Page 158 - PERSIAN 9 1941_1947_Neat

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ftllied interests.

IV, LOCAL INTERESTS.
(a) General,
There has been no political activity worthy of mention luring
the year. Trade has, all things considered, "been remarkably good
anl the attention of the merchants has been engaged exclusively

in their own affairs,
During the course of the year the continued upward trend in
prices caused the Kuwait Government under pressure from the
Agency to take certain very necessary measures to safeguard the

interests of the community and maximum prices were fixed for
wheat, flour, rice and sugar, the export of silver coin was for­
bidden, an embargo was laid on the export of goods by sea and
land to all places except Saudi Arabia, and a primitive but really

remarkably effective system of rationing of essential foodstuffs
was introduced.
An event of importance was the conclusion of an Extradition

Agreement, a Trade Agreement and an Agreement of ifriendship and
Neighbourly Relations between the Ruler and the Government of the
Hedjaz and Nejd. The actual signature of these documents had no
practical effect as the provisions had already come into force in
1940 by mutual agreement between the two countries.

The domestic affairs of the house of Subah have attracted
no attention and as far as is possible to ascertain the year has
been strangely free from family squabbles.

At no time during the year was any anti-British feeling
t
readily apparent and such subterranean activities as there may
have been died away as the German Marshal Rommel’s army in North

Africa was driven further and further to the west and the threat
to Egypt and the Middle Bast became at first less dangerous and
later practically non-existent.

(b) Trade, A full report on the imports and exports for the
year will be found in the Kuwait Trade Report, ai non-confidential
publication.
(o) Customs. There have been no further increases in the customs