![File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS' [‎21r] (41/672)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x000069/IOR_R_15_5_155_0041.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS' [‎21r] (41/672)")
File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS' [21r] (41/672)
The record is made up of 1 file (335 folios). It was created in 15 Apr 1947-26 Dec 1949. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
From: 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.
,
Kuvjalt .
To: The Secretary to the
Hon f ble 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.
, Bahrain,
Subject:- Visit to Baghdad ,
^ I^OHANDU!.!:
Reference your telegram Ho.601 dated the 18th
Hay, 1947.
2. I left Kuwait by air on the 20th May in the
forenoon and Basra by tmin the same evening. While in
Basra I discussed with the Consulate the possibility of
exchanging weekly bags (your express letter No.786-S
s. anted the 1 st May, 1947) and was able to inform then that
/ ll/b Tir. Nelson of the Kuwait Oil Company is now stationed in
Basra in charge of movements of personnel and could arrange
frequent safe-hand opportunities to Kuwait. I also dis
cussed the date-garden question.
3 . I saw the Public Relations Officer and dis
cussed with hioi the question of opening a reading-room in
Kuwait and understood that Public Relations are in favour
of this.
4. I arrived in Baghdad a.m. on the 21st Pay
and left by air for Kuv/ait a.n. on the 26th.. niiile there
^ . I discussed the date-garden question in general with Hr.
Busk and in considerable detail with Hr. Walker, the
Oriental Secretary. I emphasised the fact that, as appealf
to the Court of Cassation will lie when the appeals now
filed have bean decided, there is no prospect of the legal
wrangle being concluded by the time the 1947 date-crop
ripens J and stressed the necessity of avoiding a recurrence
of the daylight robbery which has taken place in the last
q'fevT years. I was shown the Embassy’s letter No.528/13/47
dated the 14th May, 1947 and pointed out that as the
Mutasarrif of Basra has previously refused the Shaikh per
mission to apj^oint guards over his crops it is most im
probable that he would agree now. I suggested that he
might give a uon-coxamittal reply to the application and,
at the last moment when it was too late for the Shaiich to
approach higher authorities, take action to make the
employment of guards impossible. We agreed that tlie
Shaikh should ask the Mutasarrif to confirm that there
will be no objection to the appointment of guards and,
should categorical confirmation not be forthcoming, the
Ministry of the Interior should be approached forthwith.
I told them that the Shaikh was certain that the Ministry
of the Interior would refuse the application unless it
was strongly supported by the Embassy. I asKed them if
they could amplify the phrase ’’powerful interests
concerned in the appeals against the Shaikh” appearing
in the Consulate-General, Basra’s despatch No.817
About this item
- Content
This file is a continuation from IOR/R/15/5/154. It contains correspondence, memoranda and legal papers regarding lawsuits brought against the Shaikh of Kuwait [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] by the heirs of the former owners of the Al Faddaghiyeh, Al Bashiyah and Al Fao properties, and efforts on behalf of the Shaikh to reclaim the properties or seek compensation for their loss.
The papers primarily discuss the appeals and counter appeals regarding the ownership of the Fao property, lodged at the Basra Court of Appeal as part of the Land Settlement Procedure. Topics discussed include: attempts by the Government of Iraq and the lawyer of the plaintiffs, (advocate Sulaiman Shawwaf) to delay the hearings; the transfer of appeal cases from the Baghdad courts to the Basra courts; the selection by the court of experts to assess the extent of cultivated and non-cultivated land and the age of date trees in the gardens; and the steps taken to prevent the Shaikh from disposing of his date crop.
The papers also document the Shaikh's attempts to re-purchase the Bashiyah estates at auction, and the reimbursement of this payment by HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. . The file also contains several documents regarding proposals for HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. to be released from their 1914 pledge to support the Shaikh in the matter of the date gardens, in return for a lump sum payment.
The file primarily consists of correspondence between the Foreign Office, 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. , 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, and HM Consul-General at Iraq. It also contains copies of correspondence between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ), the Shaikh's son and acting representative in Basra (Shaikh Muḥammad Āl Ṣabāḥ), the Shaikh's secretary (Abdulla Mulla Saleh) and the Shaikh's lawyer (Hasan Abdul Rahman), as well as copies of outgoing letters to them.
The file contains the following legal documents and case notes (English translations unless otherwise stated):
- Report detailing the area of the Al-Sabah's property at Fao, ff 128-133.
- Aide-memoire summaries of actions taken in the Fao dispute for the years 1938-1949, ff 139-142, 155-159, and 175-177.
- Draft of the document discharging HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. from their pledge to the Shaikh, f 168 and 295.
- Arabic copy of the judgement given by the President of the Court of Appeal at Basra on 12 July 1949, ff 237-261, with an English translation at ff 279-283.
- Arabic and English copies of the decree by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeal for Land Settlement regarding the Fao case, dated 14 July 1949, ff 302-327.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (335 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 336; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 6-329, and ff 31-149; 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 View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS' [21r] (41/672), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/155, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041947532.0x00002a> [accessed 24 April 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100041947532.0x00002a
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100041947532.0x00002a">File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS' [‎21r] (41/672)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100041947532.0x00002a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x000069/IOR_R_15_5_155_0041.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x000069/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/5/155
- Title
- File 2/5 XVI 'SHAIKH'S DATE GARDENS'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:2v, 4r:14v, 16r:16v, 18r:24v, 26r:27v, 30r:31v, 33r:34v, 39r:43v, 50r:58v, 64r:76v, 78r:81v, 83r:85v, 89r:97v, 101r:102v, 104r:124v, 126r:137v, 139r:161v, 163r:184v, 196r:196v, 203r:204v, 211r:213v, 217r:221v, 224r:228v, 232r:236v, 249r:249v, 262r:262v, 267r:278v, 284r:300v, 328r:336v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence