Page 88 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

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Records oj Bahrain

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frequent certain localities moro than others, but they do this of choieo
and not of necessity.
The chiefs of the Aral) littoral derive
# . revenue from the pearl
fisheries, but only by means of taxes imposed on their own subjects or
on persons resident in their respective jurisdictions: a table of these
imposts will be found in Annexuro No. 6 to this Appendix. It has been
stated that the chiefs of Trucial 'Oman are entitled to receive, besides
the dues mentioned in the Annexuro No. 6, a share in the sale price of
pearl worth §200 or more which may have been found by a
subject, but no particular share is specified, and it docs not appear that
the claim is universally, or even generally, admitted ; on the other hand
a decision in favour of the Sultan of ' Oman, mentioned below, seems
to raise a presumption that such a right is, in some circumstances,
allowed.
The first chief to levy dues is believed to have been the Shaikh of
Bahrain, who is said to have instituted about the beginning of the 19th
century, under the name of Nob v_p > a tax which was devoted (at least
in theory) to the maintenance of 4* armed vessels on the banks for the
protection of the Bahrain pearl fleet. "With the growth of security under
British surveillance of the Gulf these police vessels, if they ever existed,
disappeared; but the system of taxation was maintained both by the
Shaikh of Bahrain and by the other Arab chiefs, who had meanwhile
followed his example.* The amount of the Nob was originally one
diver's share per boat, but crews might compound for it at the rate, in
early times of §3, and later of §4, per operative.
A second tax, called Taraz )1^>, also came into general vogue many
years ago ; it was originally assessed at the rate of one diver's share for
each boat. The intention was to provide the means of engaging hired
watchmen in towns and villages during the absence in summer of the
able-bodied male population ; and a part of the dues now realised is ovon
vet spent in this manner on summer watchmen called Matrazlyah,
It appears that Nob is properly a tax on boats and Taraz a poll tax Persia,
on operatives, also that Nob was originally collected only in autumn
and Taraz only in spring; but the terms arc not now clearly understood
even by the natives of the Gulf themselves. Much confusion has been
caused by irregularity in collection, the people always endeavouring to
pay as little as possible, and the Shaikhs to take as much as they can,
and that in advance.
All the banks on the Persian side, with the exception of the banks
iu the Lingeh District which aro public, are subject to territorial juris­
diction ; this is partly due, no doubt, to the fact that they are all near
the coast and in few, if any, cases more than 3 miles distant from land.
The subjects of the Shaikh in whose territory a bank is situated may
work on it without special permission, and so may the subjects of a
neighbouring Shaikh who is on terms of amity with the territorial
Shaikh ; but all foreigners,—that is to say all others, and among them
Arab pearl fishers from the opposite side of the Gulf, —must come to a

* Thero is some doubt as to tho correctness of those statements. Thero is not
now any perl tax called Nob in Bahrain.
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