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'File 2/4 I TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎84r] (172/640)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (316 folios). It was created in 3 Nov 1914-12 Dec 1930. 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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v:
Confidential
lo* 24 oj.
fear Youna. ?
Office of tiie Council of Ministers
Baghdad, 13th October 1929 .
Tlie question of the exerpclon of the date
gardens ol the Suaikhs of Huhainmeral.i. and Kuwait from
taxation has bee- the subject of correspondence between
the ’Tran Government and Ills Excellency the High Commission
since tire early days of 1924. The ’Iran Government had
considered and continue to Consider that this exemption is
illegal and hat its continuance requires a. special law
under article 92 of the Organic Lhwr. At the same time the
e'
Iraq. Governmenu consideredithat'the promise .or exemption
given to the two Sheikhs in question by Colonel Knox,-
the f then) Br' 11 s ; President and Consul" General In the
Persian Gul. could be held to be binding on the ’Irac
CoYern.uent. Hence the said Government have seen no
justification for submitting to Parlia ent a draft law for
the legalisation of this exemption.
This question is not included in for does
not come within' the undertakings which His Britanie
Majesty’s Government ia under obligation to see carried out
in respect of. ’Iraq Treaty 1922. On the other hand,, the
’Iraq. Government belive that the exemption enjoyed hitherto
by the two Shaikhs is a sufficient reward for the services
rendered by them in the early days of the war. s regards
thm Shaikh of ^ahammerah in particular, thouga he enjoyed a
measure of quasi self government he was deemed a Persian
subject and did not posses the quality of independent
ruler(Vmir). Assuming that he, was (then) an independent
xlor hr has since forfeited all his rights and privileges
and he no longer possesses the quality which he enjoyed
wren he was promiseci exemption.
Hr- last development in the question under
discussion, as ay be gathered from previous correspondency,
was that in August 1927, the ’Iraq Government requested His
Excellency the High Commissioner to approach the British
Government once inor t on the subjectand decided to defer
decision in
the matter
pending receipt
of t
e result

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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, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's intention to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah by the British Government in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. The volume contains letters (ff 16-20), dated November 1914, from the British Resident and Consulate-General, Bushire, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , to both shaikhs in respect to this issue. The volume also contains correspondence between British officials discussing the British Government's obligations to Kuwait and how it should react to the Government of Iraq's plans.

The Iraq Government had considered and continues to consider that the exemption from taxation is illegal. This issue was discussed in an extract of an article that appeared in Al-Iraq newspaper and published in 1927, in which the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. gives the exact amount (12.000 Turkish gold liras per year, or 100.000 in the past 7 years) Iraq was losing annually as a result of the exemption from taxes granted to the two shaikhs.

The British officials had direct correspondence with the Council of Ministers, Iraq. They conveyed the British Government’s approval to the Government of Iraq to open up direct negotiations with the Shaikhs of Kuwait and Mohammerah regarding their revenue exemptions. Correspondence between the High Commissioner, Baghdad, and the Government of Iraq were made as early as 1924 in regard to the issue. The correspondence between the British officials includes articles of the Anglo-Iraq Treaties as well as reports prepared by the Law Officer of the Crown, Downing Street (ff 116-123).

The volume also contains correspondence between Sayid Hamid Bey Al-Naqib, Basra Deputy to the Ruler of Kuwait, and Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir conveying to him the procedures taking place in Iraq regarding his date gardens. Al-Naqib also paid visits to the Shaikh on behalf of the Government of Iraq. The volume also includes statements of the properties of both Shaikhs between the years 1914-1928.

Extent and format
1 volume (316 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 318; 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.

Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 4-313; these numbers are also written in pencil but, where circled, are crossed through.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 2/4 I TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎84r] (172/640), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/135, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048076219.0x0000ad> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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