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‘File 13/28 Sharjah air agreement (aerodrome facilities at Sharjah)’ [‎125r] (249/420)

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The record is made up of 1 file (210 folios). It was created in 15 Jan 1946-5 Dec 1950. It was written in English. 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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British Agencyt
Sharjah.
January 28» 1950
Confidential:
D.O.No. 119-0436
Your letter No.C/TC-8 regarding Sharjah
Civil Air Agreement.
2, I have re-opened negotiations, but Shaikh
Muhammad bin Saqr has informed me that his brother vdll
not allow him to accept terms less favourable than those
which he demanded in his letter of 9th February 1949 to
the Political Officer, Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , which, as I have
your file at present, I set out below for your information.
3 # 2 Head Guards at Rs.60 plus Bs.40 allowances = Rs.100
'Z CX. o 4- Be A A ft "1 n a AH HU* Rs » 80
Batinah and that he was responsible for feeding, clothing
and repatriating them, where necessary, and that this proved
expensive. It was, he added, his misfortune that during
the war, prices had risen and that he was therefore the loser
over the former rate of Rs. 55 for head guards and Rs.35 for
guards. This, misfortune he was ready to accept, but wished
to guard against a recurrence. He said he was actually
spending rather more than this sum per head on his guards
(which I *f)Vftftible), and considered that the new rates for
which his brother was asking were economic, but not more
than economic. He also expressed the fear that these guards
would desert him for the oil companies unless he made it
worth their while to stay.
5. The Shaikh is trying to strike a hard bargain,
of course, but I can see some force in his argument about
the guards. Since Sir Rupert’s despatch No. 14 (81/8/49 oi
1st March 1949 to the Secretary of State), we have raised the
rate for Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. guards to Rs.60 plus clothing and rations on
tour. The Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited,
now pay Rs. 2-8 per day for guards, with free food, which must
bring the actual cost to the Company per man to something of
the order of Rs. 100 per month, or Rs. 20 per month above the
rate for which the Shaikh is now asking, his first fantastic
demands having been reduced to this figure after much hard
bargaining on Jackson’s part last year. I suggest that I
might be allowed to go up to a limit of F: • 100 fo-i head guards
and Rs. 80 for guards as being, in fact, below the oil company
rate to which we are authorized to go by Foreign Office
telegram No. 240 of 6th May 1949 to 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. .
6. I have resisted any attempt at claiming an
increased rental for the rest house on the grounds that the
1937 extention to it enhanced its value. No deduction were
made from payments in respect of such additions, and the
demand for k. 1000 rental therefore must relate to the original
portion of the rest house which was built for Rs.70,929 loaned
by H.M.G. A rental of R^.1000 represents a return of over
16$ on the capital, which is more than generous. I should
feel myself to be firmer ground in working to restrict this
36 Guards at Rs.40 plus 40
Rent of Rest House
Rs. 1000
He said that the guards were brought from the
C.J. Pelly, Msquire, O.B.E.,
BA HR A fN RECEIPT,
v , 6 6 j G 7
m >
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.

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Content

The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the renegotiation of an air agreement with the Sheikh of Sharjah. The principal correspondents in the file are 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay, the 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. at Bahrain, Cornelius James Pelly, and the British Agent (sometimes referred to as the Political Officer) at Sharjah, Patrick Desmond Stobart.

The correspondence documents the protracted negotiations and arrangements for a renewal of the existing Sharjah air agreement, required to replace the existing agreement, which was due to expire on 22 July 1948, and in response to the changing circumstances and requirements at Sharjah, in relation to its civilian and military use in the post-war period. Topics covered by the file include: discussion over the maintenance or disposal of camps and buildings at Sharjah aerodrome; the administration and operation of wireless communications at Bahrain, including their transfer from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to International Aeradio Limited; the departure around August 1949 of the Sheikh of Sharjah, Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , to Bombay for medical attention, and the transfer of his responsibilities in negotiating the air agreement to his brother, Sheikh Muḥammad bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. ; negotiations for the raising of salaries of the aerodrome guards, and disagreement over the payment of duty on aviation fuel at Sharjah; Hay’s recommendation to the Foreign Office in mid-1950, that back payments for the rent of the land for the aerodrome, going back to August 1945, be transferred to Sharjah, partly to enable Sheikh Sultan to pay his medical bills in Bombay, and for Sheikh Muḥammad to pay his tribesmen (the Beni Qitab) their annual allowance; urgent proposals in June 1950 for the extension of the runway at Sharjah by the Royal Air Force.

The file contains several drafts of a new air agreement for Sharjah (ff 9-12, 69-73, 81-86), and maps showing the aerodrome site (ff 3, 4), originally enclosed with a letter from the 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. to Pelly, 7 May 1949 (f 104), and which can be read in conjunction with a number list of the aerodrome buildings (ff 15-16).

Correspondence on the Sharjah civil air agreement continues in ‘File 13/3 Sharjah Civil Air Agreement’ (IOR/R/15/2/938-939).

Extent and format
1 file (210 folios)
Arrangement

The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 199-209) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover on folio 1 and terminates at the back cover on folio 210; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-198; these numbers are written in pencil and blue ink, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

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English in Latin script
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‘File 13/28 Sharjah air agreement (aerodrome facilities at Sharjah)’ [‎125r] (249/420), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/532, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024507681.0x000032> [accessed 6 May 2024]

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