposed in our despatch No. 13 (Establishment), dated the
1st February 1912, to sanction expenditure at the rate originally provided, i.e. t
Rs 6,740. Your Lordship will observe from the enclosure of our despatch,
No. 99 (Secret), dated the 29th August 1912, on the subject of the reduction
of expenditure in the Agencies and Consulates under the Bushire Residency,
that we have now substituted a fixed contract grant of Rs. 12,000 for the
previously existing allotments of Rs. 5,750 and Rs. 6,/40 on account of the
establishment and up-keep of the Koweit Agency launch.
/