1. ‘Vol 239 Miscellaneous general and secret correspondence’

Description:

The volume contains miscellaneous correspondence sent to and from the Residency. The principal correspondents are Captain (James) Felix Jones, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to the Government of Bombay. Topics covered include: news of the death of the Imam of Muscat; payment of salaries for individuals employed by the Residency, including Agents around the Gulf; maintenance work for the Residency buildings; issue of regulations for native passengers using vessels and steam ships; printed correspondence and reports on the cotton industry in India.1 volume (13 items, 36 folios)The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front of the volume to the latest at the rear.Foliation: The volume is foliated from the first page to the last page, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The front cover and inside back cover are unfoliated. The following foliation anomaly occurs: f 2.

2. 'File VII/1. Telegraphic Connection to Kuwait.'

Description:

The file contains correspondence related to the establishment of a wire connection between Kuwait and the Bushire-Fao cable. The correspondence is mainly about the site where the wireless telegraph station at Kuwait would be, the measurements, and the cost. In 1914 construction started, and in 1916 the wireless station opened at Kuwait. The file also contains correspondence about surveying work taking place around Kuwait, as well as correspondence about the recruitment of a surveyor to undertake the work.The file includes an introductory booklet (folios 256-269) under the title, ‘The Indo-European Telegraph Department’, written by Maurice G Simpson, Director-in-Chief, Indo-European Telegraph Department, and published in 1928.The main correspondence is between the following: the Political Agency, Kuwait; the Foreign Department for the Government of India; the British Residency and Consulate General, Bushire; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Office, Basra; and the Basra Survey Party.1 file (270 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 272; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 1-271 and ff 3-80; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

3. 'File 11/7 Death of King Edward VII and Accession of George V & Misc: Court Mourning'

Description:

The file contains notifications from the Government of India, and correspondence between the Ruler of Kuwait, Mubarak us Subah (Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ); the British Residency in the Persian Gulf; and Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Political Agency in Kuwait; informing of the death of King Edward VII, on 6 May 1910; giving instructions for the mourning, and on the accession of King George V.The file contains a letter sent from King George V 'to the Princes and Peoples of India', in English with a translation in Hindustani written in Latin script (folios 36-38). There is some correspondence with the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad (Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah), regarding the death of the President of the United States (US) Warren Gamaliel Harding, in 1923.The correspondence with the Rulers of Kuwait within the file is in Arabic with English translation.1 file (51 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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 53; 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 8-52; 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.

4. ‘16/23-III Miscellaneous – Payments of Military Pension from the Bahrain Treasury and other Correspondence regarding’

Description:

Memoranda, statements, forms and other papers relating to military pension payments made from the Bahrain Treasury. The principal correspondents are: the Political Agent in Bahrain; the Controller (or Deputy Controller) of Military Pension Accounts [CMPA] in the Lahore Cantonment. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘Miscellaneous:– Payments of Military Pensions from the Bahrain Treasury and their Correspondence regarding’ (IOR/R/15/2/1519).Papers in the file include:copies of monthly statements (submitted by the Agency) of the names of pensioners transferred from the Bahrain Treasury to other Pension Disbursing Offices, and lists of pensions brought on the Check register of the Bahrain Treasury, for months covering period August 1938 to May 1944. Most statements and lists are marked ‘nil’;monthly statements of casualties amongst members of OBI, IOM, VC and MC (Order of British India, Indian Order of Merit, Victoria Cross, Military Cross) on the Pension Establishment in the payment of the Bahrain Treasury. Statements are marked ‘nil’;circular memoranda from the CMPA and other Government administrations, concerning various aspects of pension payments, such as procedure, policy, overpayments, fraud, pay increases, cases of Indian military pensioners convicted in criminal courts;correspondence relating to checks on the identity of individuals claiming pensions, including depositions made by pensioners and supporting statements (recorded at the Agency) and certificates of verification, issued by the Political Agent;papers relating to the transfer of pension payments.The file also includes: fragments of a pension certificate (ff 131-134) and two complete pension certificates, dated 1933 (ff 283-285) and 1925 (ff 304-305) respectively, the former with an accompanying pension warrant and record of payments (f 286). The pension certificates include terms and conditions printed in English, as well as in a number of other languages used on the Indian subcontinent, including Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil.An invoice is included in the file, dated 19 May 1932 (f 339), which has no obvious relation to surrounding correspondence, and was presumably included in the file in error.1 file (366 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 347-367) mirror the chronological arrangement.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 368; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-346; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

5. Vol 66: Letters Inward

Description:

This file consists of correspondence received by the Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, Major David Wilson, from various officials at the Government of Bombay. Correspondents include: Charles Norris, Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay; Robert Cotton Money, Acting Persian Secretary to Government and Secretary to the Bombay Native Education Society; and John Pollard Willoughby, Acting Secretary to Government, Bombay. One of Willoughby's letters (no. 2348, ff 6-9) is followed by enclosed copies of three letters, addressed to Colonel Samuel Goodfellow, Chief Engineer, Major Stratford Powell, Acting Adjutant General, and the President and Members of the Medical Board respectively.The first letter of the file (see ff 2-5), from Charles Norris, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, includes copies of a proclamation (in English, Arabic and Hindi), dated 31 December 1829, issued by Norris on behalf of the Honourable Governor in Council, John Malcolm. The proclamation refers to a recent Government Act which prohibits British subjects from serving under any foreign flag employed against the Turks, in any part of India or the Red Sea.Most of the items in this file are circular letters which relate to matters across the Bombay Presidency and beyond. The prominent theme in these letters is education. Topics of discussion include the following: the Governor of Bombay's decision to reform the Engineer Institution under the new name, 'Government Institution', and place it under the control of the Government of Bombay, rather than that of the Chief Engineer; changes to the way in which the Native Medical institution is regulated; the circulation of a list of the Bombay Native Education Society's publications.In one of only two letters addressed directly to the Resident in the Persian Gulf (see ff 28-29), David Wilson is given authorisation to warn local Arab chieftains that the British Government will not permit any acts which attempt to weaken the power of the Imam of Muscat [Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Bū Sa‘īd]. Enclosed with this letter are copies of two letters addressed to the Honourable Governor of Bombay, John Malcolm: a substance of a letter from Syyud Mahomed bin Salim, Regent of the Imam of Muscat (see ff 30-31); a translation of a written communication from the Imam of Muscat's Agent at Bombay, Agha Mahomed Shoostury (see ff 32-33).In the second letter addressed directly to the Resident (no.1098, f 34), Willoughby includes a copy of a letter to Norris from Richard Clive, Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Fort Saint George, in which it is requested that the Resident procure a variety of plants and seeds and send them to Tellicherry [Thalassery], Calicut [Kozhikode] or any other port on the coast, so that they can be taken to the Neilgherry Hills and cultivated in the gardens there.1 volume (40 folios)With the exception of the first letter in the file, which is dated 22 January 1830, the letters proceed in chronological order, from 21 December 1829 to 11 June 1830.Pagination: There is a pagination sequence which is written in ink, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio and in the top left corner of the verso of each folio. The sequence is inconsistent: some of the pages have not been paginated and the sequence is not complete.Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 40. It should be noted that in this sequence f 20 is followed by f 20A; the sequence then resumes on f 21. This is the sequence used by this catalogue to reference items within the file. Foliation errors: f 20 is followed by f 20A.

6. Memorandum no.368 from the Chief Secretary [to Government], to the Resident at Bushire

Description:

The memorandum is a covering letter, distributing copies to the Residency in English, Hindustani and Malayalam, of Act no.21 of 1858, ‘for the regulation of Native Passenger Ships and Steam Vessels intended to convey Passengers on coasting voyages’, between India, and the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. The three copies, in their respective languages, follow the memorandum at folios 11-15, 16-19, and 20-24.14 folios