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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎38r] (80/1354)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (673 folios). It was created in 28 Jul 1932-15 Jun 1935. It was written in English. 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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They had preferred ,, HUN ,, methods to quiet and unofficial
friendly discussions* For this he blamed certain Customs
officials, who gave wrong advice to his Government, and who
hoped to get His Majesty’s Government, by clever manipulation
of facts, to take up the cudgels on behalf of Iraq and force
Kuwait to toe the line, irrespective of the rights of small
communities and elementary justice*
(b) Clearly and obviously the whole onus of stopping
the smuggling lay with Iraq, and the only way to do this was
for Iraq to place two or three strong Customs cum police pos ts
on the frontier and patrol between them with light armed cars:
If this were done he (Hamid Beg) believed that matters would
be settled within a fortnight: Add to the above ’’good-will” on
the part of the Shaikh, born of better treatment where his
date gardens etc* were concerned, and everything would be
arranged satisfactorily. The one important and outstanding
point, however, was that Iraq must go ahead in the first
place and act on her own without trying in any way to drag
in the Shaikh by raising any so-called question of‘co-opera
tion”. This latter would follow of itself, if Iraq acted Dy
strictly legal methods, and won the Shaikh’s good-will, by
treating him properly in other directions •
(c) All talk of placing an Englishman in charge of the
Kuwait Customs etc* etc* was so much foolishness, and would
only acerbate the situation: The man would have to be the
servant of the Shaikh, and must in the end act under his
orders, for the Shaikh was after all an independent ruler
and could not abdicate his rights* The one and only solution
was for Iraq to herself guard her frontiers, and in other
directions go ’’all out” for improving good relations*
(d) He finally hinted that with the departure of
certain /

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Content

The volume contains papers regarding the alleged smuggling of goods from Kuwait to Iraq, and attempts to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Government of Iraq with regards to importation restrictions, customs appointments and effective frontier controls. It consists of correspondence between the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, 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. , the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, HM High Commissioner (and later Ambassador) at Baghdad, as well as communications received from Al Sabah and representatives of the Government of Iraq.

The file opens with correspondence concerning the activities of Kuwaiti water boats collecting drinking water at various points along the Shatt el-Arab: the Government of Iraq complained that the boats were not stopping at designated calling points, and that the boats were engaged in smuggling, while the Shaikh of Kuwait asked for the calling point requirement to be rescinded as it was causing interruptions to the water supply. The correspondence also documents instances where Iraqi customs barges had fired on Kuwaiti boats, killing and injuring merchants.

The bulk of the correspondence concerns efforts by HM Ambassador at Iraq, the 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. , and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the two parties. Several conferences were arranged with a view to discussing the Iraqi proposals, viz: that a British Customs Director be appointed at Kuwait to oversee the importation of certain commodities (principally sugar, tea, matches, coffee, tobacco, cigarettes, and cigarette papers); and that the Shaikh co-operate with Iraqi efforts to institute an effective frontier control and customs cordon.

In addition to correspondence, the volume includes the following minutes and reports:

The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).

Extent and format
1 volume (673 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front 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 675; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-672; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎38r] (80/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011512.0x000051> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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