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Coll 1/12 'Policy in the Protectorate: treaty with the Upper Yafai Chiefs, and other Chiefs in the Protectorate' [‎180r] (359/376)

The record is made up of 1 file (188 folios). It was created in 14 Feb 1929-1 Aug 1939. 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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47
tions at issue, and that he was only continuing the process of
sounding me. I therefore asked him what proposal he had to
make for the opening of negotiations on the specific points, and
he replied by asking me whether 1 would agree to appoint a dele
gate on my part, and name one to represent him (the Imam) for
the purpose of examining the question in committee. I replied
iiaming Mr. Antonins as my representative, but declined to sug-
.“'^st who the Imam’s delegate should be. His Highness said that
he would consider the choice of his own representative later and
would let me know.
14. When the Imam had withdrawn, I asked Raghib Bey to
inform him that Mr. Antonins would be ready to meet His High
ness’s representative as soon as was agreeable to him. In spite
of my hint, however, the gentlemen appointed by the Imam did
not present themselves till two days later.
Fourth Meeting.
15. The Imam’s delegates were three in number: —
Sayyid ‘Abdullah ibn Ibrahim, Oadi ‘Abdullah al-‘Amri,
and Raghib Bey,
and the fourth meeting was held in our house at 9 a.m. on Mon
day, the 1st February.
I opened the meeting with a few words of welcome and then
said that I proposed to leave these gentlemen to discuss matters
with Mr. Antonius, who was fully conversant with my views and
with the facts of the case, and would be able to conduct the con
versation in Arabic, a great saving in time. Thereupon, I with
drew, adding that I should be in the house in case the necessity
for reference arose. Subsequently, Mr. Antonius submitted the
following report of the conversation which had taken place: —
Report by Mr. Antonins.
16. The meeting lasted two hours. Sayyid ‘Abdullah opened
the proceedings by a long discourse in which he repeated the
familiar arguments relating to the Imam’s historical rights. I
replied to the effect that the question immediately before us was
whether the Imam was prepared, in principle, to come to terms
on the basis provided by the Draft of August, 1924*. I said that
the Draft represented the considered policy of His Majesty’s
Government and rested on principles which they had no intention
of abandoning. In spite of the fact that the Draft had been
presented some sixteen months ago, no definite expression of
opinion had been received from the Imam with regard to its
contents. The first step, therefore, seemed to me to find out
what and where the differences were, and I suggested that this
could best be done by taking the Draft and examining it together
in committee, point by point. To this the Oadi ‘Abdullah replied
that it would be preferable to negotiate without the Draft so that
we might approach the question with a clear vision. He went
on to say that the points of difference were not numerous, and
he hoped that agreement could be reached notwithstanding those
differences. From the Imam’s point of view, the question was a
very simple one of justice and truth. All that he asked for was
* Annexure 2.

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Content

The file contains papers regarding proposals to alter the basis of treaty relationships with tribes in the Aden Protectorate, comprising annotated treaty drafts, plus correspondence between the Foreign Office, the Colonial 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. Political Department, the Aden Resident (later Chief Commissioner, then Governor), and the Air Ministry.

The correspondence primarily concerns a proposal by the Resident (Sir Stewart Symes) to replace existing individual tribal treaties with a single instrument, and to cease payments of fixed stipends for general service in favour of payments for services rendered. The proposed change in policy was later abandoned by the Chief Commissioner, Sir Bernard Reilly.

The correspondence also concerns Symes's conference at Lahej, and the pact with the Lahej and other Chiefs to defend against Yemeni incursion into the Aden Protectorate; the deteriorating relationship between the Aden Protectorate and the Imam of San'a; and the suggestion by the Resident that a Chiefs' council should be established along the lines of the tribal councils in Baluchistan, to act as the central authority for the settlement of tribal affairs.

The papers dated 1939 concern the Tripartite Agreement with the Qu'ayti [Qu'ayṭī] and Kathiri Sultans in the Aden Protectorate; the treaty between the British Government and Sultan Salih bin Ghalib Al Qu'ayti [Ṣāliḥ bin Ghālib Al Qu'ayṭī], Sultan of Shihr and Mukalla; and the reconstituted Qu'ayti-Kathari Agreement of 1918.

A copy of the Report by Sir Gilbert Clayton on his Mission to the Imam of San'a (Colonial Office, 1926) is enclosed at folios 156-187.

The following treaty and agreement drafts are found within the file:

  • the agreement [the Lahej Pact] between the Chiefs of tribes and districts within the Aden Protectorate made 6 April 1929 in the presence of the Resident and Commander-in-Chief, ff 119-120;
  • a draft treaty between the Chiefs of Upper Yafa and His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, agreeing to adhere to the purposes of the Lahej Pact of 6 April 1929, ff 84-85, 64-65, and 46;
  • a draft agreement reconstituting the Qu'ayti-Kathiri Agreement of 1918, between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, His Highness the Qu'ayti Sultan of Shihr and Mukalla, and the Kathiri Sultan of Seiyun, on behalf of the Sultans of the Family of 'Abdulla al Kathiri, dated 26 February 1939, ff 19-23;
  • a draft treaty between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, and Sultan Ja'far bin Mansur al Kathiri, Sultan of Seiyun, dated 2 March 1939, ff 17-18;
  • a draft treaty between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, and Sultan Salih bin Ghalib al Qu'ayti, Sultan of Shihr and Mukalla, dated 13 August 1937, ff 3-6.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio one).

Extent and format
1 file (188 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 188; 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 15-188; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but have been superseded and therefore crossed out. A typescript pagination sequence is present in parallel between ff 156-87.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 1/12 'Policy in the Protectorate: treaty with the Upper Yafai Chiefs, and other Chiefs in the Protectorate' [‎180r] (359/376), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1450, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100029535657.0x0000a0> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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