Page 270 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

258 Records of Bahrain

-7-

the first to deny that a Ncjdi Qadhi, for Instancet could
sottlo a dispute botweon two ;atar subjects In respect of
landed properties in Doha.
11. It may bo acknowledged that owing to the adoption of
more regular procedure in Uahrain than in Qatar, the Bahrain

Government are in a better position to produce evidence of a
Judioial nature than is the Jhaikh of Qatar, rec:rd of
a Bahrain case haa for instance been submitted to me showing
that processes were issued for the attendance of oertain Hawar
residents in a Bahrain Court seven years ago (i.e. long before
tho Zubarah dispute flared up, and before Hawar became of

interest from tho oil aspect), It would be unfair tc make too
much of tho Jhaikh of Qatar's inability to match this evidence,
but it is notoworthy that ho does not, and so presumably oannot,
claim that he himself has ever decided a dispute in regard to
property of any description at Hawar.

12. It may be worth while making reference to the point men­
tioned in paragraph 13 of the Bahrain counter-claim, in regard
to tho rescue at Hawar by Shaikh ' Isa of Dalirain of a party of
Turkish soldiers who wore wrocked there. On my recent visit
to Hawar I enquired from the older men whether Turkish soldiers
had over landed at Hawar and tho story of this wreck was repeat­

ed to me in considerable circumstantial detail. It is of no
great evidentiary value except as indicating that the 3haikhs
of Bahrain were in the habit in the past of visiting the island*
13. To sum up. The 3halkh of Qatar has produced no evidenoe

whatsoever. He relies solely on an uncorroborated assertion
of sovereignty, on geographioal propinquity and on the alleged
statements of oertain unidentified pereona. On the Bahrain
side there is evidenoe that the original occupation of Hawar
hy the Dawasir was affected under the authority of the A1
Khallfah, that the Zellaq Dawaelr have frequented these islands
for a great number of years9 that tho oourts established by

the/-