Skip to item: of 571
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'14/115 IV B. 7. Abu Musa' [‎60v] (127/571)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 volume (281 folios). It was created in 6 Feb 1908-24 Nov 1908. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

It appears to Sir E. Grey that the best course to take is for His Majesty 's
Government to treat the case as far as possible as a commercial dispute
between the parties, and to keep the political aspects out of the discussion-
from the legal point of view the case is undoubtedly strongest so long as it ij
regarded and dealt with as a commercial dispute.
The present position would appear to be as follows :—
Hassan Samaiyeh has made a contract with Mr. Wonckhaus, which he has
either already broken or is no longer in a position to carry out; he is con
sequently liable to them {sic) in damages. Hassan is a British subject and an
action can, therefore, be brought against him in a British Court. If the facts
were gone into in a Court of Law it might not improbably transpire that
Mr. Wonckhaus was aware that Hassan had partners and had no authority to
make the contract without them.
If the German authorities were to retort, when invited to bring an action
that it would be absurd to sue Hassan as he is a man of no substance, and also
because their real ground of complaint is that the Sultan's cancellation of the
original lease has rendered it impossible for Hassan to fulfil his contract though
he himself is ready and willing to do so, it appears to Sir E. Grey that the
Sheikh of Shargah was fully entitled to cancel the lease whenever he wished to
do so, since tbe lease was no more than a permit to work these mines, determin
able by notice on either side, the owner receiving 250 dollars a year so lon^ as
it was in force.
The phrase that "I . . . .let on lease all the ... mines
. for such a period as they may wish to hold them . . " does
not, Sir E. Grey is advised, indicate that the owner is bound for ever and can
under no circumstances escape from his contract, however valuable the mines
may become ; it merely reserves to the partners the right to give up the mines
and escape from the liability to pay 250 dollars a year when they please. That
the owner retainei the risrht to cancel contracts of this kind is shown by the
penultimate paragraph of the agreement, to wit:—"I have perhaps made out
certain agreements previous to this. They do not hold good and this agree
ment is to be acted on."
If the owner possessed the right to cancel the agreement when he pleased,
the circumstances of the contract between Hassan and Mr. Wonckhaus
justified the exercise of such a discretion. It was made without the conseut
of one of the partners who subsequently complained to the Sheikh, and it
gave Mr. \V onckhaus a monopoly of the Abu Musa oxide, thus infringing the
policy which the Trucial Chiefs have consistently followed under the advice
ol His Majesty's Government whose desire is that all trade should be open and
free.
If the German Government argue that the legality of the Sheikh's action
^ouhi be a very suitable matter to refer to arbitration, it appears to Sir
Jb. Grey that Ilis Majesty's Government would be justified in declining upon
u le ground that the primary cause of Mr. Wonckhaus' loss is not the action of
|ie olreikh but the tailure of Hassan Samaiveh to carry out his contract, and
that until Mr. Wonckhaus has tried and failed to recover damages from him
c . ( 10 c 1 an L1 no :ile 6^ for the German Government to approach the Sheikh of
Shargah through His Majesty's Government as to arbitration.
lurning now to the decision which may be laid down in a Court of Law,
i appears o Su E, Grey that if Hassan's contract with Mr. Wonckhans is
K.nf a i void on the ground that his partner was not a party to it, the position
or!®- ^ G ° m P a,a * lve ty simple. Mr. Wonckhaus will have a claim for damages
n^ii! nS * 10 . 0 e! ^ an ^ : ^ if appears that he obtained the contract by any
^ Partner, this claim will be a weak one. If, on the other
™tPfl i t tl3e .i unior partner only objected because he was insti-
unon ITk M?' the elaim wouhi be a strong one, and it would be incumbent
not ho nnn ^ 0S " S ornmei1 ^ consider whether some compensation should
not be paid as an act of grace from Government funds to settle the matter.

About this item

Content

Correspondence concerning Abu Musa island. Correspondence discusses British memorandum of 1908; the German case relating to their mining operations; the Persian claim to Abu Musa, Sirri and Tunb [Tumb]; the role of Hassan bin Samaiyah and the contract with the German company Wonckhaus. Corrrespondents include the 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. ; Frank C. Strick and Co.; German Consulate, Bandar Abbas; H.M. Consulate Bandar Abbas; Deputy Secretary to the Government of India; Khan Bakadur Abdur Latif [Khan Bahadur Abd al-Latif], Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent Sharjah; Khalid bin Ahmad, Sheikh of Sharjah.

Extent and format
1 volume (281 folios)
Arrangement

An index at the front of the file gives subjects covered by the file.

Physical characteristics

This volume has three foliation sequences. The first begins with the first letter and runs from number 1 through to number 55. There follows a gap of one folio, and then a second foliation sequence starts on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. side of what would have been number 56 in the first foliation sequence. This sequence is inconsistent in that it is paginated from number 56 up to number 109, where it then lapses back into foliation and runs through to number 332, the last typescript folio. The third and most recent foliation sequence begins on the first typescript folio, which is loose. It runs from number 1 through to number 281, which is the inside of the back cover. It should be noted that folio 60 in this sequence is followed by folio 60 A, which is then followed by number 61. The first foliation sequence is written in blue and red crayon, in the top right corner of each folio. The second foliation sequence (which contains some pagination) is written in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio (and in the top left corner of the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. side of those folios that are paginated). The third foliation sequence, which should be used for cataloguing, is written and circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'14/115 IV B. 7. Abu Musa' [‎60v] (127/571), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/256, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024060030.0x000080> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024060030.0x000080">'14/115 IV B. 7. Abu Musa' [&lrm;60v] (127/571)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024060030.0x000080">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000e5/IOR_R_15_1_256_0127.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000e5/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image