Page 286 - 4 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 2_Neat

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Freight, Shipping and Navigation. allc asset. Besides boat weight-nets and lines,
trips or tidal weirs constructed of reed hurdles
Kuwait owns about 201 large sailing vessels are also employed : the fish enter tBiem with the
engaged in the oversea carrying trade ns distinct inflowing tide and are left behind at she ebb. The
from pcariiing nud fishing boats. These include SO majority of the fish caught is consumed locally;
having a capacity of over 300 tons, 21 of over 230 but a small proportion is dried and exported to
tons and 67 of *100 tone. Forty-eight boats were Basra, the Shatt al Arab villages and Hassa ports.
employed constantly in bringing drinking water to
the town from Shatt nl Arab. On an average 8 Boat Building.
such boat* arrive daily bringing 80,000 gallons of
water (worth Rs. 405) to the town. The British Four boats of an aggregate value of Ha. 35,000
India Ste:am Navigation Company, Limited, main­ were built in Kuwait during the year under review.
tain a weekly mail service from India and a fort­ Of these one had a carrying capacity of 170 tons.
nightly sendee to India. The steamers owned and These figures arc not included in the Trade Report.
chartered by (1) The Ilansa Steamship Company of Many smaller rowing boats were also built which
Bremen, Germany, and (2) The St rick and Eller- it is unnecessary to enumerate.
man Line* of London also called during the year
under report but their service has not been a regular Labour.
one. The- rate of freight by the British India Steam
Navigation Company’s steamers was Rs. 11-8-0 The price of labour remained nearly the same as
from Bombay or Karachi to Kuwait, and front for the previous year. An unskilled Dataurer cara-
Kuwait to Bombay or Karachi was Rs. 11*8-0 jer ed from Rupee 1 to Rs. 1-8-0, a carpenter from
ton respectively throughout the year. Ri. 2-8-0 to Rs. 3-8-0 and .i boat builder from
Rs. 2-8*0 to Rs. 3-8-0 per di«em.
Communi cation.
Kuwait possesses a combined Post and Telegraph Minerals.
Office worked by ihe Post and Telegraph Depart­ The only mineral product worke-d is gypsum
ment of the Iraq Government. Foreign rates of mortar, which is manufactured by the simple pro­
p. .stage and telegram charges are applicable from cess of firing rubl.i-b in broad shallow excavations.
Kuwait to the Uniied Kingdom and other countries. There is a large gypsiferous tract on the outskirts
Mails and parcels for the United Kingdom and the of Kuwait Town and it is found in several other
Continent arc despatched from Kuwait by car and parts of the principality.
connect with the overland route (Baghdad and
Haifa), taking 10 days to reach London on an Oil indications in the shape of a number of bitu­
average. The C. 0. D. and Insurance systems are men and oil surface springs exist in "he hinterland
available in Kuwait. but whether these can be worked commercially has
yet to be seen.
Imperial Airways machines began calling at
Kuwait with effect from the 22nd December 1932.
At first as a preliminary measure the arrangement Domestic Animal*.
w&s only for six months ; but on the expiry of that The most valuable domestic animals are camels
p->riod the management of the Company decided to and sheep, of which there are large numbers among
make Kuwait a permanent port of caLL This has the Bedouin. Large numbers of goats and donkey*
resulted in widespread and genuine satisfaction. are also found in the town, tbe latter being of the
Letters can now be posted and replies received large white breed originally from Hassa. These
within a fortnight from Europe and within a week are sometimes over 13 hands cn height and * good
from India. one will cost about Rs. 60. There are also some
The Kurwait Motor Transport Company which is horses mostly owned by the Roller, a&d * few horn­
also under a Postal contract with the Iraq Post and ed cattle.
Telegraph. Department for the conveyance of both
fast sea mails to and from India via Basra and Agriculture.
overland mails from Europe via Iraq and vice verta, Neither Kuwait nor its environment* ean boast
continued to function between Kuwait and Zubair of any agricultural resource*. There are no date
and main"-ained the road in good condition. The plantations of any value, no fields and not many
fare by the Company’s motors is Rs. 6-4-0 per seat kitchen gardens. The village* to the South-East of
and the journey each way on an average occupies Kuwait supply a limited but increasing Quantity df
four hours- vegetables and melon*. The agricultural centre in
Sen Fisheries. the principality is Jahrah which ha* greatly im­
The only truly local produce of Kuwait is that proved durir^g the year owing to the facilities afford­
yielded by the harbour fisheries which are a valu- ed by motor transport in taking the products into