Coll 6/39 'Kuria Muria Islands: Administration and Status of' [61r] (122/296)
The record is made up of 1 file (146 folios). It was created in 2 Feb 1929-27 May 1947. It was written in English and Swedish. 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.
Minute Paper.
Department.
When the G. of I. Bill v/as under consideration a
draft of the Aden article prepared by the 1.0. and C.O.
contained a definition of the province of Aden so as to
include the Kuria Muria Islands; the whole definition,
however, was subsequently omitted because, 1 understand,
Parliamentary Counsel considered it unnecessary.
long. 56° E., lat. 17° 30’ N. off the southern coast of
Arabia, were ceded to Great Britain by the Sultan of
Muscat in 1854, and are British territory. They have been
regarded as part of Aden, but were not included in the
province ^of 31st larch, 1932. It is desirable that they
should, Tifith the rest of Aden, be separated from India,
as they would be quite out of place as part of Bombay or
any other Indian province, and it is possible that they
might be of use as a result of the establishment of the
^/vvv* Ic /7 MC+S
strategic air route along the coast of Southern Arabia.
that is necessary is to remove any doubt about their being
part of the province of Aden on the day appointed for
discussion with the C.O. and Sir B. Re illy / 1 suggested,
in a d.o. telegram of 3rd July to Sir A. Metcalfe, that
for this purpose it might be desirable to issue a
notification that the islands are part of the Chief
Commissioner’s Province of Aden. The G. of I. have now
published a notification under Sec. 59 of the G. of I.
Act amending the proclamation of 31st Parch, 1932, so as
to include the Kuria Muria Islands in the Chief
Commissionership, as defined therein. The notification
These islands, which are situated about
proclamation forming Aden into a Chief Commissioner’s
In order to provide for their separation all
the separation of Aden (1st April, 1937). After
purports/
About this item
- Content
This file concerns the status and administration of the Kuria Muria Islands [Jazā’ir Khurīyā Murīyā, Oman]. It features the following principal correspondents: 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 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. , Aden; the Governor of Aden; the Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy of India; the British Consul General, Harbin; officials of the Colonial Office, 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. , the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department, and 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. 's Political Department.
The correspondence includes discussion of the following:
- A request for a concession to explore guano and phosphate deposits on the islands, submitted in 1931 by two residents of Harbin, China, named James Alexander Hunter and John B Kunst.
- The potential strategic importance of the islands.
- The transfer of control of the islands from 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. at Aden to 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. in 1931.
- The separation of Aden from the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. , under a new formation as a Chief Commissioner's Province, in 1932.
- The formal inclusion of the islands within the Aden Province in 1936, placing them legally under the administration of the Chief Commissioner of Aden.
- Whether or not administrative control of the islands should remain the responsbility of 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. , despite the recent change to their legal status.
- The planned separation of Aden from British India, scheduled to take place on 1 April 1937.
- The visit of 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay) to the islands in April 1947.
- The properties of specimens of ore given to Hay by inhabitants of Hallaniyah [Al Ḩallānīyah] during his visit to the island.
In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:
- A copy of an extract from the Aden Laws Regulation, 1891.
- An extract from an issue of The Gazette of India , dated 1 April 1932, announcing the separation of Aden from 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. and the formation of a Chief Commissionership of Aden.
- A copy of the Aden Laws (Amendment) Regulation, 1936 – an amendment to the Aden Laws Regulation, 1932, confirming the Kuria Muria Islands' status as part of the Aden Province.
- A copy of an article on the islands, written by Hay and considered for publication in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society .
- The aforementioned specimens of ore, given to Hay by inhabitants of Hallaniyah [Al Ḩallānīyah] during his visit to the island.
The Swedish material in the file consists of contact details provided in a letter addressed to the Colonial Office from a correspondent named as Alex Ewin [Axel Elvin, editor of Bonniers Konversations Lexikon, a series of Swedish encyclopaedias].
The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (146 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 147; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and Swedish in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2106
- Title
- Coll 6/39 'Kuria Muria Islands: Administration and Status of'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:18v, 20r:93v, 96r:105v, 108r:120v, 122r:127v, 129r:144v, 147r:147v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence