The file contains correspondence, witness statements, marine (or sea) protests, and other documents related to legal cases involving subjects or residents of Kuwait tried before foreign courts.Documents relating to the first thirteen cases have been indexed (folios 2-3), and include claims of debt, marine protests, witness statements, powers of attorney, certificates, and bills of landing.The remainder of the file includes documentation relating to similar types of case and also to stolen property, suspected and attempted murder, fugitive and small causes cases. Papers also include arrangements for the Political Agent, Kuwait, to collect evidence and for police personnel to travel to the relevant countries for investigations. The correspondence is between the Political Agency, Kuwait, Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, several political and judicial offices in the places where cases were being heard (including Bangkok, North Kanara, Mohammerah [Korramshahr], Karachi, Basra, Baghdad, and Gwadur), and a number of individuals and companies involved in the cases. Some of this correspondence included discussion over regional legal matters and the interpretation of certain laws.1 file (379 folios)The file is arranged in rough chronological order.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 381; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 5-130; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the court suit raised in Basra Court by members of al-Zuhair family complaining against the Ruler of Kuwait. The suit in question concerns a portion of the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate on Shatt al-Arab, and the Bashiya land to which members of al-Zuhair family lays claim to. According to the reports, the Faddaghiya estate was owned by Aisha, wife of Ahmad Pasha Al-Zuhair, and she has given her husband a Power of Attorney to sell the land.In the volume, British officials discuss issues related to the land registration granted to the Shaikh by Sir Henry Dobbs, Revenue Commissioner, Basra, in 1915, and the importance of obtaining an original copy of the claimed Power of Attorney authorising the sale of the land by Ahmed Pasha al-Zuhair. British officials correspond with the Shaikh and his lawyer, Jacob Gabriel, asking them to prepare certain documents, including a list of the names of the legal living heirs of Ahmed Pasha al-Zuhair, an original Turkish copy of the Power of Attorney, and translated copies of the document both in Arabic and English.The volume includes notes of meetings held in Baghdad between British officials discussing the cases. It also includes copies of the four Tapu title deeds (ff 55-64) connected with the Shaikh of Kuwait’s Faddaghiya estate dispute, dated 1915. The volume also includes reports on agrarian troubles caused by the
fellaheenon the Shaikh’s Faw estates.The main correspondence in the volume is between the Political Resident, Bushire, the Political Agent, Kuwait, British Ambassador, Baghdad, the India Office, London, the Foreign Office, London, the Ruler of Kuwait and Jacob Gabriel, the Shaikh’s Agent in Basra.The volume’s core correspondence covers June- October 1933. The earlier start date given to the volume is a result of correspondence by Jacob Gabriel (f 153), which is dated 20 November 1909. The correspondence includes a certificate from a school where he was a pupil. Jacob Gabriel provides testimonies and letters from previous places and people he worked with to prove his ability to take the Shaikh’s case on.1 volume (205 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 207; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 6-202, ff 42-127, and ff 176-202; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.