Page 643 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

61
FOE THB YEA.R 1918.
Government have decided to remove the blockade provided that your
The
Excellency takes measures of your own to prevent supplie8 being
sent to enemies of the Government and hope that in taking these
measures you will not hesitate to consult the Political Agent
and Lieutenant McCollum who will remain at Kuwait a* his
Assistant, but in order to prevent ill-disposed persons fr°m
endeavouring to smuggle goods, no goods will be allowed to
India for Kuwait in future by dhow or steamer without ™
production of a permit signed by the Political Agent or his duv
authorised representative Government desires that full consulta­
tion 6liould take placer between you and the Political Ag611*
regarding the quantities of goods required for your territory
that the legitimate needs of your people will be safeguarded ana
permits will also he granted by the Political Agent for goods
which may be necessary for lawful trade with the subjects of
the friend of all Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Ahdur Rahman bin
Eaisal as Sa’ufl
It gives me great pleasure to be the bearer of this message on behalf of
Government and I trust that the friendship between us may in-
crease This is what had to be said and may you be preserved.**
In a long interview characterised by very plain speaking the various
points'of the letter were discussed and the situation was made perfectly dear
to Shaikh Salim, who vowed friendship and professed to consider Government’s
word as his law. He issued a notice proclaiming his fnjendstfljp and that-any-
one acting against Government in word or deed would ’have has property
taken and be banished from Kuwait.
He was rather frightened of personal responsibility and expressed fear of
our listening to tale bearers on which point be was reassured. On July 7 th
Shaikh Salim replied in writing to the same effect and a meeting was held
between the Political Agent and the Blockade Officer and representatives of
the Shaikh headed by the latter’s son, Abdullah, who was appointed to
superintend the whole blackade and in particular to deal with exports by land.
It was decided that a manifest system should be instituted to check the exports
by sea and that the existing system of checking exports by land should be
continued. Stress was laid on the point that far more good would be done by
Shaikh Abdullah going round Kuwait and turuiug out any enemy elements
than by any amount of written passes.
Though arrangements for the issue of passes were made immediately
after the delivery of the aboTe letter to the Shaikh (5th July), no
applications for passes were received before September 2nd. This was doe
to opposition on the part of the Shaikh in the vain attempt of getting w to
withdraw the restrictions on imports which we had just instituted. Seeing,
however, that it was useless to hold out further he gave in and applicatsov*
came forward slowly at first but freely afterwards.
It is worthy of note that the opposition above referred to cessed a
few days after the deportation Yusuf -ed- Duwairi (August 29th) elsewhere
referred to in this report.
Blockade restrictions were formally withdrawn on 3rd November under
orders of General Head-quarters on conclusion of the armistice with Turkey, bat
the shipping restrictions as regards exports from India to Kuwait were still in
torce at the close of the year.
Por a long time it had been recognised that the influence of a mas rtaaed
Importation of Yosnf-ai-Davairi. Yusuf bin Muhammad al Mira (cotn-
ftf. . _ . . , monly called Yusuf-al-Duwairi) wa* one
he most anti-British forces in Kuwait and Shaikh Salim's succession rii^4
vJL* c?!1 P°™r: He had ** Sbaikh Jackal during the W
h??°lhJflexi,®;n *be desert and received hia reward in the great infiuawM
°7er ®ba*kb Salim and the power this influence gave him ia
> wbcre he was much disliked and even hated.