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'File 2/5 II SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS' [‎18r] (40/420)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (206 folios). It was created in 14 Jun 1915-27 Jul 1933. 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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N o c 4 5 »
( 159/2/33) .
British .' imb ; s sy ,
Bpgdad.
19th Jf nuary 1933.
Sir,
<ith reference to your despMch Ho.672 of Jeceiiiber 2nd,
1932, regarding the situation which has arisen in regard to the
legal title of the Shaikh of Kuwait’s properties ’Iraq, 1
hare the honour to report that a law suit in respect of the
Shaikh’s Faddaghi^ah Estate was filed in the Basrah Court on
the 20th October, 1932, and this Embassy has now received
certain legal documents from the ’Iraqi Ministry of foreign
Affairs with a request that they be forwarded to Kuwait for
service on the Jhaikh. These documents include a statement of
claim made on behalf of the plaintiff, Abdullah ibn Isa Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
al mhnir* ^rom this it appears that the plaintiff claims
by inheritance from his aunt, Ayesha, a third part of the whole
plot known ns the Faddaghiyah date garden, on the grounds that
there never was a legal conveyance of the land to the Shaikh
of Kuwait. He declares that the Tapu deed of registration
granted to the Sheikh by Sir Henry Dobbs in 1915 was granted
illegally, and that it is, therefore, voidable and should be
set rside.
2. I am advised both by my Legal Secretary and the
Judicial Adviser to the Kmistry of Justice, that, if the suit
goes forward to judgment, there is a grave danger that the bhaikh
will lose tiie action. From the report made hr.^lexinder,
the President of the Court of Appeal, last summer when he was
acting as Judicial Adviser, it would also seem that he is of the
same opinion, since he states * 1 can therefore say that it is
doubtful whether the Jhaikh can successfully contest the cleim.”
i/
Right Honourable
Sir John iimon, G.C.3.I., K.C.V.O.,
etc. etc. etc.

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Content

The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the court suit raised in Basra Court by members of al-Zuhair family complaining against the Ruler of Kuwait. The suit in question concerns a portion of the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate on Shatt al-Arab, and the Bashiya land to which members of al-Zuhair family lays claim to. According to the reports, the Faddaghiya estate was owned by Aisha, wife of Ahmad Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Al-Zuhair. Ahmad Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. sold the estate to Shaikh Mubarak of Kuwait although he did not hold a Power of Attorney from his wife at the time of the sale, in 1914.

The Iraqi Government had requested via the British Embassy, Baghdad, for the Shaikh of Kuwait to submit to the Basra Court certain documents related to the case including a copy of Power of Attorney to prove the right of Ahmad Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Al-Zuhair to proceed with the selling.

The volume includes a sketch map of the Faddaghiya estate with explanatory notes (ff 94-97). It also includes minutes of a meeting which was held at the Foreign Office in London to discuss issues related to the date gardens and the court suits. The correspondence contains reports that the fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. on the Faw estate have started refusing to pay rent and were committing acts of sabotage. The Shaikh in turn argued that the British Government’s procrastination had caused him further troubles. Among the correspondents in the volume are 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. , Bushire, and 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.

The volume’s core correspondence covers the years 1932 and 1933. The earlier start date given to the volume is a result of correspondence between Sir Henry Dobbs, Revenue Commissioner, Basra, and Abdul Aziz al-Salim Al-Badr, Agent of the Shaikh of Kuwait in Basra (ff 23-25), which is dated 14 June 1915. The correspondence includes the details of the Tapu dead registration granted to the Shaikh of Kuwait.

Extent and format
1 volume (206 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 208; 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 6-203, and ff 139-203; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 2/5 II SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS' [‎18r] (40/420), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/141, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044749187.0x000029> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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