Coll 30/23 'Persian Gulf. Koweit: Status. Position vis a vis Iraq and Ibn Saud. Boundaries of Koweit' [‎277r] (554/695)

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CONFIDENTIAL.
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.
B. 409._
P. 5393/28.
APPENDIX.
Precis' of the Treaties and Engagements between the British
Government and the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast of the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
KOWEIT. ^ 'T' tXsu^ru* . ^ ICoAhtihC^ju/ J
(a) Agreement dated 23rd January 1899.
and his heirs and successors not to receive
any Power or Government at Koweit . . . w
the British Government . . . and not to cede
for occupation or for any other purpose any
Government or subjects of any other Power,
His Majesty’s Government.
The Sheikh pledged himself
the Agent or Representative of
ithout the previous sanction of
, sell, lease or mortgage or give
portion of his territory to the
without the previous consent of
P. 2585/26.
(I)) J.etter iYom Lieut.-Col. Meade, 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. ,
oc . e Sheikh of Koweit, dated 23rd January 1899, accompanying (a) *— The
bheikh was formally assured “ of the good offices of the British Government
towards you, your heirs and successors as long as you, your heirs aud
successors scrupulously and faithfully observe the conditions of the said
bond (i.e. the agreement above).”
Note.— In 1911, when the text of the Agreement of 1899 was com
municated to the 1 urkish Government, the text of Col. Meade’s accompanying
e ^' ) r ’’/y similarly communicated; but the Turkish Government was
told m oir E. Grey s covering note that “His Majesty’s Government have
informed the Sheikh of Koweit that so long as he and his heirs and successors
act up to their obligations under the Agreement, His Majesty’s Government
undertake to support them and accord them their good offices. His Majesty’s
Government reserve to themselves the right to interpret that term at their
discretion The attitude adopted at the time by His Majesty’s Government
towards this undertaking is illustrated by the following extract from India
Office letter dated the oOth October 1911 to the Foreign Office:—“The term
‘ good offices ’ . . . is a conveniently vague one, and Lord Crewe is of
opinion that it is neither necessary nor safe to go beyond it. The action
taken by Bis Majesty’s Government in 1901-2, when men and guns were
landed at Koweit to defend it against unprovoked Turkish aggression will
moreover, have made it plain to the Porte in what way we are prepared to
interpret the term if necessity arises.”
(c) Agreement of the Sheikh of Koweit, dated 24th May 1900, to
prohibit the importation of arms into, and their exportation from, Koweit.
(d) Postal Agreement, dated 28th February 1904, giving His Majesty’s
Government the sole right to erect a post office at Koweit.
(c) Secret Agreement, dated 15th October 1907, for the lease of the
Bunder Shweikh foreshore. -In the fifth article of the two documents
constituting the agreement the Sheikh reaffirmed his pledge not to cede, sell,
Ac., any Koweit territory to any foreign Government or foreign subject
without His Majesty s Government’s permission.
In the ninth, the British Government promised that “the town of Koweit
and its boundaries belong to . . . the Sheikh of Koweit and to his heirs
after him, and that all Sheikh Mubarak’s arrangements in the matter of
customs Ac., and Iris arrangements at the present day shall remain in the
hands of Sheikh Mubarak-as-Subah, ruler of Kow r eit, and bis heirs after
him . . .’
. ^°te. The lease, or rather the payment of rent for the Bunder Shweikh
site, was terminated in 1922. Jt does not appear, however, that the agreement
was abrogated, and the reciprocal pledges, so far as they are not affected by
other subsequent instruments, presumably remain binding.
3138 75 10.28
P. 4525/11.
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rA* JieuuiH *
P. 1446/11-
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