"١/١ المجلد II العلاقات الكويتية السعودية" [و‎‎٥‎٥] (٥٣٤/١١٨)

6.
apprehensioos and might even cause the local Sheikhs to
turn away from Ilia Majesty’s Government and consider suh-
ml thing themselves to Persia or to Ibn Baud.
(c) Tiie basis of His Majosty^s Government's present
treaty relationship with Koweit was unsatisfactory. In
the first place it did not rest, as was the case with
Bahrein, Muscat and the Trucial SheikhdOTs, on a long
series of formal treaties with ’the Shsikh dating back for
over a century or, in the case of Q^tar f on a compre
hensive treaty, but ms baesd only m a comparatively
brief correspondence exchanged between the Slieiklis and
Hj. y Ms» J esty ’ s Go v 3 a,'nm sd t u ^in w x ^ ci sd an tiie reciprocal
eng&genGats, still prastam&ly lindLug since th*y bad not
been abrogated, entered into in connaxiaa with the lease
of Bunder Shwaikh in ISO?; secondly there were certain
gaps, c.g. we had no slavery agreement wiih Keweit. It
migat, he suggested, he possible to .till in the gaps left
by this correspondence and tighten cur coatrol in that
W. An example was gur reemt request to the Sheikh for
certain undertakings in regard to air facilities in his
Sheikhdom, one result of which wosrid bo to conceertmts
effective control of such facilities, whether military or
civil, in 'the hands of His Majesty's Goveraeact. Another
instance was the rectat proposed riiaendment of the Koaeit
Ordsr-in-Council so as to place rsspcjasi'cility for juris
diction over non-Moslem foreigners in hands of His
Majes'iy^s GovsmKifaat. A gradual tightonieg of our control
of this character, particularly pursued as a deftoits
policy on all convenient occasions, would, he thought, at
ones avoid the difficulties involved in establishing &
formal protectorate and would make it very much simpler.
COLGNEl....