Page 97 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

The pre-war economy: pearl fishing, 1899-1915 513

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Persia. A European professional diver was brought out and tried the
banks near Lingeh and ICharag, but the results were poor and the
operations ended in loss.
Illioit enter­ An attempt to exploit the Persian banka with modern appliances was
prise of a also made by a Khojah, a British Indian subject, who arrived at Lingeh
British in May 1883 with two Indian divers and a diving dress ; he proposed to
Indian, experiment first on the Persian side and then on the coast of ■'Oman.
1SS3.
Disregarding an injunction by the Commander of II. M. S. "Philomel”
to wait until his intentions had been reported to proper authority
and orders obtained, lie commenced operations on the Persian coast;
but his enterprise was a failure, and he eventually returned to Bombay,
apparently without visiting the Arab banks.
Efforts of About 1890, persistent efforts were made by several foreign capitalists
Missis.
Malcolm, to obtain a pearl fishing concession from the Persian Government, but
etc., to the particulars are obscure. Perhaps the first to move were the Armenian
obtain a firm of Messrs. T. J. Malcolm & Co., trading under British protection
concession, at Busliehr, with whom were associated in this matter the British
1S90-91.
shipping firm of Messrs. Strict & Co., London. Other would-be
concessionaires, among them Mr. Streeter of London, appear to-
have been in the field soon afterwards; and the Persian Bank Mining
Bights Corporation seem to have advanced a claim to the pearl
fisheries as falling within the scope of their mining concessions, but it
was disallowed by the Persian Government. Eventually the promise
of a monopoly was obtained by Messrs. Malcolm, but it was almost
immediately revoked at the instance of the British Legation at Tehran;
the reasons for the action of the Legation are not ascertainable in India.
Nothing more was then heard of the matter until the end of 1893,
when Mr. Streeter made inquiries from Colonel Talbot, lately Resident
in the Persian Gulf, whether Messrs. Malcolm were a firm with whom
he might safely have relations.
On the 6th of January 1894, Mr. T. J. Malcolm approached the
Foreign Office in London and sought to obtain withdrawal of the
objections to the grant of a concession in his favour. The point was
referred to the Government of India, who regarded Mr. Malcolm’s request
with disfavour on account of the political complications with local chiefs
which its acceptance might entail, of the impossibility of making sure
that operations w'ould really be confined to Persian territorial waters,
and of the probability that a stimulus would be given to European
interest in the pearl fisheries of the Gulf generally. In the end
Mr. Malcolm’s application was rejected, with the remark that the
working of the concession would give rise to serious difficulties and that
Her Majesty's Government were therefore unable to lend their support.
UM. Sunyd^ In March 1898, a pearl fishing monopoly was at length actually
•onceasigen*, Srall^c^ ky ^hc Persian Government to M. Sunye, a Spaniard, and
S98C-81907 Haocns) a Belgian, both of whom were adventurers of notoriously
bad character; the term of the grant was for 30 years from the &lst
of March 1898. The privileges conveyed were restricted to deep waters
inaccessible to native divers, but they extended, subject to this
provision, and to a special stipulation agaiust interference with the
rights or methods of tho existing native divers to (< the whole of
the Persian coasts.” In return for the concession an annual royalty