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'File 2/4 I TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎95r] (194/640)

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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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to December, 1924, and thrt ri i.n view of the difficulties
of settling a matter of this Mn& at the present
juncture His Majesty 1 s Government haw decided not to
include these obligations to the Shaihhs concerned
among the Agreenients covered by Article 10 of the Treaty
unless the Iraq, Oovemment desU’es to r dq. so?. Sir. IU-
/ta &(a ivU XX)C i/[lir ^
Dobbs* letter of the 26 th of Marchrl^, was written
for the eaEpress purpose of agreeing as to the Treaties
And Agreements covered by Article 10 of the 1922 Anglo-
Iraq Treaty, and the Treaties and Agreements set out in
that letter did not include the undertakings to the two
Shaikhs. In their reply of the 10th of July, the Irat
Government accepted, as covered by Article 10,the
Treaties and Agreements set out in Sir II.Dobbs 1 letter
of the 26th of March, lord Passfield is advised
therefore that Artlela 10 of the 1922 Treaty must now
be construed together with those two letters and, that
In consequence His Majesty*s Government would find it
difficult to argue that the undertakings to the ^wo
Shaikhs are covered by Article 10. nevertheless, tn.s
Lordship does not consider that this impli es that the
Iraq Government are not bound to give effect to those
undertakings. They were informed of their existence in
Mr .Davidson* s letter of the 17th of April, 1924, to
which reference is made above. In their reply to Sir
H. Dobbs’ letter of the 26th of March, 1924, the Iraq
Government did not refer to or take exception to the
obligations to the two Shaikhs and as they continued to
accord exemption from taxation to the ikhs t could
reasonably have been assumed at that time that the Iraq
Government recognised their liability to continue to
accord such exemption. It was not until the end of 19 d 6
some two years after the ratification of the 192^ Treaty
that/

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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.' [‎95r] (194/640), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/135, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048076219.0x0000c3> [accessed 12 May 2024]

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