'Administration Reports of the Persian Gulf, 1945 [-1946]' [‎52r] (116/414)

chapter vi
CONFIDENTIAL
ADMINISTRATION H^POHT OF TEE KUWAIT
K}LITIGaL AG -^iCY FOR TH2 YEAR" 1945';
I. THE POLITICAL AGENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. .
Personnel
( a ) Ivir. G.N. Jackson M.B.E., of the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47.
held charge u _p^ go the 19th April, when he proceeded to England on
le ?y?: ', His was taken by Major M.P. 0^ Tandy of the Indian
Political Service who held charge until the end of the year.
(b) Assistant Surgeon C.E. Hynes I.M.D., held charge of the
Government dispensary and performed the duties of Quarantine Medical
Officer throughout the year.
II. THE RULING FAMILY .
(a) x i or a man of sixty with a weak heart His Highness shaikh
Sir Ahmea al Jabir As-Subah K.C.S.I., K.C.I .E., maintained remark
ably gooa heaith throughout the year. This was probably due to
his habits of^moderation in diet, of avoidance of exertion, of
implicit obedience to the American Mission doctors who visit him
twice weekly, and of keeping a loaded revolver to hand ^ven in the
privacy^of his harem . He remained in Kuwait throughout the year
except for the periodical pogroms of bustard which were committed as
usual during the winter months. He did hov/ever during the summer
proclaim his intention of visiting India in September for optical
and dental treatment, and this proposal may have been a ballon
d^essai to detect any tendency on the part of Government to accord
him a reception on the lines of those given to other Arab- rulers in
the United Kingdom and elsewhere. V/hen no trace of any such tend
ency was apparent the proposal was allowed to droD, but a similar
ballon may well be released in 1946.
His Highness celebrated the 25th anniversary (by Muslim reckon
ing) of his accession on the 23rd February and was suitably felicit
ated by all communities, although the Government of India took no
special steps to mark the occasion. By our calendar the 25th
anniversary of His Highness* accession will fall on the 24th of
March, 1946.
(b) Shaikh Abdullah Salim G.I.E., Continued to administer the
Revenue and Supply Departments with a degree of competence and
probity hitherto unsuspected, and to punctuate his spells of duty
with frequent (and apparently innocent) visits to his island iiaunt
of Failecha. He led the exodus to the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. caused by the untimely
advent of Ramadhan in August and September and gave rise to not a
little scandal by passing the sacred month congenially in the red-
light quarter of Damascus.
(c) Shaikh Abdullah Mubarak C.I.E., continued to supervise
the Department of Public Security with rutiilessness and energy in
no way diminished by his increasing weight - now in excess of 20
stone. He remains more pro-Shaikh than the Shaikh and more pro-
British than the British. The result of his efforts has been an
astounding degree of security throughout the town and state of
Kuwait. He visited the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. between 31st July and 6th September
and returned from his first journey abroad convinced that there is
no place like home.
(d) Shaikh Abdullah al Jabir remained Chief^Justice and
Director of Education in which posts he discharged his duties loyally
and efficiently. He visited Bombay in the Spring, partly for
optical treatment and partly in the hope of finding an easier cure
for his hereditary disorder than the repeated and painful Salvarsan
injections pr<|pribed by the Mission doctors in Kuwait. in this he
was unsuccessful. •
(e) Shaikh Abdulla al Ahmad..