'Administration Report of the Persian Gulf for the year 1932' [‎543v] (62/73)

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(h) Poverty and Economy Measures .—World depression, the continued lack
of relief from Bin Sand’s blockade, and the last three years failure of the pearl
trade have at last had their effect on Kuwait During the year 1932 there was a
marked increase in the number of pearl bankruptcies. Suffering and acute want
among the lower classes of the town was a new and pathetic feature, and showed
itself in the form of gangs of beggars, who began to roam the Town.
The situation was aggravated by the sudden arrival in August of some
2,000 starving Persian refugees, driven across to the Arab Coast from their own
country by hunger and the callousness of their own officials. These persons filled
the streets and by-ways, imploring all and sundry to assist them.
This influx was again followed by an invasion of poor Persian fishermen who
began to interfere with the fishing rights and nets of the local Kuwait fraternity.
Matters came to such a pass that the Ruler, on the urgent representations of his
people who complained that they had enough poor of their own to support, was
constrained to order all Persians without visible means of support to be re
patriated to their own country. This was done at the end of August and the
refugees were conveyed in dhows free of charge to Gusbah on the left bank of the
Shaft al Arab.
The Persian fishermen were also ordered to leave the bay of Kuwait and for
bidden to enter the 3-mile limit along the Kuwait sea-board.
On the 15th August the Ruler decided on a general reduction of officials’
salaries by approximately 20 per cent., thus following the example of Bahrain.
The reduction affected the salaries of all the many Shaikhs of the house of
Al Subah, including that of many ladies of high birth, and went right down the
scale of officials so as to include guards, mercenaries and private servants.
The Ruler told the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. that he had been compelled to adopt these economy
measures much against his will because of the grave condition of the finances of
the’Btate which had laterly been nearing danger point.
(i) Locusts .—The first flight of these pests passed over Kuwait on 24th Feb
ruary. It moved in a north-westerly direction and took 2£ hours to pass over the
Town. ^
An official of His Majesty King Bin Baud, who arrived in Kuwait on 27th
February 1932, reported that he had seen large flights of locusts in Qasim and
South Hassa at the end of January and early in February.
His Majesty King Bin Baud personally told the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. that Hotfuf had had
a bad visitation in January. It was anticipated that March would see the insect
plague on the borders of Kuwait and Iraq. Fortunately for the State this did
not happen and the dread invasions of the three previous years were not re
peated.
Mr. Urarov, Locust Expert to the British Museum visited Kuwait on 23rd
May and collected data regarding locust visitations and their lines of approach
from south-west Arabia up through Nejd. Curiously enough,he prophesied that
Kuwait would see no locusts in 1932 as all evidence went to prove that they
appeared in cycles of 3 years at a time. His prophesy came true.
{j) Topographical Survey of Kuwait state .—During the late Autumn of
1932 and after some delays the long expected ground survey of Kuwait com
menced under the auspices of Captain Papworth, R.E., attached to Headquarters,
Royal Air Force, Baghdad. Work was pushed on vigorously till by the end of
the year the northern third of the State was mapped. It was anticipated that
work in the Kuwait Neutral Zone would commence by the end of January of
1933. To this end the permission of the Shaikh of Kuwait was officially obtained,
while it was decided to do the same in the case of His Majesty King Bin Sand.
The complete survey of the neutral zone of the whole of Kuwait State
should be finished by the Summer of 1933.
(k) Haj .—The Kuwait Haj Pilgrimage of 1932 was a success, and some
3,000 persons proceeded by camel overland to Mecca via Buraida and Qassim
under the care of Shaikh Subah al Nasir al Subah, the Shaikh’s cousin. A few
persons notably Seyed Abdul Wahab al Naqib and his women folk, members of
the distinguished familv of the Naqibs of Basra, proceeded by motor car via
Riath. They successfully proved that future pilgrims could easily reach the
Holy City from Kuwait by car.