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'File 38/3 II P. C. L. Qatar Concession' [‎106r] (211/336)

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The record is made up of 1 file (166 folios). It was created in 21 May 1947-7 Oct 1949. 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

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Report on Action taken at Waqra Beacon
on Sunday 24th July 1949
A working party was assembled on the morning of 24th July 1949 at
Umm Said and with transport proceeded to Jebel Waqra.
The party consisted of one Indian Foreman, two Indian Steel Erectors,
one Indian carpenter and nine Qatari labourers.
The working party was organised by and under control of Mr. C.A.
McQuaid, General Foreman,
Mr. Hewitt, Area Civil Engineer, accompanied by Mr. K. Copty, clerk and
interpreter, also proceeded to Jebel Waqra.
Messrs. Hewitt, McQuaid and Copty arrived at the site at 0930 hrs.
and conditions were as they had been left the previous day.
The standard was standing over the point marker and braced at the
upper part between the members of the tubular frame.
At 10.00 hrs. the working party arrived with all the necessary
materials. Work was commenced at once and the first task was to tie on
temporary rope guys to maintain the standard in a vertical position during
concreting.
Before the working party arrived there appeared on the scene a
middle-aged Arab whom we subsequently found to be named Hassan Shaer and
another.
These two asked questions as to what we were going to do but we were
politely non-committal and from overhearing them speak Mr. Copty saw that
they were very pu z zled.
As the work got under way about ten to fifteen people had collected and
there v/as much talk and speculation.
About fifty minutes after work had commenced we saw approaching rapidly
from the direction of Waqra three men. When they arrived it was seen that one
had a cane and a revolver, one had a rifle and the other was unarmed.
v
As they came near, the man with the revolver, who was stated to be
Ameer kept shouting 1 Stop work’. The labourers immediately stopped all work
and ran a short distance from the site.
The man Hassan Share approached my party and stated thatjhe was the
spokesman for Sheikh Saud of Waqrah.
He said that Sheikh Saud had stated that no work was to be done and had
given instructions that any work carried out would be dismantled. I stated that
my instructions from the Company were that the Beacon would be erected and it
had the consent of the Ruler. He then said that there was but one Ruler in
Waqrah and that was Sheikh Saud.
He pressed that Mr. Copty and I would accompany him and have speech with
Sheikh Saud. To that I replied that the Company dealt only with the Ruler in
Doha and that I could not speak with Sheikh Saud. Again he said that the
’Sheikh at Doha’ had no jurisdiction at Waqrah and the ground on which we were
working was the sole property of Sheikh Saud.
While this conversation was going on I had instructed Mr. McQuaid to
do all he could to get the work going again. The Indians had started work and
some of the coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. .

About this item

Content

The volume contains correspondence relating to the work of Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, a subsidiary of Petroleum Concessions Limited, in Qatar. The correspondence is principally between 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. in Bahrain, the Political 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. in Bahrain [ Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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. ], representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited (at their offices in Bahrain and the United Kingdom) and Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, the Foreign Office, 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. , the Government of India, the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Staff Liaison Officer (RAF) in Bahrain, and the ruler of Qatar, Abdulla bin Qasim al Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Qāsim Āl Thānī].

The papers contained in the file cover the following matters:

  • use of certain radio frequencies by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited;
  • jurisdiction of the Shaikh of Qatar over non-Qatari and non-British subjects in his country;
  • employment of foreign nationals, including Iranian drivers and mechanics, Palestinian welders and other technicians, and Hungarians and Romanians;
  • employment of the Lebanese firm Contracting and Trading Company to recruit skilled labour;
  • use of the telegraphic address PETROQAT QATAR by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited;
  • the provision of meat for workers in the field;
  • the extent of the Qatar concession, specifically if it covers its waters and islands;
  • interference in the erection of navigational buoys by Su'aad bin Abdur Rehman Al-Thani, Shaikh of Wakrah;
  • advance payment of concession royalties to Shaikh ‘Abdullāh of Qatar;
  • the Shaikh of Bahrain's claims on Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. .

Folios 155-66 are internal office notes.

Extent and format
1 file (166 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 2-152; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 38/3 II P. C. L. Qatar Concession' [‎106r] (211/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/865, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025667477.0x00000c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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