"ملف ٢١/٣ المسؤول السياسي في قطر والشؤون السياسية بها" [و‎‎٢‎٩] (٩٤/٥٧)

Mr. Wilton.
1• 3 Articles of the 1916 Treaty with Qatar were not
brought Into force when the Treaty was originally signed.
These were:
Article 7 giving British subjects the right
to trade in Qatar,
Article 8 giving H.M.G. permission for the appoint
ment of a Political Officer there, and
Article 9 referring to the establishment of a
British Posts and Telegraphs service.
These three articles were brought into force
on the 21st.
2. . The former Shaikh tried to maintain that he v/as
net responsible for the maintenance of order in matters
concerning the oil company and he quoted a letter sent
him by Sir Trenchrrd Fowle in support of this. We
did net admit this contention and quoted to him another
letter by fir Trenchard Fowle. You should get copies
of these letters.
3. There are three aerodromes in ^atar, all made and
maintained hy the oil company. We have to arrange an air
agreement with the Shaikh.
4. There seem tc be two rival factions in Qatar, one
headed by Saleh al Mani*, the secretary to the former Shaikh
and the Darwish who are contractors for the oil company.
Both the parties seem to be very rich. You should ob-»
viously avoid associating yourself closely with either
of them and report fully on their activities.
6. Sea-bed oil. The P.D.(Q) Ltd. consider thnt
their concession covers the sea-bed area, but an Anglo-
American oil company jepresented by Sir Hugh Weightman,
a retired Foreign Secretary to the Government of India,
A —
jLerpptJy took-tke concession over the sea-bed. The
/ matter