مراسلات بشأن الامتيازات في البحرين والكويت وغيرها بين ١٩٣٢-يوليو ١٩٣٣ (مطبوع سري رقم ٤٩ للمكتب الاستعماري في الشرق الأوسط) [و‎‎٨‎١] (٢٨٤/١٦٣)

135
l0 ^ JS I now enclose for your information a personal and confidential letter that I have
llla ny received from Gass of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, from which you will see that
8 Aan they now propose to ask for a formal concession. This is very satisfactory, and if you
see no objection T would suggest that the Concession might be tk vetted " at home
rf the before being sent out here.
'state Yours, &c.,
sssion H. V. BISCOE.
sd by ■
M be
any's
Wi to
Enclosure in No. 149.
•Mr. N. A. Gass (Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Limited) to Lieutenant-Colonel
jsive, H. V. Biscoe.
(Personal and Confidential.)
My dear Sir Hugh , Abadan Refinery, Persian Gulf, 25th June, 1932.
P re - I thank you for your letter of the 22nd June which I have received this minute
lent, and hasten to send a reply to catch the outgoing mail to-day.
3, I am so sorry to learn that Colonel Dickson was mistaken and that you are not
In . going home until the end of July, which will deny me the opportunity of meeting you
'tber at Shaiba in the early future.
eing Unfortunately I am finding it exceedingly difficult to get away just at the moment,
this but I do not think that the subject of Kuwait oil development requires immediate
that discussion with you, although I am very anxious to consult you before you go home
and an d generally to place you fully au fait with our proposals regarding Kuwait,
itail The position at present, briefly, is this. I had two long interviews with the Shaikh,
^ i s in which I was very soon able to realize that our precipitous departure from His
t | e( | Excellency's territory last April without having given him adequate reasons to account
y for our withdrawal, had created a very bad impression and led to a complete mis-
understanding. I explained to His Excellency that it was due to a broad geological
on policy and that we now had a certain amount of geological information about Kuwait,
j' but that it was information which in itself was inconclusive and we were anxious
jjj. to correlate it with the information we were obtaining from actual drilling in Kuh-i-Mund
and the unique geological information which we have accumulated over many years of
oD the whole of the surrounding country. I added that this was the reason we had asked
i , for a short extension of the period, to give us the opportunity to conclude our research,
, and I offered the Shaikh Rs. 20,000 per annum (and was quite prepared to exceed by
i a few more thousand rupees my discretion to go to this figure) if he was disposed to
! accept this offer.
18 His Excellency however declined the proposal and informed me that he desired
a comprehensive concession to be submitted to him for his consideration and in order
that he could compare the terms with those which had been offered by the Eastern
and General Syndicate. Starting with a reception which I can only describe as most
courteous but distinctly frigid, I hope I am right in believing that I left Kuwait with
the impression that this atmosphere had at least been converted into one of great
cordiality; His Excellency was kindness itself and so good as to express a message of
friendliness to the Company to be communicated to Sir John Cadman.
Upon my return I reported the result of these discussions to London and have just
received their cabled reply, which is to the effect that in deference to the Shaikh's
wishes in this matter. Sir John Cadman has given immediate instructions for a com
prehensive concession to be prepared and submitted to the Shaikh and for arrangements
to be made to open negotiations personally with the Shaikh, in terms of the draft
concession. I enclose a copy of the letter in which I have communicated this decision
to His Excellency through Colonel Dickson.
At the conclusion of my interviews with the Shaikh I had explained to him that it
would take some time to prepare a comprehensive concession and His Excellency replied
that he appreciated this point and was quite prepared to leave the matter open for a
reasonable period.
The document is being prepared and translated at home and I shall of course have
to have the translation carefully checked here. We shall do everything possible not
to keep His Excellency waiting, and I feel pretty confident that we shall have the
19 document in his hands within two months and I do trust that this will meet with His
39 j Excellency's approval.
I shall not be able to get away myself, at any rate for the preliminary negotiations,
but I intend to send Haji Williamson there, when he returns from the Gulf, to lease a