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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎205r] (414/1354)

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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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-7-
S* Iri pox*6.£ ) T > o.pli 01 . his (iespahch His Hxcollsiicy wpijbssi
"He (the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs) hinted, however,
ox preventive of-Liuials and possibly police and troops are post~
eb along uiie fronoiei , tii.ey will natnr&lly worh as near as
possiDj.e to the centre oi the smuggling activity, and the number
of clashes is likely to increase rather than diminish. ft This
f hint * appears to me somewhat in the nature of a veiled threat,
but whether this be so or not personally I am inclined to think
that the effect would be rather the contrary. What Huri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
euphemistically calls'*clashes n have been the illegal and high
handed encroachments of Iraqi Customs and Police into the terri
torial waters and territory of Kuwait, such encroachments being
made to make up for the lack of a proper customs control. Cnee
this is established under a responsible Iraqi officer, whatever
may be the loss to Kuwait trade, there will be much less reason
for the Iraqi Customs officials to indulge in "clashes". Ho
such incidents occur on the Kuwaiti-Saudi frontier where Ibn
Baud has established an organized and legal, however vexatious,
control, and surely it is not too much to expect that the Iraqi
Government should be capable of exercising the same control over
their Customs officials as the Saudi Government aoes over t^eix'S.
10. The situation now is that for the last two years and more
Sir Francis Eumphrys - if I may say so - has laboured incessant
ly at Bagdad, and I have done my best at Kuwait in seconding his
efforts, to try and bring the two parties to some sort of amicable
agreement. We have failed, and though no fault of oui own*
This being so, and taking all the arguments put forward above
into account, I see nothing for it out to let matters come to a
head. I suggest therefore that I be authorised to address the
Shaikh /

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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' [‎205r] (414/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011514.0x00000f> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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