'Historical Summary of Events in Territories of the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Arabia affecting the British Position in the Persian Gulf, 1907-1928' [‎84r] (174/188)

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APPENDIX.
Precis of the Treaties and Engagements between the British
Government and the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast of the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
{Communicated hy 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. and revised to 29th September 1928.)
KOWEIT.
(a) Agreement dated 23rd January 1899.—The Sheikh pledged himself
and his neirs and successors not to receive the Agent or Representative of p. 2585/26,.
any Power or Government at Koweit . . . without the previous sanction of
the British Government . . . and not to cede, se]J, lease or mortgage or give
for occupation or for any other purpose any portion of his territory to the
Government or subjects of any other Power, without the previous consent of
His Majesty's Government.
(b) Letter from Lieut.-Col. Meade, 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. ,
to the Sheikh of Koweit, dated l^ord January J 899, accompanying (a):—The
Sheikh was formally assured ' fc of the good offices of the British Government
towards you, your heirs and successors as long as you, your heirs and
successors scrupulously and faithfully observe the conditions of the said
bond (i.e. the agreement above)."
Note .—In 1911, when the text of the Agreement of 1899 was com- p. 4525/11.
municated to the Turkish Government, the text of Col. Meade's accompanying
letter was not similarly communicated ; but the Turkish Government was
told in Sir E. Grey's covering note that "His Majesty's Government have
informed the Sheikh of Koweit that so long as he and his heirs and successors
act up to their obligations under the Agreement, His Majesty's Government
undertake to support them and accord them their good offices. His Majesty's
Government reserve to themselves the right to interpret that term at theu-
discretion." The attitude adopted at the time by His Majesty's Government
towards this undertaking is illustrated by the following extract from India
Office letter dated the 30th October 1911 to the Foreign Office :—" The term p. 1446 /11.
' good offices' ... is a conveniently vague one, and Lord Crewe is of
opinion that it is neither necessary nor safe to go beyond it. The action
taken by His Majesty's Government in 1901-2, when men and guns were
landed at Koweit to defend it against unprovoked Turkish aggression, will,
moreover, have made it plain to the Porte in what way we are prepared to
interpret the term if necessity arises. '
(c) Agreement of the Sheikh of Koweit, dated 24th May 1900, to
prohibit the importation of arms into, and their exportation from, Koweit.
(tZ) Postal Agreement, dated 28th February 1904, giving His Majesty's
Government the sole right to erect a post office at Koweit,
(e) Secret Agreement, dated 15th October 1907, for the lease of ths
Bunder Shweikh foreshore. —In the fifth article of the two documents
constituting the agreement the Sheikh reaffirmed his pledge not to cede, sell.
&c., any Koweit territory to any foreign Government or foreign subject
without His Majesty's Government's permission.
In the ninth, the British Government promised that "the town of Koweit
and its boundaries belong to . . . the Sheikh of Koweit and to his heirs
after him, and that all Sheikh Mubarak's arrangements in the matter of
customs, &c., and his arrangements at the present day shall remain in the.
hands of Sheikh Mubarak-as-Subah, ruler of Koweit, and his heirs after
him . .
■jS[ 0TEi —The lease, or rather the payment of rent for the Bunder Shweikh
site, was terminated in 1922. It does not appear, however, that the agreement
was abrogated, and the reciprocal pledges, so far as they are not affected by
other subsequent instruments, presumably remain binding.