Page 375 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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iVL Condition of the Country.
Law and order have remained unchanged. Security in the hiterland
continued to be good except for a brief interval in the early Summer when
there were repercussions from the Iraq Rebellion in Kuwait’s northern
desert.

VII. Foreign Relations.
(a) Saudi Arabia.

(1) Frontier Incident.—A small frontier incident caused attention in
May. On the 6th of that month six retainers of Ibn Jaluwi, Governor of
the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, A1 Hasa, without permission
crossed the frontier and ordered one Misha’al al Timyat, a Shaikh of the
Shammar Sinjara, a non-Kuwaiti tribe grazing in Kuwait territory to
move into Saudi Arabia at Hafar al Batin, just over the frontier. This
would have meant a difficult if not impracticable march for a camp with
its impediments to make jn May. The leader of the Saudi Arab Govern­
ment party also ordered other sections of the Shammar and certain Dhaifir
elements to cross the frontier.
The party was brought into Kuwait by order of the Shaikh and
temporarily housed with the Saudi Arab Agent.
Meanwhile men of the Mutair stirred to hear that their wells of Hafar
al Batin were to be occupied by the Shammar at Ibn Jaluwi’s order sent
messengers with complaints to Riyadh and Kuwait. ;
The crossing of the frontier was a subject of protest through the proper
official British channels to the Saudi Arab Government. The fact that the
party, as is customry in the desert, were armed drew perhaps undue atten­
tion to an incident that seems to have occurred through the stupidity and
arrogance of a tribal servant of the Governor of Ilasa, Haif Abu Shijera,
the leader of the party.
(2) The Trade Blockade.—The Trade Blockade continuing, the
staging of a conference, at which it was hoped some progress leading to
abandonment of the blockade might be made, was brought about through
the agency of His Majesty’s Government, in the Summer of 1935.
The delegates with a large entourage arrived on the scene, the town of
Kuwait, after unexpected delays by the 17th June.
Discussions were opened from the following day and lasted until the
24th June when the parties began to write to each other instead. The point
on which the conference eventually broke down was that whereby the Saudi
Arab delegates held Kuwait bound to prevent all smuggling having defined
all smuggling as including even a single case; on pain of which any agree­
ment would be considered null.
The conference thus terminated without progress having been made on
the 30th of June and the Saudi Arab delegates left for their own country
on the 5th of July.
At the end of 1935 the Trade Blockade was still in force.

(b) Iraq.
(1) Insecurity in the Desert during Revolt in Iraq.—The rebellion in
southern Iraq in the Spring of 1935 had some reactions in
Kuwait. Failing Government control in the desert of Iraq led raiders to
increase the number and scope of their depredations until the northern
desert of Kuwait was affected. Raiders were frequently at large in the
frontier area near Safwan and the mail cars on the Kuwait-Basra road were
fired upon on the 27th May. The fire was returned from the cars and Ihu
226(C) F&FD