'File 4/5 Kuwait State: Shaikh of Kuwait, Status of and Salutes for' [‎4r] (7/370)

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5* The Shaikh gave me the impression that he felt
keenly this lack of appreciation by His Majesty^ Government
of his position, but graciously added that he felt sure the
arrangement was a relic of Turkish days when it was not consider
ed good policy to give Kuwait more guns than the Mutasarrif of
Basrah, under whose Jurisdiction Kuwait was supposed hy
Constantinople to come.
6 * My own personal opinion, if I may be permit ed to
give same, is that both Bahrain and Kuwait should come under
the XI guns category, and that Qatar should remain at 7 guns -
for after all one cannot compare the importance of Qatar with
either Bahrain or Kuwait*
It is certainly unfair, and in my view decidedly
impolitic these days, when we are endeavouring to emphasize
the importance and independanoe of both Bahrain and ^uwait
vis a vis Persia, Iraq and Hejd, to allow the local world to
think that we place these States on a par with the Governors
of neighbouring ports such as Basrah, Mohamnerah and Abadan.
7* This question of salutes especially as it applies
almost entii&y to visits of H.M.S,Ships, is rated very high
indeed among Arabs generally and the latter cannot help but
come to the conclusion that if ships salute the Shaikhs of
Bahrain and Kuwait with the same number cf guns as they give
to the Governors of the abovementioned Towns f then the senior
ity of all five places must be the same.
8 . I shall not attempt to labour the point further
but close this with the hope that if you can possibly see your
way to do so, you will approach the Government of India in the
matter and try and get them to make a more equitable distri
bution of salutes, before the end of 1932.
9. I of course primarily speak for Kuwait
if you agre with what I say as I believe you do,
it naturally follows that Bahrain must receive similar treatment