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Coll 1/67 'Aden. Changes in administration in the event of separation from India: miscellaneous questions' [‎50v] (100/769)

The record is made up of 1 file (384 folios). It was created in 2 Jun 1936-15 Nov 1937. 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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18
4. On the other hand, while they are acquiescent in the prospect of transfer
and reliant on the honesty of the intentions and purposes of His Majesty sOovern-
ment, they are characteristically apprehensive of change, and die not con ic tn 1 a
that which is now contemplated will be to their social or material advantage. As
one of my visitors expressed himself—“ We are warm in this tire, hhall we pet taps
be burned in another? ”
5. The following particular points have emerged in the course ot my conversa- <C
tions in regard to the Announcement: ,
Condition 1 .— There is a “ bazaar rumour ” widely believed among uneducated
Arabs, that the annual contribution of Rs.20 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of which India would be ic icved,
will be borne by Aden. Enlightened classes are not free from this suspicion, and it
has been suggested to me that this misapprehension should be removed by the issue
of a further and clearer Announcement in this regard. •
Conditions 3 and 4.—While intelligent opinion understands that His Majesty s
Government would be unable, at the present, or perhaps at any, juncture^ to bind
themselves unconditionally to the maintenance of the existing fiscal policv m Aden,
there is general disappointment that a more definite statement has not been made on
these issues.
Miscellaneous. —Religious circles profess to be preoccupied with the need for
the administration of the Sher’ia Law in Aden according to the Shafe’i doctrine,
which is followed by practically all the Arab Moslem community. It appears, how
ever, that Arab opinion generally is satisfied with Indian Law in that respect which
fellows the Hanafi doctrine; and I think that the contention of the ’Ulema represents
a pious hope for the future, rather than an argument for or against transfer.
6. The publication of the Announcement has had the desired effect of crystalliz
ing the issues at stake, and has tended to confine controversy to the conditions with
which it dealt; and while it has not prevented the exchange of irresponsible rumours
in the bazaars, there is no evidence that these rumours have their source in propaganda
directed by (Indian commercial) circles which are still uncompromisingly hostile to
transfer.
7. The sense of this appreciation has been generally confirmed by official and
unofficial observers whom I have consulted in the matter, and whose activities bring
them into close touch with the Arab community in Aden. The situation will continue
to be closelv watched, and developments will be reported to you from time to time.
8. I have addressed copies of this despatch to the Secretaries of State for India
and for the Colonies.
I have, &c.,
The Secretary to the Government of India. R. S. Champion.
Foreign and Political Department. Simla. Chief Commissioner.
17960/33 '[No. 44].
No. 20.
MR. J. G. LAITHWAITE ( 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. )
to
MR. H. R. COWELL (Colonial Office).
My dear Cowell, 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. , Whitehall, S.W.l, 12th August, 1933.
I enclose, in accordance with his request, copy of a letter from Reilly which
is self-explanatory, and of the answer I have sent to him. If it was convenient for
you, do you not think that it might be rather a good thing to have a talk on Tuesday
afternoon, as suggested, in wffiich we could run rapidly through the points he has
raised in his letter of 10th August?
Yours, &c.,
J. G. LAITHWAITE.
Enclosure 1 in No. 20.
Dear Laithwaite. Summerset, Lymington, Hants, 10th August, 1933.
In conversation in London some weeks ago it was suggested that I should
enumerate some of the points that will require consideration if Aden is separated from
India. Those that occur to me are :—
1. Income tax from firms doing business at Aden which at present is collected
by the Government of India elsewhere than at Aden, e.g., Calcutta or Bombay. —There

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Content

The file contains correspondence, memoranda and reports regarding administrative changes to be made upon the transfer of Aden from the Government of India to the Colonial Office. The file consists primarily of correspondence between: the Aden Chief Commissioner (Bernard Reilly); 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 Colonial Office; and the Government of India Home, Foreign and Political, Finance, and Reforms Departments.

The file has been divided into the following bundles:

  • 1. Memoranda, ff 5-73;
  • 2. Flag, ff 74-79;
  • 3. New buildings, ff 80-86;
  • 4. Pension rights of Indian personnel, ff 87-95;
  • 5. Personnel, ff 96-184;
  • 6. Judicial and Revenue Stamps, ff 185-910;
  • 7. Position of Consuls, ff 191-197;
  • 8. Printing Press, ff 198-203;
  • 9. Provident Fund, ff 204-210;
  • 10. Application of international treaties and extradition conventions, motor vehicles (international rules), ff 211-325;
  • 11. Future financial arrangements in regard to salt, income tax, supply of opium etc., ff 326-384.

The bundle titled 'Memoranda' contains a copy of Reilly's 'Note on Fourteen Points connected with the Transfer of Aden from the Government of India to the Colonial Office, discussed at the Foreign Office in 1933', plus a copy of Aden. Question of Transfer. Papers, 1933 (Middle East No. 50), and related correspondence.

The bundle titled 'Personnel' concerns the issue of retaining Indian administrative personnel at Aden following the transfer, on their existing terms of service, for a period of five years. The correspondence also concerns the position of the District and Sessions Judge, which upon transfer would change to become Judge of the Supreme Court of Aden; the appointment of James Taylor Lawrence to the post upon the retirement of G B Constantine is discussed.

The bundle titled 'Provident Fund' concerns the creation of a new General Provident Fund at Aden upon transfer. Reilly proposes that the Government of India transfer over to Aden any monies standing to the credit of Indian service personnel retained permanently; the Government of India propose that the monies should be cancelled out against the value of buildings, civil debt and pecuniary liabilities etc. involved in the transfer.

The bundle titled 'International Treaties' concerns the applicability to Aden, upon transfer, of various international agreements, and discusses the need to formally notify foreign governments of the change. Folios 297-321 include lists of treaties, conventions etc. which applied to both India and Burma, drawn up upon the separation of Burma in 1935. Extradition treaties and international motor agreements are discussed in particular detail.

The bundle titled 'Future Financial Arrangements' contains notes on budget administration, financial management, the issue of the salt tax, income tax, customs arrangements, and the importation and control of opium and other regulated substances. Draft estimates based on the figures of revenue and expenditure for the years 1932-1935 are included at folios 371-383.

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 2).

Extent and format
1 file (384 folios)
Arrangement

The file has been divided into eleven bundles, according to subject. Within the bundles, materials are arranged in rough chronological order, from the rear to the front.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 384; 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 back of the external cover has not been foliated.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 1/67 'Aden. Changes in administration in the event of separation from India: miscellaneous questions' [‎50v] (100/769), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1505, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100032999346.0x000067> [accessed 13 May 2024]

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