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'14/172 I VOL. B. 68. ARAB COASTS & MISCELLANEOUS' [‎116r] (240/420)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (204 folios). It was created in 14 Jul 1914-20 May 1947. It was written in English, Arabic and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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8./
lK(v5)
f/i>
o.
companies and subsequent events have shown that the action
taken by the Government has been prompted by political
considerations and not because the conditions of service o.t
the workers were inadequate.
6. The Mexican Government have stated that they propose
to compensate the companies, but it is considered unlikely
that any adequate compensation will be forthcoming.
7. In a telegram to H.M. Minister in Mexico sent on
the 6th April instructing him to protest against the action
taken and to demand a return of the properties, the
following views are expressed by the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs;
"The general right of a Government to
expropriate properties in the public interest ana
on payment of adequate compensation no doubt exisos,
but this principle does not serve to justify
expropriation which are essentially arbitrary in
character. In the present case not only is no
clear ground of public interest alleged, but it is
difficult to see that any such ground can in tac-c
exist. Labour conditions in the oilfields were
certainly not such as to warrant an action (or
penalty)' out of all proportion to the situation on
which it is said to be based.
"Expropriation is, moreover, the culminating
point of a series of events, and the question o± its
validity cannot be separated from the nature ox
those events which are such as to render it
impossible to escape the conclusion that the . .
Companies were confronted for ulterior mouiv"es
an award unjustified on the facts and beyond their
economic capacity to fulfil. This award has in lus
turn been relied on as justifying an expropriation,
the real nature of which appears to be political ana
to have little to do either with labour conditions
or any true interest of Mexico.
"In theso circumstances H.M. Government, to
whom the wider interests at stake are incomparably
more vital than those of the United States Government,
could hardly fail to provide these Latin-American
countries with a potent incentive to lollow the
Mexican example if they were to acquiesce m the
loronosition that the dominant issue m the present
instance is merely one of providing adequate
compensation for British shareholders despoiled, ox
their pro'Derties. In their view the essential
issue is the justifiability of the expropriation
itself, and the situation is of a character which
can only be remedied by a restitution of the
properties,"

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Content

This file contains reports and correspondence relating to the ownership of some islands in the Gulf, namely, the islands of Farsi, Arabi, Harqus, Al Karan and Al Kurain. The reports and correspondence are mainly between the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , London; the Foreign Office, London; Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Kuwait; Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Bahrain; the Anglo Persian Oil Company. The discussion over the territorial status bears on whether the islands would come in the concession area of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company or Kuwait. One letter notes that if the ownership of the islands is undetermined up until that point this was of no importance; however, with the possibility that they may contain oil it was now imperative that they should belong to either Her Majesty's Government or to Kuwait rather than a foreign power. Therefore, the Shaikh of Kuwait is encouraged to erect beacons on some of the islands to support his claim to ownership. As the British were keen to avoid territorial disputes with Persia this was thought more unobtrusive than the raising of flags. There is also discussion over the island of Hawar and whether it belonged to Bahrain or Qatar.

It also includes a translation of a letter from Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed [Shaikh of Abu Dhabi] to Colonel Stuart Geoge Knox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , a small hand drawn sketch map showing location of a village on Dalma Island with H.M.S. Fox anchorage position (folio 3), and a table on sources of oil supply to Britain in the years 1935, 1936 and 1937.

Extent and format
1 volume (204 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged chronologically from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The sequence consists of small circled numbers located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio, commencing on the first full page of text.

Written in
English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script
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'14/172 I VOL. B. 68. ARAB COASTS & MISCELLANEOUS' [‎116r] (240/420), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/273, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023628415.0x000029> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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