'File 5/16 Chief Local Representative for KOC and Aminco; relations between companies and Shaikh' [‎49r] (97/116)

that
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tie-up between ourselves and the company before present
ing a M definite issue n to the Sheikh* And having
once agreed on future procedure the company must ensure
that their various branches are ready to, and do, auply
it*
6. I doubt whether the " population *’ will make
demands for a larger share in the royalties* The company
is now about to start consolidating its position but its
policy as explained to me by Jordan is to see that
reductions in staff fall on foreigners rather than on
Kuwaitis* Individual contractors may feel the draught
but they have done well and will doubtless launch out
elsewhere. Aminco in the Neutral Zone claim that until
they strike oil their out goings will be kept to the
lowest possible level - they are for instance undertaking
no housing programme at all, even their mess-rooms will
be mobile.
7. I gather that the Sheikh himself - but no one
else - was a little shaken over events in Qatar which
were popularly interpreted as having arisen out of the
Ruler’s meanness and his reluctance to meet demands for
a more equitable distribution of revenue. The Sheikh
here is mean but the purse-strings are held by Abdulla
Salim not the Sheikh and the minor Sheikhs are not badly
treated as they were in Qatar.
8. With regard to the appointment of an Adviser I
think we should hasten slowly. In the course of conver
sation with the Sheikh I referred to the impending arrival
of our financial man. Although I was careful to use the
expression n economic assistant M I thought the Sheikh
looked at me very suspiciously and he said " I suppose .|
he is to spend his time going up and down the gulf n .
On the other hand I am told that feeling in the town is
that the changes in and additions to the staff at the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. portend changes in the state. It seems to me
that this feeling should be encouraged so that the appoint
ment of an Adviser imposes itself rather than is imposed.
If, too, the minor sheikhs continue to overspend their
allowances ( I understand they are all very much in debt )
the Treasury might welcome an Adviser to bear the brunt
of their displeasure. So that altogether the next two
or three months should put the question of the adviser into
much blearer perspective and us in a much better position
to decide when to press for the appointment.
9. I agrtee that it would be an admirable idea to
get the Sheikh to accept a town planner. But there
already exists a vague plan - at least buildings are
being pulled down and streets widened. The Sheikhs, too,
are scrambling to lay their hands on various sites so
that on the whole I don’t think the prospects of their
accepting a town planner are very bright.
10. I myself do not see/the deciding of which
questions should go through the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and which not
presents any great difficulty. What constitutes routine
commercial business should be clear enough and it should
not