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'File 36/3 Lease of Bander Shweikh' [‎196r] (391/556)

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The record is made up of 1 file (277 folios). It was created in 26 Apr 1905-24 Aug 1923. 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. .

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[Confidential.]
No. 1947, dated Bushire, the 8th (received 16th) August 1909.
From— MAJOR P. Z. COX, C.S.I., C.I.E., 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. ,
To—S. H. Butler, Esq., C.S.I., C.I.E., Secretary to the Government of India in
the Foreign Department.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Foreign Department l"tter^
No. i2io-E.A. f dated 24th July 1909, forwarding a copy of a letter from
the Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. in the Public Works Department,
on the subject of the projected coal depbt at Koweit.
2. It will be understood that it was inconvenient that the somewhat difficult
questions of, firstly, the delimitation of the precise limits of our Concession and,
secondly, the selection of the most convenient point within it for the location of a
coal depot, should be gone into on the spot just as a change of Political Agents
was imminent. Hence Major Knox’s reply to the late Assistant Engineer Mr.
Laffbre. As soon, however, as Captain Shakespear had settled down, the matter
was taken up and the Senior Naval Officer was requested to be good enough to
depute one of His Majesty’s Ships, when a convenient opportunity offered, to
( 1 ) 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. , Koweit, to Resident, No 414 . make a survey of the foreshore of Bunder
dated zsth July j 909 . f Kr rt p , Shweikh in consultation with the Political
(a) Senior Naval Officer to Resident, No. P.-2, n n/r c' .r t • nr*
dated 5th August 1909, with enclosure and sur/ey Agent. H.M.o. EapWing, Lieutenant"
P ,an * Commander Mac Lean, was in due course
deputed for the work, and I am now able to submit the results in the form of
the communications and accompaniments marginally-cited.
3. The position to start with is briefly this. Our Concession must contain
the Sheikh’s which must contain the Sheikh’s coal-shed, which was
already built, on precisely what proves to be the most desirable spot on the
whole foreshore, before the negotiations commenced. Our selection of ground,
therefore, must be within certain preliminary limits, determined by the position
of the Sheikh’s shed.
Within these limits there seems to be no practical doubt as to which will he
the most convenient spot for our coal depot. The selection of the best site of
our Concession, however, is obviously a problem of great moment, and I have no
doubt the Government of India will decide to refer the question with the H.M.S.
“ Lapwing’s ” survey, to His Majesty's Government for decision under the
advice of the Admiralty.
4. It was found by 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. and Lieutenant-Commander MacLean
in the course of the present operations that the English text of the Second
Clause of the first condition of the agreement, as rendered by Major Knox in
the translation forwarded with his letter No. 551, dated 16th October 1907, was
incapable of practical interpretation on the ground, and on reference to the
vernacular original and to certain demi-official explanations written to the
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. by Major Knox while the negotiations were in progress, it became
C) Demi-official comm.nica.ioo t,om Poiitieal evident t0 me his translation needed
Agent, Koweit, to First Assistant Resident, dated amendment. It is on the amended version,
' 4 ra) A Dcmi t .o , ffi 0 cia! W |«. t «r an f ) ,om Political A E ent. of which 1 now enclose a copy, together
Koweit, to First Assistant Resident, dated later, with copies of the demi-official papers
Drtft Of l R«?/e'd Version recommended for above-mentioned, that the reports of the
translation of condition i, Clause 2 , Bunder 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. and Lieutenant-Comman-
Shweikh Agreement. ^ er ]yi ac Lean, and my present observa
tions, are based. I beg that the said revised version, including the punctuation,
may be closely examined, and if it is held to be correct, it may replace the
previous translation on the record.
5. If I may be pardoned for making a simple suggestion. In order to
realise readily on the survey plan the limits of our sphere of selection, it is
convenient to cut out of the centre of a piece of card a rectangle showing the
size of our Concession, drawn to the scale of the Survey; then one can see the
limits of the field of choice for the location of our Concession compatible with
the retention of the Sheikh’s enclave in or on its seaward face. I say on,
because it will be remembered that everything to seaward between the prolonga
tion of the side boundaries, up to the 3 fathom line, goes with the Concession.
Sent separately.

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Content

The file includes letters (drafts, originals, and copies), telegrams, and notes relating to secret negotiations over the lease of Bander Shweikh [Ash Shuwaykh] from the Shaikh of Kuwait. The correspondence is mostly 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. , Kuwait, 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. (or his assistant) in Bushire, and the Foreign Department of the Government of India, but also includes communications from the Ambassador in Constantinople, Admiralty, 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. , Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Marine Department of the Government of India, Foreign Office, Shaikh Mobarek of Kuwait [Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ], and Shaikh Ahmad al-Jabir [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ]. Following the First World War 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. communicated with the Civil (later High) Commissioner in Iraq rather than the Government of India.

The papers cover the following matters:

The file includes the following documents:

  • Captain Heming's report on the position and requirements for the proposed plot (folios 3-6)
  • the final agreement, signed in October 1907, in English and Arabic (folios 118-36)
  • a sketch plan of the Bander Shweikh foreshore (folio 185)
Extent and format
1 file (277 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged in chronological order, from the front of the file to the back.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 278; 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 present in parallel between ff 3-218; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 36/3 Lease of Bander Shweikh' [‎196r] (391/556), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/92, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040026589.0x0000c0> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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