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(4) Ibn Saud agreed to settle claims by Kowait in respect of past raids in
accordance with current procedure, subject to the same condition as
in the case of Iraq, i.e., that none of the rebel Mutair and Ajman who
were in the hands of the British authorities or their property should
remain in Iraq or Kowait territory.
Finally, Kowait tribes were to receive an unspecified share of the £10,000 to
be paid in anticipation of a final settlement of claims—an arrangement which
was still held up at the end of the year in the circumstances described in
paragraph 20 (d) above.
54. Colonel Biscoe took advantage of his meeting with Ibn Saud to discuss
privately the customs question with Kowait, but he found the King uncom
promising, and he thought it better to leave the matter over until the effect of
more settled conditions could be appreciated. He hoped that under^ such
conditions there might be a revival of trade and a relaxation of Ibn Saud’s
embargo, and suggested that, if this proved not to be the case, a meeting might
be arranged between the King and the sheikh to thresh the matter out with the
assistance of a political officer. Thus the Biscoe mission, though it achieved its
main object, left the complex of “Persian Gulf Questions’’ intact, with one
addition, namely, the proposal that an agreement similar to the Bahra Agreement
should be come to between Nejd and Kowait.
55. A few days before the “Lupin” Conference in February Ibn Saud
suggested that the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. questions which he on his side had raised should
be dealt with during the “ Lupin ” meeting. His Majesty’s Government declined
to agree to this at such short notice, but expressed readiness to arrange a meeting
later between 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. and the King, provided that the latter would
in the meantime produce a detailed statement of his desiderata. This elicited a
month later, i.e., on the 26th March, a reply from the Acting Minister for
Foreign Affairs to the effect that “ it was not possible for His Majesty my Lord
the King to meet the present Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. about affairs connected
with the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .” This surprising reply completely baffled His Majesty’s
Government until it was ascertained in May that Ibn Saud had conceived a
violent resentment against Colonel Biscoe personally over an incident which had
previously attracted no particular attention in British circles. The King, when
returning from the “ Lupin ” Conference, had signified his intention of looking-
in at Bahrain. Such a visit, ostensibly intended as one of courtesy to his friends
the sheikhs, was considered 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. to be undesirable, partly
for political reasons, partly because, so far as Colonel Biscoe knew, no prepara
tion had been made for it* The King had not approached him direct, but had
signified his wish to the captain of the “ Patrick Stewart.” He sent, not to the
King but to the captain, a discouraging message, which Ibn Saud construed as
an insult. In circumstances which need not be related in detail, he accomplished
his object of visiting Bahrain, but he nursed his grievance against Colonel
Biscoe and gave expression to his feelings in the refusal to meet him which has
been recorded.
56. This torpedoed for the time any question of a meeting to discuss Ibn
Saud’s Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. desiderata. In the meantime His Majesty’s Government
had been considering those of Kowait. In July they decided to approach Ibn
Saud with a proposal that he should meet 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. to discuss {a) the
Kowait customs question, and (5) the proposed quasi-Bahra Agreement. They
attached importance to any such discussion being conducted by Colonel Biscoe,
and they hoped that, if the King renewed bis objection to meeting him, explana
tions which had been furnished by the Resident regarding the Bahrain affair
would overcome the objection. They were prepared to take the risk of Ibn Saud’s
again raising the question of his own desiderata in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . His
Majesty’s Minister at Jed da was on the 2nd August instructed to broach the
matter with Ibn Saud on this basis, but it had just come to Sir A. Ryan’s notice
that the King’s resentment against Colonel Biscoe was even more bitter than had
been supposed. For this and other reasons he asked permission to make an
attempt to allay the King’s wrath by a personal lettei which would at the same
time serve to draw the King out as regards his attitude towards the two Kowait
questions which His Majesty’s Government had decided to take up. This