'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎230v] (465/470)

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3. Irrigation. —The land around Kuwait is rich and admirably suited to
irrigation, hut is dependent on we]Is, of which there are not many, as a source of
supply. Irrigation is therefore confined to a few centres where water is found.
4. Agriculture. —The area under cultivation is small owing to the scarcity of
water. The principal cultivation centres are Jaharah, Hawalli, and a few villages
along the Qusur coast. Wheat and barley are sown in the open desert in the rainy
season and under favourable conditions as much as 60 tons is got in this way. Small
quantities of vegetables are brought into Kuwait town from the surrounding villages,
hut the town is dependent principally on the Shatt-al-Arab gardens for its green
stuffs.
5. Municipalities. —These do not exist in Kuwait.
6. Judicial. —Justice is administered by the Shaikh, in the most arbitrary way,
and his word is law.
The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. is not vested with judicial powers, and cases of British
subjects are, therefore, settled by him informally, and those between British subjects
and Arabs are referred to the Shaikh for equitable settlement.
There has been very little serious crime in the town during the year.
7. Education. —Except for the Day and Night School conducted by the Bev.
Mr. Calverley of the American Mission, there are no educational facilities outside
those offered in the Quranic Schools, which here, as in other places, only teach a
sufficiency of Arabic to enable the pupils to read the Quran.
The Mission School did a lot of excellent work during the year, and great credit
is due to the Bev. Mr. Calverley, who, in spite of being left without a teacher, due to
the inducements of high pay offered by the Government in ‘Iraq, succeeded in
bringing the average daily attendance to 16—a much higher figure than in former
years—and worked very hard himself in the schools.
8. Medical and Sanitation : Medical. —The Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. dispensary closed on
1st September, on Honorary-Lieut. C. C. Kelly, I.S.M.D., who had been in charge of it,
being posted to India for duty.
Erom January 1st to August 31st, 1,714 outpatients were treated. There were
155 operations and 25 vaccinations.
Eor the work done by the American Mission Hospital, see Appendix II.
Sanitation. —No sanitary arrangements exist in Kuwait, and there is no idea of
systematic conservancy. Those who live near the seashore use it for the purpose
of nature; the inhabitants of the outskirts use the open desert, and those of the
central quarters their house-tops, or pits dug on the roadside, or, in the less frequented
quarters, the roadside itself. Here refuse matter is allowed to accumulate.
There are no scavengers, hut the principal streets are generally fairly clean, being
swept by the breeze which blows intermittently almost throughout the year.
9. Police. —The Shaikh does not keep special men for police work, but uses his
retainers for this purpose whenever required. In addition to these there are about
60 night guards, mostly Beloochies from the Mel ran coast, for watching the shops
at night.
10. Shabanahs. —Nil.
11. Labour.— Is expensive in Kuwait. The following are the present rates
of daily wages for the different handicrafts :—
Head mason -
Assistant mason
Master carpenter
Assistant carpenter
Nail driver
Coolie A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. -
- Bs. 10/-
5/-
10 /-
5/- to 6/-
3/- to 4/-
2/- to 2/8/-
The above rates were 50 to 75 per cent, lower before the war.
There are about 300 Persian coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. in Kuwait and about 200 Najdi labourers.
Some 542 labourers were sent to the Labour Corps, Basrah, in 1917 and 1918.
12. Miscellaneous. The Deputy Political Besident, Bushire, arrived in Kuwait
by H.M.S. “ Muzaffar ” on Eebruary 9th, and left on the 11th idem.
The Deputy Civil Commissioner, Basrah, Lieut.-Col. E. B. Howell, arrived from
Basrah on 31st May, and left on the 2nd June.