Page 632 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

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Th'e Shaikh himself frequently attends Council meetings over the decision of
which he has a power of veto.
A new building for the Council and the Law Courts was opened by the
Shaikh in dune.
(d) Medical.—During the year under report the Government of Kuwait
have employed a Syrian doctor named Omar Salaami Mchcddwi for the State
Hospital which it i.s hoped to oijcu shortly.
(e) Financial.—Pressure of local public opinion induced the Shaikh to
agree to the income of the Landing Department, which amounts to about
Rs. .%',()(10 annually, being set apart for education and the building of a State
Hospital.
(f) Education.—Education is free in the four Bovs’ schools, and in the one
Government Girls’ school. The number of trained musters from Palestine was
increased during-the year, and two more Palestinian school mistresses were ein-
ployed.
Xegofiations with (he Kuwait Oil Company for a grant of two scholarships
for Kuwait boys to the Technical School at Bahrain were not concluded by ihe
end of the year.
In June Mr. Adrian Vallnnce of the Iraq Ministry of Education inspected
the schools in Kuwait and submitted a report.
(g) Military.—In April Quartermaster Sergeant Booth of the Iraq Levies
held a three weeks course in weapon training for the Shaikh’s forces.
I (h) Building.—Work on a landing pier at the Customs House was* begun.
It is proposed to build a prison with accommodation for 1st, 2nd ancl 3rd
divisions.
(i) Imperial Airways.—Imperial Airways land plane service is now sche-
duied to call at Kuwait bi-weekly, both castbound and westbound.
(j) Past and Telegraph Office.—Negotiations for the faking over of the
Post and Telegraph Office, which is at present, run by the Iraq authorities, by
the Cable and Wireless Limited are in progress.
fk) Commercial.—(i) Boat building.—The famous boat building industry
continues to flourish.
fii) Pearls.—The catch of pearls during the year was good, as was the
market.
(iii) Lamb shins.—Buying agents of various firms arrived during the
year to purchase Iamb skins, the price of which rose considerably after the out­
break of war.
(1) Tribal trade with Kuwait.—During the year under report the Bedouin
Dado with Kuwait was definitely on the increase, hut it decreased towards the
end of the year owing to export restrictions imposed by the Kuwait Government.
(ni) Sand contract.—On the termination in May of the contract held by
Yusuf af Ghanim for the exportation of sand and shingle from Kuwait, the
Kuwait State invited tenders for a new contract. Eventually a monopoly was
given to a Company composed of some 20 Kuwait merchants. Ncgotialions
between Yusuf al Ghanim, the new Company and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Com­
pany were in progress at the end of the year.

V.—CONDITIONS OP THE COUNTRY.
Security in the hinterland continued to be good during the year.
In October a bedouin was found guilty of murdering another bedouin and
his wife who were travelling to Subaihiya. He was sentenced to dcatli and
executed.
VI.—FOREIGN RELATIONS.
Iraq.—Tn March, the Ruler reported incursions hv the Iraqi police to as far
as 4 miles north of .Tahra at the head of Kuwait Bay.
Tn flic sumo inojjfli it was reported that all road traffic from Traq to Kuwait
had been stopped by the Iraqi authorities. It subsequently transpired that the
incoming mails had been lurued hack from the frontier by the Police Suponu-