This file contains correspondence, promotional material and other documents related to the British Industries Fair (BIF) in London and other similar events in London, including a mechanical handling conference (1948) and an engineering and marine exhibition (1949).The file contains a number of invitations to attend the fair that were sent to prominent merchants in Bahrain by the Political Agency in Bahrain as well as replies sent back by these merchants. Much of this correspondence is in Arabic (with English translations).The file also contains promotional material related to the BIF and other events including the following:a pamphlet written by Malcolm Logan entitled 'Story of the B.I.F.' The pamphlet is in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese (folios 142-149);two posters for the Mechanical Handling Conference in London 1948, one in French (folio 151) and one in English (folio 152);a pamphlet entitled 'Background to the B.I.F.' (folios 203-210).1 file (256 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 256; 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 also present in parallel between ff 4-117; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled (except for a few circled numbers which have been crossed out).
Covering letter with a number of enclosures:An extract of paragraph 2 from a despatch (f 7) from the Honourable Committee, dated 28 November 1850, which makes reference to a letter from Lord Palmerston of 27 November 1850 (f 8), relating to a conference held with the Portuguese Chargé d'Affaires, on the suppression of the slave trade in the Portuguese dominions on the coast of East Africa;An extract of a letter (f 8) from Lord Palmerston, Foreign Office, London, to Sir John Hobhouse, dated 27 November 1850, relating to the extension of an agreement made in 1847 between British and Portuguese government ministers, for British cruisers to patrol the coastal waters of the Portuguese dominions in East Africa where no Portuguese authorities are yet established, for slave trading activity;A protocol of a conference relating to the slave trade on the east coast of Africa (ff 9-10), held at the Foreign Office on the 19 November 1850. The protocol outlines an agreement between British and Portuguese government ministers, for British cruisers to patrol the coastal waters of the Portuguese dominions in East Africa where no Portuguese authorities are yet established, for slave trading activity;A letter (ff 11-12) from Edward Stanley of Alderley, to John Parker, First Secretary to the Admiralty, dated 23 November 1850. The letter encloses a copy of the Protocol of Conference (ff 13-15) held between His Lordship Viscount Palmerston and the Portuguese Chargé d'Affaires, recording the renewal of the protocol for a further three years;Copy of the Protocol of Conference, held at the Foreign Office on the 12 August 1847. The original wording of the protocol states that Britain felt that 'great facilities' for slave trading existed along unpoliced stretches of the Portuguese East African coast, and an agreement made between the two countries permitted British naval vessels to 'pursue and capture' those vessels suspected of trading in slaves. The original agreement was made for a period of three years (1847-50).10 folios
The file contains minutes, correspondence and reports regarding changes made by the British Government to the system for licensing the export of arms and ammunition to foreign countries. The India Office participated in the process to ensure that requests from the Governments of Afghanistan and Nepal would be referred via the India Office before approval.The file consists of correspondence between the India Office Political Department, Major Neville Godfray Hind of the Committee of Imperial Defence, the Foreign Office, and the Board of Trade Import and Export Licensing Section. The potential advantages and disadvantages of the proposed open licence system are discussed, as are India Office concerns that a change to an open system would make it difficult to regulate the purchase of arms by Afghanistan and Nepal, and could pose a threat to the security of India.The file also contains the following minutes and reports:minutes of the first and second meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence Principal Supply Officers Committee, Sub-Committee on System of Licensing Exports of Arms and Ammunition, ff 74-96;the final report of the above Sub-Committee, ff 40-51;a copy of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty (1921), ff 56-60;a copy of the Cabinet Minutes 70(33), 20 December 1933, ff 24-27;notes on a meeting held at the Board of Trade on 29 December 1933, ff 17-22;and a 'List of selected firms and Service Departments which will acquaint them of the new procedure', f 12.The file also contains a small amount of correspondence dated 1938, regarding a request from the Government of Portuguese India for ammunition to be supplied by a British firm.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).1 file (97 folios)The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 97; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The file contains correspondence relating to the notification and registration of the deaths of two individuals, and arrangements for the disposal of their property and possessions. The first case discussed is that of Jose Pedro d’Souza, a Portuguese Goan, who died during a visit to Persia in 1925, whilst employed as a cook by the Political Agent, Kuwait. This correspondence includes an enquiry by his employer into the circumstances of his death, the arrangements for his Christian burial in Persia, and the despatch of money and possessions to his widow in Goa. The second case concerns the death of Haji bin Muhenna Hasawi, an owner of property who died in Bahrain in 1930 and who had appointed his son, resident in Kuwait, as executor of his will. The main correspondents are Major James Carmichale More and his successor Lieutenant Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson as Political Agent, Kuwait, and Mr W G Huxley, Superintendent, Indo-European Telegraph Department, Persian Section, Shiraz. The correspondence includes a letter in Portuguese from the Political Agent, Kuwait to the widow of Jose Pedro d’Souza, living in Goa, in 1925. There is also an exchange of letters in Arabic between the Political Agent, Kuwait and Shaikh Ahmad al-Jabir as-Subah [Āl Ṣabāḥ, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir] the Ruler of Kuwait, in 1930.1 file (54 folios)File papers are arranged in approximate chronological order.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 56; 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 3-53; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.