Page 20 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

8

The sons of Shaikh Husain of Chahkutah, whom Sardar-i-Intisar was able to
use last year on the side of Government against the rebel Ghazanfar-us-SuItanah
of Borzajan, themselves rebelled against the Clovernmcnt as a result of the tact­
less behaviour of the Militaiy and in the month of April, Shaikh Nasir Khan, son
of Shaikh Husain Khan, with some thirty armed men occupied Chaghadak (lately
the headquarters and farm of Herr Wassmuss) about 10 miles to the east of Bushire,
and bastinadoed the headman to whom the Persian Government had leased the
village. By the end of the year, however, most of the headmen' had been
rounded up and despatched to Tehran.
At the beginning of the year whilst the Kerman regiment was operating in the
Shibkuh region, the Officer Commanding seized all the Arab headmen—13 in all-r­
and sent them under escort to Tehran. This wholesale .arrest and deportation
seriously increased the unrest in that region, and the leading Shaikh of Tebcn,
Shaikh Muhammad bin Ahmad Khalfan, who escaped arrest mustered the re­
maining Arabs and at the close of the year was still holding out against Govern­
ment troops estimated to number between one and two thousand. Shaikh Muham­
mad bin Ahmad Khalfan visited Bahrain and ITasaand wished to proceed to Riadh,
but the Amir of Hnsa discouraged him from proceeding further than Hofuf. He
ultimately returned to Teben and on the 12th November attacked a Persian cus­
toms launch and shot dead an Inspector and wounded an Amniyah guard.
At a service held in memory of the deceased Inspector, Mulla Abdullah al
Fazil, a blind pleader and “ Rozakhah ” of Bushire made certain references to the
services rendered l'»y the late Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan (supporter of Saiyid
Zia-ud-D'n and the late Khiyabani (a republican) both of whom were-viewed by
the present Shah as hig rivals. The Mulla was promptly placed under arrest and
deported.

SECTION 7.
Slavery.
During the year under review the following slaves were manumitte d by order
of the Ilon’ble the Political Resident:—
Slaves who escaped from the Trucial coast and took refuge at the Bahrain
Agency 15
Slaves who took refuge with the Residency Agent, Shargah 16
Slaves from Basidu who took refuge at the Bahrain Agency 4

SECTION 8.
Trade and Trade Facilities.
Trade.—Of conditions during 1930 it was generally said, by way of conso­
lation, that at least they could hardly be worse and that the commercially dis­
astrous situation created by the Government arbitrary control of exchange, was
too impossible to last. Events of 1931 were to show, however, that the Govern­
ment’s incursions into the realms of economics during the preceding year were as
nothing compared with what was to follow.
The year opened with gloomy prospects. Abroad there was no market for
Persian produce; at home prices for all commodities were rising ; the price of silver
was at the lowest ebb, the kran with it (as regards illegal bazaar transactions) and
any prospect of the gold standard being introduced at any early date doubtful in
the extreme. It was patent to everybody that the Government's control of ex­
change had proved a fiasco. In practice, as a result of the resale system whereby the
hanks were buying exchange on the condition, imposed by the seller, that it should
be resold to the person he designated, and from whom he recovered the difference
between the official and bazaar rate, the effect of the exchange law was merely to
penalise the exporter, who had to guarantee to sell exchange against his exports
at the official rate, while the importer, obtaining his exchange in the bazaar, could