Page 374 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

*s-

790 Records oj Bahrain

15
desert tho'wliolo year round only returning to cat tlio fruit of their gardens at tho
timo of harvest. I do not mean it to be understood .that tho mere departuro of
a proprietor on business to Bombay or pilgrimago to tho ITaj or other lawful occa­
sions will be tho signal for tho Shaikh to confiscate tho property loft behind, but
I- do moan that thoso who bchavo contumaciously may find thomsclvcs dealt with
stringently. Wo havo no use for absonteo landlords or persons owning a double
allegiance. I fear that in tho East (his merely moans playing oil' one ruler against
another and consistently betraying both. If you rcsido in tho Islands of Bahrain,
you must, whilo owning property there, conform to tho rule of the country and pay
tho customary dues, nor can wo tolcrato an imyerium in vnperio.
Gcntlcmon of (ho Shiah persuasion and especially those indigenous to these
Islands!
I wish you particularly to weigh tho following remarks. Much of tho agita­
tion of recent years has been fictitious. I am far from saying that you havo had
no cause for complaint but what I mean to say is that I cannot subscribe to the
opinion that recent misrule is cither more tyrannical or more flagrant than it has
often been in tho past. Tho state of these Islands, tho signs of additional wealth
that meet tho cyo cvorywho.ro around give tho ho to the contention that misrule
has been persistent ana is increasing. Wo havo admittod somo abuses and an­
nounced our jntention of fighting them. But I want you to remembor that this
is“a Sunni country and surrounded on this shore of the Gulf by powerful Sunni
communities who watch our proceedings with vigilant interest and no small decree
of suspicion. You must not expect equality at a bound and Sunni privileges can­
not bo swept away at once, if at all.
As Shaikh Ilomad Jias told you, wo shall endeavour to sec that you know to
what cxtuit you are being taxed, that taxes r.rc levied equally’and not arbitrarily,
that you remain in quiet». joyme.nt of tho fruits of your labour aud that you arc
not exposed to outrage of anv kind as vou have, l fear, sometimes been in the past,
and I look to you for loyal support of Shaikh llamad who promises to protect you
against oppression and exaction. You have found recently that you have a voice,
and foreign advises have taught you how to use it. Bo carefid that you do hot,
by clamouring unjustly, destroy the benefits you may reasonably expect from the
inauguration of the present reg/mg.
To you, gentlemen, who, to use a legal tag, arc foreigners within the meaning
of tho Bahrain Order in Council, I have little to say. The jurisdiction over
foreigners will continuo to be exercised in the future, as it has been in the past,
by the Political Agent. I believe it. has been to your benefit and that you arc
reasonably content with it. One thing no one will deny, that since Shaikh ’Isa,
in liis wisdom, entrusted foreign cases to the Political Agent, the number of foreign­
ers, their wealth, importance and weight in the community has increased in a
manner that is little short of amazing. It docs not seem as if people would flock
here to the extent they do, if they were dissatisfied under the conditions under
which they live. Shaikh Hamad, however, expressly authorises me to say that lie
will welcome comments and criticism and that he. will lend a sympathetic car to
all that may tend to increase the wealth, comfort and general well-being of the
town oJl Manamch in which foreigners preponderate to such an extent that it may
almost be said to have been made by them.
Gentlemen, I have kept you an unreasonable time and yet no speech in
Bahrain would be complete without a word on the subject that must^bc uppermost
in tho minds of those who live in Bahrain-—the pearl trade. It is the source of the
wealtli of these Islands. It furnishes the masdii-whyTorcigucrs flock here in such
numbers and build fine houses and on it are founded the prosperity, cleanliness
and well-being of Manumeh. And yet, I know, the Political Agent knows, Shaikh
Hamad knows, the Qazi, Shaikh Jasim bin Meliza, and you all know, and' above
all, the divers know that it is the plague spot of theso Islands. We ullTcHovv'tlfat
labour is in a position little short of lifelong slavery and that trickery, fraud and
oppression are rampant in the Trade ; and what arc any of us doing to remove there
evils ? It is almost impossible to get respectable people to serve in the Salifa
Court, Nakhodas steadily refuse to produce their accounts; if they- did, divers;,
who are dumb driven cattle, would not understand them; and yet, who' cares or
gives real thought to all this suffering ? You cun register divers, you can even
reform the Salifa'Court, you can imprison Nakhodas, compel them to furnish
accounts, and yet, even in that way you will not go far. You must begin, at the.