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'File 2/4 I TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎121r] (246/640)

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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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l j H) i !
the acknowledgement of such obligations and his Lordship
understands that it is the generally accepted practice that <3* i
on the transfer from one State to another of responsibility !
for the administration of any area the State to which
the responsibility is transferred should, in the absence of 4 %.
any express provision to the contrary, at the same time taice
over the assets and liabilities attaching to the area in
question.
it would appear, therefore, that it could fairly be
contended that, when the responsibility for the Administratioi
of Iraq passed from His Majesty's Government to the Iraq
Government the latter Government ii STso facto assumed r as pur!',':
responsibility for continuing the exemption from taxation
: . . ,, ' ' p i .. t 1 SI ; i-*
promised to the two Sheikhs.
6, Having regard to ail the circumstances it appears to
Lord Hassfield that there are good reasons from the point of 1
view of equity, international practice and treaty obligations
for contending that the undertakings given to the two
Shaikhs are obligations which the Iraq Government are bound
M
to implement and that if the Iraq Government are not prepared^ j
honour these obligations the question should be referred to
arbitration unuer Article 17 0- one Treaty 01 1922*
7,
arbitration. Article 17 of the Anglo- Iraq Treaty ot
1922 provides that any difference that may arise between
here are, however, certain difficulties in the way 01 ^
the contracting parties as to the interpretation of the - ’
provisions of the treat' shall be referred to aroitration ana” j
it would therefore appear that the only question which could f 5 I
A
iwl
ti m
■ 1
be referred to arbitration is the question whether the i-
obligations to the two Shaikhs are covered by provision 01
the Treaty. Having regard to the fact that the obligations
to The Shaikhs W ere not mentioned in the letter dated 2dth (
March, 1924 from the High Commissioner to the Hrime Minister
of Iraq there would appear to be some difficulty in
maintaing that such obligations are covered by Article 10
of the Treaty. -^ord Passfield is, however, advisee that
if thei^e is any possibility of the question 01 the
w

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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.' [‎121r] (246/640), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/135, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048076220.0x00002f> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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