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File 1855/1904 Pt 5 'Koweit: Coal depot.' [‎69r] (146/374)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (183 folios). It was created in 24 Apr 1905-7 Feb 1917. 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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No. 77 of 1910.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
SECRET.
External.
To
Tje Right Hon’ble VISCOUNT MORLEY of BLACKBURN, O.M.,
Mis Majesty*8 Secretary of State for India.
Simla, the 9th June 1910
JdY Lord,
We have the honour to refer to Your Lordship's telegrtm, dated
the 13th July 1908, requesting that our views on the subject of the proposed
transfer of the coal depdt at Bushire to Koweit might be submitted by
despatch. J
2. We have now the honour to forward, for the information of His
Majesty's Government, copies of the papers cited in the annexed schedule on
the above subject and also on the question of the selection of sites for (1) the
rectangular plot of ground at Bunder Shweikh leased by the Sheikh of Koweifc
to the British Government in 1907, and (2) the proposed coal depdt at Koweit.
3. W ith regard to the proposal to transfer the coaling station at Bushire
to Koweit, our 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. , in his letter No. 955,
dated the 5th May 1907, brought to notice that the actual coaling work at
Bushire, which was done under a contract arrangement with a local trader, was
carried on under circumstances of great difficulty, and that the harbour itself
had many disadvantages. He represented that at Koweit the harbour was
much more sheltered and convenient for large vessels, and that the more
frequent appearance there of our ships, which would result, would have a
uselul effect in other ways. He accordingly submitted for our consideration
the desirability of closing the depdt at Bushire and establishing one at Koweit.
He agreed, when consulted by us, that the Bunder Shweikh foreshore was
suited for the location of the coaling station. Sir George Warrender, the then
Naval Commander-in-Chief, was of the same opinion and had no objection to
the proposed transfer. Particulars, based on estimates submitted bv 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 Koweit, as to the cost of establishing a coal depbt at
Koweit, were furnished by our 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 his letter No. 91 m,
dated the 22nd March 1908, but it was considered desirable to have esti
mates of the cost of the project prepared by a qualified engineer officer,
and the Bombay Government were accordingly asked, in July 1908, to arrange
for the submission, in consultati >n with 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 Kovveit,
of detailed estimates of the cost of erecting three godowns at Koweit of
a type suitable to the locality and of constructing a permanent coaling
jetty. In July of the following year, the Bombay Government reported that
a survey was necessary, but that it could not be undertak-n as the Politi
cal Agent at Koweit (Major Knox) had reported that no arrangement for the
same had been made with the Sheikh. Our 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. w as, thereupon,
asked whether he thought it desirable to move in the matter of a survey. In
reply, Lieutenant-Colonel Cox, in his letter No. 194J, dated the 8th August
1909, explained that it had not been possible, at a time when a change of
Political Agents was imminent, to go into the question of the delimitation of
the limits of our rectangular Concession and the selection within it of the most
convenient point for the location of a coal depot, but that, as soon as Captain
Shakcspear, the present 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. , had become acquainted with local
conditions, the Commander of H.M.8. “Lapwing " had been deputed to make a
survey of the Bunder Shweikh foreshore in consultation with him.

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Content

The volume contains part 5 of the subject 'Koweit' [Kuwait].

The principal correspondents 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 Percy Zachariah Cox); 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 Kuwait (Major Stuart George Knox, later Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear); the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station (Rear-Admiral Edmond John Warre Slade); the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Public Works Department, Bombay Castle; and senior officials at 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, and the Admiralty.

The papers cover: the proposal (made by Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor, British Ambassador at Constantinople) to establish a coal depot at Kuwait after the withdrawal by the Government of the Ottoman Empire from British steamship companies of coaling privileges at Basra, and the move rendered unnecessary after the restoration of those privileges, April-August 1905, (ff 158-181); the proposal by 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. (Cox) to replace the coal depot for British naval ships at Bushire with one at Kuwait, May 1907 - January 1908 (ff 153-157); the selection by the Government of India of a suitable site at Kuwait (with maps and plans, folios 125, 126, 128), and the approval of the Admiralty and Foreign Office, July 1908 - August 1910 (ff 106-152); further correspondence, plans, and estimates, including a memorandum dated 31 March 1911 (ff 88-94) by the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station (Slade), criticising plans for the proposed coal depot as being on too large a scale, and the proposal deferred pending the outcome of negotiations with the Turkish Government, August 1910 - May 1913 (ff 36-105); Foreign Office approval for the immediate transfer of the coal depot from Bushire to Kuwait, January-August 1915 (ff 15-35); and the decision by the Government of India to postpone the transfer until the end of the [First World] war, November-December 1916 (ff 3-14).

Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

The date range gives the covering dates of all the documents in the volume, including the Secret (later Political and Secret) Department minute/reference papers, which are dated 1905-17.

Extent and format
1 volume (183 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 1855 (Koweit [Kuwait]) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/47-51. The volumes are divided into ten parts, with parts 1 and 2 comprising one volume, parts 3 and 4 comprising the second volume, part 5 comprising the third volume, parts 6, 7, and 8 comprising the fourth volume, and parts 9 and 10 comprising the fifth volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 181; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1855/1904 Pt 5 'Koweit: Coal depot.' [‎69r] (146/374), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/49, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026536903.0x000093> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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