Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to visits made by Europeans and Americans to Saudi Arabia, and specifically to Riyadh:A visit made in 1937 by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, former Political Agent at Kuwait, reportedly in his capacity as a representative of the Kuwait Oil Company. The papers include English translations of press reports of the visit as reported in various Arab newspapers, including the Baghdad newspaper
Al-Kifah, the Cairo newspaper
Al-Mukattam[
Al-Muqattam] and the
Wakalat-ul-Sharq Al-Arabia(ff 3-16).Dickson’s request to the Political Resident to visit the Ruler of Saudi Arabia Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in December 1938, and the Ruler of Kuwait’s [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] strong objection to the visit (ff 18-28).Lord Alington’s [Captain Napier George Henry Sturt] visit to Ibn Saud in April 1939, including notes on his visit, and demi-official letters exchanged between the Political Agent at Kuwait (Major Charles Crawshaw Galloway) and the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) commenting on Alington’s description of Ibn Saud (ff 27-37).Correspondence dated 1942 between the Political Agent at Kuwait and the United States military relating to unauthorised entry into Saudi Arabia by foreigners (ff 41-42).A note written by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield), dated 5 April 1943, on wartime conditions in Saudi Arabia, based on reports received by Dr Harold Storm and Gerrit Dirk Van Peursem, both of the American Mission at Bahrain, following their medical tour of Saudi Arabia (f 44).Correspondence dated August 1943 relating to a visit to Ibn Saud by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold B Hoskins, personal envoy of US President Roosevelt (ff 45-54).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 60; 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; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence and papers relating to visits to the Persian Gulf by foreign dignitaries. Correspondents in the file include the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agents at Bahrain and Kuwait.The file includes:correspondence relating to the visit to Bahrain in December 1937 of Amir Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd from Saudi Arabia, including: discussion amongst British Government officials who take a positive view of the proposed visit; a letter from the Political Agent in Bahrain (Captain Tom Hickinbotham) to the Ruler of Bahrain (Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), dated 7 October 1937, insisting that he be present during any political discussions (ff 24-25); reports in late December 1937 of the visit, written by the Political Agent Hugh Weightman (ff 43-48) and an unknown author (ff 50-53). Both reports include details of: the visiting dignitaries, receptions and dinners; the large quantities of gold sovereigns brought up by the Saudi party in the Bahrain bazaars, to be used to purchase Maria Theresa dollars in Saudi Arabia; rumours amongst the Bahrain bazaars of the purposes of the trip;correspondence relating to the Sheikh of Kuwait’s (Sheikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) proposed visit to Bahrain, his intention being to meet the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, and offer mediation over the Bahrain-Qatar (Zubarah) dispute (ff 26-30);a proposed trip in 1936 by the Iraqi statesman Nuri Pasha to Bombay, stopping off at Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat, and the consequent postponement of this trip due to unforeseen circumstances (ff 2-10). Correspondence relating to Nuri Pasha’s later trip to Riyadh via Bahrain in April 1940 is also included in the file (ff 57-63);the return of the Egyptian Chargé d'Affaires, Abdul Hamid Munir, to Egypt from Riyadh via Bahrain in 1944 (ff 72-76);wartime and post-war various visits by United States dignitaries and legations, including: a US legation at Bahrain in 1942 (ff 65-66); Colonel Hoskins, Personal Envoy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1943 (68, 70-71); and US senators in 1943 and 1944-45 (ff 69 77-79);Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 2-81; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The correspondence in the volume relates primarily to the cessation of the operations of the Kuwait Oil Company during World War Two, and their plans for post-war development once peace is declared. These plans included the development of tanker anchorages, pipe-lines for both oil and water, the construction of a refinery, and the development of the production of oil from the Burgan Oil Field. Also considered in the correspondence are the potential local repercussions, both positive and negative that such rapid development might have in Kuwait (also given as Koweit), some of the correspondence between the Company and the Shaikh is given in both English and Arabic. Also discussed is work undertaken by the Kuwait Oil Company for the British Army from 1942-1943 to provide Bitumen, and the Company's desire to use the leftover Bitumen to asphalt roads in Kuwait. Correspondence relating to the services provided by the Kuwait Landing Company, who are responsible for the loading and unloading of all cargo in Kuwait, is also included and discussion centres around the rights of the Kuwait Oil Company to unload their own cargo and their need of special steel barges to do so, which they acquire from Gray, Mackenzie and Company.Also recorded are visits made by representatives of both the Kuwait Oil Company, and its parent companies the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Gulf Oil Company to Kuwait which were made to discuss operational matters, attempt to secure further concessions from the Shaikh, and to settle disputes amongst the staff there. Visits were also made by Major Frank Holmes, the London Representative of the Shaikh of Kuwait to the Kuwait Oil Company, and his Indian Interpreter, Ashraf Ali Shamsuddin.Other matters discussed include the Kuwait Oil Company's proposal to acquire a concession from the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) for an area outside Kuwait territorial waters, and the US Government's proclamation in 1946 which extended their jurisdiction to the subsoil adjacent to the American Coast on the Continental Shelf. Included in the volume are the minutes of a meeting held 16 January 1946 to discuss what the British Government's response to the proclamation should be. The outcomes of the meeting were to make a public statement supporting the American Government's proclamation and to commence an investigation into how the proclamation could be applied by the British Government, focusing particularly on the case of the Persian Gulf where the Continental Shelf was so shallow any rights would have to be shared by all adjacent states on an equitable basis, taking into account ownership of pearl fisheries too.Other matters of note within the volume are:Rumours that the American Oil Companies intend to construct a pipeline from the Mediterranean to Kuwait as part of their ongoing development of oil production in Saudi Arabia;The reactions against the proposal in the United States and conversations between the US and British Goverments over future worldwide oil expansion, focusing particularly on the Middle East and considering questions such as the quantities of oil to be produced, the challenges of transporting it, and matters such as concession rights and marketing policies;Ibn Saud's alleged attempts to influence the Shaikh of Kuwait in his choice of recipient of his share of the Neutral Zone Concession, specifically nominating the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company.A memorandum written by W S Gregor, General Manager for BAPCO at Busreh [Basra], regarding complaints about the handling of cargo in Bahrain and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO)'s desire to make their own lighterage arrangements. The complaints related to the lack of experienced staff and supervisors at delivery points which was resulting in stowing, smuggling and pilfering.The correspondence in the file is primarily between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Secretary of State for India, the Shaikh of Kuwait, the India Office, the Ministry of Fuel and Power, the Kuwait Oil Company and Major Frank Holmes.Physical description: Foliation: The principal foliation sequence consists of a pencil number enclosed in a circle located in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. Foliation anomalies: 1, 1A, 1B, 53, 53A, 63, 63A, 67, 67A, 103, 103A, 144, 144A, 188, 188A, 188B. Foliation omissions: 3, 5, 10, 23, 25, 27, 102, 118, 151, 182, 186, 200, 203, 205.There is also a second incomplete sequence of foliation using circled numbers in red and blue crayon.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman), the Political Agent at Muscat (Ralph Ponsonby Watts, Tom Hickinbotham), the India Office (John Percival Gibson, Roland Tennyson Peel) and Petroleum Concessions Limited, later Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited (Basil Henry Lermitte, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, Thomas Fulton Williamson) regarding geological exploration of the Trucial Coast and Muscat, and its subsequent postponement owing to World War Two.The correspondence discusses initial plans for the exploration of the Trucial coast and Muscat during the winter of 1939 – 1940 and the intention that the Sultan of Muscat (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd ) would provide access to areas under the control of the Naim [Na‘īm] and Al Bu Shamis [Āl Bū Shāmis] tribes. Also discussed is the possibility of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (Shaikh Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān) providing access to Baraimi [Al Buraymī ] now that a concession has been signed for his territory; and other work that might be undertaken in both Muscat and Abu Dhabi. This survey work was ultimately postponed owing to concerns over access to, and protection whilst in the relevant territory, as well as the outbreak of War in Europe.Later correspondence discusses the decision to postpone geological surveying owing to wartime conditions, and consideration of a resumption of work in 1945 with proposals for a small geological survey party working in the Baraimi and Jebel Hafit [Jabal Ḩafīt] area’s with geophysical surveys commencing in 1946. Included in the file are reports from a geologist for Petroleum Concessions Limited, Thomas Fulton Williamson, which discuss the potential problems of supplies, labour, transport, and accommodation that would have to be overcome.Other matters discussed in the volume include:news of the death of Shaikh Muhammad bin Sultan An-Nu’aimi [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Dhank who had been succeeded by his brother Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan [Sheikh Saqr bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Baraimi;the need to attempt to define the boundaries of the various Trucial Shaikh’s territories and proposing that initially each Shaikh be asked to state what they considered to be under their control so that areas of joint or disputed ownership could be identified;a meeting in Sharjah with the Political Agent at Bahrain, Shaikh Mohammed bin Saqr al-Jawassim [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Saqr Āl Qasimī] brother of the Shaikh of Sharjah, Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan of the Naim at Dhank, Shaikh Rashid bin Hamad [Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid] of Al Bu Shamis at Baraimi) and Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali bin Huweidin of the Beni Qitab (also written as Beni Chittab). That this was the first time in ten years that the Chief of the Beni Qitab had been persuaded to come to Sharjah and was considered a positive sign that could benefit Petroleum Concessions Limited in gaining access to territory under the Beni Qitab’s control;concerns in 1939 over Petroleum Concessions Limited’s intentions with regard to their concessions in the Persian Gulf and whether they actually intended exploiting them or had merely acquired them to prevent other companies from doing so.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 128; 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 2-127; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence regarding applications from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), represented primarily by Hamilton R Ballantyne and Max Weston Thornburg, for permission to install wireless apparatus and operate wireless telegraphy between Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān] and Awali [ʻAwālī].The discussion, which is primarily between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Evelin Alban), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, the India Office (Roland Tennyson peel, John Percival Gibson, Esmond Walter Rawson Lumby), and the Imperial Communications Advisory Committee (William Warren Shaw-Zambra) relates initially to the question of whether Cable and Wireless have a monopoly on international telegraphic communications in Bahrain, and whether therefore such a proposal would infringe on that.The later correspondence discusses the wartime implications of such a communication service, particularly in regards to the question of censorship, and its possibilities as an advance warning of enemy aircraft from Arabia, which arises following the air raid on CASOC’s facility at Dhahran in 1941.Also discussed in the volume is a proposal for an agreement between Cable and Wireless and BAPCO whereby Cable and Wireless would operate the services required by BAPCO for a fee, but it was ultimately abandoned owing to restrictions laid down by the Saudi Arab Government that wireless communication between the two companies would only be permitted provided the recipient wireless sets in Bahrain were on BAPCO sites only.Other matters discussed in the volume include:the discovery that CASOC were using wireless sets on board launches and tankers outside of the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia to communicate direct with the USA and whether or not this contravened international laws or regulations;the potential expansion of the Bahrain refinery to accommodate wartime needs, using crude oil shipped from Saudi Arabia;an agreement made in 1935 between the Saudi Government, Sudan Government, Eastern Telegraph Company and Cable and Wireless which granted Cable and Wireless a monopoly in Saudi Arabia;concerns over the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate and their lack of awareness and concern over the need for secrecy in wartime.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 186-193.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 197; 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 5-185; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file primarily focuses on the progress being made by the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in drilling for oil in Kuwait, including establishing drills at new sites and the discovery of oil at the Burgan site in February 1938. Later correspondence relates to various topics, as follows: the work and tests required on the oil before announcements relating to the discovery of oil in commercial quantities can be made; discussions with the India Office over the difference between 'commercial quantities' of oil and 'commercial conditions' for oil, the latter requiring the company to discuss the establishment of a refinery with the British Government; the decision by the KOC to cease their activities in Kuwait, other than drilling for water, owing to the outbreak of war, along with their actions in safeguarding the wells against potential enemy action; the negotiations with the Shaikh of Kuwait regarding the payment of royalties for the discovery of oil and advances on those royalties. The primary correspondents are the Kuwait Oil Company; Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gerald Simpson de Gaury, Andrew Charles Stewart); the Political Resident at Bushire (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, the 2nd Marquess of Zetland) and India Office staff (J P Gibson, Alexander Symon, Roland Tennyson Peel)Also discussed in the file is the question of a concession for an area outside of the territorial waters of Kuwait and numerous correspondence between the Kuwait Oil Company, India Office, Admiralty (Clifford George Jarrett) and Petroleum Department (Frederick Charles Starling) that debate what the jurisdictions might be in such an area, the exact nature of the territorial waters surrounding Kuwait, and potential boundary and frontier issues that might arise from such a concesssion. The correspondence is cut short owing to the outbreak of World War II as the various departments no longer have the time to discuss such matters and an agreement is reached with the Company and the Shaikh of Kuwait to suspend the matter until the war is over.Other matters discussed in the volume include:An article which appeared in
Al Sijilmagazine which criticises the Kuwait Oil Company for failing to find oil in Kuwait and the Shaikh of Kuwait for keeping the concession negotiations and signed agreement secret from his own people. A translated copy of the article is included at folios 8-9;The commencement by the Kuwait Oil Company of the construction of a jetty at Bandar Shuwaikh, and the potential defensive benefits such a jetty could have in war-time;A proposed visit by Colonel Harold Dickson, Chief Local Representative of the Kuwait Oil Company, to Ibn Sa'ud over Christmas 1938 that was eventually cancelled due to objections from the Shaikh of Kuwait;Arrangements with the American Mission in Kuwait for the provision of medical and hospital facilities for Company employees and the decision to employ another American nurse who would attend to the hospital needs of the company but would also assist with the work of the Mission's Women's hospital (folios 76-80);Correspondence between the Kuwait Oil Company, Secretary of State for India and the India Office regarding the appointment of American personnel in Kuwait and obtaining the British Government's permission for their appointments;Correspondence between the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and His Majesty's Vice-Consul at Khorramshar (Albert Napier) regarding a Kuwait Oil Company employee of non-British or Kuwaiti status who was granted a visa to travel to Kuwait for work without permission from the British Government and discussing the correct passport and visa procedures for non-British subjects travelling throughout the region.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation has been written in pencil and can be found in the top right hand corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence begins with the first item of correspondence and ends on the inside back cover.Foliations anomalies: 1, 1A and 1B. Foliation errors: 173 and 176 have been omitted.
Abstract: Papers concerning relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and proposals in 1940 to fix the Saudi-Iraq border, including:The British Minister in Saudi Arabia Reader Bullard’s views, dated 27 April 1939, on Saudi Arabia’s status in the event of war, including any risks posed towards the country by Italy or Iraq (ff 3-4).A copy of an agreement defining the procedure to be followed by the Commission appointed to demarcate the frontier between Iraq and Arab-Saudiya [Saudi Arabia], dated 1940 (ff 10-12), and an explanatory note on certain articles in the draft Iraqi-Saudiya Frontier Demarcation Agreement (ff 13-14).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 20; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence sent and received by the Political Agent at Bahrain concerning measures to increase the export of goods from the United Kingdom and India after the end of the Second World War, when American products started arriving in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 10; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-9; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains several Government of India circular letters and memoranda, 1939-1940 and 1944, from the Defence Co-ordination, Defence, Home and Finance Departments, laying down the policy, regulations and procedures to be followed regarding:The release of civil officers other than Indian Army reservists, for active military service and training during the Second World War (1939-1945);The terms of service, such as pay and allowances, of civil officers employed by the Governments of Bengal and Madras, who are also members of the Army, Navy or Air Force Reserves and are called up for active military service and training;The terms of service, such as pay and allowances, of civil officers who are members of the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) and called up for active military service and training.Physical description: The foliation sequence is in pencil, uncircled and in the top right corner. It begins on the folio following the front cover and ends on the back cover. There are also circled index numbers in red ink and crayon.
Abstract: The file contains Government of India circular letters, memoranda and notices that were issued mainly by the Finance Department between 1938 and 1941. There are also circulars from the Office of the Accountant-General, Central Revenues, the Home Department, the Department of Education, Health and Lands and other Government departments.The circulars contain regulations, rules, procedures, interpretation and guidance about personnel matters such as pay, pension, leave, travelling allowance and other service conditions of Government of India employees, including:Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939;Amendments to the Civil Pensions (Commutation) Rules and to the Premature Retirement Rules;Amendments to the Civil Service Regulations and to the Revised rates of Pay Rules;Numerous amendments to the Fundamental Rules and the Supplementary Rules;Regulating the grant of compensatory personal allowance under Fundamental Rules, 1938;Counting of military service during the First World War (1914-1918) towards civil pension, under Civil Service Regulations;Recall of officers from leave out of India on the outbreak of war in 1939 and their entitlement to allowances and concessions under Fundamental and Supplementary Rules;Recruitment and conditions of appointment of temporary Government employees, 1939.The file also contains correspondence in 1938 between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Accountant-General, Central Revenues, New Delhi regarding:rate payable for the transport of personal effects in the Trucial Coast area;method of calculating the leave salary of Persian Gulf clerks under the Revised Leave Rules, 1933.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1A, 1B, 2-4, 5A, 5B, 6-30, 31A, 31B, 32-253, 253A, 254-326. The numbers 131 to 135 have been omitted. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner of the folio, starting at the front of the file, on the file cover (f 1A) and ending on the inside cover at the back of the file (f 273). The number 253A has been written on a correction slip attached to folio 253.As a result of a partial and earlier numbering of papers towards the back of the file, folios 316 to 322 are additionally numbered 7 to 19 respectively, on the verso.
Abstract: The file contains Government of India circular letters, memoranda and notices issued mainly by the Home and Finance Departments and also by the Office of the High Commissioner for India, London and others. These were regularly forwarded by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire to the Political Agent, Bahrain and others for information and guidance. The circulars contain rules, procedures and other instructions relating to the conditions of service of Indian Government employees, particularly pensions, as follows:Premature Retirement Rules and amendments made 1927-1929;Government of India policy on the re-employment of former officers who had already retired on a proportionate pension under the Premature Retirement Rules;Amendments made 1928-1929 to the Civil Pensions (Commutation) Rules, 1926;Procedures dated 1928, for dealing with applications for commutation of pensions under the amended Civil Pensions (Commutation) Rules, 1926;Policy and procedure dated 1928, for handling appeals made by incapacitated officers, against recommendations of the India Office Medical Board that they should be retired from further service in India, on grounds of their invalidity;Policy, application forms and procedure to be followed under Civil Service Regulations, regarding the grant of pensions to dependants other than widows and children, 1929-1933;Procedures dated 1930 for dealing with applications from Indian students for admission to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, under a Government of India scheme aimed at providing educational facilities for officers of the Indian Medical Services;Amendments made 1927-1930 to the Superior Civil Services (Revision of Pay, Passage and Pension) Rules, 1924;Amendments, interpretation and procedures under the Passage Rules, 1925 regarding the payment of sea and air passages for serving officers out of Government funds, 1925-1929.The file also contains:Government of India circular issued by the External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations Department, about the procedure for dealing with applications from officers of the Indian Political Service choosing to leave the service and take pension, after the transfer of power, 1947;A British Government, Ministry of Pensions booklet entitled
War Pensions and detention Allowances (Mercantile Marine etc.) Scheme, published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), London, as No.225 of Statutory Rules and Orders, 1941;A British Government, Ministry of Pensions booklet entitled
Improved Rates of Pensions, etc. for members of H.M. Forces, and Others, Disabled, and for the families of such Persons deceased, in consequence of the Present War, published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), London, as a Command Paper (Cmnd. 6342), 1942.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1A-1D, 2-28, 28A-28F, 29-42, 95-100, 106-111, 112A-112C, 113-116, 122-125, 129-130, 135-136, 139-141, 149-150, 155-158, 167-314. The numbers 43-94, 101-105, 117-121, 126-128, 131-134, 137-138, 142-148, 151-154, 159-166 have been omitted. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner of the folio, starting at the front of the file, on the file cover (f 1A) and ending on the inside cover at the back of the file (f 314). Folio 1C is blank.In an incomplete, secondary foliation sequence, folios 39 to 42 are also numbered 29 to 32 in pencil in the top right corner. These earlier numbers have been crossed out.Condition: folio 178. Some of the text is visible on the verso, but unreadable, because the words are reversed.
Abstract: The file contains several Government of India memoranda dating from 1939 to 1941, mainly from the Labour Department and the Office of the Controller of Printing and Stationery, India. The memoranda stress the need for economy in the use of paper and other stationery by all government employees due to war-time conditions, which had caused domestic shortages in paper production, increased costs and difficulty in securing imported stationery requisites. The memoranda announce a reduction in stationery budgets and provide detailed practical instructions for staff about how to both limit their use of stationery and reduce their need for government printing and publications.The file also contains Office Order No.11 dated 6 February 1942, compiled and circulated by the Secretary to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to all Residency and Agency staff in the region. This document contains detailed instructions on the economic use of paper and other stationery by local staff, when carrying out their normal duties.Physical description: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence can be found between ff 2-27; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. A third foliation sequence runs alongside the second sequence, but has been crossed out. Circled index numbers can be found throughout the file, written in a combination of red crayon and ink. Foliation errors: no folio 15, 20, 20A and 20B.