Page 361 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

Reforms and unrest, 1923 777
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htivo boon ontiroly superfluous. From ovory point of viow it seemed dcsirablo to !
allow passions to cool down and mindfl to Bcttlo. I remained thcroforo on board
II.M.S. “ Triad ” in closo and immediate touch >yith tho Political Agent on shoro
and with froquont visits from him, until tho ovoning of tho 18th. This inactivity
and doparturo from prccodont—for prcccdont insists that tho Shaikh of- Bahrain
should within tho first 24 hours of tho Political Resident's arrival, proceed and pay
his rcspccts to him*—had tho unexpected effect of causing something liko a panic
among tho Al-Klialifa family and tho inhabitants of Balirain. I was doing nothing
and tlioy could not imagino what I was doing. Shaikh Tsa frequently attempted
to got ofE to 8co mo, going so for os to assure mo that tho fast mado no .difference,
but J put him off with polite messages, saying that although I was as anxious to sco
him ns ho was to sco mo, I was tho bearer'of important communications from my
Government to himself and preferred to wait until his mind should he completely
freo from tho privations of tho sacred month and the ensuing festivities. This I
Icisuro also enabled me to prepare and have ready against my landing, my com­
munication to the Sultan of Ncjd regarding the conduct of his agent, Abdulla Al-
Qasaibi. Abdulla was sent for that same evening. I took a very curt and haughty
lone with liiin, refusing his proferred (hand?) and merely passing the letter to him with
tho remark “ This is for your master : read it.” When he had finished its perusal,
I asked him if he had fully mastered its contents and he rcpjicd in the affirmative.
I then said that I wished him out of the Island by noon the following day at tho
latest and accepted his promise that he would go. As a matter of fact, he left tho
same night giving out that Bin Sand required his presence on urgent and pressing
business. I understand that this misrepresentation failed to convince anybody in
Bahrain. A copy of my letter to the Sultan of Ncjd, both in English and in Arabic,
forms Appendix II to this report. I trust that it will be found to meet tho condi­
tions laid down by tho Secretary of State for the Colonics repeated to me for my
y lr 1 .guidance by the Secretary of State for India in his telegram No. 1844, dated 18th
\ ! C. Tho morning of the 19th passed in purely official visits at which no business
was discussed. Shaikh Tsa called on mo at the Agency at about 9 a.m. and his call
was rolurned by mo at the Customs Buildings as soon as ever tho Arabs had had time
to prepare it for my reception. At the latter interview it was, however, arranged
that in the afternoon Shaikhs Ilamad and Abdullah should return to discuss with
me and tho Political Agent tho communications of which I was the bearer from His
Majesty’s Government so that Shaikh Tsa might be well informed of what it was
proposed to discuss, before the really important interview, which was fixed for 9 a.m.
von tho 19th May, took place.
0. I consider that it is hardly necessary for me to trouble Government with
details of the interminable conversations that ensued. I had prepared as a preli­
minary and test case, a letter from Shaikh Tsa addressed to myself which purported
to describe what both he and I knew well to be the impression, both of the Shaikh
and of the Bahrain public in general, as to the powers of the Political Agent to
deport foreigners. In the letter Shaikh Tsa went on to say that lie understood
from me that legal doubts had arisen in the mind of His Majesty’s Government as
to whether Shaikh Tsa really desired that such powers should be.possessed by tho
Political Agent and the letter from himself was necessary to remove this doubt, he
was therefore writing to me to say that he not only wished the Political Agent to'
have such powers but to use them with special reference to seditious persons
(foreigners) plotting against his rule or endeavouring to sow dissensions between
himself and the British Government or between the various classes of the com-
mu nity or exciting hatred against himself or the British Government among such
classes. I placed this letter before Shaikh ’Isa at my interview on the morning of
the 20th, told him that- both he and I knew that this represented the opinion of both
himself and the Bahrain public, and asked him to sign it. He asked for time to
consider. I laughed and said wo all know what this moaut and then proceeded to
comment on tho little effect that Colonel Trevor’s warnings of one year ago appeared i
to have had on Shaikh ’Isa’s mind. I then went on to explain that the orders relat­
ing to Bahrain reforms had really emanated', on this occasion, from the Department
ol the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in London and wore perhaps somothui"
in tho nature of a “ bolt from the blue ” so far as the Political Agent, Bahrain, myself
and my immediate predecessor, Colonel Trevor,..were concerned ; m fact, I had it