IOR/R/15/2/1497

Correspondence exchanged between the Political Agency at Bahrain and various steamship operators at Bahrain, as follows:

• until 1937, representatives of the Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited (MPC hereafter; briefly referred to as the Mesopotamia Iran Corporation in early 1937 and referred to as MesPers in the file title), including Deputy Managers J Russell and George William Reginald Smith);
• from 1937, representatives of Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, chiefly John H Leared;

Much of the correspondence sent by representatives of the MPC is written or typed on stationery belonging to the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited (see notes on Administrative Context).

Most of the correspondence is of a day-to-day nature:

• arrangements for the forwarding and receipt of special letters and packages, with bills of lading included;
• arrangements for the passage of individuals to and from Bahrain by steamer, with debit notes and receipts;
• steamer service timetables for 1935 (ff 113-114), Persian Gulf ‘fast service’ timetables for 1937 (ff 152-158), and mail service timetables for 1941 (ff 203-205);

Other correspondence concerns:

• the passage of three distressed British seamen (DBS) in 1928, including an order for the conveyance of DBS (ff 34-37);
• a case of three Kuwaitis reported to be illegally hawking wares on steamers in 1937 (ff 136-144);
• from August 1939, correspondence related to the start of the Second World War, including travel restrictions and passport control, the increased costs of shipping due to war insurance and higher prices, and shipment of French goods in 1940 (f 167 onwards).