Coll 30/5(3) 'Persian Gulf Bahrain Residency Monthly Letter - Summary of Events' [‎51r] (101/194)

have included the Rt. Rev. H.W. Stewart, Anglican Bishop of
Jerusalem, l£r. Turner of the Ministry of tforka and Mr.
Sinclair Telecommunications Attache, Middle Bast. Mr. Turner
is examining the various sites proposed for the new Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
in Bahrain and it is hoped that a final selection will soon
be made.
KUWaIT.
, "
I visited Kuwait with my wife and daughter from the
9th to the 20th March. We travelled in both directions in
H.M.S. "Wild Goose". I met Shaikh Ahmed on several occasions
and found him in very good form. He is at present living out
in the country at Bayan and there appears to be no immediate
\ prospect of his visiting Ibn Saud. I gather that the recent
change in the local management of the Kuwait Oil Company has
come as a great relief to him. His only grouse at present
relates to his date gardens in ira^ about which he spoke to
me twice. I met the other leading members of the As Subah and
we dined with the heir presumptive Shaikh Abdullah Salim who
took great pride in showing us all over hie house at Sha»ao
on the sea shore. We spent two days in the desert close to t^e
western border of Kuwait with Shaikh Abdullah Mubarak the only
surviving son of the famous Mubarak and took part in the hawking
of bustard. Mr. Patrick, manager of the Kuwait Oil Company,
very kindly showed us round the oil fields at Burgan, the
new camp at Ahmedi and Fahahil where the oil is piped on to
tankers. Ahmedi is to be the oil company’s headquarters and
is being planned on a grand scale. A few buildings have
already been erected but it will take another 3 or 4 years
at least to complete the programme. The houses are to be
widely spaced and there is to be an adequate supply ot wat-i
for gardens though as it is brackish it remains to be seen
what trees and plants can be grown with it. A brief visit
was paid to Failacha island where there is a population of
about 1500 and some cultivation and on the return journey we
spent two days at Basra where I had an opportunity of meeting
the Consul-General and discussing some outstanding matters
with an official of the Port Directorate.
rt Ia ^ '
7* The chief cause for anxiety at Kuwait is the super
abundance of cash. The merchants made enormous profits mainly
out of smuggling during the war and owing to the Oil Company’s
present programme of very rapid expansion the demand foi labour
greatly exceeds the supply. -^n ordiiiary labourer car; now
demand Rs. 6/- to Rs. 7/- a day and with this state of affairs
prices naturally remain at a high level and those with fixed
incomes especially lower grades of Government servants find it
very difficult to make both ends meet. The Shaikh is already
receiving Rs. 5 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees a month in royalty and I am told that
by the middle of next year this figure is likely to be trebled.
Up to date however he has actually received very little in cash
as production only started at the end of June 1946 and payment
of royalty is made annually for the year ending 23rd September.
The Shaikh apparently intends to keep the money derived from
the royalty in his own hand and to distrioute it to departments
as occasion arises. He says he does not intend to devote any
of it to his privy purse. He still refuses to commit himself
to a British financial adviser, and no doubt fears the criticism
to which guch an appointment would give rise. Meanwhile there
are signs of considerable progress in Kuwait. A new hospital
is under construction which is to take 150 male patients and
a site has bean set aside for a similar building to take 150
female patients. The customs pier is to be greatly extended,
new warehouses are to be built and an approach 60 yards wide i s
to be cleared through the town. While at Kuwait I inspected
I
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