Page 376 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

792 Records of Bahrain
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bottom with tho lowest class—tho divers—cncourdgo them by finding'them work-
in tho slack season, in habits of thrift which will render them independent of Salaf
and its oppressive usury instead of encouraging them, as tho Nakhodas do,- in
'o'xtravagancc and dependence. • I must leavo thoso among you wlio wish them
well to find out tho way. Shaikh Hamad and the Political Agent can d? littlo but
.’practical, cautious philanthropists can do a great deal.
%' (N. D.—Tho Bpoooli now passed Into Arabic.)
And now, Shaikh Hamad, I ask you to bear with mo while I givo you soulo
•advico for the futuro. I havo already spoken to you on the subject and for ono
word I^Bay to you now I’speak six to my other hearers.
7" My sfirst piece of advico is “ Fear two: first God and then, fear”. I had
almost reversed the order,’ for Allah is the merciful, tho compassionate, tho mild
and the generous, whilo fear is the hated enemy.
. My second picco of advice is, “ Avoid two things : hate and love ”. They arc
the " wasamain ” (camel-marks) of the weak man and however harmless a weak
jiian may be as a merchant or a cooly, he is useless as a ruler.
My third piece of advice is in regard to rewards and punishments, tho two
principal functions of a ruler. In regard to both of these, follow the.rules of tho
.British Man-ofAVar and let twenty-four hours clapso between tho act and its
.recompense, whether that recompense be good or evil. Examino yourself if your
heart is cold'and if you find it not so, wait another four and twenty hours. Thon.
recompense.
And now 0 Hamad ! I will tell you a story that I heard here of what took
place the other day when there was an assembly much like the present ono, to
celebrate a School Prizegiving. Most of the scholars received rewards but one,
.who probably did not deservo one, began to whimper and the headmaster, fearing
.that lie would spoil the tamasha, led him up to you and explained that by some
mistake this boy had been forgotten. Whereupon, 0 Hamad! you pulled out
a gold watch from your pocket and presented it to this whimpering little boy and
another member of the Al-Khalifa, not to be outdone in generosity, gave him £5
and I have no doubt that the assembly,wcnt out saying what noble-hearted open-
handed gentlemen you were. It sounds like.a story from the Arabian Nights or
the spacious days of Haroun al ltashid.
Now I tell you 0 Hamad ! that your conduct on this occasion was absolutely
rotton.uJlt- was bad for the boy himself, it was bad for the other boys and if you
o on on such principles, you will not, 0 Hamad, last six months. Thirty years
ave I worked with Hakims great and small and yet never have I known or met
tho Hakim who was not in need of money for public needs. The Political Agent,
is hard put to it for want of money, I nm cramped for lack of funds, Persia and
Iraq and France are on tho verge of bankruptcy and Germany has fallen over
»tho precipice. The Government of India is reducing its establishments and
dismissing its servants and the Government of London is doing likewise and who
.aro you, 0 Hamad, that you should be better than they ? You havo rich and amplo
revenues but I shall be greatly surprised to learn that they amount to as’ much
.as Re. 1 per month per head of tho population of these Islands : and yet, all these
men,’women and children look to yoi&O Hamad, for their moral uplift, sanitation
and progress. And how much uplift, sanitation and progress are you going to
effect for Re. 1 per head per month<iind how much will be left over for giving-gold
watches, and five-pound notes to little whimpering boys for a term’s work, or, for
that matter, for motor cars or motor boats for the members of the Al-Khalifa ?
In all private expenditure, 0 Hamad, you must be a miser and it is only when you
cutcrtain projects that will bring money out of money and projects for-tho general
advancement of your people that you must spend money with both hands.
If you will follow these four precepts and people curse you, as people will
curse a Hakim, go on your way without flinching. If they praise you to your face,
examine yourself and ask in your heart “ Where, 0 Hamad, hast thou erred V’
.Ajid in conclusion, my friend (and here I took him by the hand), blessings and
prosperity on your rule.
Not'.,—Tjs spoooh was woll rocoivod and Shaikh Hamad, though ho might havo ronontod nomo of this
publio plain-spooking, appoarod gonuinoly delighted with it. Hvon Yusuf bin Ah/hod Kanoo, our cauatio
oritio, was movod to onthusiaem and aaid that Hamad should havo klsaod my hands and head for tho Arabio
advico. Read in cold blood ai)d iif on J$hgli«h translation it sounds silly in tho oxlromo but ono must recollect
)Ijq prinjitlvo {oll$ to whgm it was od^roqwd,
8. G. KNOX.