Page 98 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

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of 250,000 francs was to be paid by the holders to the Persian Govern­
ment. At the beginning' of 1899, a British merchant in London was
invited by a French correspondent in Paris to form a syndicate for taking
over the concession, but, before the negotiations had made any progress,
lie was informed by M. Suuye that the concern had now passed* into
the hands of Russian capitalists; M. Sunyc explained that the con­
cession, which had lapsed through non-payment of "the first instalment of
the royalty, had been renewed in his sole name through Russian influence.
Up to the end of June 1900 the first instalment of the royalty was still ap­
parently unpaid, and attempts had been made to place the concession at
Odessa ; but the utmost secrecy was maintained by those interested, and
little information could be obtained. There is some reason to think that the
visit of the <c Selika ” to the Gulf in 1901, already mentioned was connec-
ted with this matter; but active operations under the concession have not
yet been begun (1907), and the concession may possibly have lapsd.
In 1899 and 1900 the subject of this concession was discussed Comma
with the Persian Government, who at first asked the reason of the British tions
inquiries and were informed in reply that all matters connected with
pearl fishing rights in the Persian Gulf were of interest to Britain, especi-
ally when there was any question of conceding them to foreigners. The Govern-
chief uncertainty, however, was as to the actual local limits of the Sunyc ment8,
concession, and ifc necessitated a warning to the Persian Government that
Her Majesty’s Government could not recognise any contract which 1900'
might interfere with the rights exercised by chiefs under British
protection; to this the Mushir-ud- Dauleh merely replied, with some
reserve, that the Persian Government could only grant a concession in
so far as their own rights extended, and that it was out of the question
that British rights should be affected. Reference to the charts of the
Persian Gulf showed that the deep waters within Persian jurisdiction,
to which alone the concession could apply, were of trifling extent, not
exceeding 820 square geographical miles in all.
The latest venture threatening European interference with tho Recent
Persian pearl fisheries is that of the Sponge Exploration Syndicate ceedmps
Limited, a company with a nominal capital of £1,000, registered in {^T*1**
London but directed chiefly by foreigners of various nationalities. In
1905 the company more than once addressed tho Foreign Office in
London, seeking their good offices for the purpose of obtaining concessions;
they at first described their business as that of “ sponge, pearl and coral
finders ”, but subsequently declared their intention to occupy themselves, in
the Persian Gulf, exclusively with sponges. No assistance was given
them ; but, during the late Shah’s tour in Europe, they succeeded in pro­
curing at Vichy, on the 29th of August 1905, a 5.0 years' concession and
monopoly for sponge fishing in Persian waters. Under this author­
ity some diving was carried on in 1905 and 1906 by Greek employes
of the syndicate ; but nothing happened to fulfil the expectation,
locally entertained, that attempts would be made by the company to
combine illicit pearl fishing with their legitimate operations m sponges.
A Parisian jeweller, hi me. Nattan, came to Bahrain for the pearl
season of 1905 and remained there from the beginning of August till
the end of October. She had some difficulty in establishing relations
with the local dealers, but eventually succeeded in buying pearls on the
spot to the amount of Rs. 40,000.